Google may one day rule the world, but if it does, the world may not be such a bad place: think about it—all those free apps they offer that make our lives a bit easier. Take for instance, Gmail. What other email provider offers such a powerful email service that, with a few enhancements, can give businesses the capabilities they need to market their product or service to the masses, and all for free? Today we’ve got just a little information on how awesome using Gmail for business is and how a few extra add-ons can turn your business into an email marketing machine.

Benefits

In the past, Gmail had its detractors, the people who said Gmail was better fit for personal use, but we are here to prove them wrong. Here are just a few things we love about Gmail:

Your Domain Name as Your Email Address

Gmail allows you to use your own domain name in your email address instead of the generic Gmail address. For businesses looking to maintain professionalism, the domain name at the end of the email address is key.

Search Capabilities

Google is, after all, first a search engine. While it has developed into so much more, it brings its roots to Gmail. If you have ever struggled finding that one important client email detailing instructions for an upcoming project and your current email provider just can’t seem to drag it from the deep, dark depths of your inbox, you know this is a big deal. Gmail quickly and easily pulls emails from months and even years ago.

Integration with Google Apps

Like we said, Google has developed into so much more than a search engine. Have you tried Google Keep, for instance, or Google Drive? If not, you need to. Your email address gives you access to all the goodies Google has to offer.

Free Space

Google gives you 15 gigs of free space to use across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. You’re probably going to have a pretty hard time filling that much space unless you don’t clean your inbox out at least once a decade.

Integration with Email Platforms

Gmail easily integrates with Outlook or Apple Mail so you don’t always have to access the webmail option to check your email, although you might want to when you need that hard-to-find email right now.

Enhancements

With the help of a few enhancements, you turn Gmail into a powerful marketing tool.

Flashissue—free Chrome extension

Flashissue allows you to create and organize targeted mailing lists, easily design professional email newsletters, and track your results—all for free. Instead of paying for an expensive email marketing platform, connecting Flashissue with your Gmail account will offer many of the same capabilities.

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Canned Response—free Google Lab feature

Canned Response can be found on Google Lab (see this tutorial on how to enable it in your Gmail account) and allows you to create and save template emails to avoid copying and pasting a canned response into a new email window every time you need it. Think that sales email or a welcome email to new clients—Canned Response makes those emails easy.

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Streak—free Chrome extension

Streak is a free customer relationship management tool (CRM) that integrates with Gmail to allow you to track sales, fundraising, and customer support issues. You’ll probably want Streak, around the second time a customer calls in that her complaint hasn’t been resolved quickly enough for her tastes.

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Conclusion

You don’t have to pour endless streams of your hard-earned money into an expensive email marketing platform. Using Gmail for business, with a little help from friends like Flashissue and Streak, gives you the capabilities you need to market without paying a cent.

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