Confessions of a Six Figure Professional Blogger

Filing For Bankruptcy (From Email)

View Comments | Posted In Life & Mindset, Technical by David

Yep. I changed my email address. The one I’ve had for over a decade now. And it feels good. Damn good.

So, the questions here are: why and how?

I mean, is it worth it? Because, after all, it is a lot of work making the change, and it is sure to inconvenience a lot of people I’ve had past contact with. So, let’s cover it.

Why Declare Email Bankruptcy

envelopeIt is really simple. Spam. Lots of spam. On the order of thousands per DAY.

Now, I have been using Gmail for some time, so my POP3 account would just get checked by Gmail. The Gmail filters did a heroic job of filtering out all the usual spam.

However, it goes further than this. My email address has been spread all over the place to the point where I get emails from people I don’t even know or never heard of. I had hordes of people who got my email on a personal basis then felt it was OK to add me to a mailing list (what a douche thing to do, BTW).

Another thing – I had poor delineation between emails. Personal and business all went into the same box. It ended up being a huge catch-all address.

Why might YOU want to consider this? Well, are you in the same situation? Have you had the same email for many years? Do you get tons of email from people you don’t even know and lists you never signed up for? Is it getting to a point where it is starting to suck up too much valuable time?

Then, it might be time to declare bankruptcy – from email.

How To Declare Email Bankruptcy

I’ll just tell you how I did it. I’m sure there a lot of different ways to go about it.

For me, it revolves around using Gmail. I have a Gmail account that I have a lot of history with, yet hardly anybody emails me directly there. Like I said, I have been using Gmail to download emails from my on-domain POP3 accounts, and when I reply back it doesn’t use my Gmail account.

Gmail, though, is FANTASTIC at organization. The filters are amazing. The spam detection and forwarding is stellar. I don’t care what people say about Yahoo/Hotmail – Gmail wipes the floor with them. Period. If you deal with a lot of email, Gmail is tops.

Here are some tips that will really help you when doing this:

  1. Use a support desk. For both pcmech.com and davidrisley.com, I use support desk software and the lovely Lisa fields everything that goes there. She only forwards on matters which specifically need my attention, and she deals with the rest.
  2. Use sub-email addresses for better organization. With Gmail, you can make one account look like different accounts using the plus sign. For example, if your Gmail account were joeblow@gmail.com, you can get emails at joeblow+yada@gmail.com and you’ll still get them. Then, you can use labels and filters to organize different incoming emails. So, you can do this for your different social media accounts, or even different blogger/marketer email lists you might subscribe to. Separate them out into labels. Another thing…. if you start getting weird emails at these sub-addresses, you know who just sold your email. Shame on them, but you can filter it out easily. :)
  3. Use labels and filters. Some might not realize the power of these features. I have a number of different types of emails which I don’t really need to read right away. So, I set up a filter to auto-archive them into a label, thereby hiding them from my inbox.
  4. Use a different incoming email address for your mailing list. Your mass emails require a reply email address. Well, use something OTHER than your main email address. This gives you better future control over that source of email, because some of your subscribers may end up sharing your email or adding you to THEIR list without asking. Plus, there’s the bounces to deal with. It is important that replies to your mass emails actually go somewhere, though. You don’t want your subscribers talking to a wall (that’s rude).
  5. Use a different incoming email address for friends/family. Once again, this allows you to filter them differently. In my case, I use the “multiple inboxes” feature, along with filter/label, to ensure that emails from my family get listed separately from my business emails – even though it all goes to the same Gmail account.
  6. Control your accounts. We all sign up for a lot of accounts (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, etc). Well, have these services send emails to sub-addresses for better filtering. Next, turn off all the notifications you don’t need. For example, why get notified when somebody follows you on Twitter? It is pointless. I have turned off everything but just the essentials.
  7. Set up an auto-reply on your old email address. After doing a bunch of account changes and “change of address” notifications, you have to figure out what to do with your old spam-fest email account. Set up an auto-reply message which gets sent to anybody who emails it. In that message, direct them to the proper places. In my case, I do not include my new email address in the auto-reply because I figure spammers will just scan the email out and redirect their crap. So, I have links to my support desks, a contact form, and my social media. That’s it. If somebody wants to contact me, they can. Spammers? They hit the brick wall. From there, all emails get dumped.

I’m expecting this move to cut down on my junk email immensely. And thus save time and ensure that people I want to get emails from can get through.

Can you do this for yourself?

Some people are afraid to do it. Almost as if you’re going to piss off the world by changing your email address. Keep this in mind:

  1. You are not a slave to your email account.
  2. You have no obligation to communicate to people you don’t want messages from.
  3. You have no obligation to be contactable by just anybody. You have the right to control your own incoming messages.

So, if its bad, change it. If it is a huge drain on your time, change it. The world will adjust. And the spammers – screw ‘em.

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  • I have been taking back control my email routines and had no idea I could adorn my existing gmail account with a plus sign. Suuuweeet.
  • David,

    I came to your blog looking for another topic, and stuck around. This post is GREAT! Now, I can get rid of my multiple Gmail accounts, and use just one! Seriously, THANK YOU!
  • Jennifer
    Thanks David, good advise and I appreciate the time you put into instructions us newbies and oldies, in the blogging world.

    DreamCoachdiva.wordpress.com
  • My comment, which Dave sort of touched on at the end, is that the ability to email you is a PRIVILEGE, not a human right as some people seem to think.

    You don't have to read, let alone reply to, every single email that's sent to you. You don't owe it to anyone. Receiving emails is a privilege in this modern world, it does not impose obligations on you. People really don't get this!

    I had a client get abusive recently and simply cut her ability to email me.This was a big step for me because a year ago I would have gotten into weeks of to and fro email debate. Now it's just "block sender" with a polite explanation that they can call you if they have any legitimate comment.

    Tim Ferriss has changed my life with regard to email management!

    Simon
  • Tin Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Work Week has a lot of valuable advice and information about managing your email. I highly recommend reading his book for just that one aspect of improving your time management and cutting down on the time you spend using email.
  • Yeah. Great book. I've read it.
  • LivingstoneConant
    Great tips here David. Thank you. This is very helpful!
  • A few years ago I set up a few different email accounts to separate business from personal. best thing I ever did. I can easily get through my emails now.
  • Gmail rocks..I use Gmail for my social activities and it seems to handle the spam the absolute best. Thanks for the post and ideas. So I guess the best way to find you is Twitter?
  • I've used Gmail to import my various email accounts for several years now and cannot tell you what a time-saver it is. The labels and filters let me be a micromanage-y as I want without wasting time doing it. Still, there are some tweaks I ought to do, like unsubscribing from a few lists that I don't need.
  • Lmart89526
    Sounds like I great idea, but alas, soooo time consuming too lol! but I know I really need to do it.
    Thanks a lot!
  • Linda
    David, Thanks for the blog post. It's SO timely. I was just setting up my gmail account to handle more of my overwhelming email traffic and your post reminded me of a couple of tips I had not implemented before. Putting them in now.

    Thanks again,
    Linda Ferguson
  • Love it David! I've been wanting to try the gmail + feature...you're inspiring me to do so...I also use "rules" in mac mail...so I can assign mail from different aspects of my life to go into certain folders and only check them when I need to/want to...love that feature!
  • I did this about 3 yrs ago- i set up a new email acct for all my personal stuff- family and friends ONLY- that way it limited the spam, as they were told in NO uncertain terms to NOT send that email to anybody without my permission. And they've all stuck to it- yeah!

    With the acct I already had I made it strictly for public usage and redid the spam filters to where I am really only getting about 7 spam emails per day! Out of over 400 emails a day, I think that's pretty good!

    After I started my blog I realized I needed an email JUST for that to be public, so I set up one on gmail. I wish I could switch them ALL over to gmail. gmails filters and folder sub-emails are so much better than the other email company's!

    So yes, I may have 3 email accounts to check everyday, but it is SO SO SO worth it and I've recommended it to everyone I know!
  • Never leave your email out on a webpage; automated programs will eventually find it, and add it to company mailing lists (spam lists). If you have your own website and you need to allow a form of contact, use an html form, and protect it with a capcha. Using the mailto:something@something.com is a certain way to get spammed

    If you're already inundated with spam, then it's probably time to start carrying out the steps in the article above

    Jason
    http://twitter.com/StartupSidekick
  • I might or might not have over 100,000 unread emails in my gmail account because of signing up for a bazillion ezines and have 4-5 other email accounts, plus facebook & twitter updates that flow in. Maybe it's time to consider this! :)
  • if i may suggest
    how about asking for CAPTCHA for every email after the delivery before the it shows on the recipients?

    I think that's somehow could work :)
  • Only works for form-based email. Plus, its annoying and does nothing to fix the last 10 years of crappy email management on my part. :)
  • joshuanoerr
    Spam is funny to me. Does this stuff actually work? I mean, are people actually making money off of that crap or do they just do it because they have nothing better to do?
  • It makes money, but in low conversion. They send out millions of emails cheaply, and even if only a few respond, it keeps them in business. Unfortunately.
  • I have been using 2 email accounts for the past 5 years one for personal one for business, I say I have to have both other wise yes I know what you mean you get a lot of weird people sending you stuff you never asked for.....
  • Yeah, I am going to be using a second Gmail account for my "junk" account. Just a huge collect-all I can give to people who ask for my email yet I don't want it in my face.
  • Hey #2 Use sub-email addresses for better organization sounds interesting I don't quite understand what you mean. I would like to learn more about it if you don't mind.
  • Did you have to create a new Google account to do this? I would hate to re-establish all my other Google things just to change e-mails.
  • No, I kept the same Gmail account. Most people don't email it directly, which makes the external controls easier.
  • I'm either fortunate or no one likes me because I get very few emails at all, and not a lot of spam at all. I've never got on with Gmail, so I use Outlook, and I've got folders and rules set up to organise what mail I do get.
  • I've been facing a very similar dilemma and am missing important emails because of my overflowing inbox. I use filters and labels but not all email can be labeled. I really should filter newsletters, but it's less intimidating to read them selectively and delete the rest than wade into a folder full of unread email.
  • I had a similar problem, so I decided to set up email filters that would send out things to different folders. Since I do a lot of blog commenting, I have a folder for that, as well as a folder for comments on my blogs, emails from my family/friends, and some other fields. This way, I only have to deal with important things directly. My spam filter burns all spam to a crisp, otherwise.

    Great post, David!
  • I have erica.biz set up via Google Apps.

    erica@ is my main account, but I aggressively sort things that go to that account. If you add that account to a list, instant unsubscribe (and sometimes spam complaints to Google about it if it's egregious.)

    lists@ is my account where all email lists go. I don't bother to read everything that comes in here; I just skim it sometimes. lists@ goes to a label in my erica@ account, instead of being a separate account...it's easier for me that way.

    Then I have a bajillion filters that send things to various labels, auto-archive, etc.

    I clear out my inbox every night and filter into some TODO etc. labels.

    -Erica
  • Just curious why you went with Apps rather than regular. Doesn't seem to be much difference at all, except for it being on your domain (which you can do easily using forwarding).
  • I did the same thing as Erica. Setup up my domain on Google Apps. I have a regular Gmail account for my personal email too.

    I tried setting up filters like what you describe, but it works better for me to have personal and business in two different places.
  • Yep, because it's on my own domain and no forwarding required. I'm using the free version of Apps.
  • Congratulations on declaring bankrupt! I feel your pain. Email seems something so trivial but it really requires some thought so it doesn't come and bite you in the ass.
  • Janicem4114
    Hi David,

    I like your thoughts and agree with your suggestion to use Gmail sub-accounts. What frustrates me with Gmail (and other services) is the fact that once I mark an e-mail as junk, or block it, it should not come into my inbox or spam box again. I spent HOURS over several days going through my Gmail and "blocking" so many accounts re: Canadin drugs, viagra, etc. I blocked the subject, the domain, the sender. Still, everyday I have e-mails with those subjects.

    When I set up my RSS feeds, Facebook, Twitter, subscriptions, etc., I had them all sent to one Gmail account. That's all I get at that address, and I never reply to any of them. Now I'm getting the same spam there.

    About four years ago, two friends and I set up Google E-mail addresses for just the three of us to converse each day. We worked together years ago at a law firm and live in different states now. We decided there would be no forwarding - just our own opinions on everything from saving the world to the best cholocate on the planet. We could discuss any subject and anyone without fear of someone else getting the e-mail. However, after a few months, in came the spam -- Canadian drugs, viagra, etc. How could that happen when we checked and verified we had not added anyone to any of our e-mails, nor forwarded to anyone? How did they get our addreses - if not from Google?

    A couple of months ago my AT&T accounts were changed to Yahoo accounts. I had to download new software to get my AT&T e-mails. Now, everyday my spam folder has 10-20 items re Canadian drugs, viagra, etc. I can't believe it. And I have blocked them here, and they still show up in spam, which I have to delete. Can this be considered harrassment?

    Anyway, thanks for listening. Good luck with your new e-mail address and system. It won't take long for your friends to find you. Let's hope it takes a lot longer for the spammers to find you!

    Janice
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