How to Inform People to Add Your Address to Filters

Switching to a new email address can be challenging if you have tons of contacts to notify and if you've had your old email address for years. Because of tight spam controls, informing people to add your new email address to their spam filter reduces the likelihood that your messages won't get lost.

• 1

  Log into your new email address. Go to the "Add Contacts" section. Select the "Import Contacts" option to automatically import people's email addresses from another account.

• 2

  Compose an email message in the new account. Add all your contacts as the recipients to the message in the "BCC" (blind carbon copy) line of the "To" section.

• 3

  Type a subject line that includes your name and a related headline, such as "New Email Account." Type a message in the body. Tell your contacts to go into the "Whitelist" or "Filter" section of their email account and add your new email address to their filter. Send the message.

• 4

  Log into your old email account. Go into the "Auto Reply" or "Vacation Response" section. Select an immediate "Start" date for the "Auto Reply" message and an "End" date at least a few months out. Type a message in the "Response" section -- the automatic reply your contacts will receive if they send email to your old email address -- telling your contacts to add your new email address to their "Whitelist" or "Spam Filter." Save your settings.

• 5

  Log into your old email account on a daily or weekly basis to see if any contacts continue to send email messages to this address.