There are five Gmail plugins that you should consider using if you're a domain investor who regularly uses Gmail to send sales emails or to manage domain name sales. These extensions have all been tried and tested by myself, and they are my own personal recommendations.
Gmail has been publicly available for over 8 years, and since then, it has attracted around 900 million users to its advertising-supported, free email service. Having tried a few email services (both free and premium), I can say that Gmail is the best I've used so far, thanks partly to the wide array of Gmail plugins that are available to download.
Gmail plugins improve the productivity and features of the standard Gmail service. Here are five recommendations that will help any domain investor improve their Gmail inbox.
Sidekick
Sidekick was the subject of my first ever blog post as a NamePros contributor. I loved the plugin then, and I still love it today. Sidekick is a free (with premium plans available) extension from HubSpot, which tracks emails that you send and tells you when emails have been opened.
If you're a domain investor who sends out sales emails, you should be using this plugin. Knowing whether your sales emails have been opened and how many times the email has been opened can give you tremendous insight into the interest (or lack thereof) that your potential buyer has in your domain.
Sidekick is free for 200 notifications per month, and it also comes with a free iPhone application to allow you to keep track of open rates from your phone.
WiseStamp
This is a simple, but very effective way of adding a unique signature to your emails. You'll be able to add a profile photo, social media links, websites, phone numbers, and even a link to your latest blog post (which is automatically updated).
Trust is a big issue when it comes to selling domain names via email. When a complete stranger emails you and asks whether you're interested in buying a domain name for thousands of dollars, you will want to find out as much as possible about the sender before making a decision. An effective email signature can help with this.
Boomerang
Boomerang can be used to schedule emails to be sent at specific times. This is the perfect plugin to use to help improve the productiveness of your sales emails.
When sending a sales email to a prospective buyer, there are certain times of the day and week that work best; for example, Tuesday at 8 AM is a good time to send an email, whereas Friday at 5 PM is a bad time to send an email.
Use Boomerang to ensure that your emails are sent when they have the highest chance of being read. This means that you can work on finding leads at any time without having to worry about being buried under a mass of other sales emails that the potential buyer may receive.
FollowUp.cc
I started using this Gmail plugin after reading this blog post by Ali Zandi. Followup.cc allows you to set a follow-up reminder on new emails or replies that you are about to send. If you haven't heard from your intended recipient before a pre-determined date, then the plugin will remind you via email.
Following up on domain sales emails can often be unproductive due to many "No thank you" replies from potential buyers, but you should be able to get a few sales by re-contacting leads.
Rapportive
Want to know more about the person who's sent you an email? Use Rapportive to find out more information about anyone who's emailed you, such as their job, their Twitter username, personal website, and more. As this plugin is now owned by LinkedIn, this data is pulled from LinkedIn itself.
So, if whoever has emailed you is a LinkedIn member, then you'll be able to find out plenty about them. If not, then this plugin isn't that helpful - there are some alternatives, such as Discoverly, but I haven't tested them.
Knowing who has emailed you is very important when you receive a purchase inquiry on one of your domain names, and it can help you make a decision on whether to respond and how much you can expect them to pay for your domain name.
Special Mentions: There are three more cool Gmail plugins that I've used before, but they aren't necessarily helpful specifically to domainers. However, I wanted to briefly share those as well:
Gmail has been publicly available for over 8 years, and since then, it has attracted around 900 million users to its advertising-supported, free email service. Having tried a few email services (both free and premium), I can say that Gmail is the best I've used so far, thanks partly to the wide array of Gmail plugins that are available to download.
Gmail plugins improve the productivity and features of the standard Gmail service. Here are five recommendations that will help any domain investor improve their Gmail inbox.
Sidekick
Sidekick was the subject of my first ever blog post as a NamePros contributor. I loved the plugin then, and I still love it today. Sidekick is a free (with premium plans available) extension from HubSpot, which tracks emails that you send and tells you when emails have been opened.
If you're a domain investor who sends out sales emails, you should be using this plugin. Knowing whether your sales emails have been opened and how many times the email has been opened can give you tremendous insight into the interest (or lack thereof) that your potential buyer has in your domain.
Sidekick is free for 200 notifications per month, and it also comes with a free iPhone application to allow you to keep track of open rates from your phone.
WiseStamp
This is a simple, but very effective way of adding a unique signature to your emails. You'll be able to add a profile photo, social media links, websites, phone numbers, and even a link to your latest blog post (which is automatically updated).
Trust is a big issue when it comes to selling domain names via email. When a complete stranger emails you and asks whether you're interested in buying a domain name for thousands of dollars, you will want to find out as much as possible about the sender before making a decision. An effective email signature can help with this.
Boomerang
Boomerang can be used to schedule emails to be sent at specific times. This is the perfect plugin to use to help improve the productiveness of your sales emails.
When sending a sales email to a prospective buyer, there are certain times of the day and week that work best; for example, Tuesday at 8 AM is a good time to send an email, whereas Friday at 5 PM is a bad time to send an email.
Use Boomerang to ensure that your emails are sent when they have the highest chance of being read. This means that you can work on finding leads at any time without having to worry about being buried under a mass of other sales emails that the potential buyer may receive.
FollowUp.cc
I started using this Gmail plugin after reading this blog post by Ali Zandi. Followup.cc allows you to set a follow-up reminder on new emails or replies that you are about to send. If you haven't heard from your intended recipient before a pre-determined date, then the plugin will remind you via email.
Following up on domain sales emails can often be unproductive due to many "No thank you" replies from potential buyers, but you should be able to get a few sales by re-contacting leads.
Rapportive
Want to know more about the person who's sent you an email? Use Rapportive to find out more information about anyone who's emailed you, such as their job, their Twitter username, personal website, and more. As this plugin is now owned by LinkedIn, this data is pulled from LinkedIn itself.
So, if whoever has emailed you is a LinkedIn member, then you'll be able to find out plenty about them. If not, then this plugin isn't that helpful - there are some alternatives, such as Discoverly, but I haven't tested them.
Knowing who has emailed you is very important when you receive a purchase inquiry on one of your domain names, and it can help you make a decision on whether to respond and how much you can expect them to pay for your domain name.
Special Mentions: There are three more cool Gmail plugins that I've used before, but they aren't necessarily helpful specifically to domainers. However, I wanted to briefly share those as well:
- MXHero - A Mission Impossible style self-destruct feature for your emails. If you have a sensitive email to send that you don't want to be read by unwanted recipients (or forwarded to others), then you need MXHero. This plugin will remove your email from the recipient's inbox five minutes after it's been read.
- Unroll.me - Mass unsubscribe for Gmail. If you have a number of email subscriptions that you don't read but find that there's too much time and effort involved in unsubscribing from each one, then try Unroll.me. This plugin will let you unsubscribe from your email lists with one click.
- AwayFind - If you find yourself constantly checking your emails on vacation or when youβre trying to relax, then you need AwayFind. This great Gmail plugin monitors your email inbox for important messages and only notifies you by a SMS text message if an email is absolutely urgent. Their free account allows for the monitoring of a single Gmail account.
