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Posted by Christin on January 17, 2019

Microsoft Outlook has made its reputation as a comprehensive email client loaded with (a LOT of) features, settings and extras that make it a powerful application. However, unless you’re a super user that can invest a significant amount of time and patience into mastering the email app and all of its features, it’s probably way more than you need. It can be overwhelming when you try to navigate an email client with a user interface packed with extra features. For this reason, people who only need basic email client capabilities, such as email and tasks/calendar, are searching for less complex alternatives to Outlook. Plus, many of the alternatives we are about to share are also free—or at the very least, less expensive than the $100+ Outlook price tag for the app. If you’re looking for a simpler interface, but still require some of the main Outlook features, we’ve included a list of email applications to consider below. Top Alternatives to Outlook 1. Mailbird If the complicated layout and user interface is your biggest qualm with Outlook, then Mailbird is definitely one of the best alternatives to Outlook out there. Mailbird is designed around the user—a clean user interface, an intuitive user experience and simple design that allows for quick navigation through the app. It’s because of this that most people can master the application within 5 minutes, whereas Outlook can take days or longer to get used to. A common concern of those not familiar with Mailbird is that it…

Posted by Christin on January 4, 2019

Let’s be honest, the last thing on your mind before vacation is putting up an auto-responder email. Half the time, your out of office message is probably an “Oh crap!” moment after you’ve already left the office. Even though you might be soaking up the sun on the beach or tearing up the slopes, your coworkers, customers, and other business associates are still in the office and may not know that you’re unavailable. Failing to tell people that you’re out of the office could come back to bite you, especially if they’re expecting a prompt response. Before heading out on that much needed time off, it’s imperative that you set an out of office reply to let senders know you’re gone. If you’re feeling stumped, we’ve crafted 7 out of office message samples to inspire you. Check them out below! 1. Out Of Office Message – Basic Example Template Hi there, Thank you for your email. I will be out of the office from mm/dd to mm/dd and will have limited access to email / will not have access to email. If this is urgent, please contact [NAME] at [EMAIL] or [PHONE]. I will do my best to respond promptly to your email when I return on mm/dd. Best, We don’t always have time to be clever or creative… and that’s okay! At its core, a vacation responder email simply needs to inform the sender that you are out of the office and when to expect a response. The elements…

Posted by Christin on December 31, 2018

In 2019, Almost 3oo,ooo people search for www.gmail.com on google to get access to their Gmail account every day Given that a good “average” speed for typing on the computer is around 330 characters per minute (or CPM), that means that people spend a total of roughly 15 hours a day worldwide typing www.gmail.com into their browser to access their webmail. That’s a long time! And that’s not even including the redundant and often long page-loading time. Think about it, logging into Gmail to get to Google Drive involves navigating close to 4 pages like the Google search prompt page, the search results, and the Gmail login. Then once you’re finally logged into Gmail, you need to find Google Drive to perform your next set of tasks. To do this multiple times over the course of a work-day is quite exhausting – and there are far better alternatives! Regardless if you are new to Gmail, webmail in general, or if you are a newcomer to the web – we are going to show you 4 ways to drastically cut down (and even completely remove) the need for you to type www.gmail.com into your computer in order to access your Gmail account. All of these ways are safe, secure, and provide you direct access to manage your Gmail account the same as if you manually entered www.gmail.com and clicked the link. Here are the 4 best methods for accessing Gmail (without searching for it in Google) Method 1: Email Clients If you are going to…

Posted by Guest on November 29, 2018

Did you know that approximately 51% of B2B marketers use emails as their primary marketing channel? This was revealed by a recent Marketing Technology Strategy Survey Summary Report. Although new channels have emerged over the years since emails were first used, they still are the best option for businesses. However, there’s a twist to using emails, irrespective of whether you send a single or multiple emails, aspects that must be looked into if you’re to achieve the desired objective. Using emails can backfire on you. To counter this, there are some tips that you could implement to make your emails effective. Check out these 6 tips: 1. Who’s Your Audience? The only way to craft an email that will make any sense is by knowing your recipient. In this case, businesses need to identify who their target audience is and tailor the email accordingly. Without a target market in mind, chances are that your email will be irrelevant to the people who really count and therefore end up having no value. The fact is, the email isn’t really about you but rather your audience. Ensure that as you write it, you focus on them rather than your company. Make them feel as part of your brand. 2. Work On The Subject Line Any writer understands the value a heading or title holds in an article because should they not be “catchy” or interesting, you can be assured no one will bother reading the rest of your article. Email subject lines…

Posted by Christin on March 5, 2018

The art of crafting the perfect “keep in touch email” Ah, the dreaded “keeping in touch” email. It often comes across as clunky, or worse: downright awkward. How do you reach out to someone for merely the sake of “keeping up the relationship”? It’s easy with friends and family–you just reach out with a specific memory or sentiment, and voilá! You’re back in the swing of things in no time. What if you could do the same thing with your business relationships? These working relationships often blur the lines of business and friendship. While that may not be the case with all contacts, at a very minimum, there is frequently something you remember about a specific person. This could be simply his love for golf or her cat’s name is Aspen. Whatever little nugget of information you have, keep it at the forefront of your mind as you craft your email! Hints and Tricks There are a variety of situations that may necessitate a touching base email. You may want to stay in touch with an old coworker who has left the company. An old superior or higher-up may have mentored you, and you wish to reach out every so often. Potentially, a virtual client–someone you’ve never met face-to-face–is your intended recipient. Maybe you met a person at an event, and want to reach out electronically. Whatever the case may be, it’s important to keep a few things in mind. When crafting this type of email, it’s best to follow these hints…

Posted by Christin on December 11, 2017

The holidays are a hop, skip and a few days away. Businesses and independent professionals everywhere are getting ready to close shop for this calendar year. Business is wrapping up, the obligatory gifts have been exchanged, and the hilarious snaps from holiday parties have been plastered on Facebook feeds everywhere. There’s only one thing left to do – send out those holiday emails to all of your customers. It seems simple, right? Just send an email saying happy holidays, and you’re done. But wait! Not so fast. A clever holiday greetings email There’s only one thing left to do – send out those holiday greeting emails to all of your customers. It seems simple, right? Just send an email saying ‘happy holidays’, and you’re done. But wait! Not so fast. A clever holiday greetings email can help boost your sales and be great for businesses of all kinds. Going beyond a standard “Happy Holidays!” message can help set the tone for customer/client relationships in the coming year. Not sure what to say, how to say it, or what type of email template might be right for you? Allow us to break it down for you with a few of our favorite examples! Going beyond a standard “Happy Holidays!” message can help set the tone for customer/client relationships in the coming year. Not sure what to say, how to say it, or what type of email template might be right for you?  4 clever Holiday Greetings Email Templates 1. The Simple…

Posted by Christin on January 12, 2017

Our developers are working super hard, like, really hard to make email not so bad anymore. Many improvements are made and updates implemented, which usually come unnoticed. Some of these include an improved avatar (aka profile picture) search for all your important contacts. Another is an improved drag and drop email function, performance with 64bit machines are examples of the constant, yet less noticeable, improvements our team is consistently working on. For the more noticeable Mailbird developments that many of you find super awesome include: 1. Sharing Means Caring End your friend, family and colleague‘s email struggles by using the ‘Invite Friends‘ option in the Mailbird menu. We mentioned the updated referral system in our last newsletter, so in case you missed it, now its super easy for you to get Mailbird Pro Lifetime for free. Here’s how it works: https://www.getmailbird.com/new-way-get-mailbird-pro-free-life/ 2. Join The Dark Side Have sensitive eyes when working on a computer for too long? Did you know that Mailbird has a dark theme mode? Try it by simply going into the Mailbird menu > Settings > Appearance > Select ‘Dark Theme‘ 3. Create New Thread You can now change the subject of any reply or forwarded message and with that creating a new thread from it. You can create a new email thread now, when replying to any message in an email convo, change the subject line and voila! New email thread created. We call it “I just became awesome at email convo management!” Awesome. 4. That…

Posted by Guest on September 7, 2016

Ever since Mark Zuckerberg declared “we don’t think that a modern messaging system is going to be email” it set the email marketing sphere into a frenzy. Are social media messaging apps like Whatsapp, Facebook, and Snapchat going to be the fatal blow to the email lists we have worked so hard on growing and nurturing over the years? All because of those damn meddling millennials? Well, no. Millennials, like myself, love our email. We are just as addicted to it as our social media, so much so that we are the highest demographic who thinks we will still be kicking it with our inboxes in 10-years time . But we do use email to communicate in a different way compared to previous generations. With the sheer volume of social media messages going out every second of the day across an increasing amount of platforms, it can be hard for the average millennial to keep up with your brand. This is why when it comes to consumer-to-brand communication, social media is for stalking our ex-boyfriends and email is for making sure we don’t miss out on that 50% sale. Here is why email marketing DOESN’T suck – you are just doing it wrong. 1. Millennials Want To See Your Brand In Their Inboxes If you are wanting in on the $200 billion buying power that millennials hold – you are going to need to up your EMAIL game not your social. According to a recent report by the UK email…

Posted by Jason Ephraim on February 9, 2016

How to Best Manage Email When Traveling It’s always amazing to me how much I can travel and still stay connected. I can answer emails on a flight to France, I can chat with family while on a Tour in Thailand, or even (quietly) shoot off a message while meditating in Mumbai – It’s great how much we can accomplish and how “in the loop” we can be when we are away from the home or office. But, any experienced travelers will tell you it’s not always easy. Especially when I travel abroad, there are many times I wish I had known better on how to avoid the common mistakes that make it possible to miss calls, emails, and important news. If you are like me, you cannot stand the idea that you might miss something important or time sensitive. That’s why I am going to share with you some tips on how to travel and still be connected. Make Sure You Will Be Able To Charge Up Especially if you are new to global travel, you may not realize the myriad of different voltages and power-socket types there are out there. If you are planning to spend a decent amount of time in any one place, do yourself a favor and read up on the types of outlet and voltage commonly used there. You can order an adapter easily enough. However, if (like me) you plan on travelling a great deal, it might make more sense to go ahead and invest in…

Posted by Pallav on October 16, 2014

According to a poll conducted by McKinsey Global Institute an average office worker spends over a quarter of his day dealing with emails. Assuming an average of 8 hour work day a person spends 2 hours every day or about 30 days an year managing his emails. So what? Out of 100 creative things you could learn in less than 30 days you chose to spend it in your inbox which is not your job (unless you’re a VA). Email is the most commonly used online communication medium so it’s impossible to avoid but remembering it is a means to the end helps focus on the important work rather than living life in the inbox. Good part is that report also indicates there is an increased productivity scope of 25-30% when it comes to email. Conquering inbox is never easy. Pending emails turn into a pile which we keep sorting for days and when we lose patience, email bankruptcy is declared. Becoming an email ninja requires persistence, patience, discipline but with increasing number of emails it is just getting tougher. For experts and influencers who are bombarded with 200-500 emails on a daily basis reaching Inbox Zero is a pain. Since there is no best way to organize inbox, overtime various factors have helped experts in coming up with smart processes that allow them to clear most of their inbox in shorter span of time. We reached out to top tech influencers who are constantly under email overload and asked…