Business Email Organization Tips

Are you tardy in responding to incoming emails? Do you feel overwhelmed by too many emails? Lack of organization in your business email communications may give the impression of anemic customer service.

Not good is today’s uber-competitive business environment.

Email is a Competitive Skill

Properly managing your business email is a competitive skill that will certainly win over customers seeking attentive, responsive customer service. So let’s get that skill in place so you can shine!

I understand how overwhelming it can be. I get tons of emails every single day. Therefore, I must keep up with them and do a few things consistently to reply quickly.

This approach prevents bottlenecks, which can quickly become overwhelming. That is why a strong dose of discipline is required.

There is an expectation of a speedy reply via email. (I’m sure you’ve even caught yourself wanting fast responses, right?) Unfortunately, not being efficient and quick makes it seem as if those who took the time to email you are not your priority.

Your Easy Email Organization System

Good old-fashioned discipline is a big part of organizing your inbox and email. That is why you need a system you consistently apply.

All. Day. Every. Day.

Upon checking your email, there are several tasks you can take to keep ahead of the increased traffic of bits and bytes finding their way to your inbox.

Put your DELETE button to work!

If you don’t recognize the sender, look at the SUBJECT field. For example, are there funny characters, alpha-numeric gibberish, all small case, or does it not make sense?

Mouse over the from field to see the from address. Spam email addresses are easy to identify. If you are not confident, mark them as spam to review later, when you have more time to review your junk/spam folder.

Don’t fall for tricky SUBJECT: fields that say any number of enticing comments only someone you know would or do business with would say.  You should be pretty good at identifying spam by now.

Delete the emails that underestimate your intelligence by thinking their email will be something you would take seriously. If you don’t recognize the sender and the SUBJECT field looks suspicious, the from address isn’t credible, send them to the trash.

Inbox Review, Filters, and Folders

You are now ready to determine how to handle the remaining emails.

This is where filters come into play. Filters (or Rules in Outlook) allow you to organize your email on the download (and when you send, too).

Yes, when you download your email, you can organize it into folders by topic or contact, so you’re more organized right away.

For example, you can set up filters so emails from your business partners go directly into the client and supplier folders. Use folders as you see fit—the sky is the limit.

Filters can be set up only once and remain in place until you delete them. This leaves only the questionable email left for you to review.

Another use for your filters?

As if filters don’t already sound like the best thing since sliced bread, you can use them to send a specific email straight to your spam folder, bypassing your inbox altogether. One less step for you to take.

The emails you have identified as spam go straight to the trash. Filters can be configured to find specific adult or offensive terms listed in the SUBJECT or BODY of an email message and send them straight to spam on the download too.

Back to your inbox…

We now have filters in place to organize your email when downloading. All the emails you requested and are expecting are in their appropriate folders for you to review at your convenience.

Now, your inbox should only have the orphan email with nowhere to go. So, after following the suggestions above, begin to review the remaining emails.

If you encounter an email from a new mailing list you’ve subscribed to and plan on receiving regularly, stop right there and create a folder and filter to accommodate these future emails.
 
Set up a filter to look for a specific attribute of that email (the email address usually works best). Those emails will be added to their folder when the download is complete. Get in the habit of doing this for any topic or contact you plan to receive emails from regularly.

Read and delete.

Read your email as time permits, then delete any that don’t have content worth keeping for future reference. Then, empty your trash daily.

Loads of email files use a ton of your system’s resources. Not keeping copies of emails you will never need in the future helps reduce clutter and free up system resources.

Prioritizing Emails as You Review

Many email programs let you color-code emails when viewing a folder. So, for example, you could have labels that, at a glance, tell you how you have prioritized your tasks.

For example, red for urgent, blue for later, yellow for maybe. So, when reviewing our emails, you know, at a glance, which email you have set to address right away and which you can get to as time permits.

Empty Your Trash Daily

But before emptying your trash, take a quick look-see in case any emails landed there in error. Unfortunately, this happens frequently.

Before deleting your trash, a quick once-over will ensure the legitimate email you want to read doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. There have been instances when I accidentally deleted emails, and I am glad I discovered them before clearing them out.

Create a “To Do” Folder

This is where you will file some emails from your inbox that piqued your interest. You would like to review these emails in more detail, but need more time.

Then, when time permits, you can open that folder and review the emails worth keeping. Once you review them, either send them to another folder for keeps or trash them.

Clear Your Inbox Every Day

Move emails to trash, a specific folder, or your “To Do” folder, and then empty the trash. For emails older than 90 days in your “To Do” folder, send them to the trash.

The information or offer is most likely no longer current after all that time. By doing so each day, you keep your inbox clear and your email much more organized.

What about all these folders?

You can create as many folders as you need to stay organized and name them however you like, so they’re easy to identify at a glance. This system is different and unique to each user. Use terms and a system that works for you.

Now You’ve Got an Email Organization Plan!

When practiced daily, the above tips will make a world of difference in keeping your inbox organized and clutter-free. You’ll also find that they become a habit.

Try to find a system or schedule that works for you. This will allow you to be more efficient and detail-oriented. Remember, anything you can do to improve in this area will significantly affect how contacts perceive doing business with you.

Just a bit of discipline is all it takes to reduce the time you spend dealing with email, freeing you to do other important things, like responding to emails.