I have a Gmail account and use Gmail for all of my business mail. If we’ve emailed, you probably don’t realize this because my email address is marie at marieleslie.com. Gmail doesn’t show up anywhere in my emails unless I choose to send from my Gmail address. I’ve been through several email systems in the nearly two decades since I got my first email account. I’ve been using Gmail for six years now and it has been the best.
I’ve had email accounts with all the major providers. I use them infrequently, one for strictly personal email (you know—my family, my kids’ schools, etc.) and one for junk. I use it for junk because I can’t keep any contacts in it; I think it’s the most hacked email provider on the planet and I don’t want to subject any friends to hack spam.
Why do I love Gmail so much?
Gmail has the Best. Spam. Filters. Ever.
I NEVER find ads in my inbox for male enhancements (for whatever reason I only get emails with male things; go figure), email with vulgarities in it or garbage. I do get daily notices that my accounts have been compromised at banks I’ve never heard of, but those only appear in my Spam folder. And unlike some other email providers I’ve used, I didn’t have to set up the filtering myself.
Gmail automatically uses my domain email.
Gmail allowed me to set up my email to automatically receive email from my domain (yes, it’s forwarded from my webhost) and to have every outgoing email automatically show as coming from my domain. Six years ago, no online email provider did it that simply. Even when I send from my phone, it still shows my domain email as the sending address. I don’t have to remember to select it every time I send an email. I can even choose to have outgoing emails sent from any number of different addresses if I want to.
Gmail can be accessed from any computer and from my phone.
Without jumping through hoops or going through complicated procedures, I can check my BUSINESS email from any computer and from my phone and I can access old emails as well because it all stays on the Gmail database. This also means I don’t ever download any potential virus-containing emails to my computer. For what it’s worth, I do download and store important emails and information that would kill me to lose if something happened to my email. I’d do the same thing if I were using Outlook and it downloaded my mails. Backing up everything important is just smart business and part of my business routine.
Gmail has an awesome labeling system.
I like things orderly. I don’t like messy inboxes any more than I like a messy desk (my pet peeve). Not only can I organize emails into neatly labeled folders, but Gmail actually has a filtering system that I can combine with those labels to have it automatically sort my incoming mail to make my mail-checking so much easier. I’ll be posting a tutorial about this in the next few days if you want to know how it works.
Gmail makes it easy for me to see what’s important.
Gmail has nifty stars and other symbols that I can use to label emails. My other account allows me to flag things with a little orange star when it’s important; Gmail gives me several different colors of stars as well as exclamation points and other symbols. I use them to mark emails for different purposes. Different colors of stars have different meanings for me as well as using colored exclamation points for degree of importance or urgency. When I can’t tend to all my email at once, it’s a great way for me to know what I need to come back to later and in what order.
Gmail has a cool group-by-conversation feature.
I love that Gmail keeps emails with the same subject together. When I’m having an ongoing conversation with someone, I can see the entire thread start to finish. I don’t have to waste time hunting down old emails to refer back to something that was discussed in an earlier email. If you don’t like this feature, you can turn it off.
Gmail has an easily customizable signature.
I can create a signature, with multiple links if I want, to go at the bottom of every outgoing email. I can even create a different signature for each outgoing address I use. Yes, I am aware that most other providers allow signatures. Gmail’s works for me.
Gmail connects easily with other apps.
I can use my Gmail account to quickly and easily sign in to any number of other online apps that I use. It just makes my life easier to have a Gmail account that is connected to everything, like my Google Voice, Hootsuite, YouTube and Flickr accounts so I don’t have to remember as many passwords.
Are you a Gmail user? Do you love it or not and why? Share your comments and questions in the comment section below.
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What a great article Marie! I use Gmail, in fact I have several but only when I do not want to give my personal email address. I didn’t know that Gmail had a labeling system…that’s something that I certainly could use. Thanks for all the other tips. Looks like I’m going to take another more serious look at Gmail!
Alexandra, I plan to make one of my next posts a tutorial on setting up the labels and filters. For me, it has made a huge difference in the amount of time I have to spend on email each day. I can work through so much more quickly now and I can move on to other tasks.
I love Gmail, have used it for many many years and I recommend it to everyone. Love all the features and use all you have listed here..Great your getting the word out 🙂 Thanks 🙂
Thank you Marie, you give so much information here.. I will consider forwarding my domain e-amil to Gmail…good idea! Have an amazing time! 🙂
What a great article Marie! I had NO IDEA that you could do this with Gmail. I think may need a tutorial on how to set that up! 🙂
Tutorials are in the works, Jennifer. I think setting up the domain mail is going to come first–and I’ve already promised one on using the filters and labels to organize the inbox.
Hmmm, I never realized that I could forward my domain email to Gmail. Thanks for the info. I have just always had my domain email through Yahoo.
Great tutorial here–Gmail is by far the most secure and robust email program I’ve ever used. I too have used many of them and won’t go back to any of them! 😀
Same here, Elise. I’ve had my personal mail with another provider since they started business many years ago, but I find myself using it less and less and directing people more to my domain address so it comes through my Gmail.
Love Gmail and use it daily for personal and business..I did not know however that I could use my domain email….may i ask how to set that up?
You bet, Carl. I’m planning a series of tutorials on maximizing Gmail. Perhaps that would be the best topic to start with. I will let you know when the series starts.
Hi Marie- I’m a fellow SITS girl and glad to find this post. I didn’t know you could elminate the @gmail on your email address.
I currently use my websites provider of email and I don’t get much junk mail but this is good to know.
Welcome, Michelle. Glad you found it helpful. If it’s something you might eventually be interested in, I will be posting a tutorial on how to direct your domain mail to Gmail.
I have a gmail account – but I rarely use it. I’ve always heard it was better to use my business email that is connected to our domain name.
I think it’s very cool it can do that much – your review is not the only positive one I’ve read about gmail – I’ve read others too, so it must be a really good option.
I do use my domain email–it just gets delivered to my gmail inbox. There is so much more versatility with the gmail account. My ISP doesn’t have nearly the ability to organize my email as Gmail does, plus I’m able to easily access my email from anywhere I go as opposed to having to log in to my cpanel every day to check my mail.
Great points! How do you make a customizable signature? You should be the gmail spokesperson!
Thanks, Ingrid. I have a series of Gmail tutorials in the works. I will add the customizable signature to the mix. It’s actually a fairly simple process. Just working out some quirks with my computer and video system and we’ll start putting them up.
Marie, I am so in need of your tutorial on GMail. I use it, and I like it, but the complexity of it keeps me from LOVING it. I don’t know how to use all the bells and whistles that keeps your inbox organized. And, I get confused by the way it shows the entire conversation in one thread. Sometimes I’m not sure which message came first and if i’ve read all the messages in a conversation. I think I just need some more practice! Good idea about using your own email to get your GMail, I hadn’t thought of that.