Webmail Accounts

Use a Gmail account (or another web mail provider). Then you are not tied to one service provider. They are easier to setup on smart devices. They have better spam filters.

Example of how to set up a webmail account using Gmail and what to do in the changeover.

Visit here and sign up for a new Gmail account https://mail.google.com/. Once you have signed up for a Gmail account do the following:

  1. Send everyone an email telling them of the new email address from the old email account (that way you will have all their contact details and their email programs recognise you.)
  2. Check your old account details via Gmail. This guide tells you how you can get Gmail to check your other email accounts https://support.google.com/mail/answer/21289
  3. Make sure all replies go out on your Gmail Account, with your contact details in the signature.
  4. After a month or so, set up a vacation responder email on your old account’s webmail (login to the old webmail account) that tells people that it is about time they start using the new email address! You will still see the emails in Gmail, they dwindle off over the next 6 months. You will still get the odd ball ones years after!
  5. Change all your “contact email address” on all the accounts you have, like MyGov, banks, online shopping places etc. The vacation responder will help you pick up the ones you have forgotten.
  6. Decide whether you will use the web email through a web browser or use your favourite email program on your computer – it really depends on what you prefer.

You can still keep your old email address, just don’t use it. Most RSP will allow you to keep their email address for a small fee. For example – If you don’t have a Telstra product, you can pay about $30 a year to keep the email address. Just leave the bigpond vacation responder on permanently. After a year or 2 – just ask for the email address to be discontinued. If you are leaving Telstra/Bigpond make sure you tell them you still want to keep the Bigpond email address (for at least a year, and YOU decide when to stop it)

Business Email address

If the Bigpond email address is a business email address – consider getting an appropriate business email address. If you already have a website, investigate how to get an email attached to it, your web host should be able to help.

This link has tips on how to get a business email address – https://business.vic.gov.au/learning-and-advice/hub/how-to-set-up-your-own-business-email-account

The same technique applies:

  1. Set up your new email account
  2. Email all existing contacts on your Bigpond account, telling them of your new email address.
  3. Set up your new email account to download the email off the Bigpond server.
  4. Reply to the Bigpond emails on your new email account, make sure you have a signature set up on the new email account.
  5. Set up a vacation responder on your Bigpond account, tell anyone that still emails to your Bigpond account about your new email address.
  6. Keep your Bigpond account active for about 12 months, to catch those few stray ones – this may involve a small fee.