Emagine Web Marketing

Switching to Gmail

home title Posted by Michelle Harrington on Apr 20th, 2010 | 2 comments home title

Outlook is the only program I’ve ever used for Email.  That is until a few weeks ago.  I decided to switch to Gmail because I like the idea of having my Email, Contacts and Calendar available online – for ease of syncing with my mobile device and as a precautionary backup measure – in the event one of my computers should crash.

I had helped a client awhile back set up their Gmail to work with their existing domain-based email address and learned then that you don’t have to change or use a different email address when you set up a Gmail account.  You can configure Gmail to accept and send out Email through your existing email account/address.

When a friend’s computer crashed recently, taking with it her contacts, email and folders, I suggested she start using Gmail.  That way if she experienced computer issues in the future, she’d still have her email account/history in tact, accessible from any computer.  The other benefit would be that she could retrieve her Email while traveling from any computer.

After recommending Gmail to my friend, I started wondering why with all of Gmail’s virtues, I hadn’t made the switch myself.  So I went about the process of exporting my contacts from Outlook, importing them into Gmail as well as my calendar and adding my existing email accounts to all seamlessly integrate into my Gmail account.  It’s been a few weeks now and with the exception of getting used to the linking of Email conversations on one line, I’ve come to really like it!  I’ve even started using iGoogle – where I can see at a glance – my calendar, recent email messages, local weather and news and my Google Reader subscriptions (feeds and blogs I like to read on a regular basis).

If you are interested in giving Gmail a try, here’s a few reasons to check it out.

Here are some of the Benefits of Using Gmail

It’s Free! – No desktop software to buy, update or upgrade.

Web-Based – Gmail is web-based, so you can access your email and contacts anywhere you have an internet connection and a web browser.

Gigs of Space – Gmail offers users abundant storage space; over 7 GB.

Gmail Chat -  Chat real time with other Gmail subscribers.

Less Spam – Gmail filters spam so you don’t have to.

To learn more about the benefits of using Gmail, visit Barb Girson’s article here.  She also covers the benefits of using Google Calendar to save you time and help you organize multiple schedules.

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Author | Michelle Harrington of Emagine Web Marketing
Michelle is a web development and internet marketing professional dedicated to helping small businesses in Hawaii achieve success online. Michelle provides free advice, tips and how to's on the Small Business Internet Marketing Blog.


home title 2 Responses home title
  1. Kendall says:
    April 22, 2010 at 1:24 pm

    Might have to switch. I would like to have my calendar available online!

  2. Zoe Feast says:
    April 22, 2010 at 1:24 pm

    Interesting article, I don’t use Gmail for my business email, maybe I should. I am an avid user of iGoogle though and really love the at a glance functionality it provides. I even set iGoogle pages up for my clients and include bookmarks to their applications such as blogger, web stats, email login, website etc.
    I have created quite a few iGoogle themes and even had a video featured by Google on “share the iGoogle love”
    http://www.indigoimage.com/wpblog/?s=igoogle

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