Have you ever stopped to wonder why your email is always filled with offers, promotions, and other junk? Is it normal, or has something happened to your personal account?
Is It Spam Or Not?
Are all of those promotions and ads hitting your email spam? That depends a little on how you define spam and what you are finding in your box.
Most people consider in any email they don’t want as spam, but technically that is not correct. It is any emails you have not agreed to receive that are of a marketing nature. You are probably thinking you didn’t request any of those emails, but you need to dig a little deeper.
Is your email packed with promotional messages from companies like WalMart, Amazon, eBay, Zenhaven and other companies you have bought from in the past? There is a good chance that you agreed to receive marketing messages when you made your purchase and did not realize it. It could have been as simple as a small checkbox. Since you are an active customer of the company and agreed to receive the message, those emails are not spam. You may receive a few Zenhaven Coupon codes with updated mattress discounts from the Zenhaven company. Sometimes it may be annoying to receive these but big brands don’t really care.
If you look closely, you will probably discover at least half of your promotional email fall into that category. Does that make the rest of the messages spam? Probably not.
Think about all the cards you filled out at trade shows. How many forms have you filled out while making purchases in stores? Are you on any “preferred shopper” programs with your grocery store or another retailer?
Most businesses request permission to contact you via email when you fill out those forms. Their request may not be clear, but it was there. Since you gave permission, even if you weren’t 100% aware, it is not spam.
Since It’s Not Spam, How Do I Stop It?
I’m guessing you want to slow down the flow of promotional emails. The easiest way to take care of the problem is to read a few of the emails. Near the bottom of every marketing message should be a link to unsubscribe from their list. It could be worded differently, but it will make it clear you will stop getting the messages. Follow the link and request to be removed.
It does take a little time to wade through your emails and unsubscribe, but it is the best way to stop the clutter.
But Wait…
Before you start unsubscribing from everything, take a moment to pay attention to a few of the promotional messages. Are they offering things you regularly buy? Are they from companies you do business with consistently? Those messages may be offering you ways to save $100s per month will little effort. Pay attention before you unsubscribe.
What About The Real Spam?
Yes, you do have promotional messages you never requested. You have a couple of options in this situation. Check the bottom of the message and see if you can unsubscribe first.
Your second choice is to start marking the messages as spam. That teaches your email program that you don’t want to receive the messages. This works best in Google’s Gmail, but is available in other programs, too.
Remember, a promotional email is not a bad thing if it is something you want. Those messages are often packed with good information on new products and savings. Get rid of the ones you don’t want, but make sure you keep getting the ones which can help you and your family.
