Spam sucks! It clogs up your inbox and reduces your amount of productive time everyday. It can also be really difficult to get rid of. That’s why it’s better to avoid it in the first place. Use these simple ideas to get rid of spam in your life.
Create Two Separate Email Addresses
If you use the Internet a lot, it’s a really good idea to create two different email addresses. You can use your primary address to communicate with friends, family and business associates who you know personally. Be selective with this email address, don’t just give it out to anyone.
Think of your second email address as expendable. Create this email address to sign up for new services, buy products online and send emails to people who you don’t know. A word of warning though, don’t forget to check this email! Remember, while you’ll receive more spam at this address, there are still going to be important emails mixed in with the muck.
Get an Email Provider With Good Spam Control
No matter how careful you are with your email, you’re bound to get some spam. If you’re careful, you might only get a few spam emails a month. To ensure that all of those get filtered out, get an email provider with good spam control. Gmail is generally very efficient at filtering out unwanted emails. They even have a feature that allows you to send spam directly to the garbage can, so you don’t even need to manually delete it.
Be Careful With Your Business Cards
Have you ever been at a restaurant and seen one of those fishbowls that offers you a chance to win a free lunch if you drop your business card in? Don’t be fooled by that. Those business cards are collected and the addresses (physical and email) are harvested and sold.
In general, you should be careful with your business cards. Don’t leave them in fishbowls and don’t give them to people you don’t know. Treat your business cards like personal property and protect them.
Don’t Put Your Email Address on Your Website
Putting your email address on your website may add a personal touch, but it also makes you a target for lots of unnecessary spam. Instead, you can create a contact form that a person fills out. These look very professional, they keep your email safe, and they send a message directly to your inbox.
In some corporate environments, your email address may have been put online without your knowledge. It may be buried in a large list where a person is unlikely to find it. However, it’s still potential bait for a spambot. Talk to your web designer to make sure no company email addresses have been inadvertently published on your company’s website.
The Exception to the Rule
If you’re not worried about prying eyes harvesting your email address, it is possible to place the email address on your website in such a way that it’s highly unlikely a spambot can grab it. It’s an advanced method. Not every web developer knows about this but Superiocity knows!
Use Common Sense
The best way to reduce spam is to use common sense. Don’t give out your email to all sorts of different sites. Everyone wants your email because they know that it’s a very direct way to market to you. The problem is that you don’t want to be marketed to! So be careful, always think before giving out your email. It pays to be smart, don’t lose productive time dealing with spam.