Email newsletters are making a comeback. They can be a regular digest of news you want to read, an easy way to keep up with blogs you follow, or a source of deals and discounts. But they can also clog up your inbox with spam. Here’s how to manage all those newsletters.
If you want to deal with cleaning up newsletters, using an app like Unroll.me or Unsubscriber is the easy way to unsubscribe from email newsletters in bulk. But such apps sell the user’s data to marketers, which perhaps defeats the purpose you wanted them for.
1. Cleanfox (Android, iOS): Delete Newsletters for Carbon Offsets
If you’re hesitant to unsubscribe a lot of newsletters because of fear or missing out or thinking they are all important, first check with Cleanfox. This app is a sure-fire way to give you a reality check about your email inbox habits.
Cleanfox’s setup is a bit tedious, but it guides you through each step of the way, unlike several competitors. Once it scans and reads your inbox’s content, it will sort newsletters by sender, showing how many you’ve got in the inbox, and how many of those you have read. You’ll be surprised to find how seldom you click on those seemingly important newsletters, offers, coupons, and other mailers.
Then simply choose the senders to delete, archive, or unsubscribe from their messages in bulk. It’s a much faster process than going through it in your inbox.
Finally, Cleanfox also shows how much of an impact your email cleanup is having on the environment. The idea is that each email needs to be stored on a server, and servers require resources. So clean up your inbox and you’ll also see how eco-friendly your actions are.
Download: Cleanfox for Android | iOS (Free)
2. Leave Me Alone (Web): Paid, Privacy-Friendly Alternative to Unroll.me
After the news about Unroll.me, some users wanted more privacy-friendly options. The reality of the situation is that free services generally tend to sell that data, while paid ones can avoid it. Leave Me Alone is a paid product to get rid of subscriptions and spam.
After you grant the app access to your inbox, it sorts all mass emails. A handy set of filters lets you choose what you want to see, such as subscribed/unsubscribed, which email address or alias it is addressed to, and whether it’s already in trash or spam. Leave Me Alone also applies a rating (A is best, E is worst) to each message, depending on the sender’s behavior.
Each message has a subscribe/unsubscribe toggle that you can click. Each click costs a credit. You get five credits in the trial, and you can buy further credits as you see fit. Prices start at $ 2.50 for 50 credits, up to $ 10.50 for 300 credits It’s a privacy-friendly way of doing the same thing that Unroll.me did while knowing your data is safe.
3. Inbox Kitten (Web): Disposable Email You Don’t Have to Remember
Some newsletters are forced upon you as part of sign-ups, free goodies, or some such gimmick. Using a disposable email service is one of the most recommended, tried-and-tested techniques to avoid such newsletter spam.
We’ve already talked about some of the best disposable and temporary email services, but they all have one step too many. Either you need an extension, or you have to go to that service and generate a new temporary email address, or jump through some hoop. Inbox Kitten takes out the hassle and lets you come up with a new address on the spot. Just type two words, separated by a hyphen, followed by “@inboxkitten.com” and it’ll work.
Emails are stored on the Inbox Kitten server for three days, after which they’re automatically deleted. There also isn’t a password system, so anyone can access the temporary inbox if they know what used. The convenience can’t be matched.
4. SubscriptionZero (Web): Turn Newsletters Into a Digest
Not all newsletters are bad. In fact, you actively sign up for some of them, but you don’t want these mailers cluttering up your inbox every day, not to mention the email alerts announcing the arrival of a new one. Subscription Zero lets you have your cake and eat it too.
Sign up for the free service to get a custom email address. Use this address to sign up for newsletters. Now, your new mails won’t be delivered randomly to your inbox. Instead, they’ll be sent to SubscriptionZero, where the app will take all your newsletters and turn them into one daily digest. And you can choose which time of the day to get this digest.
It’s a handy solution for new newsletters, but not the best for mailers you are already subscribed to. For those, you’ll have to sign up again with your new SubscriptionZero email address if you want them added to the daily digest.
5. Stoop (Android, iOS): Dedicated Newsletter Reader App
If you prefer to keep up with your favorite websites through newsletters, Stoop is the newsletter reader you need. It’s a fresh take on traditional RSS readers, giving you a news digest instead of constant drips. Think of it as an inbox dedicated to newsletters.
Stoop creates a new email address for you, which you’ll have to use to subscribe to all newsletters. You can browse for newsletters you might like through the Discover tab, or just use the email address anywhere on the internet. You can read and archive the emails, save newsletters for later, and even unsubscribe in an instant.
For each source, Stoop stores 10 newsletters in the inbox and 60 in the archive. It also lets you manage newsletters easily by letting you archive or delete them in bulk. Plus, for those pesky aggressive marketers who just won’t let you unsubscribe, there’s a convenient Block button, so that even if they continue to send you emails through trickery, you will never see them.
Download: Stoop for Android | iOS (Free)
Newsletters Worth Subscribing To
Some websites, especially corporations, see newsletters as nothing more than a way to get top-of-the-mind-recall in a consumer’s eyes. But that’s an old-school way of looking at newsletters. As some marketers and content experts have discovered, by providing true value through newsletters, you can engage the reader and gain a fan.
It’s all about your attitude, in the end. If you think newsletters are a waste of time, you are missing out on some great content. In fact, you’re missing out on a chance to learn something new every day. Whether it’s a private person or a brand managing it, there are a few email newsletters worth subscribing to.
Read the full article: 5 Apps to Manage Good Email Newsletters and Unsubscribe Junk
