Today, I’m cleaning out my inbox.
It’s scary. Because yesterday, I had over 70k messages before I deleted all of 2010. Now, I’m ONLY left with 35k.
I think I’m afraid to de-clutter because I’ll delete a fantastic email for my swipe-file, or an important piece of client material. I use Basecamp to manage all of my projects, so all the files and collateral are stored there… so what’s holding me back? Nothing really.
Like most people, my inbox is sorted by the “Sent” or received date, newest item first. The best way I’ve found to do the big dump is to view my inbox by who the message is “From” and delete down the list.
But I noticed one thing that really annoys me.
When people put characters or symbols before their “from” name in their email client. Example: – Ari Galper – Unlock The Game, or **Adam Ubanski**, and yes, even one of my favorite gals *Ali Brown. Click pic to view a larger image.
Obviously, I’ve subscribed to these people because I respect and value them and want to hear their message… but when I need to search for that sender specifically I can’t always find them in my inbox. And THAT is a problem.
So when I filter my inbox alphabetically, in collapsed view, and scroll to the “A’s”, I don’t see Ari Galper. In other words, I can’t find his message because he put a silly character before his name. NOT GOOD!
For life of me, I don’t know why anyone would NOT want to be found in an inbox.
So, I consulted my colleagues.
“Other than to be seen as different or to attract the eye to an email as it sits in your inbox, why would anyone want to add characters or symbols to their email “from” address?”
Is it to throw off spam filters?
Or simply draw attention?
Something else?
One friend said, “It very well could be that these names have been black-listed somehow and by putting in the extra symbol they can bypass it.”
Oh dear. I see. A tad bit deceptive, perhaps?
When I tried to find “Ari Galper” in my inbox, he wasn’t listed with everyone else in the “A’s” because of the extra character… or, in other words, I thought I may have deleted him. See 2nd screen pic. Extra characters can bite you in the buttocks if you’re not careful!
She continued, “They may also add the extra characters if you unsubscribed from them under the regular name without the extra character. This way they keep emailing you since they hooked you the first time and you are on their list.”
Argh! No – say it isn’t so! Sneaky suckers.
Another said, “I read once that adding extra characters gets you listed at the beginning of email if someone has it set up alphabetically & as a way to stand out.”
Well, there you have it. I’ve Googled, search all avenues I could think of and there’s no logic or measured way of knowing WHY marketers do this. Must have been a guru who said so a thousand internet years ago.
So do yourself a favor, and DON’T add extra characters to your email address… you never know who or when someone is looking for your expert opinion in their inbox.
Let me ask you this…
Would you like to see someone who is creative with their “from” address, but also being SMART? Yes? Good!
I invite you to take a look at Jeff Herring’s messages in my inbox. See how EVERY from addy is categorized? THAT is super smart email marketing. Want to see Jeff’s last couple Sunday Inspiration messages? Just look for Jeff and his categorized from address. He’s such a sharp fellow. He’s made himself easy to find even in my ultra-cluttered inbox.
You can read more about Jeff Herring at his website, JeffHerring.com
Now It’s YOUR Turn! What are your thoughts? Post below, I’d love to know what you think!