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EMAILS - Need Idea's For Handling Domain & Personal Email?

by magentawave
20 replies
Warriors, I lost all my emails last week when my computer died and now I want to simplify the email thing. So I am really looking for GREAT idea's on how you handle both personal and domain email.

1) ONE 'CONTACT ME' PAGE: What do you think about having the 'Contact Me' link for ALL my sites go to ONE CENTRAL contact page instead of the usual one contact page/form PER SITE? I could have a pull-down menu on that ONE contact form where they can choose which domain they are inquiring about.

2) GMAIL: Is going with Gmail a good option and how do you deal with the fact that they don't allow folders and only forward up to 5 email addresses per account?

3) DOMAIN EMAIL ADDRESSES: If you use Gmail, do you still bother creating domain email addresses? If not, how do you get past the fact that it looks unprofessional to NOT use a domain email address when contacting affiliates, etc.?

Please feel free to add any other idea's outside of these questions too.

Thank you.
Steve
#domain #email #emails #handling #idea #personal
  • Profile picture of the author TheVCF
    Again, Steve and Fellow Warriors,

    IMHO, using an email address with your business domain name is much more legitimate and professional than using any kind of "freemail" email address, e.g. gmail, yahoo, hotmail, etc. and also less likely to get automatically "trapped", deleted or blacklisted by the various spam blockers, you know?

    and you can always forward all of your real business email addresses to a gmail, etc. account so you can view / read them all on the web, e.g. while traveling, which is what we do, you know?

    I hope this all helps and Have a Great Day!

    - Michael
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    • Profile picture of the author magentawave
      Originally Posted by TheVCF View Post

      Again, Steve and Fellow Warriors,

      IMHO, using an email address with your business domain name is much more legitimate and professional than using any kind of "freemail" email address, e.g. gmail, yahoo, hotmail, etc. and also less likely to get automatically "trapped", deleted or blacklisted by the various spam blockers, you know?

      and you can always forward all of your real business email addresses to a gmail, etc. account so you can view / read them all on the web, e.g. while traveling, which is what we do, you know?

      I hope this all helps and Have a Great Day!

      - Michael
      Yes I always figured that sending an email to a merchant on Commission Junction (for example) was kind of like sending a letter to a business on business letterhead.

      Does anyone have any thoughts on my idea of using ONE central 'Contact Me' page for ALL of my sites?

      Thanks.
      Steve
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      • Profile picture of the author magentawave
        Does anyone know the difference between these two features with Gmail?

        Log in > Settings > Accounts > Send Mail As

        OR...go down farther on the same "Accounts" page to...

        "Get mail from other accounts"

        I set up all my domain email accounts to forward to this gmail account by adding them to the first feature I described above ("Send Mail As") and that seems to be working perfectly, but what is the "Get mail from other accounts" feature supposed to do?

        Thank you.
        Steve
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        • Profile picture of the author magentawave
          So I set myself up with web based gmail now and have ALL my domain emails being forwarded to it. Its amazing what you can do with gmail and now I don't need to worry about losing everything on my computer like what happened to me before when I had everything on Outlook and my computer died.

          Steve
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          • Profile picture of the author dreamtab
            Originally Posted by magentawave View Post

            So I set myself up with web based gmail now and have ALL my domain emails being forwarded to it. Its amazing what you can do with gmail and now I don't need to worry about losing everything on my computer like what happened to me before when I had everything on Outlook and my computer died.

            Steve
            Yes, Gmail is great.
            You can use your domain with Gmail.

            i.e. You@yourdomain.com and check your email at mail.yourdomain.com
            just change the A record and MX for your mail. subdomain.

            I am using it since almost a year and I love it.

            Its professional + Easy to use.

            Any one else using google Apps?
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            • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
              Banned
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              • Profile picture of the author magentawave
                Originally Posted by alexa_s View Post

                Gmail don't allow folders?! This changes my email plans - I wasn;t aware of this at all, thanks.
                Hey Alexa,

                I resisted using gmail for awhile (at least accessing via the web only) because of the no folder issue, but now I don't care because I like the freedom that I can check my email from anywhere in the world without having to lug around my own computer...and again, I don't have to worry about losing anything like I did when my NEW computer went belly up. Instead of folders though, you just use what they call "Labels." When you label an email "Sales" or whatever, you can at a moments notice click on the "Sales" label and up will come ALL your "Sales" emails. So its kind of like having folders.

                Steve
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        • Profile picture of the author Sami
          Originally Posted by magentawave View Post

          Does anyone know the difference between these two features with Gmail?

          Log in > Settings > Accounts > Send Mail As

          OR...go down farther on the same "Accounts" page to...

          "Get mail from other accounts"

          I set up all my domain email accounts to forward to this gmail account by adding them to the first feature I described above ("Send Mail As") and that seems to be working perfectly, but what is the "Get mail from other accounts" feature supposed to do?

          Thank you.
          Steve
          "Send Mail As" is a feature in may systems (with different names) that allows you to send mail from your current account (eg you@gmail.com) but to the resipient it wil look like it is coming from somone else or some other domain (eg "support@yourwebaddress.com").

          It is very useful so you can use your gmail account and still reply to all your different domain enquiries, looking like your responding from each domian individually. But spammers & scammers use this too to look like someone else has sent you the mail.

          "Get mail from other accounts" makes your current email account eg Gmail, act like Outlook, etc. So it can collect mail form multiple other email accounts. This is the reverse of you forwarding from those other accounts.

          I hope this helps.
          Sami
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  • Profile picture of the author Jesus Perez
    Folder don't matter. Gmail's search and labels are all you need. It's like putting emails in multiple folder if it's both "funny" and from "family".

    On a different note, I'm moving away from Gmail. I'm currently using Thunderbird with IMAP. With IMAP, everything stays on my VPS server that is backed up daily. So no worries, no limits and it's still accessible from webmail when necessary.

    So far I'm enjoying this option a lot more than Gmail.

    As for your computer crashing, invest in Mozy or Carbonite or an external hard drive. There's no reason NOT to have backups in this day and age. I've used Mozy for the past 2 years. I can't express the relief it brings.
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  • Profile picture of the author kevinw1
    And when considering gmail (or any otehr webmail) vs a local mail reader, consider the thread from someone who had their gmail account hacked and from there, their paypal account and domain ownership...

    I way prefer using a local mail reader to read EVERYTHING and backing it up every night while I'm asleep. Even if someone did hack my webmail accounts, they'd only get <1 days worth of email. And no passwords for anything else.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Carl Kelly
    I have a different "contact me" form for each domain. I have a different contact e-mail address for each domain, but all forward to my primary e-mail address. In the backend process for my contact forms, I rewrite the subject line and prefix the subject with a code which indicates which domain the inquiry is coming from. For example:

    If someone hits my Web contact form for YouAreGoingToBeSoDamnRich.com and enters a subject line of "Your site stinks," then I'll get an e-mail in my box with a subject line of:

    [SODAMNRICH] Your site stinks

    and my e-mail setup then puts that in its own folder.
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    • Profile picture of the author magentawave
      Originally Posted by faxinator View Post

      I have a different "contact me" form for each domain. I have a different contact e-mail address for each domain, but all forward to my primary e-mail address. In the backend process for my contact forms, I rewrite the subject line and prefix the subject with a code which indicates which domain the inquiry is coming from. For example:

      If someone hits my Web contact form for YouAreGoingToBeSoDamnRich.com and enters a subject line of "Your site stinks," then I'll get an e-mail in my box with a subject line of:

      [SODAMNRICH] Your site stinks

      and my e-mail setup then puts that in its own folder.
      Where do you get that code you mentioned here?

      Thanks.
      STeve
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      • Profile picture of the author Steven Carl Kelly
        Originally Posted by magentawave View Post

        Where do you get that code you mentioned here?
        Oh, sorry. I neglected to mention that I wrote it myself. I very rarely, if ever, use pre-written scripts or code, I do it all from scratch.
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      • Profile picture of the author Sami
        Originally Posted by magentawave View Post

        Where do you get that code you mentioned here?

        Thanks.
        STeve
        Many systems allow you to set up forwarding and at the same time you can set up a custom subject line like:

        [ <your domain markere here> ] [[subject-line]]

        the forwarding system will automatically replace the code [[subject-line]] with the original subject line of the incoming email.

        This allows you to achieve the same effect as the custom script you're looking for. Just do a detailed check of the 'forwarding' options ... hopefully you'll find this facility.

        Sami
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  • Profile picture of the author pjs
    Originally Posted by magentawave View Post

    Warriors, I lost all my emails last week when my computer died and now I want to simplify the email thing. So I am really looking for GREAT idea's on how you handle both personal and domain email.

    1) ONE 'CONTACT ME' PAGE: What do you think about having the 'Contact Me' link for ALL my sites go to ONE CENTRAL contact page instead of the usual one contact page/form PER SITE? I could have a pull-down menu on that ONE contact form where they can choose which domain they are inquiring about.

    2) GMAIL: Is going with Gmail a good option and how do you deal with the fact that they don't allow folders and only forward up to 5 email addresses per account?

    3) DOMAIN EMAIL ADDRESSES: If you use Gmail, do you still bother creating domain email addresses? If not, how do you get past the fact that it looks unprofessional to NOT use a domain email address when contacting affiliates, etc.?

    Please feel free to add any other idea's outside of these questions too.

    Thank you.
    Steve
    A single contact page isn't a bad thing. A lot of marketers have something like "FrankKernHelpDesk.com" or whatever.. I often refer people to my blog contact page since it's my name.com/contact/

    Not sure what you're talking about with Gmail, but I use it for all my mail. Here is my setup.. (and this may not be for everyone)

    1) I have personal dedicated servers to handle my business so, I set my mail server up to forward all email from my many domains to my gmail account. (You should be able to do this from your hosting account)

    2) In gmail I have filters and labels. Gmail doesn't have "folders" but it has "labels" (or tags). In the filter setup, if it matches a certain rule, I will give the appropriate label and check the "archive, skip inbox" option. This will let me see which domains have new email waiting without getting mixed up with my normal email.

    3) You can set multiple email addresses in Gmail. I have like over 10 different email addresses I send/receive mail from. Just go into settings and accounts, you can add them there. As far as I know, there is no limit.

    It took me a while to ween myself off of a Desktop mail client. Now that I've done that and only use gmail's web interface, it's really helped my productivity.

    Hope this helped.

    Peter
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  • Profile picture of the author Sami
    On the subject of single contact page ... I'd say going with a single central support center (help desk) is not a bad idea at all.

    The exception is if you have vastly different niches. It will not look good if your drop down shows poker, IM, travel, etc. But if they all relate to fitness for example then that's probably OK.

    Look into your Cpanel or equivalent at your web host. Look for "Fantastico". It is function that can install a help desk, blog etc with just a few mouse clicks. Often it gives you a choice of each.

    So you can set up domain called "MagnetWaveSupport.com". Install your help desk at its route using fantastico. Then on the support/contact page of each domain provide a link to this domain.

    Sami
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Carl Kelly
    If your centralized "contact" page has the ability to process variables, you could pass a URL variable that indicates which domain the click came from. You could do the same with a FORM variable or by reading the HTTP_REFERER as well.
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    • Profile picture of the author TheNightOwl
      I agree with Sami about the centralised HelpDesk idea. It's what I thought of when I read the headline for this thread.

      I use Ticket Desk Pro

      It's a rewrite of Maian Support, which a few people will know.

      I love it. Easy to install and use. Love it.

      And cheap. Set it up on a centralised domain, as suggested.

      Only "problem" is, as also mentioned already, having all your sites listed as "Departments" on a single install.

      If you want to keep all your niches separate for some reason, then this won't work as well.

      In this case, you could "nichify" your sites and "cluster" them together.

      So, for example, all your Health and Fitness sites could have a dedicated HelpDesk install at one domain MagentaHealthAndFinessSupport.com and all your doggie stuff at another MagentaDoggieSupport.com, etcetera.

      TicketDeskPro allows installations on unlimited domains.

      Get a Google Apps account for your company name (which I assume is also your main domain name) and then create a user called "Support".

      In TicketDeskPro, simply use this same email address (but different passwords! Love RoboForm--see recent thread on here somewhere about that and use the non-standard characters option to generate passwords)... as the support contact addy and get all ticket notifications forwarded to that centralised address, but ANSWER tickets from each HelpDesk install at the particular domain.

      Does that make sense?

      Hope it helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author CashMap
    All -

    We manage e-mail for many clients and are getting ready to share our simple system. What's interesting is that many of have hit on a key component of our e-mail management program......that is to leverage the power of Gmail. There's three (3) reasons that we do so:

    1) Centralization - Centralizing your business efforts is one of the main keys toward enabling your business to scale and profits to grow

    2) SPAM filtering - Why not leverage the power of a multi-Gazillion dollar organization? There's not a better SPAM filter that I'm aware of in existence today.

    3) "Anywhere" access - Not only for yourself...but we need this access to manage people's e-mail for them

    There's more to the system than just using Gmail, however. Personally, I reduced my e-mail time from 2 hours and 25 minutes per day to under 20 minutes each day.

    Brad
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    • Profile picture of the author DanGTD
      I used both Google Apps and Fastmail.fm to manage my business email.
      Google is better at search, but fastmail is more proffesional and has a lot more features.
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