Relocate to Gmail - A Step by Step Story

Gmail is brought to us by Google, with it is a packed-full warehouse of goodies in the form of apps.  In my continuing saga of touting the benefits of working in The Cloud and at the same time minimizing expenses, I've now written this step by step tutorial on how to make the move.

In a previous post Funnel Your Email Address Through Gmail I spoke of how to send all your email accounts to Gmail, thus consolidating them in one handy IN THE CLOUD spot.  I repeat for those who didn't catch the point, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LOSE (or stop using) YOUR OLD EMAIL ADDRESS when using Gmail.

So, the answer is YES! You can route all your email addresses to Gmail and no one will know the difference (just you!).  Of course if you want to eventually simplify your life you can first migrate your addresses to Gmail and then later on close out other accounts.  Either way, the choose is yours, you decide what to do.

Which comes first the Chicken or the Egg?  Or how to I migrate to Gmail without losing my brand email...Step by Step read on.

For those who are Gmail newbies, or have a Gmail account but it's sitting dormant, this tutorial should help get you started.

First you will need a Gmail account.  Go to Google.com and get one.  Look for the Create an account link.

You will be asked your name and desired Login name.  When picking your login name, this is the part that will appear before the "@" in your new gmail address.

If you are lucky you might get your name, or you can use a "." (dot)  a number (1-9) or location in conjunction with it.

Mine is Kristal.Kraft@gmail.com, I got lucky, first there aren't too many Kristal Krafts and I also joined in the beginning when they first opened the beta.  I also have KraftyKristal@gmail.com an address that I don't use often but is fun.

Once you have chosen a name you like and one you won't mind having to type again and again, finish answering the questions and submit.  Google will create your gmail account.

Visit your account.  You will probably have a few welcome and how-to emails from Gmail.  It's a good idea to take a few moments and read them just incase my instructions differ from theirs!

The first thing you will want to do is import your mail and contacts from your existing accounts.  Look in the top upper right of your screen.  You will see a navigation bar that looks like this:

Click on the SETTINGS and then once again search on the navigation bar for ACCOUNTS and IMPORT, click on it and you will see a screen that resembles this:

 

Most people will have an email account with one of these; Yahoo!, Htomail, AOL, or other webmail or POP3 accounts.  Click on the Import mail and contacts button if you do.  (See above arrow)

You will need to know your other email addresses and the passwords.  Once that is inputted, Google will present a box for you to check the options you would like.  It looks like this:

 

In this instance I see no need to leave messages on the server. You may find it wise to do so until you are fully committed to using Gmail.  I add the LABEL of my other email address as it will show up on all my messages.  Now I can easily determine where the message came from.

The Archive box is a good thing to use if you want to ARCHIVE ALL your messages from this email.  In some cases I do that, but not in this one.  Where I do archive all messages from one email is in the event of using a particular email like my Secretary of Lone Tree Photo Club email. 

When everything looks good, click START IMPORT.  The next box you see might be a little puzzling...here it is:

I've never noticed it taking up to 2 days for my email to be imported but I guess if they say it is so it must be!

Now that you've begun the process to import your email the next steps are to create filters and to import and categorized your contacts.

Before we leave this screen, remember you can add MULTIPLE email accounts by using the SEND MAIL As:  Just click on that button and add information about your other email address.  Each time you do this you configure that email address to reply either from your gmail address or whatever address it is.  (I have 6 email addresses funneled through my gmail account! It's so nice to have them all in one place.)

So now you have created a central location to store and read your email on Gmail.  You still have your other email active so you can check to see if Gmail is pulling all your mail before you cut it off.  Now, by cutting it off I mean changing where you go to SEE your email and SEND it.

Now instead of going to OUTLOOK on your computer you will log on to Google, click on Gmail and there you will find your email.  If you are like me, this habit maybe hard to break.  It will take some patience, persistence and probably practice before you are totally 100% a Gmail person!

Next time I will write a tutorial on using Filters to organize.

 

Previous posts about Google:

Funnel Your Email Addresses Through Gmail

Gmail Offers a Passport to Many FREE Services

Google Has a Voice and I Love It!

 

Call Kristal Kraft for Denver Real Estate and Relocation!

Kristal Kraft

Broker Associate, ABR, CIPS, CRS, GRI, ePRO, PMN, PNG
The Berkshire Group, REALTORS
3801 E. Florida Ave., Suite 400
Denver, Colorado 80210
303-589-2022 ~ direct     303-953-5362 ~ fax

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