How many e-mail addresses do you need? Here’s why THREE is the magic number!

In the modern world, having an e-mail address maybe even more important. Emails are better than having an actual mailbox or post office box.  E-mail addresses provide the primary vehicle for internet communications. 

According to statistics, nearly 70% of the US population uses the internet, and the majority of those users maintain e-mail addresses. The question is, how many e-mail addresses should a person have?

Managing an e-mail inbox is challenging. There are over one hundred million e-mails sent through cyberspace on a daily basis.  Differentiating spam, junk mail, personal e-mails, and business e-mails can also be tricky. The key is to separate these different types of communication with unique e-mail addresses.  

How many e-mail addresses should you have?  According to business experts and internet gurus, three is the magic number when it comes to e-mail addresses. 

1.  Business E-mail Address:

If you are a professional, or in the business world, a business e-mail will likely be provided to you by your employer.  Keeping personal e-mails separate from business is one rule of thumb in the business world.  Many companies do monitor the computer use and e-mail communications of their employees.  For this reason, it is imperative to refrain from sending personal, angry, or inappropriate e-mails over a business e-mail address. For this reason, there are many cases of employees who have lost their jobs due to personal communications over company e-mail accounts.

2.  Personal E-mail Address:

Use your personal e-mail address to correspond socially with friends and family.  Do not risk mixing business with your personal communications, and avoid using personal e-mail for any business matters.  

Examples of free e-mail programs are Yahoo’s Hotmail and Google’s Gmail. They are utilized to create a personal e-mail address.  To create a personal e-mail address, begin by selecting a simple, creative, and identifying e-mail address.

A combination of your first and last name, with periods or underscores, is personal and appropriate. Also, sometimes a simple number, like “smith.joe58” counts as personal too. Think twice before creating an email address that is too cute or that may be inappropriate. This should be avoided if you are corresponding with businesses and even potential employers. For example, “2HotCutie” won’t impress your credit card service department or someone reading your resume.

3.  In Bound Only E-mail Address:

An In-bound only e-mail address should be used for in-bound-only e-mails.  These types of communication include e-newsletters, blogs you subscribe to, promotional information you register for, payment receipts or processing for internet transactions, etc.  An inbound e-mail in-box should not contain either business or personal e-mails.  

Differentiating your e-mail correspondences with three distinct e-mail addresses will help you to increase your productivity in the business world. This also applies to your personal life as well. Finally, it will help you to simplify your online communications.