advice

Those Email Messages You’re NOT Receiving…

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Here’s a quick little lesson to all of you who keep hearing that other people are sending you emails. And resending them. Then sending them again … and, still, those email messages are not appearing in your Inbox!

Let me tell you WHY you’re not receiving all those emails. They’re going to your Junk folder (which can also be labelled as Spam, Bulk, or something else). And they may be automatically deleted without you even knowing it.

Fair Warning

I am not a tech guru, IT nerd, or expert on technology. I am someone who uses email A LOT and have learned lessons the hard way. I’m sharing what I’ve learned, through my own experiences. I’m also sharing a few resources so you can do your own research about those email messages you’re not receiving … and/or that you don’t want to receive…

Email Security Settings

Each email app and software includes its own security settings. These settings offer options about how YOU can handle unwanted email, which is referred to as Junk, Spam, or Bulk messages. They also help you receive the email you WANT to receive!

In many cases, if YOU don’t adjust your Junk settings, the following may automatically be sent to your Junk folder; messages:

  • Sent from someone who is not in your contact list
  • With attachments and/or hyperlinks
  • Sent as part of a bulk emailing
  • Sent by someone who has not emailed you before, or to whom you have not already sent an email

Junk Email Settings in Outlook and Other Email Apps/Software

The following images show you what your Junk options are if you use Outlook. You can find them by going to Home > Junk:

  • The image on the left shows the Junk Options
  • The image on the right shows how you can ADD someone into a Safe Sender’s list, meaning the messages from that individual email address or domain will NOT be sent to your Junk folder

Here are some articles to show you how to set up your Junk settings in:

A Final Note about Junk Email Messages

Junk email settings are a lot easier to control when your email address is proprietary rather than free. For example, my email address is associated with my website domain, so I have complete control over it. If you use Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, or any other free email software, you may not have as much freedom to control the settings.

Be aware that when you open ANY kind of email account the security settings are the default settings used by that app/software. Those settings may not be to your advantage, depending upon your preferences and whether the app/software is free. I’ve heard of settings that automatically delete all Junk mail after a specified period of time (e.g., 72 hours or one week) if the account owner doesn’t change the settings.

I hope this info is helpful! Reach out to me if I can be of further assistance.