As influencers, email is our primary connection to brands for collaboration opportunities and to our audience for feedback. If you manage social media, email is the easiest way to keep in contact with clients’ requests. But at some point your email inbox may get overloaded. All it takes is a one week vacation, a sick child or your broken limb to slow you down. Just in time for summer vacation, here are some simple email management tips for bloggers. Add your suggestions in the comments below if you’ve found a great solution to keeping your inbox from overflowing.
Set an “away message”
When you plan to take an email break due to a vacation or sickness, set an “away message” auto-responder with your email provider.
For example: “I’m away having family time and will reply to emails after June 20th. I look forward to chatting with you then.”
If you’re traveling on behalf or a brand, share the hashtag and a link to at least one of your social media profiles. Encourage the connection to follow along.
For example: “I’m covering the Essence Festival with several brands. Follow the #MBIB hashtag on Twitter to see my social shares. I’ll be happy to fill you in when I return.
Prioritize certain email addresses
Consider prioritizing email addresses for social media clients and influencer networks who reach our frequently about compensated opportunities. No one wants to miss chances to connect and increase their income! Some email providers like GoDaddy allow you to set desired email addresses as “preferred.” You can select to read those emails sooner than the rest.
Create Canned Replies
Instead of re-typing the same reply 20 times a day for brands who’d like you to review a product, consider keeping simple replies you can copy and paste.
For Example: “Thanks for reaching out about a product review feature in my blog’s travel section. All review products must have a value of at least $100 and are non-returnable. You’re welcome to send a product to my address: 123 Main Street, Philadelphia, PA 19143.”
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Unsubscribe, Unsubscribe, Unsubscribe!
Apps like Unroll.Me allow you to see a list of all of your subscription emails and newsletters, then decide whether to unsubscribe.
Another option is to create an additional email address for subscription emails, e-courses or lower priority emails.
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Schedule Email Time
Create time each day that’s just dedicated to managing emails. You can use this time simply to delete irrelevant messages, assign them to junk email, a designated folder or manage your subscriptions.
Apologize
Once your start digging out of your email inbox, apologize for responding late to inquiries. Ask how you can make it up to the brand or the client if you missed an important deadline.
Comment below: What’s your favorite email management tip? Do you find that having multiple email accounts for your blog helps or hurts your productivity?
