107.81 billion emails are sent everyday and while 10% of it is spam other 90% serious communication is sometimes converted to spammy looking email due to certain bad practices.

A few days ago we received an email from one of our team member Leo and his signature was awful. It was way bigger than the email text itself which made him our running gag for the day. Before that I got a cold email in which I was CC along with 30 other senior management people from different companies.

Emails like these leave a bad reputation and negatively impacts the communication with the senders and this article will try to address one such disastrous problem of poor email signatures.

Let’s look at some of the annoying practices of email signature and if you do it too, maybe try to tone it down a bit –

Listing Out All Your Contact Details

The main aim of signature is to let others know who you’re and how to get in touch with you apart from email. This does not mean you list out every single contact detail and slap it at the end.

Don’t be this guy,

Instead make it look good so it reflects your personality, like this

You can also keep signatures simple and add 2-3 other contact details like phone number, skype id or even one of your social media profiles where you’re most active. Listing down 5-10 contact details will only confuse the other person and may jeopardize your privacy.

Alternatively, if you still want to add all your contact details, maybe mention in the end what’s the most preferred way to reach you.

 

Using An Image As a Signature

Granted that you can customize your signatures in every possible way with an image, doesn’t mean you should.Most of the email servers do not render images in the first go and always require receiver’s permission. This is why you would often see a message like this when you open an email

If you’re already presentin yourrecipient’s trusted contact list, it might work out for you but otherwise the recipient will only see your email text without any signature. There are various security reasons why it is not advisable to allow images to display in email and users following this advice would never see your signature.

Not only this, images increase the size of the email and thus increases the loading time. Users having slow internet connection might suffer.

To top it off, how do you expect people to copy information from your signature image?

If you still want to take a chance an alternative way is to specify an ‘alt’ text for your signature image. ‘alt’ text means alternative text and will appear if your image is not rendered properly.

To specify ‘alt’ text in your signature’s image you need to add an ‘alt’ attribute to signature’s HTML image tag which would look something like this:

<img src=”https://yoursite.com/signature-image” alt=”Alternative text for your signature” >

 

Using Large Images in Signature

Remember the email signature which was even bigger than the email text? One of the reasons – the sender added a big logo of her company in the signature. Though her intention might have been to get her brand noticed, it ruined my experience. And I honestly confess, I didn’t reply to her with full enthusiasm as I generally do.

Placing a small logo of your company would probably be the best but make sure it is accommodated in a way that it doesn’t attract too much attention. And sadly even ‘alt’ text won’t work well here because when image is absent it might show – ‘CompanyName Logo’ or simply ‘CompanyName’.

 

Using Mobile Friendly Signatures

Did you know – In 2014, 48% of total email opens occur from mobile phones or tablets. Depending on your target audience, your product etc. the email opens from mobile varies from 15-48%.

This is enough of a reason to optimize your email signature for small screens. There are various possibilities of how you achieve this,

• By using only text and no images.
• By using small CSS icons.
• By using tiny images which doesn’t increase the size of the email and doesn’t look bad even if they are not rendered. Example:
  

 

Adding Irrelevant Information At The End

So you chose to add random inspirational quotes at the end of your signature. This is what you suppose others to say?

Something else that can put off people is a big legal disclaimer at the end. Though it might be requiredat some companies due to company policy, it is mostly annoying and legally meaningless.Trust me, you can do without it.

If you really have to send a non-disclosure or legal disclaimer, its better you send that information via secure channels in an encrypted format.

Too many disclaimers have led people to come up with interesting counters and trolls. This is what you find at the end of Neil Patel’s email.

Let’s look at one more – a green tree icon with a message like,

I wish you appreciated the irony of having your emails printed.

 

Too Much Content In The Signature That Causes Unpredictable Wrapping

Adding too much content to a single line in your signature might end up being wrapped in an unexpected way. To avoid this try to accommodate less than 72 characters in one line of your signature.

According to email standards a single line containing more than 72 characters is wrapped on to the next line. To avoid unsightly wrapping, try to accommodate less than 72 characters and add info in multiple lines.

 

Don’t Use Tiny URLs or Shortened Links

Marketers use third party link shortening tools to track link clicks, be it from ads or any other place. Some of the famous tools like bit.ly, tinyurl.com, ow.ly etc. have been around for years but using them in emails (like signatures) can seriously affect your email deliverability.

This is due to the fact that link shortners mask the original URL and is used by spammers as well.

A better way to track link clicks is by adding UTM parameters to the original URL which is then tracked within your analytics system like Google Analytics.

 

“Sent from my iphone”

It was a brilliant idea by Apple to put that as a default signature but you it doesn’t mean you should leave it as is. You don’t add ‘Sent from my Dell Vostro’ while sending an email from your laptop then why not change it in iphone/ipad.

On a lighter note,

And before you go, check out this super funny video of how ‘Declaration of Email Signature’ would have been signed back in the day. And if you think I missed any common gaffe, let’s discuss that in the comments.

The post Do Me A Favor And Change Your Email Signature appeared first on Mailbird.

I’m not the first one neither the last one to acknowledge that email overload problem is getting out of hand and the devastating consequences which doesn’t seem as harmful will only increase the unproductive hours and the lost revenue as its direct impact.

There are multiple problems in how email is used everyday but the major one crops up in the form of ‘Tragedy of the commons’ which means people act in their self interest to achieve their goals even if it isn’t in the best interest of the group they are a part of.

While composing an email we all think about what we want from another person and not the other way round which explains the Tragedy of Commons and the fundamental problem of why email overload problem is drowning us in the sea of unproductive email habits.

There is plenty of advice out there and it is easy to get overwhelmed when you have 100 little things to improve in your email habits. Look at this for example. No way I can implement all of those, I give up even before I start to read.

I don’t want to make it counter intuitive so let’s take baby steps and start with 7 of the simplest methods you can implement in your daily email habits that would cut your inbox time in half.

#1 – The mysterious world of subject lines

Subject lines are like the pickup lines of email world. Executed well, it can make other person comfortable or get you a stamp of creep.

There is a simple way of making your subject lines helpful – Explicitly mention the end goal of your email. This gives recipient clear idea of what she needs to do just by looking at the subject line. She can decide to respond immediately or mark it to reply later.

Let’s look at examples –

1. Meeting notes + need feedback on mockups
2. [Informational] Update on sales for week of April 27
3. [Urgent] Release the new beta today!
4. [Low Priority] Please fix this error on the website

Notice two important things:

1. Usage of adjectives in square bracket can significantly improve the understanding of what needs to be done just by reading the subject line.
2. Don’t worry if your subject line is a bit longer. If it clearly explains what needs to be done without opening the email, you’re doing it right.

#2 – Follow the NNTR/NRN and EOM policy

NNTR = No need to reply

NRN = No reply needed

EOM = End of message

These three simple phrases or their acronyms can itself reduce your email volume significantly. 

Most of the time when you send the last email in a thread with all the useful information, the recipient will reply with a thank you note or a brief acknowledgment which just adds to your pile of email.

If you’re sure this would be your last email in the thread, you can add NNTR/NRN at the end of email to let other people know, they need not reply. In some cases it might sound rude or might intimidate employees to not reply to their boss, even if they have a question. To avoid that you can write – ‘No need to reply unless you have a question’ or a variation of it.

Sometimes, you have a very short message that can fit in the subject line itself. In that case adding EOM or [EOM] or [End of message] can save recipient’s time as they don’t need to open the email.

Help yourself and others in becoming efficient.

#3 – Use ‘Send & Archive’ button

Majority of people don’t know about this nifty features that can reduce your email stress or unwillingness to deal with emails.

When you reply to an email and click ‘Send & Archive’ button it sends the email and archives it from your inbox at the same time. It not only saves your time to archive the email separately but also reduces the clutter in your inbox, giving you a sense of power that you’re in control and getting rid of emails fast.

Activate it in Gmail

1. Click on Settings icon  in the your Gmail inbox and from the drop down select ‘Settings’ option.
2. Under the ‘General’ tab scroll down to the section of ‘Send and archive’ and select Show “Send & Archive” button in reply.
3. Click on ‘Save Changes’ at the bottom of the page.

You will then see a ‘Send and archive’ button along with the ‘Send’ button like this

 

Activate it in Mailbird

This feature comes inbuilt and activated when you install Mailbird and looks like

 

Other email programs seems to be lacking it at the moment.

#4 – Formatting email the right way

You should always avoid writing lengthy emails but if you’re going to write paragraphs of text, at least make it look better so other people do not hate you for it. Use following three elements generously:

Headings in bold

Use headings and bold them. You can also highlight the important parts of the email by bolding them. But the trick is to use keyboard for efficiency. If you select the text using mouse, you need to move the cursor which often selects the wrong text, then move the cursor to formatting bar and click on Bold option. It takes additional time.

Use shift + arrow keys to select text and use Ctrl + B or Command + B on your keyboard to bold it. Let’s look at the math –

If you used bold 10 times in an email, you can save 15-20 seconds by not using a mouse.

If you’re a heavy email user and send at least 5 such emails every day = saving 75 – 100 seconds per day = 37.5 – 50 minutes every month.

Bullet points

It makes scanning the email simpler. It also makes email look clean while making it possible for recipients to write in-line replies.

In case you’re not familiar with in-line replies, take a look how easy it is to answer an email with in-line replies.

 

Spacing

Breaking down long paragraphs into cluster of 2-3 lines makes it easier to read. Try not to make a paragraph of more than 3 lines.

#5 – Say No to open ended questions

Always ask a specific question at the end of the email and refrain from asking questions like –

• What are your thoughts on this?
• Any feedback?

Specific questions makes recipient’s life easier and shows you value their time. Instead of a vague question, give your recipient choices/options to choose from which will give them a point to start thinking from. A few examples:

• Would you prefer going ahead with it now or should we postpone it for later?
• Can you send me your feedback on which campaign is the best and why?

#6 – Use CC and BCC the right way

Most people don’t know the correct usage of CC and BCC specially when multiple people are involved in the email. Here are some simple tips:

1. Use ‘to’ field to address people who are directly affected by the email or who are expected to reply.
2. Use CC to keep people in the loop and when you’re not expecting a reply from them.
3. Use BCC when you just want to leave a copy of email in someone’s inbox and they will not be involved in further conversations.
4. When someone introduces you over email, take the conversation further with the new person but add the introducer to BCC so you can thank them while not involving them in further conversations.
5. If you have to send out the same email to 20 important people, send it one at a time rather than adding all of them to bcc. It only shows your laziness and lack of respect for the other person. And you can forget a reply from them.
6. You can add as many people in ‘to’ field as you want, don’t keep just one person in ‘to’ field and rest in CC, that’s a wrong practice.

#7 – Kill it with 2 minute rule

In emails, 2 minute rule means you deal with an email (reply, forward, delete etc) if it would take less than 2 minutes, otherwise you mark it and deal with it later.

There are multiple ways how you store it for later:

• You can star it.
• You can move it to a different folder.
• You can convert them into tasks.

More than this, it’s better to learn about 2 minute rule from the guy who invented it.

You’re now armed to move into inbox battle. Go win it.

The post 7 Simple Tricks to Cut Email Communication Time in Half appeared first on Mailbird.

Internet is scattered with articles about productivity so why should this be the last and the only one you should read? Because I’m going to try include every piece of advice, tips and tricks in one article so you can bookmark it and never have to go search for it again.

A word of caution – Just because you’ll find every piece of advice in this article doesn’t mean you should implement all of them. Ideally you should start with one and work on perfecting it in the sprint of 2 weeks. Once you’ve established any given productivity hack into your habit, choose the next one from the list and start another sprint while keeping the first one intact.

Let’s jump right in…

Being busy does not mean being productive

I had to get this myth out of the way. Most people think they are being productive when actually they are just being busy. There is a reason why 40 hours week came into existence. Find out your optimum time of productivity and work accordingly. 5 productive hours are much better than 10 unproductive hours.

Multitasking does not make you productive either

A stanford study showed that people who multitask are worse than people who do a single task at once. Every time you think of jumping from one task to another, take a step back and ask yourself – is it urgent to take this up this right away? Most of the times it won’t be and you should try to focus on what you were doing.

Turn off all distractions

We like to stay connected all the time which makes it even more difficult to switch off distracting elements. But doing so would help you avoid multitasking and make you more attentive to details. Try to work in short sessions of 30-60 mins so you can still go back and check on your distracting elements after.

Know your tools inside out

If you work on a computer try using keyboard for most of the tasks. Every time you reach for your mouse, you’re losing a tiny bit of time. Compounded over time this could mean wasted hours. Similarly, find out how to use your other tools effectively.

Find your superman time

Every person has a different energy level throughout the day but usually we are more creative and energetic early in the day and our productivity reduces towards the evening. Using this powerful insight in building your daily schedule can help you be a lot more productive than you already are. Also, if you’re interested in finding your superman time, here is how you can find it.

Don’t try to be a perfectionist

If you’re working on a creative task, it is highly unlikely that you’ll nail it in the first attempt. It’s always better to throw in all your ideas and then work on refining them. If you’re trying to be a perfectionist, you’ll end up taking more time to complete the task.

You can beat procrastination

There is a structured way of beating procrastination by reorganizing your task list with more important tasks so you try to avoid them for a less important one which should actually be your priority at the moment.

Another way of beating procrastination is to get started. Most of the time we fail to even start working on a task. Get started and do it for 5 minutes and chances are you’ll continue working on it.

Pomodoro technique

Work in the sprint of 25 minutes followed by a 5 minute break. These short cycles of work and essential breaks would help you avoid stress. Make sure to use the 5 minute break to do something fun which is not related to work. Forget about work for those 5 minutes. You can also use an app like this to keep a track.

Use automation

Think of automating the repetitive tasks. You will not only save time but you shall be able to focus on other important tasks. Not everything can be automated but aim to automate as much as possible. As a general rule of thumb make sure the time used in automating a task will save you at least 5x time in future. Also look at services like IFTTT for automation.

Constant reminder

Don’t lose focus of the bigger picture and constantly ask yourself one of the following questions:

• Is this the best use of time to be productive?
• Is this the best way of doing the task?
• What am I working on right now? Will it make the biggest impact on my main goal?

You can put up a sticky note or even a wallpaper on your computer to constantly remind yourself.

Exercise

Contrary to what people think, exercise energizes you rather than exhausting you out. Most of us procrastinate about it and the easiest way to do it is to put on some good music and start a 7 minute workout. The trick is to get started and it will be over before you know it.

Drink a lot of water

Hydrate yourself and drink a lot of water which not only helps your body but also gets you up from the chair for frequent bathroom breaks. A win-win in every way.

Learn to say No

We don’t usually say No to avoid conflict or to please someone which ends up getting you in over your head. Would you rather say No upfront or take too much work, not finish it on time and disappoint others? Don’t forget you’re human and there is always a polite way to say No.

Moreover, if you know about Pareto principle or the 80-20 rule, you should focus on the 20% stuff that would get you 80% results.

Turn your wasted hours to productive ones

For my first job I use to commute 3 hours in a crowded metro. Instead of wasting those hours I started loading my mobile phone with podcasts and listen to them during commute. You can use these wasted hours in multiple ways like taking work calls, talking to customers, planning your week, reading a book etc.

If nothing else take this time to call your family and friends you haven’t been in touch with lately.

Crush it with the 2 minute rule

The rule says if something can be finished in less than 2 minutes, you should do it now! Even though it makes total sense it can interfere with work as it gives rise to multitasking. Make sure to not do it when you’re on a focused Pomodoro session.

Nothing like a good night sleep

It can’t be emphasized enough how important it is to have a good sleep. A study by BBC says –

If you are getting less than seven hours’ sleep a night and can alter your sleep habits, even just a little bit, it could make you healthier.

Why you may ask? The study notes –

Deep sleep sounds restful, but during it our brains are actually working hard. One of the main things the brain is doing is moving memories from short-term storage into long-term storage, allowing us more short-term memory space for the next day. If you don’t get adequate deep sleep then these memories will be lost.

Make realistic goals

It is easy to set high goals but often times when you don’t achieve them, you end up demotivated. It is crucial to assess and set realistic goals.

Go a step ahead and break those goals into smaller, easy to measure tasks so you’re not overwhelmed at once. It is easier to finish up 5 smaller tasks than a big one.

Buddy up

Collaborating with a partner is a great way to reduce the time required to finish a big, complex task and also helps in opening your mind to new ideas. This is specially true for software programmers. It also helps when you’re not sure how to approach the problem. A mentor could significantly reduce your planning time by guiding you in the right direction.

If you’re unable to find a partner you can have a conversation with yourself by writing everything down. Many people write a diary, some keep journals, you can choose a format that works for you and get your thoughts on paper. However, the trick is to be free flowing, you shouldn’t focus as much on writing correctly as you do on getting those thoughts on paper.

Track and optimize

Track everything in your life from your to-do list to your sleeping pattern, eating habits etc. Next step is to optimize them. There are plenty of tools available to get the job done:

• Time/task tracking – Time Doctor, Asana, Toggl
• Health – Fitbit, Up by Jawbone
• Email – Email Game (Only for Gmail and google apps)

Make commitments, publicly

Commit to something publicly so you’re obligated to follow through on the set deadline. Nobody likes to break promises or look stupid in front of their colleagues and this peer pressure usually motivates you to complete it on time.

Give yourself some alone time

Take 10-20 minutes at the end of the day to reflect back on what you’ve done and how you could have improved. Find just one takeaway and write it down. Writing down is the essential part so you’re consciously aware of what you could have improved on and at the end of the week go through the list to remind yourself how you’re going to do better in future.

Cut your meeting time in half

Meetings can waste a big chunk of your time without even you realizing it. Meetings disrupt your natural workflow, are sometimes vague and drifts away from the subject easily.

At Mailbird we hold only one team meeting every Monday for 30 minutes and we make sure that it never goes beyond the set time limit. This forces us to be productive and finish all the agenda items in time.

If you or your company holds a lot of meetings, try to cut down the meeting time by half and invite as few people as possible. Remember, the time of every additional person in the meeting is a wasted resource for the company.

Make tiny habits

Delegate

As much as you want to do everything by yourself, it is hard and you’ll eventually burn out. Delegating tasks to others doesn’t mean you can’t do it, it shows you can get the job done faster. Even if the end result is not perfect, you can make changes which is better than doing it from scratch.

Set priorities

Setting the right priorities can make all the difference. Every day in the morning before looking at your emails or starting work, take 15 minutes to think about and decide what will be your top 3 priorities for the day. Every time you feel distracted, go back to the list and align yourself with the priorities. Everything should be done after completing your priorities.

Did I miss anything? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

The post The only article you need to read about Productivity appeared first on Mailbird.

Change is good, even for your Email.

Most of us are trying to find the perfect email client to help us sort through our daily mess of email, trying hard to reach the long wanted Inbox Zero.

Changing to a different email client after getting used to one seems unthinkable for most users. “Going through the setup etc again? No thank you, I would rather stay with my outdated old-fashioned client.”

Well, we have good news for you. There is light at the end of the tunnel with a new era of the modern email client, Mailbird. Your experience with a software matters. Having a clean interface in front of you coupled with an interaction that makes managing you online communication easier is a sweet deal.

Mailbird is super easy to use even for your grandmom. We promise you’ll master it within 5 minutes. It enables users of any age, as well as non-tech background to learn how to use it fast, and to do so with ease and enjoyment. A great email experience is what you should strive for and Mailbird gives you exactly that.

“I’ve purchased Mailbird for my old mother as well, as it’s easy to use. She’s not in anyway computer savvy, but last weekend I actually got an email from her – the first ever, imagine my (very pleasant) surprise! For me Mailbird is a keeper – easy to use and most importantly easy to configure!! My 80 year old mom is a testament to that.” Lars – May 12, 2015

We will be looking at the following areas to see if Mailbird is the best alternative to Thunderbird for you too:

1. Layout and UI
2. Most Popular Features
3. Cost

1. Layout  and User Experience

Thunderbird is not being updated anymore and it is known for its cluttered and bloated layout and UI, making it rather complicated for new and even existing user to handle the software.

Sure, if you use a software on a daily basis you eventually learn how to get around it, in fact that’s even the case with rocket science but is that the best utilization of your time? Software and apps in 2015 should be intuitive enough to not have a learning curve so spending a few days unraveling the mystery of using an email client seems like we’re technologically pushing you back to early 2000s.

Simplicity, clean UI, intuitive UX and speed are the main reasons why people try Mailbird, enabling them to master it in less than 5 Minutes (not days).

User Experience

User experience is the small little details that you don’t recognize consciously but intuitively guides you to use the software.

Mailbird has many such small elements. Let’s look at examples –

Example #1 – Let’s say you’re a dropbox user and you activated Dropbox app from your Mailbird App Store. Apart from looking at your Dropbox app by clicking on Dropbox icon in bottom left, the only other place you’ll find it is when you’re composing a new email or replying to one. It shows up like this –

Non-intrusive Dropbox icon to attach files from Dropbox

Dropbox in Mailbird compose window

And when clicked upon, opens Dropbox file explorer for you to select files to be attached.

Example #2 – You might think, Mailbird does not offer as many features and functionalities as Thunderbird, otherwise the Inbox and menu would look the same, right? That is not quite correct.

Instead of filling the interface with lots of buttons and options, we hid them to show up on certain user action. If you look at how emails are stacked in Mailbird, it looks just like any other email program but when you hover over the profile picture of an email message, an action bar shows up on top which makes it easier for you to deal with it.

You can even click on the profile picture of an email message and it will show you all the emails you’ve exchanged with the person.

Quick Action Bar in Mailbird

Inbox – Mozilla Thunderbird 17

Layout and UI

In Mailbird, you can customize the layout and color theme, personalizing your Inbox.

Pick your favourite colour

8 different Layout Options – Pick your favourite

2. Most Popular Features

In order to find the perfect replacement for their current email client, people tend to only look for ones that have exactly the same features as their current email client, regardless of whether or not those features will actually be used.

Mailbird has integrated the standard features that users know from Thunderbird and also offers special Mailbird-only features that have not yet been implemented by any other email client. Quick preview of attachments, speed reader, Linkedin lookup, snooze and many other.

The majority of these are already available in Mailbird’s free version – Mailbird Lite.

Lets have a look at the most popular features:

Integration with Third Party Apps

Additional features that differentiate Mailbird from other email clients is the integration of a variety of popular apps, turning Mailbird into a true all-in-one communication hub, combining Email, Messaging, Task Management, Calendar and Video Meetings in the most effective way possible for the user.

Mailbird’s all-star developer team continues to add and improve these features requested by you. Think Mailbird needs a certain feature to convince you to switch? We have Mailbird Feature request forum where you can submit your request.

Imagine working like a productivity machine through your email, while also being able to jump on a call without having to switch to browser or another software. It’s not just convenient but also way more efficient. In Mailbird, as the best alternative to Thunderbird, you have all your communication power tools in one place.

Featured Apps Include:

• Messaging Apps, like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp.

• Task Management, Apps and Tools like Todoist, Moo.do, Evernote and Asana, can easily be activated in your Mailbird AppStore.

• Video Meeting Apps, such as Appear.in and Veeting Rooms allow you to easily jump on a call or virtual Meeting, without having to leave your Inbox.

  Talk to anyone by creating video chat rooms in Appear.in

  Veeting Rooms – Have a virtual Meeting without leaving your Email Client.

• Calendar Apps, like Google Calendar and Sunrise Calendar give you a nice overview of your upcoming appointments and enable you to schedule appointments from your Mailbird.

  Sunrise Calendar – plan your day from your Inbox.

3. Cost

Mailbird has 3 different pricing options to choose from. Depending on the number of accounts and your actual email needs, Mailbird has the perfect plan for you which include:

1. Mailbird Lite: Free for up to 3 accounts
2. Mailbird Pro: $1 / month paid annually or $12 / year  (incl. all future updates)
3. Mailbird Pro Lifetime: $45 once  (incl. all future updates)

Mailbird gives you a 30 day free Pro Trial when you install Mailbird for the first time. This is a great chance to find out why Mailbird Pro is worth that $1 a month.

Still have questions before downloading it? Our team is always there to help you out. Shoot us an Email to support@getmailbird.com or tweet us @getmailbird. We are ready to help you and to answer every single one of them. That’s a great value that comes with Mailbird. Direct responses and feedback to help you through your email, communication and communication management needs.

Ready to make the switch to the best alternative to Thunderbird? Simply start downloading Mailbird! You’ll just love it.

The post Why is Mailbird the best Alternative to Thunderbird appeared first on Mailbird.

Windows 10 Mail App Not Working?

Windows 10 is out and without a doubt it is the best Windows version so far. With its wonderful new features like Cortana and Spartan web browser among others, it also shipped with a default Windows 10 Mail app.

Since Windows 10 launch we were anxious to see what freshness it would bring to its Mail app but after trying it out and reading other people’s reviews, it is clear that the Mail app has a lot of ground to cover to become the most usable email client on Windows due to bugs and the lack of certain critical key features.

Since Mailbird launched its enhanced Mailbird for Windows 10, we decided to explore the native Windows 10 Mail app vs. Mailbird to see how they stack up against each other.

Modern UI

Both Windows 10 Mail and Mailbird are developed using the same metro style theme. While Mail uses more strictly text based, Mailbird uses UX intuitive elements giving it that beautifully clean look and feel. That’s important when you want to keep your communication and productivity apps housed under one roof.

3 column vs. 4 column layout – Both Mailbird and Windows 10 Mail have the default 3 column layout but with Mailbird apps activated you unlock a 4 column layout which allows you to manage emails in parallel with those critical apps that are baked right into Mailbird. It’s all thanks to that 4th column.

Windows 10 Mail app – 3 column view

Mailbird 4 column view with WhatsApp

Unified Inbox Plus

This is the most critical feature missing in Mail app which makes it tougher for users to handle multiple email accounts. Unified Inbox Plus accumulates your emails from different email accounts and displays them in a single inbox. This reduces the necessity to switch between accounts to manage them separately, especially if you have three or more email accounts.

A small downgrade in user experience in the Mail app for Windows 10 is that you need 2 clicks to switch between email accounts. In Windows 8.1 you needed a single click to toggle.

Unified Inbox Plus is such a key feature that it is available also in the free version of Mailbird, you can either use Unified Inbox Plus or toggle between email accounts with a single click.

Windows 10 mail app with no unified inbox

Mailbird unified inbox collapsed and expanded

Conversation View

Conversation view helps keep a conversation and it’s replies threaded in one email thereby making your inbox cleaner. If they are not threaded you’ll get a separate email for every reply.

Even though conversation view is helpful, many users still don’t like to use it and for them Mail app comes with bad news. Conversation view is set by default in the native Windows 10 Mail app and can’t be switched off. However, if you’re a Mailbird user, you can switch conversation view on/off from the Options menu. Easy.

Apps

Most of us use multiple communication apps every day which makes it more than essential for an email client to have these apps integrated for easy access and efficiency.

Mail for Windows 10 removed the integration with Facebook and Twitter from People apps (their version of a contacts manager) so now users are left with no option for communication via social channels.

Mailbird continues to maintain strong integrations with multiple communication apps like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Asana, Appear.in and more. This way you don’t have to switch between browser tabs or pick up your mobile phone as everything is one one place in Mailbird. Now that’s freaking cool.

Twitter app in Mailbird sidebar

Productivity Features

Windows 10 Mail is a basic email client with standard features like any other legacy email client and it might be because the Microsoft team wants people to focus more on Microsoft Outlook, rather than on the latest Windows 10 Mail. There are no extra ordinary features in the latest Windows 10 Mail app, that prioritize making users more productive or help people be much more efficient in their communication. An email client without a purpose.

Mailbird however has a mission at hand which also drives the decision making when it comes to product development. Mailbird wants to help you be productive with your inbox, simplifying your life by bringing it all into one place where you manage your conversations. Mailbird goes above and beyond the standard features of an email client, introducing innovative processes that help you combat email overload.

With this vision in mind Mailbird has introduced unique productivity features like the email speed reader, snooze, quick attachment preview and third party apps. To top it off, most of these features are available in the free version – so why wouldn’t you opt for Mailbird over Windows 10 Mail?

Mailbird’s Email Speed Reader in action

Contacts & Calendar

Mail for Windows 10 has an improved Contacts Manager and Calendar. Contacts Manager has a better navigation on the left and you can scroll down easily unlike the horizontal navigation in Windows 8.1 version. The Calendar now supports CalDAV standard which is used by Google and iCloud.

Mailbird has Google Calendar and Sunrise app integrated which can be used to manage your appointments without needing to learn a new interface. Mailbird also has a native contacts manager which allows you to import contacts using vCard format and also keep contacts of people who have emailed you. You can also create groups to send emails to multiple people at once.

Mailbird Contacts Manager

Mail’s Contact Manager

Bugs & Problems

Since the launch of Windows 10, the native Windows 10 Mail app has been under the heat for having critical bugs which affects the core product experience and it ranges from people not being able to add their account, sync issues to notifications not working properly. Looking at the app store page of Mail more people have rated it as 1 (poor), rather than a 5 (excellent).

Poor app store rating of Mail

If that’s not enough, Arstechnica writer said that Windows 10 Mail is beautiful but bug ridden. And here is Christian Taylor comparing Mail vs. Mailbird.

Looking at the pattern from the past, Microsoft has not been very forthcoming in releasing quick fixes for issues in Mail and if that continues a lot more people will end up disappointed.

In the mean time Mailbird has launched its latest and most amazing version for Windows 10, and if direct user feedback holds any weight here, this is what people say about Mailbird everyday.

What users are saying about Mailbird for Windows 10

Change is good, and it’s time to make a decision. Take your pick.

The post Alternative to Windows 10 Mail App appeared first on Mailbird.

Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is the new initiative by Microsoft aimed for app developers to make one app that would work on wide range of devices. Most of the apps are still adapting to UWP concept but there are still many in the app store that shines on Windows 10.

Since you’re already up and running with Windows 10 we want to introduce you to the best communication apps for Windows 10 that will make your life simpler.

Skype

Skype is one of the most popular software for online communication. It is used by millions of people every day to talk over chat, voice calls and video calls.  Not just that, you can share files, call someone on their cell phone and more. Skype is available on desktop, tablets and mobile devices, so just head over to the download page and get started.

Download Skype app

Facebook

The world’s biggest social network has an app for Windows 10 too. Share your memories, talk to your friends and let others know where you are without needing to open a browser.

Download Facebook app

Trello

Trello is a simple task management app which turns into a great communication tool when you have to organize and manage an event with others. Want to plan you kid’s birthday party? Invite your spouse and friends on a Trello board and start planning what needs to be done and when.

Download Trello app

Viber

Viber is another powerful communication app which allows you to send texts, make voice and video calls while using only your internet data. You can send stickers, emoticons, photos and  locations to make your communication fun. And the app syncs between your phone and computer in real time to make your experience as smooth as possible.

Download Viber

Twitter

Till second quarter of 2015, the micro-blogging website has acquired 304 million active users and has secured its position among the top social media platforms. At one side where Facebook has stringent privacy restrictions, Twitter is an open platform to interact with almost anyone in the world from president Barack Obama to sports legend Sachin Tendulkar. Twitter has also come up with an exclusive new version for Windows 10.

Download Twitter app

Line

Line is a free messaging app and is similar to Viber but with more features. Apart from allowing you to to send messages, make voice and video calls, it has stickers for more expressive chats, high quality video maker, timeline to stay in touch with the news about your favorite brands and celebrities. It also has a store from where you can buy additional stickers, themes, premium call credits and games. Available on multiple platforms you can use its Windows 10 app to stay in touch with friends and family.

Download Line app

Mailbird

Acknowledged as the “Best email client for Windows & Gmail” Mailbird has launched its new version for Windows 10 which works smoothly on both desktop and tablets. With advance touch support and third party apps like WhatsApp, Evernote, Asana, Facebook, Twitter and many more, it is an all-in-one communication hub for  Windows users.

Download Mailbird

Piip 

Piip is a completely free messenger which works on multiple platforms including Windows 10. It boasts about its simple setup and group chats which makes it ideal to talk to your friends or colleagues. To top it off you can also keep a backup of your messages on Piip Messenger cloud so you can restore them in case of stolen/lost device.

Download Piip Messenger

Teamviewer

Teamviewer is a screen sharing tool where you can present a product demo or control someone else’s screen. It is a convenient tool to communicate, help and support others. Teamviewer has established itself as a tool for business use and with over 200 million users it has grown into an excellent communication app. Next time you want to help your grandma in setting up an email account, Teamviewer would come handy.

Download Teamviewer Touch

Slack

Slack is a messaging app for teams. It aims to bring all your communication at one place by integrating with tools and services you use everyday. With its explosive growth in the last year, it has been considered as one of the fastest growing software in the last decade. It is a multi-platform app and works seamlessly on Windows 10 desktops and tablets.

Download Slack

Did we miss your favorite app? Let us know in the comments.

The post Best Communication Apps for Windows 10 appeared first on Mailbird.

The chances are good that if you have even the slightest interest in the 2016 United States Presidential race, you are familiar with the controversy surrounding Senator Hillary Clinton and her alleged use of personal email accounts on a private server to conduct government business.

For months now, a flurry of accusations, testimony, and new information continues to hover over Senator Clinton’s campaign as she campaigns across the nation in the hopes of securing the Democratic nomination, and eventually, the presidency.

Even if it turns out that not all the accusations laid against her are, in fact, true; it cannot be denied that it has greatly hindered her campaign, and Senator Clinton’s chances at reaching the white house.

It’s not just Hillary Clinton’s problem

Hillary Clinton’s email woes make for big headlines, but it’s amazing how many people make the same mistake of using personal email accounts for things like saving contacts, or rely on our business email account for things like shopping on Amazon.

Even if you aren’t a high-level government official, using a business email account for personal reasons, or using a personal one for business is something that can result in:

• Termination
• Identity Theft
• Increase in Spam Email
• Confusion
• Embarrassment
• Even prosecution!

If for no other reason, it’s important to keep things separate because situations change. After all, the chances are good that you will change jobs in the next five years. When you lose access to your business email account during a job transition, imagine how much more stressful that can be when you throw in losing important contacts and emails.

What you can do

So, how can you make sure you don’t end up like Senator Clinton? It’s actually a very simple. Use more accounts. In fact, you can go beyond preventing disastrous consequences to transforming your email client into a productive and valuable tool.

Business Email Accounts

By this point, you probably already see the value in keeping these accounts strictly focused on anything having to do with communications in your business. But, what about the other ways you use your business email accounts?

• Signups/Accounts
• Newsletter Reply Addresses
• New Business Inquiries
• Calendars/Scheduling
• Announcements
• Etc…

When you think about it, there may be dozens of different ways you use your business email beyond just sending your standard message. Probably, too many uses to justify making or requesting separate accounts for each. Instead, it’s best to group all the kinds of messages, announcements, newsletters, receipts, updates, and any other type of emails you receive by how important that kind of communication is to you, and how immediately it might need your attention.

Begin by going through your inbox and looking at each sender. First, ask if the account you are receiving the messages from this source in is appropriate. If it’s having to do with work, you don’t want it sending to your personal account. Then, decide how important the emails from this source are likely to be to you, or how urgently they might require your attention.  For instance, you may want your co-workers to be able to contact you immediately. However, you might not give email announcements from different services you use in your business, the same kind of urgency for your attention. To begin, we recommend trying:

• Active: communication requiring your immediate attention
• Passive: communication requiring your eventual attention
• Accounts: credentials, and communication not requiring your attention

Creating and using separate accounts for these three account types at work allows you to prioritize those messages that need your immediate attention, while filtering out those that are less important for a later date. It also empowers you to effectively assess information from 3rd party services and tools that you subscribe to at a more convenient time.

If any newsletters or emails coming from accounts are something you would like to continue receiving simply unsubscribe from them in your business account, and re-subscribe with your personal one. That way, you won’t have to start from scratch if you leave your job, and everything remains separated.

Personal Email Accounts

Chances are you have even more ways you use your personal accounts than your business ones. In fact, it can often be extremely difficult for people remember them all off the top of their heads. Especially if your account is years old, you might get emails from hundreds of sources including:

• Friends
• Family
• Offers/Sales
• Newsletters
• Announcements
• Events
• Etc…

Again, just as with your business email accounts, you should think about how you want these emails to arrive and segment them according to urgency. Then, using a free email service like gmail, yahoo, or another of the many free options available online, create accounts for each segment. To keep things easy, you might try names like john.urgent@example.com, john.events@gmail.com, john.accounts@gmail.com… Whatever helps you remember when to use each one. Of course, you don’t want to have to get all your contacts to update your email in their address books, so it’s best to keep all direct/important communications in the account you use now, and work on moving all the other communications out of that account to these newly created ones.

Make your way through each message and update that sender to use the appropriate email address. This can mean updating email and notification preferences, replying directly with the request, or even creating automated rules in your client to forward the message automatically. Also, this would be a great time to unsubscribe from anything you don’t want to see come through your inbox. This process may take some time initially. however, as long as you use your email accounts as suggested in this post, you should never have to sort through them again.

Don’t forget Hillary Clinton’s current email predicament, and keep an eye out for any communications which belong in your business account’s inbox.

Becoming an email account management master

If you want to go beyond separating your personal and professional email accounts and begin to really master how you manage your communications, you need a great email client. Look for one that gives you the ability to apply labels, change notification settings, and includes options like snooze, and is designed for multi-account management.

For Windows users, and yes we are definitely biased here, but Mailbird is a great choice – as it is totally built around our current email predicaments that we all experience today. Do what you need to do to take control of your emails, and use Mailbird to set notifications for each of your accounts. When you do this, you can be sure to get notified for things like when your sister needs help with her upcoming move, while also eliminating unnecessary interruptions like your local deli announcing that they are having a sale. Tag emails in your different accounts for even greater control over email alerts and their importance.

With the right email client, a little time and some determination, you can be sure to never fall under the same scrutiny that Hillary Clinton unfortunately did. Most important is that you can finally gain control over how people contact you and reach that much needed Inbox Bliss.

If you’d like to give Mailbird a try, please go ahead and download it for free. As a special bonus, and to help you become a true email ninja, here is a coupon you can use for 33% Off Mailbird Pro for an entire year. Just visit our pricing page, select “Get Pro” and apply the coupon code “MB-SPECIAL33” in the coupon field at checkout. Otherwise, click below to give Mailbird a try.

The post Hillary Clinton’s Email Mistake And What You Can Do To Avoid It appeared first on Mailbird.

A huge chunk of the team here at Mailbird are die-hard Star Wars nerds. We are beyond excited about the upcoming release of the next installment to the Star Wars series, “The Force Awakens”. That’s why we wanted to share these awesomely simple signatures that you can use in your emails right now.

Spread your benevolence and wisdom as a noble Jedi Knight.

Or, spread fear and corruption as a tyrannical Sith Lord.

The choice is yours! Just copy and paste into the signatures setting of your preferred client.

Jedi Knight

May the force be with you,

John

| Vice President
| Mailbird Inc.
| www.getmailbird.com
| +1 123-456-7890

Sith Lord

Give yourself to the Dark Side,

John

| Vice President
| Mailbird Inc.
| www.getmailbird.com
| +1 123-456-7890

If you are a Mailbird user, it’s as easy as going to your menu, select “options”, select “identities”, select the account you want to apply the signature to, “edit” and paste your choice in the “Signature” field

If you don’t have Mailbird yet, now it the perfect time to try. You’ll even get access to Mailbird Pro FREE for 30 days, no credit card required. Try Mailbird

The post Star Wars Your Email With These Awesome Signatures appeared first on Mailbird.

The post 10 Free Image Sources You Can Use To Superpower Your Emails, Newsletters & More appeared first on Mailbird.

Overwhelmed with emails? No more. We have put together a list of 7 email apps that will help you achieve Inbox Zero and then stay on top of it. And after you’ve conquered your inbox, don’t forget to shout out from the top of building that you’re an email ninja. The world needs to know.

Let’s start…

SaneBox

SaneBox cleans up your inbox by filtering out all the non-essential emails and grouping them under a different label so you can focus and deal with important ones.

Overtime SaneBox has developed some specialized features to combat email overload while making it dead simple for customers to use. Some of these nifty features are –

• SaneBlackHole – Drag and drop an email into SaneBlackHole folder and you’ll never hear from the sender ever again. You mute them forever.
• Spam Folder Monitoring – This feature is designed to ensure that your good emails are never caught in spam filters.
• SaneAttachments – Automatically uploads all the email attachments to Google Drive, Box, Dropbox or Evernote.

You don’t need to install anything and SaneBox works with every email service and device. So go on and try it yourself.

FollowUp.cc

Followup.cc is primarily a tool for sales people but is equally helpful in organizing your inbox. It helps you crate reminders, track opening of emails, schedule when to send an email etc.

It eases up your email workflows and allows you to stay on top of them. If you’re a gmail user, you can use their chrome extension or use it via other email accounts by sending emails to specific email addresses.

Unroll.me

Getting rid of newsletter spam has never been this easy. Unroll.me allows you to unsubscribe from any newsletter spam with a single click. Once you activate it for your email account, it shows you a list of all the newsletters you’re subscribed to for you to unsubscribe easily.

If you don’t wish to unsubscribe, unroll.me gives you an option to roll up all the newsletters in one group to get daily digest in one email. It takes less than 5 minutes to organize your inbox with unroll.me and this would be the best 5 minutes you’ll spend today.

Hiver

If you’re a gmail user, Hiver will supercharge your inbox and turn it into a Project Management tool or Customer Support tool or a Lead Management Software. It’s a collaborative platform where you can manage task, share contacts, email templates, notes etc with your team.

Since Hiver works using the labels available in Gmail, it will work even if you use mobile or desktop emails clients. If you like working with minimal tools, Hiver could be your partner in ditching all the other task management/collaboration tools.

The Email Game

Another sweet app for Gmail and Google Apps users, this app changes the experience of managing emails by adding gamification. You’ve got a set timer to deal with every email and based on how much time you take, you’ll be rewarded with points. This app will force you to be productive so if you want to get into the productivity zone, start your game now.

InboxPause

Your inbox is mostly under other people’s control which gives them the power to distract you. InboxPause brings that control back to you by letting you pause incoming emails for as long as you want. It also has a provision to let others know when you shall receive their emails so they can expect a reply accordingly.

This tool is specially effective for email junkies who can’t stay away from their inbox. Currently it works only for Gmail accounts and has been developed by the team behind Boomerang.

Mailbird

Today when most of our communication happens from different apps, Mailbird brings them together so you can manage everything from one place. You can easily manage your email while having a video call with your friend or texting over WhatsApp and you never have to leave Mailbird.

To make it even better, Mailbird offers productivity features like Email Speed Reader, Email Snooze, Unified Inbox Plus and many more which helps you deal with your emails faster. Make your email experience more productive with Mailbird >>

The post 7 Tools To Turbocharge Your Email Efficiency appeared first on Mailbird.

Black Friday is just days away and we thought it would be a good idea to share with you a little Digital kungfu that you can use to seek out and grab the best deals that Black Friday has to offer.  While everyone else is waiting for the best deals to come to them, we are going to show you how you can go out and uncover the once and a lifetime deals you’ve been dreaming about.

1. SlickDeals.com

If you’ve never heard of slickdeals.com then allow me to introduce you to your new best friend this holiday season. Now, you may be tempted to spend hours browsing through all the sales and discounts posted on slickdeals.com. However, the true power of slickdeals.com actually lies in it’s automation tools like “deal alerts”. Instead of wasting hours trying to stay on top of thousands of different retailers and their individual sales, these tools allow you to sit back and wait for deals on items you are actually looking for!

Simply create an account, navigate to the deal alerts settings in your account, and create individual alerts using keywords and categories specific to the items you are interested in hearing about. You can even set conditions like rating so you are only alerted to those truly megalithic sales and discounts.

2. Reddit

Reddit is home to millions of users who constantly search out the best news and information online. It makes sense, therefore, that it would also be one of the best places to find Black Friday deals. In fact, reddit has several “subreddits” that deal specifically with the best Black Friday deals every year.

You can find these deals categorized by the most popular, trending, or even controversial. You can also find learn everything about each deal in the comments sections.

Here are a few of the best subreddits you need to keep an eye on for Black Friday:

https://www.reddit.com/r/blackfriday – General Black Friday Deals

https://www.reddit.com/r/dealsreddit – All Deals

https://www.reddit.com/r/frugalmalefashion – Deals relating to men’s fashion

https://www.reddit.com/r/retail – More general deals

But don’t feel like you have to keep to these few. Do a search on what interests you, and chances are you will find a subreddit dedicated to it. These are where like-minded users will post their discoveries on Black Friday.

3. Honey Browser Extension

Last, but not least, is Honey. Honey is a free browser extension that allows you to cycle through a database of all the existing coupon codes to get you the lowest price in your shopping cart. “But I am already getting the best deal” you say? That doesn’t mean that retailer might not have an active coupon for things like free shipping, bonus gifts, or even stackable deals the retailer never thought to remove.

Honey is dead easy to use, too. Once installed, it will prompt you if it has coupons that can be applied to your cart at checkout. It will then reload the page applying all possible codes to present you with the best one for your items. If it comes up with nothing, you can continue checking out like normal knowing you have the best deal possible on your items.

We hope this Black Friday 1-2-3 punch helps you knock out that shopping list, and uncover some amazing deals! And if you have any special moves of your own, please share them in the comments below. Show us how strong your Black Friday Deal-Finding Kung Fu is!

The post Uncover the Best Black Friday Deals With These 3 Tricks appeared first on Mailbird.

With the holiday season, and some of the world’s biggest online shopping days, fast approaching, we wanted to take a minute to help you better protect yourself online. It’s an unfortunate fact that as you email friends and family, or buy gifts from online retailers, you can also unintentionally expose your sensitive information and  devices to hackers and scammers. That is why we collected this list of the top 10 internet security tips that you can use to ensure you have a happy holiday season, free from things like:

• Viruses
• Identity Theft
• Fraud
• And more

1. Always Check For a Secure Connection Before Entering Payment

You should never enter details like your credit card, social security number, or anything beyond your name or email if the connection is not secured. If you are ever prompted for sensitive details including credit card numbers or your address, simply check the address of the page. If it is secure, you will see the URL preceded by “HTTPS://” with the “S” indicating “Secure”. Your browser may also use a shield or lock symbol in the same address bar. If the page does not appear to be a secured connection, do not enter your information.

2. Never Enter Information In A Popup

This can be confusing, given that many sites use what are called “modal windows” for prompting users. For instance, you may come across sites that activate a modal window asking you to log in. These are not popups. Why? because they are a part of the site, with the same (root) domain. Popups, however, are injected in either the site or your browser. In other words, they are not a part of the site. These can be used to track behavior, steal personal information, and are generally never to be trusted by entering any personal information in. The best way to identify a popup is to look for it’s URL. A popup will always appear as a new window or tab. Usually, it will have an address bar that you can use to compare it with the site you were on. If it does not match, be very cautious about entering any information. If it does not have an address bar, it is usually better to error on the side of caution and close it.

3. Use Unique Passwords & Change Them Often

Don’t make it easy for them! Birthdays, nicknames, kids names… These are wonderful, cute, precious things. But, they make for terribly insecure passwords that are constantly exploited by even the most amateur of hackers. But, how can you keep track of them all as the number of sites and services you use increases? Who can remember all those shifting passwords? That’s why we recommend using a password service like Last pass. You can use it to generate ultra-secure passwords for every site and tool you use. Best of all, you can manage them across every device you own!

4. Log Out When You Are Done

It’s not just something we need to worry about at internet cafes or at the library computer. WiFi, Bluetooth, and network technology have advanced far enough that people accessing your devices is a real concern. That’s why it’s always a good idea to log out of any account if you have finished using it, or if you will be away from the device for an extended period of time.

5. Don’t Access Your Bank Through a Public Network

Public Wifi networks and Hotspots are always vulnerable to attacks or infiltration by hackers. In fact, data sent out over public networks can easily be intercepted by “sniffers” that can then parse out personal data. Even if the connection is secure, it is never a good idea to trust these public access points with your login credentials, bank details, or other sensitive information.

6. Use An Anti-Virus Program On All Your Devices

One of the easiest ways you can protect your computer and your information is to install an antivirus program.  While most computers come pre-installed with one, many users don’t realize that it is equally important that you keep the antivirus program updated with the latest version. New viruses appear all the time and unless your antivirus program has been kept up to date they cannot effectively protect you against them. Most anti virus programs will also include the option of turning on, or bolstering your firewall. This is something that you should always have selected in order to prevent malicious hackers and data thieves from accessing your network and getting information directly off your computer.

7. Turn On Aggressive Spam Filtering

Most email clients and providers include variable spam filtering options. Since your spam folder in your email inbox prevents emails from auto loading images and other malicious script it’s always a good idea to send any questionable or unrecognized emails to the spam folder first. That way you still receive every email, but you can keep them in a “quarantined” area until you have time to check them. By setting your client or account spam filtering settings to “aggressive” or “full”, you can ensure that every email of questionable or unrecognized source sends to the spam folder first, thereby offering you the greatest amount of protection from spam phishing.

8. Avoid Sending Sensitive Information Over Email

Whenever possible, it’s a good idea to avoid sending any sensitive information via email. In fact many services and vendors expressly discourage users from ever sharing their information by email. Instead, most of them suggest you call or live chat with an agent directly. Unfortunately, even if the recipient is a close personal friend or family member, it is still never a good idea to send them things like credit card numbers, bank details, passwords, and so on. While you may be sure they would never willingly share your information, the fact remains your critical information sits waiting in their inbox or archives waiting for the day it is accidentally forwarded, phished, or stolen.

9. Check Any Link Before Clicking It

Even if an email looks like it is from a credible source there is nothing guaranteeing that the links or buttons it contains lead back to that source. It’s important that you know where a link is going to take you before you click it. Otherwise, you may unintentionally reveal sensitive information or expose your computer to identity thieves and hackers.

If an email asks you to click on a link, button, or other hyperlink elements, you should first hover over (or preview) that link to see it’s address. Make sure that the URL it will send you to is credible and leads where you are trying to go.

10. Never Download Something In An Email From An Unknown Sender

It’s common for hackers to use attachments and downloads in emails to inject malicious script and programs on user’s devices. Often times, the user remains completely unaware that they have downloaded these scripts which can do anything from slowing their devices performance to stealing their sensitive information. That is why you should never open or download anything inside a email from a sender you don’t recognize or know.

We hope you find these tips helpful, and keep them in mind as you shop and communicate with loved ones this holiday season. If you have any tips you’d like to share with us, please leave them in the comments below!

The post The Top 10 Holiday Internet Security Tips You Need To Know appeared first on Mailbird.

Mitchell Baker, Mozilla’s Executive Chairwoman, announced Monday that Mozilla would prefer to stop supporting Thunderbird, their popular email client, as it represents a continuing “tax” on other development projects within Mozilla. She stated that it is constantly in competition for resources that the leadership feels should be “laser-focused on activities like Firefox that can have an industry-wide impact”.

It’s no secret that Firefox’s support has been waning in recent years. In a recent post about Mitchell Baker’s announcement, Ars Technica’s Andrew Cunningham wrote “Mozilla’s recent support for Thunderbird has been limited—it still receives security updates and basic changes imported from Firefox, but adding major features hasn’t been a priority for Mozilla for several years now despite some efforts from the development community. In fact, Thunderbird is currently only updated on Mozilla’s “extended support release” (ESR) schedule, originally implemented to help IT managers deal with Firefox and Thunderbird’s then-new rapid-release cycle.” Source

Since we anticipate many Mozilla Thunderbird users will be looking to switch to another email client, we compiled a review of some of the best email clients for Windows. Since Thunderbird is a downloadable program for PCs and Apple OS, we won’t be including purely online applications or mobile apps in this review.

The 3 Best Alternatives To Thunderbird:

Microsoft Office Outlook

source: Microsoft Office

Not to be confused with the webmail service, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office Outlook is a feature packed powerhouse for enterprise users. It also boasts some of the best security features available in any email client, including office IT administrators to set permissions remotely, such as requiring a password lock screen for any mobile device with a corporate account.

Speaking of mobile devices, Office Outlook also includes companion apps that allow you to sync your emails, contacts, and more across all your devices.

If you need to do anything regarding emails, scheduling, managing contacts, Microsoft Office Outlook will probably have what you need. That being said, if you just want something to email and maybe schedule, this tool is going to be overkill for you. All that functionality is also not what you would call lightweight and, depending on your email retention settings, can take a bite out of slower PC’s performance.

Cost: $6.99/ Month for 1 PC or Mac & 1 Mobile Device more info here

Mailbird

You can think of Mailbird as the swiss army knife of email apps. Like Microsoft Office Outlook, we designed it to allow you to connect all your email accounts, manage your schedule, and organize contacts. However, unlike Outlook or Thunderbird, we included a lot of the communication tools you are probably already using elsewhere. Mailbird allows you to access your Facebook, Twitter, Evernote, and a growing list of other apps right alongside your emails.

Although it’s in the works, Mailbird does not come with any apps to check email on mobile devices.

You can think of Mailbird as a more consumer/normal user friendly version of Outlook. Sure, it incudes a ton of things like app integrations, tools, and so on. But, these are all features that can be activated or deactivated so you can focus on the tools you use, and not slow down your machine with those you don’t.

Mailbird also enjoys constant development updates and features. In fact, we are set to release a big update including features our users have been asking for just in time for the holidays.

Cost: Free, Pro, and Lifetime Plans available more info here

Postbox

Source: Postbox

Are you just looking for  a clean (beautiful, thanks to the v4.0 update), easy to use email client? Maybe all you need is something to check a couple email accounts? Give Postbox a try. We were really impressed with the latest update to Postbox, and it has alot in common with Mailbird, including Evernote and Dropbox integration.

Like Mailbird, Postbox does not include any companion apps for mobile devices.

If Mailbird is a swiss army knife, Postbox is a pairing knife; designed with laser focus on managing your email accounts. That being said, there are a ton of similarities between Mailbird and Postbox. There are also some unique features to Postbox like a Favorites bar, and multiple tabs to help you organize your emails and accounts into groups.

Cost: $15 per user (Free trial available) more info here

Do you have another alternative to Mozilla Thunderbird you would like to share? We’d love to hear about it!

The post The Best Mozilla Thunderbird Alternatives for Windows appeared first on Mailbird.

There have been growing reports of IncrediMail, a popular Windows email client, having issues on Windows 10 machines. It appears that crashes, bugs, and more issues related to supporting new Windows 10 updates have lead many users to seek alternatives. That’s why we rounded up all the windows email clients for a review. Here are the best alternatives to IncrediMail Windows 10 users who are looking for a similar experience.

The Top IncrediMail Windows 10 Alternatives

1. Mailbird

If you were a big fan of IncrediMail’s customization options like backgrounds, and custom effects, then Mailbird is the best alternative on Windows 10 today. In fact, Mailbird takes it a step further by bringing the entire client interface into the mix with options for enhancing it’s interface with colors, layouts, and even custom patterns.

2. eM Client

source: eM Client

eM client is another great Incredimail Windows 10 alternative you should try. Although it includes less UI customization options, it makes up for it with it’s clean and easy to use interface.

3. Postbox

source: Postbox

Postbox is a relative newcomer to the Windows email client scene, but it’s already received high praise for it’s clean and simple interface. Unlike Mailbird or eM Client, it does not offer a free version. However, Postbox does offer a free trial so you can give it a try on your Windows 10 device.

There are many more alternatives out there, such as Outlook, Thunderbird, and tons more. However, we tried to keep to clients most closely resembling IncrediMail. That being said, there may be an even better option out there for you. So, we suggest you try out a few and decide which works best for you.

Are you a Windows 10 user? Did we leave out your favorite email client? Leave a comment on what you use, and why you prefer it.

The post IncrediMail Windows 10 Email Client Alternatives appeared first on Mailbird.

The Best Way To Manage Gmail For Windows Users

Chances are good you have a Gmail account. In fact, according to worldwide statistics chances are almost equally good that you have more than one of them. However, using the Gmail itself to manage these accounts presents a few serious problems:

• You always have to be connected to the internet
• It’s difficult to manage multiple accounts
• It’s only as secure as your internet connection

considering they make up over 85% of all global users world wide, you may find it odd that there is no official application for Gmail for windows. Really, nothing that let’s you manage your accounts directly from your PC. Go ahead, check the app store for “Gmail” if you don’t believe me.

That’s why more and more people are using Mailbird, the perfect solution to managing Gmail for Windows users. Mailbird makes juggling all your gmail accounts (and every other account you have) easy by bringing them all together into one beautiful and lightning-quick app.

Stay Connected, Even When You Aren’t

You can’t always be connected to the internet. But, that shouldn’t stop you from checking your emails and composing replies. That’s where Mailbird comes in: Read through any messages from all your gmail accounts, even when offline. You can manage, respond, delete, etc.. all without a connection. Then, when you do connect to the internet at a later time, Mailbird auto-syncs your accounts.

• Check & respond to all your emails while travelling
• Cut down on data usage
• Get crucial information from emails while at a conference
• And more. Never again find yourself left in the dark just because you can’t open your emails.

Emails in Unified Inbox Plus

One Inbox for All Your Gmail Accounts

No more logging in and out of google accounts just to check your messages. Mailbird does all the work for you. You can also respond, or compose new messages as any account. Did someone send you an email to the wrong address. Simply click the “from” dropdown in the “compose” window when responding and send it from any other account you manage. Best of all, your previous conversation will be forwarded along with it!

Introducing Unified Inbox!

Did we mention you can view all your emails in the order they were received, across all your accounts, with Mailbird’s built-in Unified Inbox? It even allows you to group emails together as conversations. Seriously, if you need one reason to move your Gmail to Mailbird, this is it. Answering emails across multiple accounts has never been easier.

So, Why Wait?

We could cover all the reasons why Mailbird is the perfect Gmail for Windows app out there, but why not just give it a try. It’s free to download, and you don’t even need your credit card! Connecting all your Gmail accounts is a breeze, and you can get started in as little as 3 minutes.

The post Gmail For Windows: Here’s a Better Way appeared first on Mailbird.

We are going to show you how to get more out of Windows 10

Windows 10 has been around for several months now and millions of users are using it globally after making the switch. Microsoft went back to the basics by re-introducing its start up menu alongside several handy features. With new features comes new tweaks and tricks and we wanted to share with you so you can get your system running more efficiently and better than ever.

A Guide To The Best Windows 10 Tips, Tricks & Features

How to create multiple desktops

Source: microsoft.com

Creation of multiple desktops running side-by-side is one of the best windows 10 tricks to help free up the amount of clutter on your desktop. It also helps keep different individual workflows separated.

• Click the task view button in the task bar (it’s located to the right of the search box) or press windows key + tab.
• A button on bottom right corner appears to create or delete desktops and switch between them. The ‘x’ button is used to delete the virtual desktops

For a more detailed guide on using this feature, check out Cnet’s awesome post here

 

Personalize the start menu

Source: PCworld.com

The tiled user interface is accessible in the desktop mode. The arrangement of the live tiles is either random or most accessed; the tiles can be rearranged easily if you are not a fan of the current outlook.

• Move the cursor to the tile location.
• Right click on the touch pad.
• Several options appear where you can resize the tile, unpin the tile, turn off the tile or pin the tile to the taskbar.

PCWorld did a great job in covering all the things you can do with your Windows 10 start menu in their post.

 

Meet Cortana!

The new voice assistant works even more like “siri” from Google through its personality and predictive capabilities. Cortana is an optin service, therefore it needs to be activated manually. You can do this is by clicking on the search box; a pop-up window appears with Cortana icon, which looks like a circle. It is located immediately above the windows logo. By clicking on the icon, Cortana will inform you that it uses chargeable data. Click ‘I agree ‘when you are ready.

Using a compatible microphone, you can issue commands directly to Cortana. ‘Hey Cortana’, one of the windows 10 tricks, is a common hot word used to start it up. You can set your own by clicking the notebook icon in the sidebar menu of Cortana and choosing the ‘settings’ option. An option to turn on ‘hey Cortana’ is available at the middle of the command box. To personalize the PC voice command, you have to train Cortana to recognize your voice by clicking on ‘learn my voice’ button at the settings drop box.

BGR covered all the cool things you can do with your new assistant, Cortana here

 

Take notes with Microsoft edge

Source: PCmag.com

The redesigned web browser by Microsoft is a huge step forward for people that don’t like IE. It is slick, speedy, and even has the ability to annotate websites. You can annotate web pages easily by going to the toolbar option and clicking on web note button. Marker pen, highlighter and eraser options appear which are one of the windows 10 tips you can use on the screen.

Microsoft has a free guide you can download to find out about all the features of it’s new browser

 

Unlocking your computer with fingerprint

Source: TechRepublic

“Windows hello” is a bio-metric feature designed to increase the security of your PC. However, only devices with the necessary hardware can enjoy this feature. Search “settings app” from the search option, choose accounts, and then sign in. You will see the security options where you can set up your prints and enable the feature.

You can read more about Windows 10’s Hello feature in TechRepublic’s post covering it’s release

 

Disabling automatic updates

Source: Howtogeek.com

Microsoft wants your PC to occasionally update automatically, but maybe you would prefer to do things manually. No problem. There are several windows hacks out there to disable automatic updates, the most common one being:

• Click on the start menu.
• Select settings option.
• Click on ‘update and security.’
• Choose on ‘windows update.’
• Choose ‘advanced options.’
• Click ‘notify to reschedule restart’ on the drop down box.

Or alternatively

• (win + R) Open run command and type services.msn and hit enter.
• Choose windows update service from the list.
• Under the “general” tab, disable the “start up type” option.
• Restart the PC

For more information, Howtogeek has written a detailed guide

 

Advanced Windows 10 touch gestures

Source: windows.com

Navigation through Windows 10 can be made so much easier if your PC has precision touch pad capability (similar to the ones on Microsoft surface tablets). To check if your PC has the capability, click settings > PC and devices > click mouse and touch pad. If your PC is compatible, your PC has a precision touch pad statement will appear. Windows 10 tips for getting the most out of this feature include:

• Three fingers vertically up: open task view. It shows all open windows.
• Three fingers vertically down: open desktop.
• Three fingers flicked to the left: returning to the immediate previous opened app.
• Three fingers flicked to the right: the shift from previous to the current app.
• Three fingers tap: it opens Cortana assistant.

Here is a great post by Windows Central on the gestures every Windows 10 user should know.

 

Easy shortcuts for windows 10

Source: Vikitech.com

• Win – opens start menu
• Win + G – opens the game bar options
• Win + X – opens start button context menu
• Win + H – opens share content
• Win + A – opens action center
• Win + I – opens settings menu
• Win + E – opens the default windows explorer
• Win + L – This locks the PC
• Win + shift + left/right – move the current window documents to the next.
• Win + ctrl + f4 – shutting down the current desktop

Gizmodo’s Ultimate Guide to Windows 10 Keyboard Shortcuts is a must-read if you want to learn more.

 

Stop windows 10 from invading your privacy

Source: Jonathan Porta, Arstechnica.com

The Microsoft service agreement states that it will preserve personal information including private communications of all users. By installing the operating system, you are also agreeing to all their terms and conditions. If you would rather not send your information, there exist several windows hacks you can use to opt out of these terms:

• From the settings option, turn everything of your concern off from all the 13 different screen selections. From the “general” section, a query if you want the available apps to access your camera, messages and other options, this is turned off at will.
• Change Cortana settings by turning off all of its features since it feeds all its information to Microsoft.
• The final change is the most essential and needs to be done to verify the whole process. At https://choice.microsoft.com/en-gb/opt-out, from the two selections “personalized ads whenever I use my Microsoft account” and “personalized ads in this browser”. Turn all the options off. This will guarantee that all your sensitive information remains anonymous to any third party.

Arstechnica has an updated post about more things you should know about Windows 10 privacy settings, and how to protect yourself.

 

Do you have a trick or feature we missed?

Share it in our comments section! We’d love to hear from you. How do you use Windows 10?

The post Windows 10’s Best Tips Tricks and Features appeared first on Mailbird.

Laura Moreno has done it again. She has created yet another, awesome Growth Hacking Podcast.

After featuring Neil Patel and Ari Meisel, Laura has featured our very own CEO Andrea Loubier.

Andrea is sharing great insights and information on her experiences in building up Mailbird, an email client for Windows,  from scratch and why we have chosen Windows users to be our target audience.

Get some awesome tips and tricks on the following areas:

1. The Startup Community in Bali
2. What was Mailbirds’ biggest growth Challenge and how did we overcome it
3. How to build a good and genuine relationship with Media contacts
4. Difference of high quality and low quality traffic and how to generate it

Share your experiences

Are you building a startup yourself? What challenges are you facing or have you faced and how did you overcome them? Share them with us in the comments below.

The post Andrea on The Growth Hacking Podcast: “500,000 Customers in 3 Years with the Power of PR and User’s Feedback” appeared first on Mailbird.

Many people think of their email account as a repository of messages from colleagues, friends and seemingly endless amounts of spam. But depending on which email client you use, your email can be so much more than that. At first glance Gmail seems like any other free email service. But anyone who has used it knows that it is probably one of the most comprehensive free project management tools out there.

If the notion of your email service as a user friendly project management and email service leaves you scratching your head, no worries. Here are some pointers on how to use Gmail more efficiently and make your digital life a little easier.

 1. Gmail “Undo” Embarrassing Emails

As long as human beings have had the ability to send bits of text and images via the internet, there have been people who wished they could take some of those messages back or banish them into oblivion. Everyone knows the fleeting feeling of satisfaction that comes with sending a piece of correspondence via email only to realize that the message didn’t go to the intended party, contained a shame inducing typo or worse yet, didn’t include the attachment that warranted the email being sent in the first place.

The good people at Google have created a feature that could considerably cut down the frustration and embarrassment that follows sending an email that isn’t up to snuff. That feature or action goes by the unremarkable name of “Undo Send” when it probably be referred to as every office worker’s saving grace.

How To Set Up “Undo Send”

Undo Send lets you do precisely what its name says. Once you set it up, it essentially delays releasing your message for up to 30 seconds, giving you a bigger window of time to click undo and revise your email before releasing it into your outbox for good.

Here’s how you access the lifesaver that is “Undo Send”:

A.  Log into your email and click on the box containing the gear signal in the right hand corner of your screen. A drop down menu should appear

B.  Click on “Settings” (which should appear under the “Configure Inbox” option)

C.  Scroll down for the “Undo Send” option on the page that comes up

D. Check the box next to the option “Enable Undo Send” and beneath that select how long you would like your “cancellation period” to be 

E.  Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click the “Save Changes” button

 How To Use Undo Send

When you send your next email the standard “Your message has been sent” and right next to that the word “Undo” will now appear. If you click on “Undo” within the cancellation period that you selected in your settings you’ll be able to make sure your boss doesn’t see that email about the Empire episode you watched last night.

2. Need an app for managing your To-Do List? Just Login To Your Email

Your Gmail account has been keeping a secret from you. All this time it wanted you think it was just a place where spam came to die when it was actually so much more than that. It turns out your Gmail account has a nifty little tool that lets you manage your To-Do list while following up on that report your supervisor asked for.

You can use Google Tasks by:

-Clicking on the word “Gmail” at the top left corner of your screen

-Click on the word “Tasks” on the drop down menu

-After clicking on the word “Tasks” a tab will appear at the bottom of your screen

-Click on the tab and start creating your online to-do list

Don’t Forget To Due Dates And Notes To Your Google Tasks

In addition to allowing you to enter and save your To-Do list to your email account, Google Tasks allows users to add due dates to their task entries. After clicking on the black plus button to create a task, users should hover over their task. This action will reveal a black arrow.

When you click on the arrow you will be taken to a page where you can enter in a due date for your task and a space for leaving yourself any relevant notes.Google Tasks also lets users create and manage multiple lists.

3. Get Rid Of Unwanted Emails With One Click

 It goes without saying that spam and other unwanted emails are the bane of every email user’s existence. Far too often, we find ourselves searching for important messages in between emails shilling weight loss regimens and coupons that we don’t remember signing up for. According to this google plus post, the word “unsubscribe” will appear next to certain senders’ email addresses so you don’t have to chase down a hard to find unsubscribe page.

4. Organize Your Online Correspondence

 If you’ve been on the internet long enough, you have probably amassed a number of email addresses that you use for a variety of purposes. There’s probably the one that you send your bank statement to, the one you keep around because it’s linked to your Facebook account and then there’s your work email. Google puts an end to all of that by letting you manage your email accounts from its email client. You can check out how to send mail from another email address here.

 5.  Check *All* Of Your Email In One Place

You can check multiple email addresses from your account by having your email forwarded from other addresses. You can also use Google’s Mail Fetcher tool to transfer old emails to your google email address and receive new mail. The great thing about Mail Fetcher is that it allows you to have emails forwarded from five other accounts to your google email address.

 6. Protecting Your Privacy

 Have you ever had the eerie sensation that someone is standing behind you? In real life, most of the time that sensation is just a fluke but when it comes to the internet the possibility of being watched when you’re not expecting it is a real one. If you want to be sure that no one is logging into your account without your permission you can scroll down and click on the word “Details” on the bottom right corner of your screen to be certain that you’re the only one who knows that you’re on One Direction’s email list.

7. Customize Your Display Density

We all know that staring at a computer screen all day has a tendency to make your eyes feel strained. One way of making sure your email display goes easy on your eyes is to customize your display density. As Pop Sugar points out, you can change your display density to “Comfortable” and insert a little more white space and subsequently a little more zen, to your computer screen.

What hacks to master your gmail can you share? Let us know in the comment section below.

The post 7 Awesome Gmail Tips To Help You Manage Emails appeared first on Mailbird.

Facebook Facts:

1. Facebook made almost $18 Billion Dollars in 2015. (Source – Facebook)

2. Facebook has over 1.5 Billion monthly active users. (Source – Facebook)

3. Over 90% of those monthly active users are on mobile devices. (Source – Facebook)

4. Facebook made an average of $10.41 off each American & Canadian user in 2015. (Source – Facebook)

5. In contrast, Facebook made an average of $3.58 off each European user in 2015 – The next highest-earning region. (Source – Facebook)

6. Despite making up less than 14% of it’s monthly active users, American users account for over 50% of Facebook’s revenue. (Source – Facebook)

Some Facts About How The World Uses Facebook:

7. Every minute there are 150,000 messages sent on Facebook. (Source – JeffBullas.com)

8. The average user spends 21 minutes per day on average on Facebook. (Source – JeffBullas.com)

9. There are 500,000 Facebook “likes” every minute. (Source – JeffBullas.com)

10. There are over 350 million photo uploads per day. (Source – JeffBullas.com)

11. People spend over 927 million hours a month playing Facebook games. (Source – JeffBullas.com)

12. There are 1 billion enabled mobile apps on Facebook. (Source – JeffBullas.com)

Mailbird Makes it Even Easier To Use Facebook

What’s the best way to manage your Gmail account on Windows?

Well, with over 500,000 email accounts (a majority of them being Gmail accounts) Mailbird is growing in popularity as the best email client for Windows users with Gmail accounts:

I just slaughtered +1800 gmail messages @mailbird, https://t.co/B0clE7AkDU #inboxzero pic.twitter.com/ZT5Bw6r4hF

— Paul Doherty (@pjdohertygis) February 1, 2016

Never thought I could stop using the gmail interface, but @mailbird made it possible. Almost forgot how much better a desktop app can be.

— Jose Quesada (@Quesada) January 28, 2014

Mailbird – The best email client for Windows + Gmail. I’m all in. http://t.co/Dz4S6IREIl @mailbird

— Matthew Mombrea (@mombrea) January 27, 2014

Getting addicted to @GetMailbird. A great email client for #Gmail (and others) http://t.co/zEYA391cUZ

— Ulven (@UlvenNiclas) July 6, 2015

If you use #gmail for business but hate gmail, checkout @getmailbird second time around for us, so much better! Nice one @getmailbird

— covedigital (@covedigital) May 13, 2015

.@khayyamsays Seriously? @getmailbird is great! Good luck with GMail for web when you have 6 accounts to manage! And OS X mail on Windows?

— Ishan Sharma (@real_ishan) December 3, 2014

Why do so many people think Mailbird is perfect for Gmail?

Mailbird is Free

Every new user gets a 30 day free trial of Mailbird Pro, which allows you to manage an unlimited number of email accounts (Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Windows live Mail – all of them). After that, Mailbird is free to use with up to 3 email accounts, forever. If you need more than 3 accounts – and don’t want to purchase Pro – there are tons of ways Mailbird let’s you extend your trial by referring friends, sharing, tweeting, and more.

Mailbird looks amazing

No doubt about it, one of the biggest compliments Mailbird gets from it’s users is that it looks gorgeous. Especially if you are used to the other popular clients out there for managing your email, you will appreciate all the theme customization options that come with Mailbird. Color, layout, font, anything can be changed to suit your preferences. Try doing that with Gmail

Mailbird Has a Unified Inbox

One inbox, all your accounts. Mailbird let’s you stay on top of all your Gmail accounts with a single glance. It’s also customizable, so you can add the ones you want, and keep irrelevant or less-important emails out of your unified inbox for less clutter and distractions.

Mailbird is easy to use

Especially if you are looking for a switch from Outlook, you will appreciate how dead-easy it is to get started with mailbird. We designed it to be intuitive, and include all the features you need – presented in a clear and sensible way.

So, Why not give Mailbird a try?

We can continue telling you about why it’s the best way to manage your Gmail account on Windows, but it is even easier to try it out yourself. In fact, if you are switching from another email client, you can even auto-magically import your accounts and settings when adding your first account.

The post The Best App For Your Gmail Account On Windows 10 appeared first on Mailbird.