Imagine how much your work will improve if you automate gmail to manage all your emails. Forget about constantly cleaning your main inbox manually, or even replying to the same emails over and over again. forward and copy messages all the time? why would you still use these functions anyway?
In this article, you’ll learn how to manage email overload in Gmail without spending time and effort, eliminating most of the manual processes you’re used to on a daily basis. With these five strategies, you can focus more on the real work than managing emails:
- automate gmail with drag
- set up gmail filters
- create a system of tagged email folders
- create gmail templates
- use auto reply in gmail
1. automate gmail with drag
drag is an all-in-one software that helps teams manage all their workflows in gmail. is a specialized shared inbox that works within gmail, allowing teams to receive and manage team emails in real time without logging into different accounts. all features are focused on facilitating collaboration and visibility across projects, so teams can work together seamlessly.
can be used for multiple purposes such as task and project management, marketing, crm, helpdesk and more.
workflow and email automation
Since Drag allows users to create boards to separate different workflows, it’s also necessary to place the respective emails into each one of them. That’s why you can let Drag organize incoming emails for you sending emails from a client or supplier to their respective boards. If emails are coming from online forms, you can move them into exactly the right place where actions are taken.
shared email templates
You don’t need to type the same emails over and over. With Drag you can create templates for the emails you send frequently. Besides you can share them with other team members to keep the consistency of communication across your organization.
There are also custom fields to add information unique to the recipient of the email, such as first name, last name, and company. so you can give your personal touch to the messages. These custom fields are automatically inserted into email follow-ups, so you don’t need to manually fill them out each time.
To send an email template with drag in gmail, you can simply select the one you want to send with 1 click in the compose box.
email sequences
drag can automatically email follow-ups, so you don’t have to worry about typing and sending new follow-ups. you can select when you want to schedule follow-up emails, and then share these email sequences with your team for consistency.
2. configure gmail filters
gmail filters work like automation rules to manage incoming or existing email messages in your inbox. helps sort emails automatically, allowing you to organize and control your inbox without wasting time selecting and managing them.
You can choose what criteria an email must have in order for gmail to filter it, as well as what action to take once filtered. For example, if you receive a lot of emails from a specific sender, you can set up a filter so that Gmail automatically archives or deletes messages from that sender.
how to create a gmail filter
You can create an email filter in gmail in 3 different ways. each of them is convenient depending on what you’re doing in your inbox at the time, so it’s interesting to know them all.
The first one is the easiest: click the down arrow in the search bar and a popup will appear.
The second way is to create filters from the opened emails. click the three dots to the right of the email window and choose “filter messages like these”. the same popup window from the previous method will open.
it is also possible to create a new filter in gmail, in the configuration menu. click the gear icon at the top right of your window, then choose “settings”. after that, select the “filters and blocked addresses” tab and click the “create a new filter” link.
On either of the three options, a popup will open, and you can start filling in the criteria your filter needs to have, such as sender or recipient information, subject, date, and others.
You can search for emails with the selected information or create a filter to allow gmail to trigger an action. once you click “create filter”, another popup will appear with actions like “delete it”, “mark as read” or “forward it”. choose the ones you want to apply and hit the “create filter” button once more.
3. create an email folder system with labels (and filters)
Using tags is an easy way to categorize things. in other words, it’s basically attaching a tag that gives information about something. with emails in gmail, you can do the same, to improve the organization and visualization of your inbox.
You can label all the emails in your inbox: the ones you send, receive, and even drafts. Plus, you can apply as many labels as you like to an email, making it possible to organize your email account in endless ways, customized to your own experience.
It’s a partially manual process that you can follow, but it’s a way to maintain a folder system to handle related emails faster and avoid a complete clutter in your inbox.
how to create labels in gmail
There are three different ways to create a new tag in gmail. it’s interesting to know all of them because depending on what you are doing at that moment in your inbox, they can be useful.
In the left side menu, scroll down until you find the “create new tag” button. you may need to click “more” to display all the options in the menu, to locate this button. click it and a popup will appear to create the new tag.
You can also tag emails by selecting them in your inbox. once you choose emails, a toolbar appears just below the search bar. click the tag icon to display a dropdown menu with all the tags you have, and at the bottom you’ll find the option to create a new tag.
you can proceed the same way when you have an email open:
and the third way is not as simple as the previous one we have mentioned and requires many more steps. mainly because you need to go to settings and start setting tags in this section. click the gear icon in the top left corner of your screen, then hit “view all settings”.
then select the tab labels, scroll down until you find the “create new label” button.
how to use filters to automate tagging
If you need to automatically tag emails as they arrive in your inbox, you can create a filter. set the criteria you want to filter on and then choose the “apply the tag” action and choose the desired one from the list.
If you want to apply the same action to existing emails, don’t forget to also select the “also apply the filter to matching conversations” option. otherwise the filter will only start working when you receive new emails.
4. create gmail templates
writing the same messages repeatedly can be not only exhausting but also a waste of time. and it’s not necessary either, because there is a resource within gmail to help you create and submit templates. Gmail templates were once called canned replies, but they’re still a way to simplify contact with customers and people you usually need to send standard replies to.
Before creating templates, you must enable them in the gmail settings. follow these steps:
- click the gear (settings) icon in the upper right corner of your screen.
- then click the “view all settings” button.
- select the “advanced” tab.
- in the “templates” section, choose “enable”.
- finally, click “save changes” at the bottom of the menu .
once you save your changes, you can start creating templates, which is another simple process:
- click the “compose” button in the upper left corner of your screen to open the new message window.
- start writing your email message and when you finish it, click the three dots in the lower right corner of the compose window.
- hover over the “template” option and then over “save draft as template”.
- select the “save as new template” option. ”
- enter the name of the new template, then hit the save button.
how to send email templates
To send a new message using a template, it only takes a few clicks:
- start a new email draft by clicking the “compose” button.
- click the three dots in the bottom right corner of the compose window.
- hover over “templates”
- choose the template you want to use.
- the template will appear in the compose window and you can edit it before you hit “submit”.
5. use auto reply in gmail
You can also send automated emails on gmail, using the vacation auto-reply or specific filters.
vacation auto-reply
- in the top right, click settings, then “view all settings”.
- scroll down to the “vacation responder” section.
- select “vacation responder”. in”.
- fill in the date range, subject and message.
- below your message, check the box if you only want your contacts to see your reply on vacation.
- at the bottom of the page, click “save changes”.
use filters and templates
If you’re sure you can send replies automatically and don’t need to customize them, this option will be very useful. it is possible to configure a filter with an action to send a template automatically as a response.
For example, if you want all emails from a certain address to be answered with a template, simply write it in the first tab that appears when you create a filter. then choose the “send template” option, selecting the template you want.
summarizing
Now you don’t have to wonder how to automatically sort emails in gmail. once you follow these strategies to automate gmail you will realize how much time you will save to focus your efforts working on projects.
However, you’ll have a much more organized inbox, making it easier to find and share crucial information, giving your email workflow more visibility.