Heading Off Email Problems

Part 4: Heading Off Email Problems
by Shonda Ponder


© 2002, Shonda Ponder

Once you have a website, you may be concerned that putting your email out on the world wide web will open you up to abuse by spammers, hecklers, and stupid people. This is to be expected. If you have a problem with receiving such emails, then (speaking from experience) public service is not for you.

You might as well hang it up.

As a matter of fact, you might as well get completely off the internet.

If, however, you feel you can put up with this in order to reap the benefits of having the ability to promote your cause, you may wish to take certain steps that will help you manage your email box.

Here are some simple rules that you may wish to follow:

1. Obtain an email box that will be specifically used for information regarding your website or business on the internet.
2. Use this email box that you have created for ONLY the work you will be doing for the furtherance of your message.
3. Never put your private email box address on the world wide web.
4. Never sign up to links pages with your private email address. Always use a special address that you have created specifically for the furtherance of your message.
5. Check your public email box often. This is because it will be filled quickly if your message is successful in being promoted -- whether by spammers or by true inquirers.
6. Never sign up your public address to lists, or allow anyone to invite you to their lists using that address. You may want to set up another email box specifically for lists. (And never, EVER, anger a list owner! Getting vital information out to email lists is a big part of your promotional endeavor, which we will be getting into later.)
7. There is really no way to get rid of spammers, short of starting an email war. And, usually, when you finally get rid of one, ten more will take its place.

There are a number of options you can use to split up your email into manageable slots. The most popular way is the use of free email boxes. (Especially among those of you who like to keep your identity at a low profile, while promoting your message).

But, the most professional way is the use of your own domain. For instance: Friends of Liberty has an email box at yahoo, which I use for some business purposes, such as managing all the yahoo lists I am a member of. But, for communication on the website, I will use one of two different addresses. For public correspondence, I use editor@.... For more private correspondence concerning my work, I use shonda@.... While my very own, non-business private junk address is ponderaa1@... (I usually go in about four times a day now to delete everything, I get so many emails through there, that is why I use the alternate email addresses for business correspondence).

For some reason, people in the media are more likely to take an organization that has their own domain set up more seriously than free email address domains or web sites. The more professional you look, the more seriously people will take you.

This is Part 4 of "Promotional Skills for the Chronically Amateur"

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