As I pointed out in my previous post, emails are bombarding us these days. This isn’t just spam, there is some content coming in that we actually want. However, many of us find it overwhelming and need a better way to manage it.
Reading What You Want to Read
As a user, what do you do? You signed up for many of these email lists and e-newsletters because someone had content in which you were interested, so unsubscribing might not be what you actually want.
Having your email application filter messages as they come in can make a big difference. Gmail begins to tackle this problem with its categories, which divide your inbox into tabs. If you aren’t using Gmail’s “new” inbox, give it a try. (They have a cute video that explains it, if this is new to you.)
But, Gmail users, maybe you get so many promotion emails that even the tab is overwhelming. You can do more by setting up your own filters in Gmail to have some messages skip the inbox entirely. For users of other programs like Outlook and Apple Mail, set up rules to create some inbox sanity.
Quick links to guides:
Create subject groups, or even individual folders for important or active lists, and ignore the messages until you have time to properly digest the information sent to you. You’ll pick up some things you would have otherwise missed. You might even remember why you signed up for the list in the first place!
If you don’t love what you are reading or are deleting messages from particular senders every time you receive emails from them, ditch them. Don’t just delete when the next one comes in, take the time to click “unsubscribe” or “remove from list.” It’s better for everybody involved.
Do you have more tips? Leave a comment below!
Don’t miss Part I in this series, How to Keep Email Marketing Useful—for Marketers.
