Service Forwards Mail When You Switch E-Addresses

If you've ever switched jobs or Internet service providers, you've faced the hassle of getting your e-mail to follow you. Unlike the U.S. Postal Service, which does a decent job of forwarding snail mail, no national clearinghouse tracks e-mail addresses. But a few services are emerging that offer to solve that problem for the one-third of an estimated 100 million e-mail users in the United States who change addresses each year.

One of the newest, Veripost, wants to smooth some of the bumps on the e-mail highway by building a national platform for e-mail address change information. Its approach serves companies seeking to reconnect with customers, and the individuals who want to be found.

"About 17 percent of Americans move their physical address every year, according to the U.S. Postal Service," says Eric Kirby, Veripost founder and chief executive officer. "E-mail change is about double that."

Some people change e-mail when they change jobs or service providers, or when they switch to a free Web-based e-mail account. Many lose a college account after graduating.

"Think of it this way--the postal service is like the only ISP that moves mail around the whole country," Kirby says. "The problem with e-mail is that anybody who has an e-mail server is acting as their own little independent post office."

Seek and Find

Veripost's solution works like this:

You register both your old and new e-mail addresses at Veripost.com. The company does not actually forward any e-mail. Rather, it gives your new e-mail address to correspondents who fail to reach you at your old address.

But it's an opt-in system. Your new e-mail address is only handed out with your approval. For example, you can tell Veripost to give your new address to anyone trying to reach you at your old address, or you can ask to be notified by Veripost every time someone sends e-mail to the former address. Then it's up to you how or whether to offer new contact information.

The service is free to consumers. Veripost charges a fee to companies seeking to reconnect with customers or prospects who have switched e-mail accounts.

"We are actually building a permission-based database that doesn't exist anywhere else," Kirby says. "We are pairing up old information with new information."

Kirby won't disclose exact numbers but says his business has attracted "a few hundred thousand" change submissions.

"Every incremental addition provides incremental value," he adds. "It really doesn't take much for someone to do this. It's easy, free, and doesn't cost anything, and it's completely permission-based."

Partners, Competitors

Some ISPs are working with Veripost to offer its services to their customers. Deals are in the works with Juno, NetZero, and BlueLight.com.

Veripost has also partnered with Peoplestreet.com, which provides a so-called self-updating address book. It's one of a handful of companies that promise to keep your online contacts current, no matter where you--or your contacts--stray.

Also, like Veripost, Return Path provides e-mail forwarding services. Return Path also focuses on businesses that want to keep track of customers, offering a subscription tracking service as well as permission-based forwarding.