Read the Plus Edition Newsletter Online

Every week I send a copy of the Plus Edition of this newsletter via e-mail to every Plus Edition subscriber. The e-mail is usually sent on Sunday evenings although occasionally it may be delayed a day or two when I am traveling.

The biggest headache of sending all those Plus Edition newsletters is spam filters. The newsletters are sent via bulk mail. Quite a few e-mail providers will delete large bulk mail messages, such as the Plus Edition newsletter. Some of them do not even place it in a spam folder; they simply delete it completely without leaving a trace.

I estimate that perhaps 10% of the e-mail newsletters never get delivered. Judging by recent feedback from subscribers, I also suspect that percentage is increasing.

It seems that more and more Plus Edition subscribers are reporting that they do not receive the newsletter. However, every time that I investigate, I find that the newsletter always was sent to that person's e-mail address and that it was accepted by the receiving e-mail server. What happens after that is invisible to me.

I'll remind all Plus Edition subscribers that you can ALWAYS read the latest Plus Edition newsletters online, regardless of what your e-mail provider does to your in-box. Even if your e-mail provider deletes the Plus Edition newsletter, you can always go to the newsletter's web site at http://www.eogn.com and click on "Read the Plus Edition Newsletter or Renew Your Plus Edition Subscription (e-mail address and password required.)"

Log in with your e-mail address and password and you will be able to read this week's newsletter and the two previous newsletters.

I'll also remind you that you can change your e-mail address on the subscription at any time. Some people have two or even more e-mail addresses: a regular address for most of your correspondence and then a second account on Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, or some other free e-mail provider. If that includes you, you can change the address on your subscription at any time. To do so, go to the newsletter's web site at http://www.eogn.com and click on "Change the E-Mail Address on your Newsletter Subscription." In fact, you might want to experiment: change the address for a week or two, see what happens, and then decide if you want to switch it back.

Suggestion: Try a Better E-mail Service

If you do not yet have a second e-mail address, I'd recommend that you obtain one now. It is good for this newsletter plus for many other purposes as well. I prefer Google Mail, often referred to as “Gmail.” Google Mail works better than AOL mail or the e-mail service provided by most Internet providers. It has better spam filters than I have ever seen elsewhere and allows for storage of several gigabytes of old messages. Even better, Gmail can find old messages almost instantly, using a search engine that is based on Google itself. I find that Gmail's method of finding past e-mail messages works much better than the concept of filing messages into folders.

Once you create a Gmail account, you can file e-mail messages simply by clicking on the ARCHIVE button. To later find a particular old e-mail message in your archives, use the SEARCH MAIL function. Type in a few words that you remember from that old message, click on SEARCH MAIL, and Gmail will instantly show you a list of all archived e-mail messages that contain those words. It works well.

To obtain a free Gmail account, go to http://www.gmail.com.

Comments

[Carla]

I prefer previewing your blog via the Google Reader. I often click on the article I'm interested in, and it takes me right to the online site.

[Gerald Eberwein]

I had a ISP that refused to turn off the spam filter for my account. So I sent them a 'white list' of e-mail addresses I wanted to go through no matter what the filter says. When they complained about it being so long I replied, "Enter the addresses or turn off the filter." I got my way, they entered the addresses.

I might suggest those readers that are not receiving their bulk mail from you contact their ISP and ask to have your newsletter address added to their white list of safe senders.

[Bonnie]

I subscribe to the Plus Edition. I never knew that the Plus Edition was supposed to come to my e-mail address. I have always accessed it by way of a link in the EOGN that does get delivered to my inbox.