Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the daily deluge of email? Do you dread checking your email inbox because of the sheer number of messages you'll have to read? Or do you feel compelled to read every email as soon as it comes in so you won't lose a critical message amid the junk mail? Do your old messages pile up until there's no more room for new ones?

For the netrepreneur, email is both a boon and a bane. Depending on how you handle it, email can be either a productivity tool or a major drain on your resources. Mastering the art of email management is critical if you want to run your business efficiently. Your objective shuold be to stem the tide of unnecessary emails without losing track of the helpful and important ones. Here are some strategies you can try:

Subscribe selectively.  Unless an ezine is directly relevant to your business and every single issue offers useful content, don't keep it coming. If you don't read an ezine anymore or the content duplicates another ezines', unsubscribe now instead of deleting it every week.

Create an FAQ page for your website.  If you find yourself answering the same questions over and over, create an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page on your website so site visitors can find the answers themselves. You'll still have to field some questions, but this can be a real time saver for you and your site visitors.

Filter your email.  Most email applications let you to create "filters" that allow you to sort incoming emails into folders based on criteria that you specify (sender, subject line, etc.). Some also offer "spam filters" that will divert emails that appear to be from bulk mailers into a separate folder. Take advantage of this feature to sort emails based on importance and weed out some of the spam.

Lose the spam.  It's almost impossible to eliminate spam completely, but you can take steps to reduce the number of junk emails you receive. First of all, be choosy about where you post your email address online. Spammers can pick it up from your website, postings to discussion lists, and directory listings.

Switch to the digest.  If you participate in a discussion list with a high volume of messages, there might be a digest version you could subscribe to instead. You'll receive many messages in one email instead of receiving individual messages all the time. And instead of signing up for a daily newsletter or email service, opt for a weekly digest version if it's available.

Use virus protection.  Don't take chances when it comes to catching a computer virus. Sometimes viruses are sent maliciously, but often they're passed on unintentionally by people who don't even know their own computers are infected.Install a good anti-virus program and use it every time to scan your emails before opening them. Don't click on any links in emails or open email attachments unless they come from a trusted source.

Schedule time for maintenance.  It's easy to let old emails pile up and hard to remember to delete them all. Schedule some time each week to go through your emails and clear out old messages. If you really feel an email is important enough to save, print it out and file it so you won't accidentally delete it. If you've saved some to read later, either read them now or delete them; if you don't have time to read them now, you probably won't find time later, either.

Set up multiple email addresses.  Create separate email accounts for specific purposes. For starters, maintain separate accounts for personal and business emails rather than mingling the two. Also set up different business addresses for different purposes ("[email protected]", "[email protected]", etc.) and post them on your website. This will help you identify messages which need immediate attention and those that could wait till later.

Specify subject lines in your Web forms.  Provide a form on your site's contact page that enters an appropriate subject line automatically (or lets them choose from several choices). Your emails will arrive with helpful subject lines and you'll be able to easily identify the source and topic.

Take advantage of autoresponders.  Autoresponders aren't always the answer, but you might consider using them to send frequently requested information like your ad rates, reprint policy, or press kit. If you have articles or tutorials that are available by request, send them out via autoresponder rather than emailing them manually every time.