Recently I wrote a post about how much I like using Gmail. Like many people in the real estate business I've had an email address for a long time. In fact my original email address attached to my domain of Denver Real Estate and Relocation had to be "retired" because I was getting so much spam from it all I did all day long was delete and delete some more.
I was so sad to lose my original "branded email" but the work involved with keeping it just was worth it anymore.
But now I have a solution. Gmail.
Gmail has been around for quite awhile now. At first one only got an account via personal invitation. Now anyone can have an account (or more) just for the asking!
Gmail has improved from the beginning. If you haven't taken a look at it lately perhaps you should! After my last post on this topic, many were concerned about "giving up" their long loved email addresses. This is nothing further from the truth!
Gmail settings allow for multiple email accounts to be processed through gmail, and one never has to even give out their gmail address. You can continue using your old address but enjoy the benefits, features and power of gmail!
Here's how you can set up mulitple accounts to go through gmail. Go to the gmail dashboard>Settings (found in the top navigation bar)>Accounts and Import>Send mail as:>
At this point all you need to do is add your current email accounts. It is necessary to know your passwords for each account.
Be sure to check the box "Reply from the same address the message was sent to" under the heading "When receiving a message:"
By doing this you never have to worry about which account you are receiving mail, it will automatically respond with your correct email address.
It gets better.
Now you can create a different email signoff for each account. For instance, I'm currently the secretary of the Lone Tree Photography Club. Email for the club comes directly to my gmail account. I can respond to it and have the proper email signature attach to the club emails. Next year when I am no longer the secretary, this email account can be assumed by the new secretary without having to notify members of an email address change. It's all very organized and professional.
Grasp a new concept - don't delete!
How many of us delete email all day long? Not me, at least not anymore. Now with gmail I ARCHIVE my email. Why? Because with gmail I have tons of storage space. It's not necessary to delete an email that maybe I will want to find in a week or two!
Ah you say, But the inbox swells to thousands...
No, it won't not if you create filters to organize important emails. Filters are like "Creating a rule" in Outlook. Filters will allow you to have files where your emails are filed rather than letting them pile up in your inbox. For instance I like to create a file for each of my clients. I create a filter that sends any email directed from them to me into this file. I know I have an email from them because there will be a number next to the filter on the left column.
To organized like filters together, I begin them with a1-ClientsName a1-Client2 a1-client3 etc. Of course I use real names.
The second tier is my lead management filters. b1-leadActivity b1-NewLead b1-ReloRequest
The third tier consists of people I communicate with daily, my assistant, broker, daughter who's in the business with me. Basically tier 3 are the ones whos communications are directing me with items I need to act upon.
Why the tiers? Well after first creating filters that would list in the sidebar in alpha order, I realized I wanted more "order" to the sidebar, thus I created the tier concept. Now when I look at my email I can glance down the sidebar to see who's sent me an email. Clients, Prospects, Office, are my order of importance.
Yes, I have many more filters, newsletters, social media catagories, receipts, etc. These all follow the tiers at the bottom of the sidebar. These are filters I look at when I have the time.
If an email ends up in my box that needs to be associated with a filter, it's easy to "Move to" that filter and file the email in the appropriate place. Now I have everything nice and neat where it belongs.
For a FREE program Gmail is very robust. I'm strong on it of late because so much of our work is now in the cloud. I can access my mail from any computer, not just the one sitting on my desk.
Once you start working with gmail you will see the convenience of not having to delete on multiple devices as I did for so long. Now I do things once and I'm done with it!
Convenience and freedom are a great combination. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Other posts about the joys of Google.
Gmail Offers a Passport to Many FREE Services
Google has a Voice and I Love It!
Relocate to Gmail - A Step by Step Story
Broker Associate, ABR, CRS, GRI, ePRO, PMN, PNG
The Berkshire Group, REALTORS
3801 E. Florida Ave., Suite 400
Denver, Colorado 80210
720-279-4599 ~ direct 303-953-5362 ~ fax
Selling Colorado Since 1984, Serving the Following Areas:
Kristal,
I just heard recently about the Gmail "commercial email addresses". Your information on your use of filters is new to me and sounds so... organized!
Best,
Steve
Oh my a feature, with 0 comments. Well deserved!
And right after I commented on your last gmail post.
We've used GMAIL for quite a while, don't tell them, but I'd even pay for it!
For years I've used a CCIM shell email address for the public advertising, powered by Gmail, routed through my local internet provider, and into Outlook in my PC to better folder and sort it. Works great. Good post!
Sounds easy to me - i will have to try it.
Thanks, Laurie
What a life saver!! This is great news. thanks, I'm heading to gmail right now.
Thanks for this post. I am definitely going to set up an account. I am curious about the whole google app universe too.
I went to Gmail a few years ago. They have one of the best spam filters i have seen. Not much ends up on the wrong side of the line~!
I have been making the move to g mail for about a year, Its tough to just shut down an e mail address you have been using for years. I have stopped publishing my old address and slowly it is seeing less and lees traffic. Another year or so and it will be able to go bye bye,
I have never really gotten the filter thing, I create folders, but that's getting to be an overwhelmingly long list. So I'm going to try the filters. This is great info. I just tried importing email from my msn account, but nothing is showing up. Probably when I get a new email to that account. Thanks for all the information! Is there a way to do subfolders with the filter? I wish there were a way to have a folder like "buyers" and then have the buyer clients in that etc. If you know a way to do that, I'd love to hear!
Hi Kristal - Good points for anyone new to Gmail. I agree that Gmail is an excellent program and use it together with my Outlook business email.
Gmail is the best. Its not my primary though just because I am so used to my other account.
Kristal, I recently set up a Gmail account because I started using a droid phone, works great and now I need to dig in a little deeper and organize the emails, thank you for this post.
Is there a place in gmail for notes, I use the calendar but have hundreds of valuable notes form my outlook that I would like to place on this as well to access from anywhere.
KK - this is an excellent tutorial. I have several gmail accounts but need to do more with organization of my primary business acount. I also have it forwarded so I get it on my Blackberry. I was going to suggest this as it was so well deseerved but clearly someone else recognized the value. Good work and so helpful.
Jeff
I LOVE Gmail but your suggestion about tiering it are fantastic! Thanks!
Kristal, I've been using gmail since their early beta days and love it. It's been more reliable than any other email providers I've used. I must admit I haven't, however, used the filters, so I'm bookmarking this to come back and take care of that much later in the day. Thanks!
Hi Kristal,
You sound way to organized for me. This is great stuff. Once again I learned something new from reading AR. Thanks
Thanks for the post, I love my gmail & voice account. I didn't know you could have multiple signatures, thanks for the tip!
KK - GMail rules..... Been using it for years and have had no problems with it "ever".... Love your idea of tiering as well and archiving.... Well done Jersey Girl...
Great information Kristal - I've been using @TopProducer for years and I'm getting TONS of those SPAM e-mails. I also have a few @gmail so I may just have to look into this post a little further and see what I can lean =}
Kristal - I love using the email filters. I don't even have to see the emails being filtered, they just automatically go to the folders they belong in.
Last year I switched to gmail and I shared it with all my Realtor Friends. Gmaill rocks and google voice is even better!
Thanks Krystal -
I had no idea that G-mail could be used like that. I'm going to set mine up to organize, filter & archive too!
This is the motivation I needed to start routing all my emails through this medium. I already have an account through Droid like the above mentioned. The thing I like best is you can respond using the same email that it came to you under.
Kristal,
I am so glad you wrote this blog. I have taken your advise!
Thanks for this post. I use Gmail and I didn't know about all the extra neat stuff I could do with it. Great!
I learned something new today, Kristal! I have been using GMAIL for more than a year now. I have another email forward to this one, but I didn't know that I good use the same email address for when I respond from gmail. That's awesome. Gonna have to try that feature!
Kristal,
Great blog!! For those of us who are not MAC users, I took advantage of "Google Apps" which creates for you and other members of your team an interface for $50/annual fee, per person, and creates instant synchronization with your gmail, and micrsoft outlook functions.
The power of this product is amazing. If I am out in the field and I book myself an appointment on my Blackberry, it automatically updates my outlook on ALL of my devices including my note book, my netpad, my pc at home and pc in the office. No matter where I look at my calendar they will all be the same. If I delete an email from my pc at the office it will delete everywhere. In essence this operates like an exchange server at a fraction of the cost.
The manual is 60 pages and yes, you should download and print it out to install- And yes, I did all the installation myself, as my IT consultant works mostly with larger companies and had not done it yet himself. He did interpret a couple of things that were initially confusing to me. I was probably far more cautious than I needed to be.
I have been successfully using google apps including google group for my team since August 2010 and am a big fan.
WOW......this blog caught my eye because like you I spend half my day deleting emails from the old acount! I already have set up folders for all my clients which I love...but had no idea you could "filter" their emails directly into the folder! What a time saver having to look for them through all the other ones!
Thank you so much for this information. I will have to look into all the possibilities because I have a gmail account through my Droid as well but never use it!
I've had a gmail account for years and never knew any of these tools. I'll be making a few changes after I submit my comment. I get a lot of junk in my email and it takes/ wastes a lot of time sorting and deleting. This will really help me.
Perfect! I love Gmail so much - no spam, unlimited storage space, etc. And, now I know how to organize my many, many messages. I appreciate you sharing - Thank you, Kristal! I also love all of the other Google features that work along with it - Groups, Presentations, Documents (they are similar to Microsoft Office, but free & better), and people can collaborate and work together in real time. Love it! P.S. I need to explore Google Voice next....
I love love love Gmail and use it religiously for the main reason you stated regarding the permanent email address. I am learning more and more about it every day and so thankful I was able to get away from Outlook!! We had a love/hate relationship...more hate than love! :) Thanks for the tips on filtering, I need to work on that aspect of my Gmail account! Great post!
Kristal - this is really helpful. I just bookmarked it to come back to later. I have Top Producer email - - I know, I know, don't get me going. But I also have a gmail account and my droid works with gmail, but not so much TP. I will refer back to this and make some changes to how I manage my emails. Thank you.
Just what I needed, Kristal! I recently switched over to Gmail. I'm still getting used to it, but so far, I'm very impressed. The calendar the email, everything. I must re-read your blog to make sure I am using all of it! Many Thanks for putting this together!!!!!
G-Mail is excellent. It is somewhat limited in use on my Android Phone without as many features as I have on my regular mananged accounts. For example, when I want to erase mail on my regular accounts from my phone I have a 'select all' feature that G-Mail does not have. This allows me to save time and erase dozens of e-mails at one time.
And there's even more you can do with gmail. The documents, maps and the spreadsheets. We love it.
Definitely need to check this out. I spend a lot of time deleting emails also. Thanks for the tutorial.
I have been using GMail for the last couple of years, it works great.
I'm Soooooo tired of waiting for Outlook to synchronize folders!!! Been thinking of Gmail for a while but not sure how to eliminate Outlook, switch to Gmail & keep my same email address. Do I just create a Gmail account, not caring about the email address because I'll be using my regular account address instead?
Thanks for the post! Might be just what I need to get me started.
I opened a gmail account about a month ago. I hadn't had time to organize it. Your post is going to help me. Thanks so much for sharing this information.
Krystal:
I love Google, too. I have used Google calls, but have not used the email to process my other emails. It' sounds so easy, I think I'll try it now. Thanks for the information.
Goog to know you can have it use the "reply from same address" feature. this I did not know. Still not sure about the privacy with gmail. Not sure I like someone monitoring all my emails....
This is great information. I never knew gmail had so many features. Thans for sharing
I discovered gmail in September and I won't look back at all! Never set up the filter rules so thanks for going in to that a little for me!
Goodness you shared a lot of information - I had to read your post several times and will read it again! Thank you!
I love gmail too! I switched a year ago and cannot believe how powerful this free program is.
I recently had my work e-mail sent to my personal gmail account but was worried that when I responded it would confuse the person because the emails didn't match. Now I don't have to worry about that. Thanks for the great blog.
You have made some suggestions here that I was not aware of. I can see that I need to be making better use of my gmail account.
Great post. Like the idea of tiering the label folders, will have to try that.
Kristal - I, too, love Gmail. I've been using it in the manner you described here since 2007. Terrific, helpful post.
I don't use the Google stuff anywhere near enough. I have a realtor friend that swears by gmail. It seems the old idea of branding your name as the domain is getting less attractive or perhaps as you say can be better incorporated through gmail.
How does that work with outlook - outlook no longer necessary?
Thanks,
Richard
Thank you very much for this post Kristal. I had been reluctant to switch over to g-mail for a few reasons, one of which was the fact that I didn't know you could create a mask and forward other accounts through the google server. You're bookmarked! :)
Awesome post. I'm going to try it right now. Keep up the great work and thank you for the advice.
I have a secondary email with gmail, but I never really checked out what it's capable of. I think I'll do that. Thanks.
Great Post! Thanks, this should be a big help!
Great Info!
I use yahoo & it offers many of those same features...I can set up multiple accounts, add filters & such...but, as far as I am aware, I can not have different email signatures for each account. I may just have to do some more research on gmail!
Looks like it is time to consolidate... Your informative post has pushed me over the edge... Thank you.
I have been using gmail for quite awhile now...like you, I came over by invitation to get away from the spam in Outlook and all the time it took. Your idea of tiers is great...but did you also know that there is a lab called Nested Labels in gmail that will act basically like folders? Love it! Great post.
Good information from all. I am going to check into setting up the folders and filters now before reidrecting all the mail there. Thanks.
Well, certainly a lot of good info here. Thank you. In the post and in the comments.
Glad you got it started. Thanks again.
great explanation, iI learned a few good tricks. thanks.
Kristal -- I did not know GMail was so robust. I am going to have a better look at it. Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge.
You are bookmarked! I am going to start moving my email tomorrow. I am tired of having to worry about synchronizing 2 computers and an Iphone. I can view my Gmail and the Google calendar from anywhere!
Thank you for sharing your great organizational tools and tricks. You are very generous.
Love gmail - mine is almost full. I've got to go through and delete twitter, Facebook, notices etc on occasion
thanks for sharing, I made a gmail account but I found that the email address is too long, so now I have to create another gmail account. What I love about it is that I could link my yahoo account with it too. What a great service..but most of all it's FREE.
Hi Kristal,
Been using gmail for quite a while now and it's a great tool. I remind agent on a frequent basis that they should have their @domain.com forwarded to gmail even if it is just for back-up purposes. Ultimately GMail can be your perfect synched back-up for notes, calendars, documents & e-mail of course!
I have had gmail for over 3 years, got it when I started in real estate, then also later got my own domain. I use gmail as a backup, but may consider dropping Outlook and just Gmail. Google dose have lots of great features.
Hi Kristal, Thank you so much for this! I am going to set my accounts now!
Thank you for the great post! I am not a current gmail user but, think I better check this out.
Kristal- We use Gmail and it rocks. The other tools that come with an account are incredible as well- Google docs alone creates incredible possibilities for collaboration and even a company intranet for us.
THanks for the post today, I'll check it out for sure.
Patricia/Seacoast NH & ME
This is great! I'll look into doing this asap - it is definitely time for a change. Thanks.
Kristal - Great post. I caught it on a re-blog. I have a gmail acct. and was planning to use it more because my other account is too full. I was planning to use gmail for large files such as photos and contracts. After reading your blog and everyone's comments, I think I'll utilize it for more.
Wow Krystal, You've done it again. Like the everready battery you just keep putting it out...
This is a great post. Our entire office is actually in the process moving from an older spam ridden Smarter Mail mail service. The spam filters, calendars, and features of gmail servers are so far better than our current server that we actually pay for its not even funny. With google sync you can sync you gmail account and calendars with outlook AND your mobile device setup basically like an exchange server. Can't wait to get everything switched over. No more deleting email because our terribly small storage space keeps filling up!
Brian
http://www.LivingIndianapolis.com
Yep, Gmail is the bomb. I have mine set up that way and I love it.
Hi Kristal -- I use gmail for internal stuff with clients sometimes, but I'm still an Outlook user, and have a both a huge love/hate relationship with it. I can't be the user experience of a windows program on a fast desktop computer as opposed to making web server calls every time I want to do something, but eventually, these lines will blur.
Kristal, I've been using Gmail for several years now and use all of Google's other tools as well. Great post about advantages and your experience. Glad to see it made the hit parade here!
What a great post, thanks Kristal! Trouble is, now I need to budget a day or ten to get eveything set up the way I want. I am soooo tired of changing email settings and dealing with server problems.
And gmail has lots of other great features as well, explore and have fun
Hi Kristal - I am learning more and more of the great features of Google as time permits.
I had no idea that Gmail would reply using the email that "received" the email. I really like that.
I have a different view on Gmail. I tried it and loved it at first but still had to click on each email that had a rule then move to proper folder. I then tried out GoDaddy email account and now I just setup a rule and email moves exactly like Outlook.I get 10 email addresses for $35 year and LOVE it. Of course, free is best for most.I like to categorize lead with an email that is leads@, rentals with rentals@ and so on but I have my own brokerage. I was spending at least 3 hours a day on junk mail.I am now more productive and income is rising.
Looking foward to setting up gmail! Great post!
Slowly I/m realizing that Gmail is putting my yahoo account to shame. . great tutorial
Kristal, just in time I was just talking about doing this yesterday. Bookmarked
I decided to route my regular email through Gmail last year and it has been working really well. At this rate, I have enough storage for the next ten years.
I also love the Gmail app for the Ipad. It all gets synced immediately. You never have to worry about having a specific email on some computer. It's available anywhrere you can log on to the Internet. I love it.
Gmail can't be beat for it's spam filters. I finally routed all of my (7) email addresses through gmail in December. The transition is easier once you commit to it. And if you set up your outside emails to be checked by gmail through it's POP interface, you don't have to change any settings to your email. They will still be sitting there if you ever need to switch back.
One of the biggest benefits is being able to send an email from my phone, laptop or desktop and have it in my sent folder no matter which computer I am on.
And I love being able to set up different signatures for my different email accounts.
Kristal,
I have been using it as well since the Beta days. I have no need for any other email home. It works very well indeed.
-Brent
Kristal- I absolutely love using Gmail. I haven't gotten quite as complex with my filtering systems enough to delete my Hotmail account but I'm on the verge. For now, I just use my Hotmail for junk mail and anything important whether it be from my work account or just personal comes to Gmail. I love that I can send from all three of my email addresses while on one website!
I am still one that prefers outlook. I personally do not see the benefit of adding Gmail into the mix. I have several email addresses, use all of them regularly, flag emails for follow up, use 2 calendars, import emails into one note and more. I don't Gmail is any better or worse, just use what works for you.
Take it a step further. Skip the web log in to gMail, you can still map your accounts through to your Outlook or other mail client or to your phone, but the spam filters still apply.
I have an email address on a client's network that just moved to gMail about 6 months ago. My spam to that account has gone down 90% and I get a spam report every morning on what got filtered just in case there is something that shouldn't have been filtered.
Very strong product that Google has created.
Kristel,
I have done this and I love it! simplification is what it is all about. Gmail has so many other things to help with your business tasks.
Great post and sometime I have been slacking off on doing.
I use gmail but wasn't aware of all the extra features. I will definitely look into this. Thanks.
I never realized the added extras that Google provided.
I like the funnel feature with return signatures
Thanks
Enjoy the day
I never realized the added extras that Google provided.
I like the funnel feature with return signatures
Thanks
Enjoy the day
O.K., I'm a dummy...
Does this mean there is no need to pay Internet Crusade $130/yr to host my domain (my name) and have all my e-mail acts funnel through there?
Heck, if I can do same thing (can I?) through G-mail and NOT pay...weeeeeeeeeee
I'm probably confusing the need for hosting with actual e-mail and web sites and...man, there's a lot to keep up with, huh?
H-E-L-P !
anyone else have an account with Internet Crusade? Any value, there?
Kristal--Thanks for the info. I've been using gmail for personal for about 2 months. It would be great to have it all coming to one place! And be so organized!
I love your details on use of filters. I've been using Gmail to consolidate several email addresses and have been frustrated with the lack of folders (as Outlook, Yahoo and Hotmail have). I'll invest some time to setup filters following your approach.
Thanks!!.
Hey Kristel,
This is valuable information. I am presently having difficulty with my Company e-mail forwarding to my droid mobile phone-which has a gmail e-mail account. It would be awesome to configure my e-mails to come through to my droid. Thanks !
And Oh! Another really neat thing about Gmail is the GmailApp on my Blackberry - allows you to handle your gmail with almost same feel as if from the desktop.
Fulton, what you are paying isabout twice as much as you pay on the open market! of course Interner Crusade may provide you the "training wheels" you need.
Only you can decide if this is "dumb" or not.
kk
Fulton, what you are paying isabout twice as much as you pay on the open market! of course Interner Crusade may provide you the "training wheels" you need.
Only you can decide if this is "dumb" or not.
kk
Chris,
Your filters didnt work because they weren't configured correctly. Too bad you gave up so soon. i've used GoDaddy email too. it cant compare to Gmail.
kk
Chris,
Your filters didnt work because they weren't configured correctly. Too bad you gave up so soon. i've used GoDaddy email too. it cant compare to Gmail.
kk
GMail is fantastic. I use Google Apps to host our email as well, rather than just forwarding our email through Gmail.
Kristal,
This seems quite good, and of course, the problem is the switch. I'm glad to hear that things have improved, so I might consider it again.
Brian
Thanks! This is great information for me. I am always fighting the limits of storage with my provider.
Thank your for the technology update Kristal.
Incidentally, you can do all of this as well with the latest version of Outlook. Gmail is very good, it has great features (and also some liabilities). I also use GMail for business in addition to Outlook, but overall I find Outlook more robust, secure and superior to GMail in all aspects. And I get both GMail and Outlook to talk to each other and coordinate everything or almost.
There is one very important consideration you cannot overlook with GMail. Your email messages and contact database as well as your calendar sit on a third party server owned by Google. It can go down, be hacked, stolen as it does not sit local on your machine. If GMail loses your info, you are SOL. And the entrance to your email sits on a public interface that anyone can access. On the other hand, with Outlook, it sits on your local system.
One of the secrets to go mobile, is to use an independent commercial email farm server other than the provider of the email system. When tied in with Outlook, you get all your emails as well on your mobile units. I use Android OS to accomplish this on a mobile unit and it just happens that Android is a Google OS product, the same company as GMail.
Just my two cents worth of contribution.
I have had my gmail accounts for quite sometime. I love it. I now push it through outlook, but I still enjoy the fact that I don't get spammed.
As always, fabulous suggestion to make business easier.
Thanks Kristal. I hope you don't mind, I reblogged and gave you credit. It's a nice tutorial which is very timely. I love the unlimited space on Google. Oh gosh, I just love Google!
All my email funnels through gmail and then to outlook at my office. I think Outlook is more robust but lately, I find that I am using Gmail even in the office. My emails go to both locations but gmail is the filter. I didn't realize all the additional filters, I will have to try out some of your short cuts and ideas. What did we do before "google"?
Hi Kristal
You are quite a sales person you talked me into another project lol .......Brad
Can you go to a particular file and download all the emails from that file to a disc or print. My filing system with SBC will not allow me to save to file outside their system. I am trying to go paperless and would love to save all the correspondence I have throughout an escrow file onto a file that can be stored with the closed file? Thanks for your help.
I've printed out your directions! I hope I can follow them as EASILY/CAREFULLY as you explained them!LOL!
I like Gmail and have two accounts for it. One for all those things you have to sign up for like restaurants, online shopping etc., because they email you THREE TIMES A WEEK, so I check it once or twice a month.
The other one is for signing up for websites that I may some day not want.
I still use Outlook that filters all of our Team emails from our website. All I know is after I read your post, I am GRATEFUL for my SPAM Filters. They send me a report every morning.and I skim it. Occasionally it picks up a legitimate email and it picks up a lot of junk.
Love a Good Filter! Joy
I looked back and read several of your previous Blogs! Thank you for taking the time & effort to write these INFORMATIVE blogs! I'm working on using your info to MAKE MY LIFE MORE EFFICIENT!
Gmail is great. I find the ease of use especially when traveling helpful. With other emails you can get a full box I have yet to have that happen with gmail.
You can set up gmail accounts for different properties so that the incoming property reviews and questions are all stored in one place no sorting them out and you can forward them to your primary address so you get all your mail in one place.
Yes as stated previously this also is a great way to filter!
The gmail.com works with Outlook, so that's why I have a gmail.com address, however, you might give gmx.com a look. I am moving my premium email account and switching to gmx, not only because it's FREE but because its features and benefits are unsurpassed.
I may revisit my gmail account soon.
i love Gmail but didn't know about all the features you pointed out. Thanks!
Krystal:
WOW - so much information about Gmail I did not know. Thank you!
Hey Kristal - Man I wish I was a teenager again and ahead of the curve instead of behind . . . but boy do I appraciate reading posts like yours to see that folks from my vintage can grasp some of these great tech opportunities . . . switching over to the google site in 3, 2, 1 . . . .
I use Gmail for personal email. when I got my Verizon Droid phone, I was kind of forced to use Gmail....because it works great on the phone where other email systems don't work nearly as good. It takes some getting used to, but now I like Gmail
KK- I have been using gmail since I got a droid for Xmas, but I haven't really been using it to it's full capacity. Thank you for the tutorial! Bookmarked, for sure. :)
Kristal - I am with you. All my email goes through gmail. It is easy to search and keep categorized. The only problem I have had is remembering to uncheck boxes of emails that I file or move around. It has caused me to delete some messages I really did not want too. Love it!
@Richard - you can always sync your Gmail/calendar, etc. to outlook, either using IMAP and their free syncing tools, or using 3rd party tools, if you're paranoid about losing stuff. There's plenty of ways to back up the Google products, if needed.
Kristal, I use this all the time. It is WAY better than Outlook, as I can get to it anywhere and on any computer.
And I have a Droid, so when I update a contact on Gmail, or on Droid, the other is automatically updated.
It's superb!
This is great info. Thanks for sharing. I never realized just how powerful Gmail is.
I started using Gmail in Beta. It was and still is the most amazing email that anyone could use, and by the responses here, just that!
When starting up with Gmail, not only does it have amazing filters, folders, etc., but the color coding for each folder is another tool that is a must.
When filtering your email and all your accounts into one, color coding them so you know where each one came from is also fantastic.
Sample:
Red- Yahoo
Blue - MSN
Then after you set up your folders in the colors, then you can add another filter "labels" for each of your emails etc.
Sample:
Red - Yahoo, Real Estate Deals
Blue - MSN, Linkedin Groups
So, there are so many ways of filtering the emails, it's endless.
Don't forget to also use the Google Calendar, Google Phone, and also Google Maps and Presentations, all "SEO" important. All these things that are part of Gmail will get you some search engine traffic as well. So, read the introduction, play around with Gmail, and have fun, it's worth it's weight in gold, not to mention filtering out so much "junk" mail to top it off.
Happy Gmailing...
Kristal - Great info, thanks!
Thank you for the post! This is very helpful--- I never knew Gmail can do all of this. I was always afraid to get rid of my branding e-mail also.
Great post. Timely, too. I just reblogged with this addition:
I have been considering doing a switch to gmail so this article really highlights the reasons to do so and also the steps to take. I like the spam reduction. I also like the no need to ever swtich concept. Breeze through this well written post!
I do love gmail, but I have some labels, but I was never comfortable setting up the filters. I think that's now on my "to-do" list, along with voice. Nice post, thanks.
Kristal,
Good evening and good post. For those not using G-mail I too would strongly recommend it. I have several G-mail addresses to organize their respective contents ...though I still use my namesake @MSN [from when you could pay to show you cared
Have a great week :) Steven
I just made my gmail account and find your post. The friends of mine told me about gmail and the great future that they offer
I jsut started with Gmail recently, but hadn't taken the time to work much with it. Thanks for the tips and inspiration!
Really appreciate info on filters.... I have had gmail since it became available... I love it. I have organized using level 1 filter, but didn't realize I could filter further.
I also love gmail's integration with Picasa (free download http://picasa.google.com/). I edit my photo's using Picasa, then upload to an online album. Just send a link when I get a request for additional photo's.
Thanks for the info Kristal! Yes, Gmail is the best!
this is a really interesting way to use email and cut down on the spam. Right now I have a good spam filter but would consider this idea down the road. Thanks for the post.
I have been using G-mail for about 2.5 years. Ever since my hard drive went and took down about 2 months of unbacked up e-mail. I love it.
Kristal, what a wonder inspiring post! I have a gmail account mostly for creating my blogs but have never really done much else with it. I'm game now though!!!
Guess I need to take another look at g-mail and see what I'm missing. I have an account but never use it because it feels cumbersome. Just getting there is kind of a pain. But I can sure see the value of having saved emails be somewhere besides on my desktop. Like Gene, I've lost mail that I didn't want to lose.
Gmail is pretty awesome for a free product. I understand your solution, but I delete most messages so I don't have to see them again.
I just wanted to be comment #152.
Google Apps is what I use and have been for awhile. When I started with it I felt like it was an Epiphany. I see the LIGHT at the end of the tunnel sort of thing. Like you said I too was sick of the double and triple deleting on multiple devices.
I occasionally deleted items early on and learned very quickly that it will delete the entire conversation. I lost a few important emails but once I learned how to archive life is good. I go int my sent box about once a week and archive all conversations. Life is good.
The search capabilities are amazing. Finding an email you sent/received or were copied on months ago is so easy even I can do it. Go to "ALL MAIL" and search anything you remember about the email and it will be found.
QUESTION: The only thing I miss from Outlook is at the end of a transaction I used to go in and use Adobe PDF and create a pdf portfolio of the entire client file of emails. All the emails would at once be transformed into a single pdf complete with links and addresses. I would store the file with all the other files in the transaction and even load it into our company's file management system. With gmail this doesn't happen. I would have to do each email individually. Oh well.
I have a couple of gmail accts, but I've never tried to set up filters. Great idea.
Kristal I have been using GMAIL for about 2years. I will never return to Outlook. Thanks for the tip on filters. I will try that one for sure.