Keeping your email organized is imperative, especially in corporate or small business settings. When you use email for business purposes, you are essentially handling customer files. Because of the importance of this for even the smallest of businesses, those files should stay as organized as possible. You wouldn't just lump all of your paper customer files into a corner would you? Most of us wouldn't, so here are some ways to keep the email files (correspondence) organized as well.

If your business email inbox is currently cluttered with hundreds of old items, set aside some time to clear it out. This first clearance may take several hours, so you may want to delegate some weekend or evening time to tackle it.

Filing Methods

Before starting the actual filing of the items, you'll need to brainstorm your organizational structure. If you do not have a solid contact management software program, I strongly suggest investing in one. My preference is GoldMine, and I'll explain why further on in this section. For now, you simply need to decide how you work, and what filing system will work best for you personally. If you need help coming up with filing and organizational ideas, here are a few popular ones:


1. Customer Name Folders – Create email folders that are named the same as your customers. All email to or from a particular customer will be filed to that customer's individual email folder.
2. Project Name Folders – If you work primarily with projects, you can create email folders that match past, existing or future project names. From there, you can file all email related to the project, regardless of who it is to or from, into the corresponding project folder.
3. Month and Year Folders – Create email folders that are named for each month and year. Then file all email sent or received in that month/year into the matching folder.
4. Print File Cabinet Mirror – Create email folders named to match your Print File Cabinet system. Then file email into the email folders in the same way that you file print papers into your hard copy system.

Once you have decided how you want to organize your email, set up the folders and then go through each and every item in your inbox. This is the part that may take hours so make sure you have set aside enough time to fully complete the job.

While you're sorting your messages, you may find several items that have not yet been addressed but need to be. Try to address these before filing them, or make a note on your calendar or to-do list. Alternatively, if your email system has the capability, you can mark them for completion later. Be aware however: If you file the messages away you are not likely to address them later unless you have something scheduled that reminds you to. So, if you can, it is better to address them now and get them out of the way.

If your email program has the ability to link messages to contacts, I strongly suggest using this feature. This is the primary reason I use the GoldMine software. With GoldMine, I can keep a running history for each and every person I come into contact with. All email messages sent or received can be filed into the history right along with the appointments, phone calls, faxes, project notes and any other correspondence I have accumulated.

By utilizing contact management software that files email according to the person whom the email is from or to, you do not have to continuously search through various email folders when trying to find a specific item.

Ongoing Habits

Now, once you have spent the initial time needed to organize your inbox, it is fairly easy to keep it organized from that point forward. It may take a bit of effort to get into the habit in the first week or two, but usually the joy of having it all cleaned out helps to motivate you into keeping it cleaned.

With the number of spam filtering solutions increasing each week it's getting tougher for consumers to make informed choices in their purchases.


There are 3 basic types of spam blocker:

1. Integrated
2. Standalone
3. Online


We'll look at each type of spam filter and at the end you should be able to decide what spam filter is right for you.


Integrated spam filters
This type of spam filtering software is the most common. Once installed it sits "on top" of your existing email software and installs a new set of buttons into your email software. In future when you collect
email you'll see options for marking email as Spam, marking the email as Not Spam, Bounce the email back to sender, etc. The description and position of these buttons varies from one product to the next but their purpose remains the same.


Most integrated spam filters automatically place suspected junk email into a separate folder on your PC for you to review or
delete later on.


The newer integrated spam filters are also "intelligent". They can basically learn the difference between what is
spam and what is not and delete the junk email you don't want.


The most popular integrated spam filters are:

iHate Spam
Spambully
Spam Inspector


Integrated spam filters are most popular amongst people who want a one click solution to collecting their personal email and filtering junk email at the same
time.


Advantages:
One click solution.


Disadvantages:
Software specific. Some work with Outlook and Outlook Express only.



Standalone spam filters
These are less common than their integarted counterparts but that doesn't make them any less useful. A standalone spam filter is basically a separate piece of software installed on your PC that you use to check your email for spam.


Standalone filters have the big advantage of being able to preview your email on the mail server before it's downloaded to your PC. This one single feature has the
huge benefit of allowing you to just download the email that you want as opposed to downloading all of your email, including the spam, and then sorting through it.


Using a standalone spam filter is a little more work simply because it's a separate piece of software that you have to run
before you open up your email software. Most standalone filters do allow you to configure them so that your standard email
application is opened once you've chosen what spam to filter. This suits some people and not others.


The most popular standalone spam filter is:

Mailwasher Pro


Advantages:
Doesn't rely on specific email applications to work properly.


Disadvantages:
Two step process. Load standalone filter and then your email application.



Online spam filters
There are really two types of online spam filters. One is for business use and one is for home use. A typical example of
a business type product is iHate Spam server edition where the software deletes junk email directly from the mail server before the end user even sees it. Large companies employ this type of technology.


Home users will be using Spam Arrest or similar. Spam Arrest offers an inventive solution to spam whereby any email sent to
the users account has a challenge request sent back to it which the sender must authenticate. The automatic junk email software used by spammers can't currently deal with this type of response.
Any failure to authenticate the challenge email results in the junk email being left to die in cyberspace. A user is authenticated with Spam Arrest only once for security just to make sure the software
doesn't become a nuisance.

The most popular online spam filter is:

Spam Arrest


Advantages:
Users are guaranteed to only receive the email that they want or requested.

Disadvantages:
Any techncial problems with the Spam Arrest server and you have no defense against spam.


Now you've seen what spam filtering options are available to you just ask yourself which one suits you most. If you're still not sure drop by www.spam-site.com and check out our product reviews - we have something for everyone.