Tinkering with solutions for the email challenge is an ongoing process in my VO business.  It’s always morphing as I try new add-ons and plug-ins.

I’ve gone from Outlook to ComF5 to Zoho, and now settling in with Gmail, ’cause that’s where the creative 3rd-party products are focusing.

The email challenge means:

• controlling the constant influx of emails
• not missing important messages
• organizing and categorizing
• managing email as a to-do list
• optimizing replies and signatures
• automating as much stuff as I can

Gmail is hearty and robust, and seems to withstand a considerable amount of tinkering and adding-on.  Currently, I’m playing with programs that track your emails when they’re opened.   YesWare went out the window after a couple of months when I found out how intrusive it was, especially on text-based (not HTML) mail. 

Ridding myself entirely of YesWare meant rebuilding my signature from square one, including all the VoiceZam links.

Now, I’m auditioning Streak.  I find it less meddlesome, and was pleased to know that Matt Cowlrick was also using it.  Matt’s a bright guy when it comes to these things, and I always listen to what he has to say…most recently at FaffCon.  He’s the one who also turned me onto Nimble.  Nimble also has a Gmail plug-in, and both Streak and Nimble could be called CRM (customer relationship management) tools.

But there are more…and new ones coming out all the time.

I was inspired to write this blog after reading an extremely helpful article on Email management on Razor Social titled:  5 Email Productivity Tools Guaranteed to Save You 1 Hour A day.

Read it.   You’ll find tips about managing mail, as well as the latest add-ons…one of which I’m also testing right now:  Boomerang.

CourVO

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