1 Answer

If you want to keep track of how your email address is used (ie, when you sign up to a newsletter), add “.” (period only) anywhere in your username. This way you’ll create a new ‘alias’‘ email address and all the messages sent to that new ‘alias‘ address will get forwarded to your primary Gmail address.

So, for example, if your Gmail address is username@gmail.com then you can make variations like:

u.sername@gmail.com (remember, you just change the username, not @gmail.com)

user.name@gmail.com

usernam.e@gmail.com

Any email sent to the above ‘alias ‘ email addresses will go straight to username@gmail.com. Why is this useful? If you use this trick when you sign up to different newsletters and you start receiving spam, you’ll know which newsletter sold your email address to spammers.

The trick we just showed you is a good one. But it is a little difficult for tracking multiple sources of emails that you sign up for. My favorite for easily identified sources is to use “+someword” after your username. You’ll get the same result as above and be able to instantly recognize where the email was entered.

So, when signing up for email updates, newsletters or anywhere you enter your Gmail address, simply add “+someword” after your username.

For CNN: username+cnn@gmail.com

And for the New York Times: username+newyorktimes@gmail.com

Keep goin’:
username+squidoo@gmail.com
username+twitter@gmail.com
username+googlealerts@gmail.com
And on and on and on…

You can also use a combination of the above 2 tricks. You can build:user.name+twitter@gmail.com

All emails sent to the above addresses will get forwarded to username@gmail.com.

Read on intrepid netters, with the next few Tips we’ll teach you how to make custom labels and apply simple filters to automatically sort these emails as they arrive to your Gmail Inbox.

TIP #2: How to Organize Gmail by Creating Custom Labels

Easy access is the name of the game here. Google Gmail has extra Labels ready to go; Personal, Work, by DownloadNSave" href="http://www.mixthenet.com/gmail-powerful-tips/">Travel, Receipts and more. No more grinding through a multitude of emails for a flight confirmation number or an appointment time. Just jump to your Travel label then your Work label and grab your info!

You can carry this one step further by creating your own custom Labels. Set up multiple Labels to organize virtually all incoming mail. You are only limited by your imagination: Labels can be made for family, friends, newsletters or just about any kind of email you recieve.

Here how to create Labels in Google Gmail using the illustration below for reference. Look below the Inboxes on the left-hand side of your Gmail window. Below it you will see a link like the one below that reads ‘5 more‘. Click on that link and a menu will drop down. Click on the link near the bottom that says ‘Create new label‘. A window will pop up and you enter the name for your Label and click OK. Done deal!! Now create as many as you need to keep your emails seperate and easy to find.

How can we organize our Labels in Gmail? Easily done. You can drag ‘n’ drop every Label seen in Gmail except for the primary Inbox. Core Labels like Drafts, Sent Mail are the only Labels allowed directly below the Inbox but can be dragged into the “5 More” to get them out of sight. All other can be dragged around to give you the most workable look.

Adding the custom color ‘Chicklets’ to the extra or secondary Labels that Google provides or you create is a breeze. Just move your cursor to the left of any Label and click on the drop down arrow that will appear. Choose a color and click on it and you are done. Notice that below the color choices you will find a list of actions that can be applied to the Labels. The entire list of Labels can also be easily accessed and manipulated any way you desire by clicking on the Manage Labels link which is found directly above the Create New Label link. Try it.