How to create a distribution list in Outlook

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Setting up distribution lists are a great idea if you regularly send emails to a specific group of people.  For example, you might be running a project and need to send emails to your team.  Rather than having to type in each person’s email address every time you send a message, you can just select the distribution list and the email will go to everyone on that list.

This obviously saves you a lot of time and effort and ensures that you don’t miss anyone out of important email messages.

So read on to find out how to create a distribution list in Outlook and send an email to it, or click on the image below to view the video in YouTube.

To create a distribution list in Outlook, go to Contacts and select New in the menu bar at the top and then Distribution List from the drop down menu.

Give the list a name.  Now choose the people that you want to add to the list.  For existing contacts click on the Select Members button and choose the people you want to add. To select more than one member at a time, just hold the Ctrl key down when clicking on the name. Then click on the Members button and the names will be added, and click OK.

If you want to add people who aren’t already on your contact list then click on the Add New button and type in their details, and click OK.

Once you have added everyone to the list then Save & Close.  As you can see, the list appears in the main Contacts folder.

To send an email to that distribution list, double click on it in the folder and the dialog box will open up.  Select Email in the menu and you will be taken to a new email dialog box.  Write your email and send it in the normal way.  If you don’t want to share everyone’s email addresses with each other then ensure that you move the distribution list to BCC.

So now you know how to create a distribution list in Outlook and send an email to that list.
 

If you want to get more tips on how to manage your time and work effectively in your business, then download a copy of our guide “How to organise your workload so there’s more time for you“. This guide is packed full of time management tips as well as 10 online tools to help you work more productively. Click on the link to download the guide >> How to organise your workload
 

How to Filter Emails in Gmail

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If you feel overwhelmed by all the emails that you’re getting each day and your inbox is getting cluttered and overloaded with messages, then using filters will enable you to spend more time focusing on those emails that require your attention.

A filter will apply automatic actions to messages as they arrive in your inbox.  Whether you want to mark your client emails as important, or move any newsletters you receive into a Read Later folder.  By organising your messages in this way, you can keep on top of your inbox with very little effort.

So read on or watch the video below to find out how to automatically filter emails in Gmail.

First of all, select the message that you want to filter.  Even if you want to apply the same filter to several messages, you only need to select one message to start with as there is an option to include other emails during the filtering process.

Once you’ve selected the message, then click on the More button at the top of the inbox and select Filter messages like these.

Choose the search criteria that you want to use to filter messages – you can do this by who the email is from or to, by what’s included in the subject header, and whether or not the message contains certain words or not.   Then click on link that says Create filter with this search.

Now you choose the action that you want to apply to the selected message.  For example, to automatically move a message into a folder as it arrives, you click the check box next to Skip the Inbox and then Apply the label and select the appropriate label name from the dropdown box.

This is also where you have the option to apply this filter to other relevant emails.  Just click the check box next to where it says  Also apply to xx matching messages.

Once this is done, then click on Create filter.  You will be taken back to the inbox and if you click on the Label name, you will see the emails have moved into that folder.  From now on, any messages that you receive that match these criteria will automatically land in that folder.

To edit any filters that you have set up then click on the Filter tab in the Settings menu.

Now that you know how to filter emails in Gmail, you can have more time to deal with the important messages that land in your inbox.
 

If you want to get more tips on how to manage your time and work effectively in your business, then download a copy of our guide “How to organise your workload so there’s more time for you“. This guide is packed full of time management tips as well as 10 online tools to help you work more productively. Click on the link to download the guide >> How to organise your workload
 

How to Flag an Email in Outlook

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If you’re sent an email message that requires some kind of action on your part, then you’ll want to flag that email to remind yourself to complete it.

Now you can do that by creating a separate task if you want to but it’s far easier to use the flag function on Outlook.  This enables you to add a reminder to the email itself so you can refer back to the message and the actions you need to take.

Here are the steps that you need to flag an email in Outlook.

• Go to the inbox or appropriate email folder and you’ll see on the far right hand side, a column with the flag symbol next to each email message.
• To flag a message, just click on the flag symbol next to the appropriate email.  You’ll now see that the symbol is highlighted in red.
• To add a reminder date, right hand click on the flag symbol and select either one of the preset options or click on the Add reminder link to set a specific date and time.
• The email is now automatically added to your task list and you can view it by clicking on Tasks in the left-hand sidebar. Like other tasks, a reminder will pop up on the due date and time.
• An alarm bell symbol will also appear next to the email message to show you that a reminder has been added.
• Once the task has been completed, you can right hand click on the flag symbol and select either the Mark Complete or Clear Flag option.

Adding reminders to your emails is a great way to keep track of actions that you need to take on email messages that you receive.  By doing this, you will be aware of upcoming deadlines so you can plan your workload more effectively.
 

If you want to get more tips on how to manage your time and work effectively in your business, then download a copy of our guide “How to organise your workload so there’s more time for you“. This guide is packed full of time management tips as well as 10 online tools to help you work more productively. Click on the link to download the guide >> How to organise your workload
 

How to Flag an Email in Gmail

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If you’re someone who keeps missing urgent deadlines because your important emails are getting lost in your inbox, then you know how potentially damaging this can be to your business.

One way round this is to add reminders to any email messages that require action on your part and you can do this very easily in Gmail.  This enables you to keep track of upcoming deadlines so you can plan your workload more effectively.

Now if you have ever used Outlook then you know that one of the great features is the Flag option in the inbox which you can use to quickly add a reminder to email messages as you receive them.  Unfortunately Gmail doesn’t give you the option to flag an email in this way, but you can get round this by adding emails to your task list.

So here’s a quick guide on how to add reminders to your email messages in Gmail.

• You select the email message that you want to flag and click on the More drop-down button at the top of the Inbox and then select Add to Tasks.
• The Task List appears and you can now edit the task by adding a due date and any additional notes, such as a reminder of what action you need to take.
• Now the email has been flagged, you can close the Task list as the task will appear in your Google Calendar on the due date as long as the Task calendar is displayed.
• When the task is due, just click to open it up on your calendar and then click on the “Related email” link.  This opens the email in your browser so you can review the message and remind yourself of what action you need to take.
• If you need to change the due date, then just drag the task to the appropriate day.
• Once you’ve completed the task, you can mark it as complete by clicking the check box, or open it up and click on Delete to remove it from the calendar.  Please note that this only deletes the task not the related email.

So now you know how to flag an email in Gmail and as you can see, it is a very quick and simple process.  Not only does this help you to keep on top of your inbox but it also ensures that you don’t overlook any urgent deadlines that need to be met.

If you want to discover how you can become more organised in your business then download a copy of our free guide “How to organise your workload so there’s more time for you”.  This guide contains essentials time management tips as well as 10 online tools that you can use to work more productively.

Have You Got the Right Newsletter for Your Business?

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If you’re thinking about using email marketing to promote your services or products then the first thing you need to decide on is what kind of newsletter you are going to send your contacts.  I produce a monthly newsletter which is aimed at giving my contacts money and time saving tips;  however, you may be more interested in getting people to sign up to receive exclusive high value products.  Whatever your objectives, you need to adapt your newsletter format accordingly.

So here are 3 types of email newsletter that you can use to promote your business.

Tips, advice and special offers.  You can provide valuable information related to your services, or to offer special promotions and discounts on your products.  This is content that your contacts can’t access anywhere else – either on your website or Facebook page – and is exclusive to people who have signed up to your mailing list.  Because you are making the content valuable and exclusive, your prospects will feel like they’re joining an elite club and will therefore be more compelled to sign up.

Blog/article digest.  An easy way for you to get content for your email newsletter is to use blog posts that you’ve already written.  If you’re using blogs to share your knowledge and expertise, and build trust with your contacts, then this helps to promote your content to a wider audience.  Some email marketing programs such as Aweber make this easy for you to do by automating the process.  For example, you can specify the number of recent blog posts to add to the digest and how often you want to send it out.

Plain text newsletter.  This is a newsletter that just contains text which leads people back to your website with a special offer.   A lot of internet marketers send this type of newsletter when they’re promoting a product for a limited time.  You click on a link and get taken to a sales page which is geared towards you buying something, or signing up to their mailing list to receive a free product which is then leading on to a sale.

Most small business owners use the first option when they’re sending out their newsletters.  Providing your contacts with valuable information or special offers is a great way to raise your profile and build engagement with your contacts.  So think about what you want to achieve with your email marketing and focus your content towards your objectives.  By doing this, you are more likely to achieve the results you want, and generate leads for your business.

If you want to find out whether your email marketing campaigns are performing effectively, then take our free Email Marketing Assessment.  This questionnaire will take no more than 5 minutes of your time and you will receive 3 key actions that you can take straightaway to improve the effectiveness of your campaigns. Click here to find out more.