✍A Written Invitation? This is a long post...but read it if you want to use Gmail or already are and just want to get the most out of it...so worth it for all the little useful nuggets...even if I do say so myself ☺
I seriously am IN LOVE with Gmail. I am a die-hard Microsoft person from way back, but the more and more virus and worm problems, and the constant problems with Microsoft .pst files in Outlook all caused me to start looking for other alternatives a couple of years ago. I tried Thunderbird and several others...nothing seemed right.
Then I tried Gmail...instantly I was in love with the fact that when I opened my email in the morning there weren't tons of SPAM messages in my inbox...they all went to the SPAM folder where they belonged automatically, and I rarely had a "real" email end up in my SPAM folder by mistake.
At this point my biggest irritation factor was the fact that I was an anally organized person used to the folder storage system in Outlook that allowed me to have everything sorted by category, client, etc... Gmail uses labels...really? Labels? What the heck can I accomplish with labels? And there's no sub-label hierarchy available yet...but I hear it's in the works. To get around it, I just label my "sub-labels" intuitively after the parent label so that they appear right below the parent in the label list on the left. For example, I would have a main "Client" folder, then I would create a "Client-done" folder, a "Client-waiting" folder, a "Client-admin" folder, etc...and they would all show up right under the main "Client" label. When I no longer want an email to be in the main "Client" label, I just click the "Move to" drop down at the top of the screen and move it to one of my pseudo-sub-labels. Works like a charm. Loving the labels...plus I can color code them!
It used to take me quite awhile in Outlook to find an email that I had "lost". With the search feature in Gmail...those emails can run and bury themselves thousands deep while hiding...but I WILL find them! And so far, no matter how many emails I have in my Gmail, it hasn't slowed down a bit, so unlike my old Outlook inbox!
OH - another frustration that I thought I had with Gmail, was the fact that when you set up a signature within Gmail and then you reply to a message...your signature would show up underneath the quoted text...rather than at the top of the reply so that you could type in your message just above it and then have the quoted message at the bottom of the reply as I was used to. Well...there's these lovely things called "Labs" and an even lovlier "lab" called "Signature Tweak" - and it puts the signature just where I want it to go! ♥ Another favorite "lab" of mine is the "Canned Responses" lab - this fulfills the stationery or template needs quite nicely!
♥Love, Love, Loving...the filters! I have filters set up so that important email messages that come in from my clients instantly bypass the Inbox, get tagged with the appropriate label, and even text my iPhone so that I instantly know I have an email message from them! (yes, it may take more than one filter to get all of that done...but set it up once and it's good to go!)
As much as I LOVE my Gmail, I still felt kind of dorky using it for professional reasons...I didn't like how when I sent an email I either had to send it through Gmail's server...some people are able to send through their own domain smtp servers, but because of my ISP, I am not. I have to send via their server (which looks almost as dumb as sending through Gmail's server) or Gmail's. At least I USED to... Today, while working with a client who wanted me to use an email address from his company for the work I do for him...and having him not enjoy the fact that all the emails that came through to him from me said something like "sent from Gmail's server on behalf of Christine@myclient.com" - I got frustrated! So, I searched and I searched and I Googled and I Googled (can't believe spell check doesn't know that "Googled" is a verb yet!)...and finally I found my solution! There is a service out there called SMTP2Go.com - and it allows you to use their server to send mail through services like Gmail (it works on others too...). It isn't free, I think it used to be, but now they charge...totally worth it, for less than $25/yr. I can use it for up to 5 email accounts! I signed up, set it up and it works just as they say... I hope everyone reads this...this is truly a golden nugget because this was a very frustrating issue that seemed like it should have a very simple solution...and now thanks to SMTP2Go, it does!
I think that's it...want to find out more tips and tricks for Gmail? And don't forget to search the Active Rain archives for past post on Gmail tips as well!
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