I get ridiculous amounts of email. I’m sure lots of people get more than me (but I’d bet a fair share of those people have assistants handling at least some of it).

I probably spend more time checking –and hey, sometimes even answering!– email than anything else. Maybe not anything else, but within my work life? The email: it’s taking over.

I kvetch and whine about it, and there always at least a half a dozen people who are right there with me, battling the email demons themselves. SO  many messages, SO much time to respond…and none of us seems to manage it very well.

So what do we do about this? It’s a problem. A big one. Important emails get lost or bounced off of the unread messages list, never to be seen again. (Or more accurately, only to rear their ugly heads a few weeks or even months later as the catalyst for a major “Oh SHIT!” moment. Fun times, fun times…)

I’ve been meaning to try to get Google to help me with this for months. Possibly years. (What? Sometimes it takes me a while to get to things…probably because I’m busy checking the umpteenth Facebook notification of the day….)

Today, I did it. I started using Gmail’s ‘Labels’ system.

Do it. Try it. Just take ten minutes and see how powerful this tool is. If you’re already using it and you still can’t manage your email…I probably can’t help you.  But if you’re not? Try it.

What you want to do is create filters.

Go to Gmail -> Mail Settings (click that little gear icon in the upper right hand corner) -> Filters ->Create a New Filter.

Getting coupons from Gap like every.single.day, but you don’t want to unsubscribe and then not have one next time you actually have the time and cash to shop? BAM! Filter that. Input “Gap” in the ‘From’ field.  Put something like “(order confirmation)” in the ‘Doesn’t Have’ field (so order confirmation emails don’t get sucked into the filter).

Do a test search and make sure it’s returning only the emails you want the Filter applied to. If it looks good, click ‘Next’ and then check the box for ‘Skip the Inbox (Archive It)’.

Hold up – it’s not what you think. It’s not going away, never to be seen again. It’s just not going to crowd your inbox. What will happen, is new messages will go straight to the Filter label group that you just created.

What the heck is a filter label group? It’s what I’m calling this thing. Basically, Gmail’s Filter is a folder.  The label you created, say “Gap” or “Coupons” or whatever, will now show as bold when there are unread messages.

Example:

See?  You have new Facebook notifications and coupons, but they’re no longer diverting your attention from the [ostensibly] important crap in your real Inbox. It’s like a mini-inbox just for those messages, one you can ignore or check at your leisure.

It works on the iPhone, too. Check via the Google app mail, not the native iPhone email system, and all your lovely Filters will still be all tidy and organized there.

This is a game-changer for my email habits. I can’t believe it’s this easy and I put it off for so long. All the stuff that swamps my inboxes, that causes me to neglect more important stuff because I’m just running through the motions of seeing what’s there….all that confusion and disorganized mess is GONE. I am psyched!!

Email me. Go ahead, I dare ya! I might just get back to you. (Ok, don’t email me at West Freelance. I have 5 separate gmail-based accounts for work and one personal account, and I’ve only started applying this to my personal account. But wait a week and then try!

Note bene: If you’re using an email system that’s not powered by Gmail, you’re doing it wrong. Switch. If you’re at Hotmail, AOL, Yahoo, or any of those: switch. This post on the Oatmeal explains why.

Are you going to try Gmail Filters? If you do, LMK how it goes! And hit me up with any questions, I’m happy to help.

Ten points if you picked up the Zoolander nod in the title!  And hi, Peter! (Ya know, in case this shows up in his Google Alerts).  ;-)

Peter Shankman did a free webinar on “BIG Publicity Ideas for Small Business Success” today.  It had some really good info in it, much of which I already know, but totally take for granted.

In light of that, here are a few of the more salient points:

1. Talk *with* people, not to or at them. Social media isn’t a precipice from which you can shout things to a captive audience.  A) no one has to listen to you, and B)  no one will, if you’re not bothering to engage with them.  If I want a coupon code, I’ll Google it. If I want to be updated on your sales, I’ll subscribe to emails. But if you’re throwing bologna (“baloney”) on my Facebook wall to see if anything sticks, forget it.

 

2. If you’re pitching someone, make it snappy. I had a review blog, so I got a lot of pitches. And holysweetmotherofwindbags, I got some long ones! Here’s the thing: if you’re not able to make your point succinctly and without making me scroll through paragraph upon paragraph, you’re not writing well enough.  I have neither the time nor inclination to slog through a poorly written anything so that you have the chance to make your point. Same goes for reporters or anyone else you’re pitching: 1) introduce yourself; 2) make your pitch; 3) your contact info.  The second piece, the pitch, should be short, sweet, and to the point. If they want to know more, they’ll ask!
   

 

3. To that end, WRITE WELL. I fist pumped when Peter made this point! The free and ubiquitous nature of blogs and social media accounts, do not a writer make.  Just because you can put a blog out there, doesn’t mean you should. How’s your writing, technically? (Be honest; you know the answer.)  If you can’t spell and don’t understand what a colon is for (hint: I’m not talkin’ about poop), do you at least have something interesting to say?  Get your skills up to snuff before you create a permanent record of the fact that you can’t put a clear sentence together.

That last one is the real kicker, though. There are organizations and businesses that I know have valuable things to say, but those messages are couched in miles-long blog posts full of paragraphs that go on. and on. and ON. Attention spans are short, and that applies to within the body of your content, too.

Short paragraphs work. Long ones don’t.  If you need to be a wind bag when you write – fine. Just get an editor who can be honest with you.  In fact, an honest editor who can polish up that piece may be the most valuable piece of the puzzle.  If you’re blogging and it’s bad, it’s worse than not blogging at all.

Case in point.  Would you rather read this: (quoted from above, it’s what you just read)

That last one is the real kicker, though. There are organizations and businesses that I know have valuable things to say, but those messages are couched in miles-long blog posts full of paragraphs that go on. and on. and ON. Attention spans are short, and that applies to within the body of your content, too.

Short paragraphs work. Long ones don’t.  If you need to be a wind bag when you write – fine. Just get an editor who can be honest with you.  In fact, an honest editor who can polish up that piece may be the most valuable piece of the puzzle.  If you’re blogging and it’s bad, it’s worse than not blogging at all.

Or this:

That last one is the real kicker, though. There are organizations and businesses that I know have valuable things to say, but those messages are couched in miles-long blog posts full of paragraphs that go on. and on. and ON. Attention spans are short, and that applies to within the body of your content, too.  Short paragraphs work. Long ones don’t.  If you need to be a wind bag when you write – fine. Just get an editor who can be honest with you.  In fact, an honest editor who can polish up that piece may be the most valuable piece of the puzzle. If you’re blogging and it’s bad, it’s worse than not blogging at all.

Which do you think the reader is more likely to get through? Which is more likely to get your full message across?  And which is more likely to bring people back to read more?

There’s a ton of bad writing out there. With the ridiculous amount of content people have to choose from, make yours worth reading.

I upgraded my West Freelance profile and here’s an exciting new feature that I think you all will love:

Use Facebook as Your Page

You now have the flexibility to interact with the other areas of Facebook as a page.

• Get notifications when fans interact with your page or posts
• See activity from the pages you like in your news feed
• Like other pages and feature them on your page
• Make comments as your page on other pages

To try this new feature, you can click the link here or go to Account above and select Use Facebook as Page.

New settings

You can set defaults for your email notifications and how you post to your page – as yourself or your page. You can also select which featured pages appear in the left column.

To manage your settings for email and posting preferences, go to Edit Page and Your Settings. To select which pages appear in Favorite Pages, go to Edit Page and Featured.

I suggest that the main administrator of a page do the upgrade. When you go to upgrade, you’ll see all the pages for which you’re an admin. You can click “Upgrade” and there’s also a button that says “Tour” – I *highly* recommend viewing the tour (it’s a couple minutes, tops, just quick clicks through pop-ups that highlight new features).

Happy clicking and let me know if you have any questions!

Amy