I recently wrote about the problems of using email in business. It's worse than I wrote. In the past week alone I've had two proposals, both requested via email, find themselves in my prospect's Bulk Mail folder, I've missed a request for services because I didn't see an email in my Bulk Mail folder, and I've unsuccessfully been able to contact an email subscriber to notify them I'm giving them a free service for being a longtime and loyal reader.

What are we to do? Seriously, what are we to do?

Being a sole practitioner in a consulting business, email is my lifeblood. I need a simple, timeless, reliable way to communicate with prospects and customers. Even when you're white listed, you don't feel safe. It's impossible to tell if your messages are being read. Some email programs have return receipts, but not all. And is that the only solution?

For my mailing lists, I've resulted to terse email messages directing people to landing pages where they can red my message. At least this way I'm reasonably sure SPAM filters aren't acing my short text messages. It's more work and I hate to do it, but I'm not sure what else to do.

My Bulk Mail folder fills each day with stuff I actually want to read.

What is the best thing to do? What do you do to make sure your messages are read? What tips can you share?