Google first launched Gmail 17 years ago in 2004 and, since then, the service has gone on to become one of the world’s most popular email service providers with 1.8 billion users globally. However, while the base service offered by Gmail is indeed impressive, there are many useful functions offered both in the platform and by third parties that users often overlook.
If you’re looking for ways to supercharge your productivity in Gmail, read on for some top tips to improve your workflow and get the best from the system.
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Previewing emails without opening
The default settings in Gmail mean that users have to open emails to view their contents. If you were used to other email platforms like Outlook, you’ll have probably got used to the preview function that came as standard with that system and might be wishing for something similar in Gmail – and the good news, it exists. Go to the Settings (the gear icon at the top right of the page) > See all settings > Inbox > then scroll to Reading pane > Enable reading pane > then choose how to display the preview. You will then be able to see emails at a glance, displayed on the right of the page.
Use an add-on to brand all work emails with headers and signatures
The world’s most successful firms all have one thing in common – namely a clear understanding and appreciation of the importance of branding. Good branding runs through an entire firm, from the shop floor to the board room and should encompass anything and everything you send to customers – including your emails. However, as impressive as the base Gmail system is, it doesn’t offer users much in the way of design or branding capabilities.
If you want to take full control of the design of your company emails, you’ll need to use an add-on service like the Gmail signature generator provided by Rocketseed. A signature generator allows you to set up branding rules across all your user emails so you send a clear message with each outgoing email – one that is immediately identifiable as having come from your firm.
Use filters to organize your inbox better
If you find your inbox is constantly cluttered and want to find ways to keep your focus on specific emails in a thread or from a specific person or group, you should think about setting up filters. Filters in Gmail automatically route incoming emails to a specific folder to allow you to organize your main inbox better and separate important mails. To set up a filter rule, open Gmail, click the down arrow to the right of the search field then set your search criteria. You will see multiple options ranging from the ability to sort by subject or even by emails containing specific words. Simply enter the criteria you want to use as a rule then hit search to check it’s giving you the desired results. Presuming all is well, you can then go back to the fields you created (click the down arrow in the search field again) then click Create filter at the bottom of the page to then tell Gmail what you want it to do with emails matching the rules you set up.
