Junk Email or Is It?
We all have that Folder in our Emails, Junk Email. It is likely the most dreaded part of email. Who is contacting me, why, and do I really need to look at those emails marked as Junk?
There is a real chance you may miss an important piece of correspondence that is marked as Junk. It has happened over and over to me. There seems to be no rhyme nor reason as to why certain emails, particularly those from known contacts, become lost in the Junk space. And, yet, several which should be junk come through asking if I want to invest, change my website, or apply for a loan!
I am particularly incensed by those true junk emails telling me my website could be better. If they believe that is a way into my office, they are sadly mistaken. I love my website, it is an extension of me and my brand and it was created by another Women Business Enterprise who is creative, responsive and making it on her own. To insult my website, insults me. So, those are true junk emails in my mind yet it seems too many come through directly to my Inbox.
After missing a few critical emails that somehow found placement directly in my Junk folder, I adopted a policy to check my Junk Folder daily. Now, that could be a bit too frequently, but one (1) missed important email is one (1) too many, in my professional opinion.
If you would like to look at the Junk folder less frequently, I would suggest weekly and input an appointment in your calendar. Mark it as recurring and you will be set for the rest of the year. And make sure you look not only at the subject of the emails in your Junk folder, but the senders as well. If there is a sender that appears to be from a cell phone number, be sure to look at that email. It may be from a colleague who has inadvertently used their cell phone number email. This happened to me.
Reviewing Junk folders in your email is a critical element of your company’s communication plan. Often, if an email is not responded to, the sender may choose to call as a follow-up to ensure receipt. But, in this digital age, some senders may just assume you chose NOT to respond. And that assumption on their part could hurt your image. So, be proactive, set up a schedule to routinely review the emails in your Junk folder. It could be the difference between Deal or No Deal!
Be inquisitive yet weary of Junk emails. Never open one that looks suspicious but also know that legitimate emails may have been drowned in the sea of junk. Tread cautiously like our dogs in the Blog Photo today.
Be well.
