Email is still an important communication tool for businesses in 2022. There were 4 billion email users worldwide in 2020, and that number is expected to climb to 4.6 billion in 2025. While other platforms may have taken over some aspects of email, such as instant messaging or social media, email remains a vital part of business communications. It is a reliable way to reach employees and customers, and it is still the preferred method of communication for many people. As such, plenty of business leaders could use email management services.
Wondering whether you should get someone to manage your email? We’ll break down why it’s a must if you’re an entrepreneur or an executive!
Why is Email Important for Businesses in 2022?
There are several reasons why email is still important for businesses in 2022. First, email is a universal platform that can be used by anyone with an internet connection. This makes it an ideal way to reach a wide audience quickly and easily. Email is also relatively easy to use and manage, which makes it a good choice for businesses that need to communicate with large groups of people regularly. Finally, email is a highly secure form of communication, which is important for businesses that need to protect sensitive information.
Despite the advantages of email, there are some disadvantages that businesses should be aware of. First, email can be slow and unreliable, especially when there are large attachments or messages to be sent. Additionally, spam filters can sometimes block legitimate emails from reaching their intended recipients. Finally, email hacking is a real threat, and businesses need to take steps to protect themselves from this type of attack.
While there are some drawbacks to using email, its advantages outweigh its disadvantages. Email is a universal platform that is easy to use and manage, and it is a highly secure form of communication.
Email Management Can Be A Pain
For many busy business leaders, managing email can be a real pain. It can be time-consuming and frustrating to sort through all of the messages in your inbox, and it can be difficult to keep track of important conversations. Additionally, you may find that you are spending too much time reading and responding to emails, which can interfere with your ability to get work done.
If you are struggling to manage your email, you are not alone. In fact, a recent study found that the average person spends nearly two hours each day managing their email. This equates to approximately 10% of the average person’s workday!
An email management virtual assistant can help businesses to overcome these challenges. These services can provide a number of benefits, including reducing the amount of time spent managing email and improving communication within businesses.
What Are Email Management Services?
Email management services could refer to tools that businesses use to improve their email communications. They could also refer to the service providers who use these tools to help business owners and executives stay productive. Either way, these services provide message sorting, message filtering, and email templates.
Additionally, many email management services offer features that make it easier to collaborate with team members. Software companies ensure this by offering shared inboxes and group chat functions. Meanwhile, providers offer coordination services.
Why Keep an Organized Inbox
An organized inbox can help you to keep track of important conversations. When you have a lot of messages in your inbox, it can be difficult to find specific conversations. However, if your inbox is well-organized, you will be able to quickly find the messages that you are looking for. This can save you a lot of time and frustration.
An organized inbox can also help you to respond to messages more quickly. When your inbox is cluttered, it can be easy to miss important messages. However, if your inbox is organized, you will be able to see new messages as soon as they come in. This can help you to respond quickly and efficiently to customer inquiries.
An organized inbox can also help you to avoid missed deadlines. When you have a lot of messages in your inbox, it can be easy to overlook messages with deadlines. However, if your inbox is organized, you will be able to see messages with deadlines more easily. This can help you to stay on top of projects and meet deadlines.
Overall, an organized inbox can save you a lot of time and frustration. It can also help you to respond more quickly to customer inquiries and avoid missed deadlines.
Email Management: What to Do
If you want to manage your emails yourself, there are a few things you should remember. Here are some!
Do an Inbox Sweep
The first step to managing your email is to do an inbox sweep. This means going through all of the messages in your inbox and deciding which ones you need to keep and which ones you can delete. It can be helpful to create a folder system to help you organize your messages. For example, you could create folders for important projects, customers, and team members.
You can also use the search function to find specific messages. This can be helpful if you are looking for a message from a specific person or about a specific topic.
Filter Your Emails
After you have sorted your emails, you should filter your messages. This means setting up filters so that certain types of messages go into specific folders. For example, you could set up a filter so that all messages from your boss go into a “Boss” folder. You could also set up a filter so that all messages about a specific project go into a “Project” folder.
Get Rid of Spam and Junk Mail
One of the most important things you can do to manage your email is to get rid of spam and junk mail. Spam and junk mail can clutter up your inbox and make it difficult to find important messages. Additionally, spam and junk mail can be a source of viruses and other malware.
To get rid of spam and junk mail, you can use the spam filter on your email account. You can also mark messages as spam or junk mail. Additionally, you can unsubscribe from email lists that send you unwanted messages. This will stop the messages from coming into your inbox in the first place.
Keep Your Inbox Empty
Once you have sorted, filtered, and deleted all of the messages in your inbox, you should aim to keep your inbox empty. This means that you should only keep the messages in your inbox that you need to deal with immediately. All other messages should be sorted into folders.
You can also use the search function to find specific messages.
Have a Set Time for Replying to Emails
It is important to have a set time for replying to emails. This means that you should designate a specific time of day to reply to messages. For example, you could set aside 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon to respond to email messages. By having a set time for email, you can make sure that you are not spending too much time on email. Additionally, this will help you to be more focused when you are responding to messages.
It is also important to take breaks from your email. This means that you should not be checking and responding to email messages all day long. Instead, you should take a few minutes every few hours to check your inbox. By taking breaks, you can avoid burnout and stay fresh. Additionally, this will help you to be more productive when you are working on other tasks.
Make Templates for Recurring Emails
One way to save time when responding to email messages is to make templates for recurring emails. For example, if you find yourself sending the same message over and over again, you can create a template for that message. That way, all you have to do is fill in the blanks when you need to send the message.
To make a template, you can create a new email message and save it as a draft. You can then use the draft as a template when you need to send a similar message in the future.
You can also find many free email templates online. These are professionally designed templates that cover almost any emailing situation you can think of, whether it’s a thank you email, confirmation email, or welcome email.
Finally, use your email signature as a template. For example, if you find yourself sending messages with the same information at the end, you can create a signature that includes that information. That way, you don’t have to type out the same information every time you send a message.
Do You Need Email Management Services?
If you are having trouble managing your email, you may want to consider email management services. Email management services can help you to sort, filter, and delete messages. Additionally, they can provide you with tools to help you stay organized. Email management services can also help you to create templates for recurring emails.
Wondering if you need an email management virtual assistant? Here are signs you should watch for.
Missing Out on Meetings
One of the signs of a cluttered inbox is if you miss out on meetings your teammates have scheduled. Usually, when a user schedules a meeting through a video conferencing app, those invited can receive an email with the date and time of the meeting. But if your inbox has too many messages, you might inadvertently skip over a meeting invite.
Unread Messages Piling Up
Similar to the previous point, when you have too many meeting reminders, reports, requests, and updates going unread, you definitely need to sort your emails. You can’t just keep saying you’ll stay on top of whatever emails come in—you’ll never be completely sure you covered everything unless you’ve gone through each message.
Your Meetings Take Too Long
We’ve all seen the memes about meetings that could have been emails, but there’s a grain of truth in that. When you’re spending hours at a time on a call—especially one that doesn’t involve discussing new strategies or initiatives—you’re not leveraging other forms of communication at your disposal, like email.
Important Emails Get Lost
You don’t need the additional stress of looking for a report that your teammate attached to an email a couple of weeks ago. If you’re not catching important emails, and if it’s preventing you from doing your work, it’s time to get an email management virtual assistant.
5 Benefits of Email Management Services
When you hire a VA, you can kiss all of the above goodbye. Read on for a closer look at the benefits of having an email management virtual assistant.
Get You to “Inbox Zero”
Email management services can get you to “inbox zero,” or having absolutely no unread and unsorted emails. An email management virtual assistant is equipped with the skills needed for staying on top of any messages that will come into your inbox.
Create a System for You
If you don’t have a system for reading and responding to mail, your assistant can do that for you. Email management VAs are trained to take a high-level view of an inbox and create an action plan for the owner to either use on their own or offload to the VA.
Understand How You Share Information
Email management services include learning how you correspond with teammates, stakeholders, and external parties. Your VA will analyze messages you’ve previously sent and write templates and responses in your voice, so you can simply review and fire off messages without sitting down and writing them yourself.
Use Folders, Labels, and Tags
Email management VAs leverage all features available through your email service. They use tags and labels to sort messages by purpose, source, or action needed. They can also put messages in folders so you can go over them in your own time.
Manage Your Calendar
Finally, your email management virtual assistant will help manage your calendar. This includes clearing your schedule for core tasks and scheduling your appointments. You can instruct teammates to book meetings with you through your VA, eliminating the sidewalk shuffle of figuring out a good time to meet. Your assistant can also set an autoresponder for when you’re out of office.
Get Email Management Services through Wing Assistant
At Wing Assistant, we understand the importance of email management. That’s why we offer email management services to our clients. We can help you to sort, filter, and delete messages. Additionally, we can provide you with tools to help you stay organized. Email management services can also help you to create templates for recurring emails.
Get started with a Wing VA—book a call with our team to learn more!
Abigail is an internationally-based writer, editor and content strategist.
