How many lists are you on? How much time do YOU spend each day reading marketing emails from on-line marketers?

The subject of this message was actually prompted by an Unsubscribe I received from one of the members on my Wealth-Providers list (www.wealth-providers.com). As you may, or may not, know Autoresponder systems like the one I use, Aweber, ask for a reason when anyone decides to Unsubscribe from a list. It is always worth reading the reasons people give because you can learn a lot from them.

In this case my unsubscribing list member complained, not to me but generally, that he was suffering, as a newbie, from ‘Information Overload’. I know how he feels! I remember when I was trying to learn about Internet Marketing; I was receiving so many email offers per day that it was taking all my time to read them all!

So if, like this guy, you’ve hit the Subscribe Me button once too often, what should you do about it? Well, that’s up to you but, to avoid wasting time, here’s what I do…

I don’t Unsubscribe!

Why not?

Because I’ve now developed a ’swipe file’ of useful email messages that I can dip into when I’m looking for inspiration for my own emails, articles and even products. Most marketers keep swipe files like this, not to copy them word for word but in order to get ideas for what to write themselves.

All my emails come into my Outlook Inbox and I’ve created folders in the Outlook sidebar so I can drag and drop interesting messages into them. Now, if you are developing this system for yourself, you need to be aware of which is your most productive time of the day.

For me this is the morning. So in the morning I don’t look at my Inbox (well, I may glance at it to make sure there are no urgent messages, but I don’t get lured into reading any others). Instead I leave that for the evening when I’ve already had a productive day. In fact I use reading my Inbox as a ‘reward’ for a productive day. Because I’m now keeping it for the evening, when I’m more relaxed, I can actually enjoy sorting through all the messages.

The ones that capture my attention and make me click on their links go into a folder called ‘Great Sales Letters’. The ones that contain useful information go into ‘Tuition’, and so on. I’m sure you can make up your own categories, but the point is to start segregating your emails into those which need dealing with, those which will be useful for your swipe file and those which you can use for ideas etc.

So what about the ones that need dealing with? Well, if they are an easy answer, they can be dealt with in the evening or, if they require a longer answer, they can be scheduled for the following day.

So, if YOU feel you are suffering from ‘Information Overload’ don’t unsubscribe. Try working out your own email reading system, instead, and get your ‘productive’ time back!