I am a fan of using Gmail for all of my email needs, in particular, the Google Apps version. However, there is one thing that Gmail is missing that I find essential for increasing email productivity. How do you send an email at a specific time in the future? This blog post will show you how to do that using free tools. Enjoy!
First the bad news, Gmail can not do this. I suggest that all who read this send a request to the Gmail support team to add this feature natively to Gmail.
Now for the good news, Gmail has implemented IMAP which is a feature that allows us to utilize other free email tools to send emails at a predetermined specified time.
First download and install Thunderbird, then connect to your GMail account using IMAP, then follow this guide and you are done!
Here are some ideas for using this new tool:
- Send reminders to yourself or your staff for the day, week, month or year.
- Implement a drip marketing campaign.
- Create all your happy birthday emails one year in advance.
- Send status report requests on projects that you have delegated.
- Set up a home and car maintenance schedule.
- Send inspirational pictures and quotes to yourself throughout the week.
- Pick out four pieces of information of great value to someone and send them out once a week.
There is one big downside to this method. Since Thunderbird operates on your local computer, the computer must be turned on at the time the email is to be sent.
There is a web based solution available that allows you to send predefined emails called TimeCave; however, it does not interface with GMail.
What are some of your ideas for sending emails at predefined times?
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