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5 Ways to Stop Receiving Spam Emails?

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5 Ways to Stop Receiving Spam Emails?

Did you know that the United States of America tops the list of countries sending the most percentage of spam emails? Yes, as many as 8.61 billion spam emails are sent out daily from the USA. Statistics like these have made learning how to stop spam emails even more crucial.

Receiving Amazon spam emails has become too common these days. Hackers have cracked sophisticated tricks to manipulate customers into sharing sensitive details or making transactions. Using email spam filters keeps such emails out of your inbox as they efficiently detect unsolicited, unwanted, and virus-infected emails.

Continue reading this blog to know five practical ways to stop receiving spam emails and how to report them. But firstly, let’s see what spam email is.

What is Spam Email?

Spam emails are unsolicited and unwanted junk emails sent out in bulk to indiscriminate recipient lists. Amazon spam email is one such example where threat actors get their hands on Amazon’s customer details and send fraudulent bulk emails. The general purpose is to make money by stealing their identity or convincing them to transfer money. A large volume of spam emails can be sent using botnets- the networks of infected computers.

Spam emails are usually sent from illegitimate email addresses. Hackers also use techniques like display name spoofing, where they make an illegitimate email address look legitimate by using the same display name. These emails use scare tactics, have a sense of urgency, contain typos and wrong information, and may make larger-than-life promises ( like sponsored vacations, lottery, expensive gifts, etc.)

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How to Report Spam Emails?

Now that you know what spam email is let’s see how to report it. To report spam emails in Gmail, select one or more emails, tap More in the top right, and click on Report Spam.

To report spam emails on Apple Mail, click on the email you want to report and click the Junk mail icon in the mailbox toolbar.

To report spam emails on Outlook, right-click on the email, go to security options and select mark as junk.

Types of Spam Emails

There are various types of spam emails. We’ve gathered the 7 most common ones.

Hoaxed Ads

Ads spam emails offer you products and services with miraculous benefits at low prices. This can be anything from weight loss pills to clothes, gym memberships, Netflix subscriptions, and whatnot. In many cases, they use real offers to attempt scams. Thus, you must know how to stop receiving spam emails if these ads are frequently landing in your inbox.

Threat actors often use unprotected domains of reputed organizations to send such malicious emails in their name. This is done to win the recipients’ trust so that they proceed with the requests made in the email. You can prevent the misuse of your domain using email authentication protocols like DKIM, SPF and DMARC.

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Chain Letters

Forward this email to 10 users, and you’ll get good news today- you must have already read these one-liner persuasion messages, no? These are chain letters where the content tries to convince you to forward the virus-infected email to other users or else something bad will happen. Be wary of such tricks; they are outdated, but young users still fall for the trap.

Email Spoofing

Email spoofing is a type of phishing attack where cyber actors trick you by masquerading as someone you know. This can be your boss, coworker, friend, etc. This has a high success rate as recipients are already in the habit of proceeding with the requests made by these people.

A DMARC policy is a pivotal part of any email spoofing security strategy.

Money Scams

These spam emails promise to help you make a mad amount of money with minimum effort and in the comfort of your home. In this, you’re usually asked to submit a small amount of money (in the name of a startup kit, software, laptop, security fees, process fees, etc.) to receive a hefty sum in the future.

It also includes asking for donations in the name of calamity survivors, hungry children, poor families, orphan and disabled kids, etc.

Malware Warning

As per research, almost 75% of organizations have experienced malware activity that spread from one employee to others via email. The malware can be hidden in the attached documents or links that get activated once downloaded or clicked.

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Porn Spam

Sending pornography via email is very common as the market is quite lucrative and widespread. They hide malicious links in erotic images and videos that can land you in trouble. Email spam filters help steer clear of such email attacks.

5 Ways to Stop Receiving Spam Emails

Fortunately, there are ways to slow the flow of unwanted emails. Let’s see how to stop receiving spam emails in 5 ways.

1.  Mark As Spam

Email services use algorithms to filter out spam and junk emails by trashing them into a separate folder. However, sometimes they pass the filter and land in the inbox. So, if you spot such messages, just mark them as spam instead of deleting or ignoring. So, whenever you are going to receive emails from that particular address, the email spam filter will drop them in the junk folder.

2.  Delete Spam Mails

If you feel suspicious about an email, just delete it without clicking or downloading any links or attachments. These emails contain malicious email attachments that can activate viruses and help hackers access your system to intercept and steal information. They can also exploit your email address to send fraudulent emails in your name.

To delete the spam emails, select the email you want to delete, right-click and select Delete All Spam Messages Now option.

3. Keep Your Email Address Private

Giving out your personal email address to anyone can increase the number of receiving spammed emails. So, share it with people who genuinely require it. Change your email privacy settings in Gmail as follows:

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  • Log-in to your Google account.
  • See the Security Checkup option to check the devices, security events and other email addresses and devices connected to your Gmail account.
  • Turn on/off the toggle switches as per your preferences.
  • Do the same process for the Personal Information and Privacy settings.

4. Use Spam filter

One of the important steps in learning how to stop receiving spam emails is using third-party spam filters to add an extra layer of security. So, all the emails will pass through two spam filters before landing in your inbox or trash folder.

Effective filtering can prevent ransomware attacks, malware threats etc. Invest in third-party email spam filters that align well with your needs and email service provider’s policies.

5. Change Your Email Address

If you’re receiving excessive number of spam emails daily and none of the above suggestions are working for you, you must change your email address. Discontinue using the current one and inform everyone about your new address.

You can add a forwarding address so that you can still receive emails from your old address. This can be done in 4 simple steps:

  1. Open your old email account and go to Settings.
  2. Select the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
  3. Enter your new email address in the Add a Forwarding Address box.
  4. Click on Next to verify the process.

Make sure that you have access to both the accounts for a few months so that you can redirect remaining messages to the new email account.

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How To Combine PR and Content Marketing Superpowers To Achieve Business Goals

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A figure pulls open a dress shirt to reveal the term PR on a Superman-like costume, reflecting the superpower resulting from combining content and PR.

A transformative shift is happening, and it’s not AI.

The aisle between public relations and content marketing is rapidly narrowing. If you’re smart about the convergence, you can forever enhance your brand’s storytelling.

The goals and roles of content marketing and PR overlap more and more. The job descriptions look awfully similar. Shrinking budgets and a shrewd eye for efficiency mean you and your PR pals could face the chopping block if you don’t streamline operations and deliver on the company’s goals (because marketing communications is always first to be axed, right?).

Yikes. Let’s take a big, deep breath. This is not a threat. It’s an opportunity.

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Reach across the aisle to PR and streamline content creation, improve distribution strategies, and get back to the heart of what you both are meant to do: Build strong relationships and tell impactful stories.

So, before you panic-post that open-to-work banner on LinkedIn, consider these tips from content marketing, PR, and journalism pros who’ve figured out how to thrive in an increasingly narrowing content ecosystem.

1. See journalists as your audience

Savvy pros know the ability to tell an impactful story — and support it with publish-ready collateral — grounds successful media relationships. And as a content marketer, your skills in storytelling and connecting with audiences, including journalists, naturally support your PR pals’ media outreach.

Strategic storytelling creates content focused on what the audience needs and wants. Sharing content on your blog or social media builds relationships with journalists who source those channels for story ideas, event updates, and subject matter experts.

“Embedding PR strategies in your content marketing pieces informs your audience and can easily be picked up by media,” says Alex Sanchez, chief experience officer at BeWell, New Mexico’s Health Insurance Marketplace. “We have seen reporters do this many times, pulling stories from our blogs and putting them in the nightly news — most of the time without even reaching out to us.”

Acacia James, weekend producer/morning associate producer at WTOP radio in Washington, D.C., says blogs and social media posts are helpful to her work. “If I see a story idea, and I see that they’re willing to share information, it’s easier to contact them — and we can also backlink their content. It’s huge for us to be able to use every avenue.” 

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Kirby Winn, manager of PR at ImpactLife, says reporters and assignment editors are key consumers of their content. “And I don’t mean a news release that just hit their inbox. They’re going to our blog and consuming our stories, just like any other audience member,” he says. “Our organization has put more focus into content marketing in the past few years — it supports a media pitch so well and highlights the stories we have to tell.”

Storytelling attracts earned media that might not pick up the generic news topic. “It’s one thing to pitch a general story about how we help consumers sign up for low-cost health insurance,” Alex says. “Now, imagine a single mom who just got a plan after years of thinking it was too expensive. She had a terrible car accident, and the $60,000 ER bill that would have ruined her financially was covered. Now that’s a story journalists will want to cover, and that will be relatable to their audience and ours.” 

2. Learn the media outlet’s audience

Seventy-three percent of reporters say one-fourth or less of the stories pitched are relevant to their audiences, according to Cision’s 2023 State of the Media Report (registration required).

PR pros are known for building relationships with journalists, while content marketers thrive in building communities around content. Merge these best practices to build desirable content that works for your target audience and the media’s audiences simultaneously.

WTOP’s Acacia James says sources who show they’re ready to share helpful, relevant content often win pitches for coverage. “In radio, we do a lot of research on who is listening to us, and we’re focused on a prototype called ‘Mike and Jen’ — normal, everyday people in Generation X … So when we get press releases and pitches, we ask, ‘How interested will Mike and Jen be in this story?’” 

3. Deliver the full content package (and make journalists’ jobs easier)

Cranking out content to their media outlet’s standards has never been tougher for journalists. Newsrooms are significantly understaffed, and anything you can do to make their lives easier will be appreciated and potentially rewarded with coverage. Content marketers are built to think about all the elements to tell the story through multiple mediums and channels.

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“Today’s content marketing pretty much provides a package to the media outlet,” says So Young Pak, director of media relations at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. “PR is doing a lot of storytelling work in advance of media publication. We (and content marketing) work together to provide the elements to go with each story — photos, subject matter experts, patients, videos, and data points, if needed.”   

At WTOP, the successful content package includes audio. “As a radio station, we are focused on high-quality sound,” Acacia James says. “Savvy sources know to record and send us voice memos, and then we pull cuts from the audio … You will naturally want to do someone a favor if they did you one — like providing helpful soundbites, audio, and newsworthy stories.”  

While production value matters to some media, you shouldn’t stress about it. “In the past decade, how we work with reporters has changed. Back in the day, if they couldn’t be there in person, they weren’t going to interview your expert,” says Jason Carlton, an accredited PR professional and manager of marketing and communications at Intermountain Health. “During COVID, we had to switch to virtual interviewing. Now, many journalists are OK with running a Teams or Zoom interview they’ve done with an expert on the news.”

BeWell’s Alex Sanchez agrees. “I’ve heard old school PR folks cringe at the idea of putting up a Zoom video instead of getting traditional video interviews. It doesn’t really matter to consumers. Focus on the story, on the timeliness, and the relevance. Consumers want authenticity, not super stylized, stiff content.”

4. Unite great minds to maximize efficiency

Everyone needs to set aside the debate about which team — PR or content marketing — gets credit for the resulting media coverage.

At MedStar Washington Hospital Center, So Young and colleagues adopt a collaborative mindset on multichannel stories. “We can get the interview and gather information for all the different pieces — blog, audio, video, press release, internal newsletter, or magazine. That way, we’re not trying to figure things out individually, and the subject matter experts only have to have that conversation once,” she says.

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Regular, cross-team meetings are essential to understand the best channels for reaching key audiences, including the media. A story that began life as a press release might reap SEO and earned media gold if it’s strategized as a blog, video, and media pitch.

“At Intermountain Health, we have individual teams for media relations, marketing, social media, and hospital communications. That setup works well because it allows us to bring in the people who are the given experts in those areas,” says Intermountain’s Jason Carlton. “Together, we decide if a story is best for the blog, a media pitch, or a mix of channels — that way, we avoid duplicating work and the risk of diluting the story’s impact.”

5. Measure what matters

Cutting through the noise to earn media mentions requires keen attention to metrics. Since content marketing and PR metrics overlap, synthesizing the data in your team meetings can save time while streamlining your storytelling efforts.

“For content marketers, using analytical tools such as GA4 can help measure the effectiveness of their content campaigns and landing pages to determine meaningful KPIs such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, lead generation, and conversion rates,” says John Martino, director of digital marketing for Visiting Angels. “PR teams can use media coverage and social interactions to assess user engagement and brand awareness. A unified and omnichannel approach can help both teams demonstrate their value in enhancing brand visibility, engagement, and overall business success.”

To track your shared goals, launch a shared dashboard that helps tell the combined “story of your stories” to internal and executive teams. Among the metrics to monitor:

  • Page views: Obviously, this queen of metrics continues to be important across PR and content marketing. Take your analysis to the next level by evaluating which niche audiences are contributing to these views to further hone your storytelling targets, including media outlets.
  • Earned media mentions: Through a media tracker service or good old Google Alerts, you can tally the echo of your content marketing and PR. Look at your site’s referral traffic report to identify media outlets that send traffic to your blog or other web pages.
  • Organic search queries: Dive into your analytics platform to surface organic search queries that lead to visitors. Build from those questions to develop stories that further resonate with your audience and your targeted media.
  • On-page actions: When visitors show up on your content, what are they doing? What do they click? Where do they go next? Building next-step pathways is your bread and butter in content marketing — and PR can use them as a natural pipeline for media to pick up more stories, angles, and quotes.

But perhaps the biggest metric to track is team satisfaction. Who on the collaborative team had the most fun writing blogs, producing videos, or calling the news stations? Lean into the natural skills and passions of your team members to distribute work properly, maximize the team output, and improve relationships with the media, your audience, and internal teams.

“It’s really trying to understand the problem to solve — the needle to move — and determining a plan that will help them achieve their goal,” Jason says. “If you don’t have those measurable objectives, you’re not going to know whether you made a difference.”

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Don’t fear the merger

Whether you deliberately work together or not, content marketing and public relations are tied together. ImpactLife’s Kirby Winn explains, “As soon as we begin to talk about (ourselves) to a reporter who doesn’t know us, they are certainly going to check out our stories.”

But consciously uniting PR and content marketing will ease the challenges you both face. Working together allows you to save time, eliminate duplicate work, and gain free time to tell more stories and drive them into impactful media placements.

Register to attend Content Marketing World in San Diego. Use the code BLOG100 to save $100. Can’t attend in person this year? Check out the Digital Pass for access to on-demand session recordings from the live event through the end of the year.

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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

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Trends in Content Localization – Moz

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Trends in Content Localization - Moz

Multinational fast food chains are one of the best-known examples of recognizing that product menus may sometimes have to change significantly to serve distinct audiences. The above video is just a short run-through of the same business selling smokehouse burgers, kofta, paneer, and rice bowls in an effort to appeal to people in a variety of places. I can’t personally judge the validity of these representations, but what I can see is that, in such cases, you don’t merely localize your content but the products on which your content is founded.

Sometimes, even the branding of businesses is different around the world; what we call Burger King in America is Hungry Jack’s in Australia, Lays potato chips here are Sabritas in Mexico, and DiGiorno frozen pizza is familiar in the US, but Canada knows it as Delissio.

Tales of product tailoring failures often become famous, likely because some of them may seem humorous from a distance, but cultural sensitivity should always be taken seriously. If a brand you are marketing is on its way to becoming a large global seller, the best insurance against reputation damage and revenue loss as a result of cultural insensitivity is to employ regional and cultural experts whose first-hand and lived experiences can steward the organization in acting with awareness and respect.

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How AI Is Redefining Startup GTM Strategy

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How AI Is Redefining Startup GTM Strategy

AI and startups? It just makes sense.

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