I find that I am drowning under thousands of emails a week! My emails have multiplied over three years from a manageable hundred to thousands a week in the time I have been involved with social media. I spend so much time doing emails each day that I find there is no time to do what I love to do – write!
What Am I doing about it?
First, I have started by erasing all emails from stores I have shopped where I was asked to give my email and went to their sites and stopped notifications. They always ask for my email. I will no longer share my email. Lol! Just go to unsubscribe at bottom of each store email page and click.
Second, I am going to social media and opting out of as many extra curricular sites on Twitter, FB and other social media. In the beginning I needed to get my name and work out on all kinds of social media possible but now it has become a nuisance to receive such an excessive amount of emails. I doubt I am reaching my target audience on these sites and maybe I am just promoting to fellow authors and friends. I have to draw the line and be more selective.
How many FB pages do you really need? I have three which I use – One for general use and promoting others, another for promoting my children’s books and a third for promoting my novels. I opted out of extra FB sites that I felt I did not need.
Third, I follow nearly 100 blogs and find new ones every day to follow. If someone follows me I do in kind if they are of interest to me and follow back. I apologize if I do not read every blog and every post especially if 100 bloggers I follow blog two or three posts a day. It has become impossible to read and keep up with all of them each day. I hope you will forgive me if I miss some of your posts.
Fourth, I must request if anyone needs to contact me for personal reasons, requests for a book review, copy editing service, requests for author interviews or guest posts on my blog, please put that request in the subject line. I have to do so much deleting I do not want to miss your requests or correspondence. I value your friendship and support. I apologize if I have missed any correspondence from anyone due to this explosion of emails.
The important thing to know is that you must be selective when choosing sites to take part in or follow. Think about what is important to you to accomplish every day. Are your emails, advertisements more important than writing? If your answer is NO, then follow my plan above and ease the burden of deleting excessive unnecessary emails daily and freeing up your precious time to write.
I am still accepting requests for interviews and guest posts on my blog. There is a waiting line though. I will do my best to post a few a week.
Regarding book reviews, I cannot take on any more at this time. My TBR list is growing so large that my Nook and Kindle are bursting their seams! LOL!
Now I must get back to finishing up editing my new novel and beginning Book 3 of Davey & Derek Junior Detectives Series. I may soon be able to breath a little more with my head above all the emails! Whew!
Please stay tuned here for news and updates about new books coming!
All 10 Jemsbooks available at Amazon, Bn.com and Create Space.
Thank you for stopping by and for your support.
REMEMBER: READING GIVES YOU WINGS TO FLY!
Blessings!
-Janice-
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Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
A problem that we are all increasingly faced with.. I no longer have notifications from Twitter or WordPress. I am in there often enough to catch up with everything I need to. I keep one email for work and the other for personal and things have become much tidier. You only have so many hours in the day and as writers you need to ring fence that time. Have a read of Janice’s post and if you are overwhelmed do as she suggests and have a declutter.
Thank you, Sally, for the reblog. I hope it helps others. I still have more to get rid of to keep ahead. xo
Absolutely Janice and it is key.. XXS
Am going through something similar myself lately, and am even taking a “vacation” from Facebook and Twitter so I can catch up on more important emails and business – as well as my own writing! We just can’t do it all, but we can do what we choose to concentrate on very well, if we’re focused. Great post, Janice! Much-needed advice for many of us.
Thanks, Susan, for stopping by. It has been difficult for me at times to keep up with them all. But, like, you I am getting out of many sites that I don’t need right now. I also check into Twitter and FB enough to keep up with things there too. Blessings to you! xo
I am nervous about turning off Twitter notifications, but I will consider your ideas. My emails are out of control.
Janice
It certainly should not be a problem. Just check into Twitter and FB from time to time to keep up to date. Don’t feel anxious about it – just relax and click off. LOL! Blessings!
I have the same problem, Janice. What I’ve decided to do is respond to each person at least once a week. That way I stay in contact. I would love to read every post, but I would be online from morning to night, and as you said, no time for writing!
That is a good way to handle it, Noelle. I know we don’t want anyone to feel left out. I am happy that you could stop by. xo
*sigh* Yes. Yes, and yes. It’s impossible to read everything no matter how much I’d like to. Hate to disappoint long-time followers and have done some trimming, but still don’t have enough time for writing. Back to the drawing board.
It’s comforting to know one is not alone. Thanks for this post, Janice. ❤
Thanks for stopping by, Tess. Sometimes we all feel alone but we are not. I guess we just need to reach out. We do what we can and read as much as we can. Never feel guilty. xo
I am still building my blog list to promote my books, but one thing I have learned to do is use my iPad for mail which has a quick email browser with it’s edit button. I can just check the emails I want to delete and get rid of ninety percent of them in one click, allowing me to focus on the handul I do want to see. Since a good many are reblogs of the same post and retweets of the same tweet, it sames a lot of time.
Thanks for stopping by and the tip, Phillip. I do use my iPad too. Many reblogs of the same post are the ones I eliminate by turning off the sites that send them to me. That way I don’t receive them at all. Take care.
Pingback: Emails Getting Out of Control! | Wind Eggs
Reblogged this on Barrow Blogs: and commented:
So useful. Thank you, Janice
Thank you so much, Judith, for sharing!
Reblogged this on Anita Dawes & Jaye Marie.
Thank you for the reblog!
This is such a sensitive subject, Janice, but do consider unfollowing some of those blogs. Once a month I have a clear out of the blogs I’ve made the mistake of following (like one that only posts reblogs of make-up reviews), those that do not respond to comments, and those that have sadly become dormant. There’s others as well, but it does mean less emails in the inbox..
Yes, you are correct about that one. I have started doing that. Thanks, Hugh!
I can sympathise with you, Janice, and everyone who has commented on this post. The tsunami of emails I get every day is stopping me writing, and something has to change! Thank you for these useful tips.
You are welcome, Annabelle. Thanks for stopping by. Hope these tips work for you too. 😄
Reading email, blogs, and social media can be a major time trap. Thanks for sharing this. I will be implementing your suggestions. I do hate to miss a good post, but it is getting out of hand, especially since many of the blogs I follow post several times a day.
I know what you mean, Michelle, about missing great posts. It does get out of hand trying to read dozens or more a day. Not enough hours in the day to do that. Thank you for stopping by! Xo
One thing that helps with blogs is to go to wordpress and change the frequency of notifications by email of those who post more than once a day. You won’t get the notice until the next day, but they are all lumped into one email for you to pick and choose. You can also choose weekly.
Thank you, Michelle. I will try that too. 😘
Reblogged this on BOOK CHAT and commented:
Janice Spina has some tips for solving the issue of too much email.
Thank you, Michelle, for reblogging! Xo
Like so many I have more email than I can handle and my blog is a small one. I do reviews and have more than I can handle. Thank you for tips.
Thank you, Betty Louise, for stopping by. It is a pleasure to meet you. Best wishes!
Best wishes for completing your new novel.
Thank you, Cynthia! 😀
Janice, I quit with the WordPress emails. I follow my favs through the reader or just google their blog. I could not cope with the emails either. It blew up my phone one day! LOL! Best of luck to you. I will see you when I can. I am in the same boat writing and blogging! ❤
Thank you Colleen, for stopping by. I enjoy your blog and love the idea of Silver being your wisdom and your liberation of sorts! LOL! I still color my hair but I have been thinking about what you said and may do the same thing one day way down the road! Ha ha! Yes, I know what you mean about blowing up your phone. Mine has done that on a few occasions! Blessings and much love going your way! Would you like to be on my blog to do a guest post or an interview? Let me know by emailing me at jjspina@myfairpoint.net.
Janice, thanks so much for the invitation. I would love to be on your blog sometime. Currently, I am writing away at my first book that I would like to publish by April. May I contact you later about an interview? I try to keep up with you on Facebook as much as I can. That has really helped my crazy mail situation too! Take care and much joy to you! Hugs! ❤
That would work better for me too. I am in the middle of finishing up my second novel.
Blessings & hugs to you, Colleen!
All the same to you, also Janice! ❤ ❤ ❤
Wow, do I hear you Janice. I think we all do. It’s certainly overwhelming, and a topic of much discussion around the blogosphere. Good plan. I’ve unsubscribed to those store emails as well. It’s the blog reading that seems to be the eternal struggle to keep up with. I follow just as many blogs as you and try to get to most of them each night. Some people post many posts each day and I’ve had to choose one or two and move on, there just aren’t enough hours. 🙂
I just went to WP here and unsubscribe days Sally suggested to a bunch that do not comment on my blog or visit. That will relieve some more of the burden of reading and deleting. 😘
Good for you. It’s hard to do isn’t it? I love Sal’s idea of reading only off the reader, but I can’t trust wordpress 😦 For example last night I could click on reader from my page and today I can’t. I’m afraid if I turn off email notifications I’ll be lost if I can’t pull up the reader. That’s the trouble with wonky wordpress, and especially that I’m self hosted. 🙂
Reblogged this on Kim's Author Support Blog.
Very good advice. I’ve also signed off most of the things that sent me notifications and get rid of many as soon as I can. And I agree about blog posts. There’s only so much time in the day. 🙂
Ok blogging friend: You NEED to check out this link. There is a better answer than sitting there deleting emails constantly. I have the same problem ,and was becoming overwhelmed. Check out this article it will help you immensely. http://www.howtogeek.com/171628/forget-the-gimmicks-heres-the-best-way-to-organize-your-gmail-inbox/ You can create filters to automatically archive or delete certain emails. Good luck.
Thank you. I will check it out. I have gotten rid of a lot by unsubscribing so far. They have become more manageable now.
Great! Filters take a bit to learn how to use effectively. I’m still figuring it out 🙂
Hi, Janice. My name is Heena and I’m a crime and thriller author. I came across your blog through a reblog on Michelle’s blog. Beautiful article. I can completely relate to it. I have tons and tons of e-mails that really clutter my inbox. Thanks for the amazing tips.
Have a great day!
Hi Heena, so nice to meet you. Thank you for your kind words and for stopping by. Hope to see you again. My pleasure to share tips. We are all in this journey together. 😊
If you can’t figure out the filters. Have you thought about having a separate e-mail to give out to stores Janice, so they go straight into there and don’t clog up your main e-mail box?
I have two emails but don’t use one much except for business. I have cleaned out tons of stuff and only receive dozens a days instead of hundreds. Whew!