How To Create an Alternate Email Address

Why would someone need more than one email address in the first place, you might ask? The simple answer is: organization. People who have alternate email addresses will find it easier to segregate and filter their messages. The simplest need would be to have separate emails for your personal and work mail. More complex segregations would be an email address for your website or blog, from your ISP (Internet Service Provider), or from your school or business. You might also want to create an email address for a one-time need, say, to answer a survey or to send an anonymous email. Whatever your need may be, read on for simple instructions on how to set up alternate email addresses.

Sign up for a web-based email account. This is the easiest to do, and the fastest as well. The beauty of web-based email accounts is its convenience – you can access your email anywhere in the world as long as you have access to the Internet and a web browser. When you want to save particular emails, all you have to do is save it, download the attachment (if it has one), or forward it to another email address for safekeeping. The great thing about web-based email accounts is that most of them don’t cost a penny, and offer almost unlimited storage. In fact, a lot of people use their alternate email accounts as a form of backup – they email themselves important files so they are stored in the host’s servers, for free! Some of the most well-known web-based email accounts you can get are:

* Gmail
* Yahoo
* AOL
* MSN

It’s very easy to get an account; just go to the website and click on “sign up” or “add an account” button. After filling in the required basic information, you’ll be taken to your new account in no time.

Keep track of your passwords and accounts. Setting up more than one email addresses also opens up a Pandora’s box of how to keep track of all of them. Before you go all-trigger happy and open up ten different accounts with just as many passwords, list down your reasons for getting multiple accounts. Many times people will realize they need no more than three. When it comes to setting your passwords, you can keep one password for all, but make sure it isn’t something that anyone going through your wallet will be able to pick out – this means no birthday, no social security or driver’s license number, etc. Make it a mix of letters (a word, or initials) and numbers that are significant to you. Keep the list secure at home (again, not in your wallet!).

Access multiple accounts from one central email account. There are two ways of doing this: 1.) you can use the auto-forward feature of your other accounts, and have all your mail forwarded to your chosen central email; or 2.) set-up the multiple mailboxes account (most easily done in Gmail), so that you can easily read all your email from one central source. It will also be easier to file, save, or filter your emails from one central location. Centralizing your email is best for your personal accounts – it’s always a good idea to keep your business/work email completely separate.

Check out the help and support pages of your email clients as well – as they are all competitors, new and better features for email are always comin