Sometimes you need to get a new email address since one is full of spam, but don’t destroy it — use it for sites that aren’t important. I personally have three emails; one that I give out to forums, and sites like that, another for business, and a third for family.
This way I know that the forum email can get clogged with spam and I won’t care since I never really use it. I even have set up a false name and address for that email and use a dead cell phone number on it too, this way I don’t have to worry about people stealing my identity.
If I need to make transactions I use my business email for that, this one is my most active one, and because of that I constantly clean it out and keep it clutter free. I also use this for work.
One tip is if you use your “business” email to also look for work– don’t use a cute name, stick with your actual name and follow it by numbers. It looks more professional, if you use a ‘cute’ name they might not even look at your resume.
The family/friend one can have a cute name since only family/friends have access to it. This one is the second least checked account, since everyone has a social network page. This way you can keep all three lives separate your “Business”, “social/family”, and “Internet personality”.
About the Author:
Heather Green is a freelance writer for several regional magazines in North Carolina as well as a resident blogger for onlinenursingdegrees.org. Her writing experience includes fashion, business, health, agriculture and a wide range of other topics. Heather has just completed research onnurse types and clinical nurse specialist programs online.
Maybe you’ve become aware of the fact that you can’t seem to stop yourself from refreshing your Gmail inbox, your Facebook homepage, or your endless Twitter feed. Maybe you’re a student working toward your master’s degree, and you’re working full-time, too, to pay your way through school and you’ve come to realize your dependency on (or perhaps obsession with) the Internet. If you’re starting to think this sounds a lot like you, then maybe it’s time for an Internet detox.
At first it sounds scary. Even impossible. Maybe you’re genuinely perplexed when you begin to wonder how you ever survived before the Internet came along. Maybe you’ve taken after the “digital natives” and have forgotten what answering machines were for.
But we survived. Before the iPhone, we really did survive. And our minds were calmer then. The endless chatter of online communication — whether trivial or business-related — has removed many of us from the simpler life and led us to forget how to relax.
It is okay to take a break. You are allowed a break. You are allowed freedom. And it’s healthy to take a vacation from work, school, the “Twitterverse” every once in a while. Tell yourself you deserve it (because you do).
We live in a fast-paced world of technological communication where we are now able and expected to communicate with our coworkers, bosses, friends, family and community anytime, anywhere, 24/7; the Internet has morphed us into, if not workaholics, webaholics. So, as hard as it may be at first, it’s more important than ever to let yourself take a short-but-sweet vacation from your online responsibilities: to close your laptop, turn off your phone, and unplug your commitments for a while, to enjoy what you’ve probably missed out on for far too long: real life.
Emily Matthews is currently applying to master’s degree programs across the U.S., and loves to read about new research into health care, gender issues, and literature. She lives and writes in Seattle, Washington.
Social networking is a popular tool that many Internet users to connect with friends, family members, and peers. An explosion in overall usage in recent years has led many companies to begin marketing their products and services on these networks, in the hopes of reaching a wider audience.
While there is certainly nothing wrong with reaching out to potential buyers and existing customers in this manner, it is important that you learn how to effectively target individuals, without invading their privacy or spamming them with unwanted information. Avoid the following pitfalls when launching your social networking marketing plan, and you’ll be able to establish your company’s web presence ethically.
1. Don’t Use Your Social Networking Profile Solely For Promotions
Picking up new followers on social networks can be a real challenge, but once you’ve managed to amass a substantial group of friends, don’t drive them away by clogging their profiles with promotional content. One of the reasons social networking is such a powerful tool is that it gives your customers an easy way to connect with you on an individual basis. Instead of spamming social network users with advertisements and information about upcoming sales, focus on crafting quality content that your followers will enjoy reading.
In one recent study from the Custom Content Council, 61% of individuals surveyed indicated that they were more likely to purchase goods and services from companies that create their own online content. Your social networking profiles are a great avenue for sharing such content, which you can either create on your own, or contract out to other individuals. Not only could sharing such content help to increase the likelihood that those you’ve connected with will purchase from your company, but it will help you to develop a stronger brand image and reputation.
2. Stay Away from Mudslinging
Some business owners use Facebook and similar networks as a means to demean their competitors. While there is no problem in promoting your company by pointing out things you offer more effectively that competitors, when you turn to belittling and criticizing another business, it reflects poorly on the character of your staff and the company as a whole. You can avoid this by simply refraining from talking about competitors, and working to direct comments from your followers back towards your product, should someone mention something negative about your competitors.
3. Stay Honest
One of the worst mistakes a business owner can make is to use their social network profile to spread lies. Whether those lies are about the products and serviced offered, other companies, or customers themselves, sharing information that is untruthful is a major ethics breach. Keep testimonials truthful, don’t puff up your company’s image with false statements, and refrain from making broad, sweeping comments on the products you have to offer. Not only could this prove to be damaging to your company in the long run, but it also wreaks of unprofessionalism, which could potentially drive customers away.
This article is written by Richard K. Decosta who likes business ethics discipline, antivirus software, French movies, pc antivirus, networking and sightseeing.
Let’s remember the two minute rule. Take the number of items you have in your inbox and multiply that number by 2. That’s the maximum number of minutes this project should take you. Then, set aside uninterrupted time to start working on your inbox.
This practice is actually a great way to help you get acclimated to the new way you will handle your inbox. If you have a very large amount of items, it may be useful to break this project into a few different time slots. BUT… Don’t stop the project until your inbox is totally clear!
NO. NO. NO. That’s extra work. That will create another email to handle. If you want or need to save an item that you sent, go into your sent mail, as soon as it is sent, and do whatever you were going to do with that blind copied email.
Hello!!! Just thought I’d share a great New York Times article on the use of exclamation points in email. Definitely overused, yet too many people still overuse them. I love the comment about choosing to use only one exclamation point in an email message – kind of a “Sophie’s Choice” mentality.
Here’s the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/fashion/exclamation-points-and-e-mails-cultural-studies.html?ref=fashion
What about you? Are you a user or an abuser?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is another one that could be tough to give you rules to follow. Sometimes the received email is enough for you to save. Sometimes you may need to keep your response. Whatever you do, try not to keep both.
Did you know that the second week of June is National Email Week?
Well, since it is, we are going to take the opportunity to go over some do’s and don’ts of email etiquette and email management. Each day, we’ll give you a new a new tip. So check back with us each day to find out the tip of the day.
Here is today’s tip!
We talk about 4 times faster than we type.
So, Instead of taking a long time to craft a convincing e-mail message, pick up the phone, talk through the proposal or the idea, then confirm the results of that discussion. Guaranteed — you will spend less all time , and get greater results !
What tips do you have to share during National E-mail Week? Post them here!
Facing your inbox on Monday morning can be like opening Pandora’s Box. Even after clearing out the ones that don’t need a reply, many people (and that includes me) find themselves buried under a mountain of emails on Monday morning.
With demands for working coming in from all sides, getting it all done can seem impossible. Not knowing how or even if it can all be dealt with is a major source of stress for any busy contractor.
The Week’s View
Every time I log in on Monday morning and find my inbox overflowing, I turn away from the computer for a moment and borrow a children’s drawing pad, the bigger the better. It’s the work of a moment to sketch out five boxes, one for each of the week’s working days. Down one side I list all the tasks for the week and the name of the email correspondent.
Picking out the most important and urgent tasks from that list, I write them in one of the earlier day boxes. The most immediate and pressing items go into Monday and Tuesday, and then I work my way down the rest of the tasks and accompanying emails, allocating them all a day and crossing them off the list.
Get the heftier pieces of work out of the way and then you can distribute the smaller tasks so that each day has a more or less equal amount of work allocated to it.
Major tasks can be split across several different days. Deciding to spend four hours on a specific item one day and four the next can be a very good way of dealing with something that looks like it’s going to take a whole day out of the working week and turn it into manageable chunks that don’t look so intimidating.
Of course, more emails and more work will pour in over the course of the week, and as they come, each email gets allocated a place on the week planning sketch if it can’t be dealt with straight away. Once a piece of work has been completed it can be ticked off on the pad- a very satisfying activity.
My working week doesn’t always go to plan- nobody’s does- and sometimes I need to allocate tasks to a ‘Next Week’ box as well, but this graphical, week-at-a-glance organisation method lets me track not only what tasks remain this week, but what I’ve already done.
It’s very easy to be overwhelmed by a huge list of tasks ahead, and taking into account the volume of work already completed helps me keep a sense of perspective and see that progress is really being made.
There are plenty of online calendars and time management tools available, but in some ways the simpler an organisation method is, the better. With a paper and pen you run less risk of the organisational process becoming a task in itself.
It only takes a few minutes to sort an overwhelming inbox into daily tasks by hand, and for me, this is still the best way of working out what needs to be done, and when.
Jess Spate is a sustainable business consultant for several clients in the travel and outdoor industry. Timeshare Secrets is a Marriott timeshare points resale resource and Timeshare Partners is essential reading for anyone looking to buy Wyndham timeshare units. She lives and works in Wales, UK.
Editorial note: What system works for YOU?
One of the questions I get ALOT is “How do I know when to use and not use email?”
One of the best ways to answer this question is to suggest two things:
1. Consider the overall time of the transaction
2. Consider the most effective way to make sure your message is completely understood.
The first one, considering the overall time of the transaction, helps us avoid annoying back and forth emails, or the “get it off my desk” syndrome. when you’re trying to decide whether to use email, how to use it, or who to include, think about how many responses or emails will result, how many people will have to read and respond, and how much overall time it will take you. As an example, a quick phone call might take 2 people 3 minutes, but if there are 5 back and forth emails over several days, the phone call is the most efficient.
The second relates to how well people can get your message when it is only words. 93% of communication is voice infelction and body language, leaving only 7% coming from the words themselves. I like to say “if there is a chance that an email message can be misinterpreted, it will be.” Email is not dialogue even though many try to make it so. When dialogue is needed, email is not. Email is best used for not emotional facts, and true information sharing.
We received this question from Chris Breslin. Thanks Chris!
Credit: Free photos from acobox.com
