7 Gmail Plugins We Can’t Live Without

It doesn’t take a long search on the web to find a hundred angry memes dripping with shared indignation and collective impatience for every digital user’s least favorite pastime: sorting through email. Google Mail, or Gmail, as it is most popularly known, remains the world’s most popular email client with just over 1 billion active users, as of early last year.

To stay on top of the leading online communication channel, you’ve got to have the features to back it up — whether it’s third party plugins, or built-in features, a well-oiled email system needs a lot of support.

Here are a few of our favorites that provide just that:

Mixmax –  Mixmax gives you the ability to track emails and pull in previews for documents directly to the inbox, in a similar presentation as a Facebook preview. Add meeting availability by simply selecting times that you (the organizer) are available, and Mixmax will give the recipient clickable options for meeting times. Polls, Q&A’s, slideshows, and more are also available.

The plugin is free to use, but for the more serious functionality that complements your CRM, and some of its intricate features cost from $9-$49 per month.

Handle – According to Handle, staying on top of your workday can be accomplished in three steps through this plugin. Turning emails into to-dos, scheduling and prioritizing those to-dos, and viewing that agenda at a glance can all be handled in moments. Using Handle in Gmail, users can create their to-dos, set reminders, and add corresponding tasks to calendars.

HubSpot Sales – This HubSpot plugin gives you the ability to send prospecting emails, use email templates (and view their associated performance metrics) and easily schedule meetings. On top of these incredibly useful sales-oriented features, Sales also identifies which leads have opened your emails and attachments. If your primary goal is to get more sales, and your day-to-day is handled through your inbox, this type of functionality is key.

Unroll.Me – With Unroll.me, users have control over the most unfortunate aspects of email: spam and mismanaged lead nurture. This plugin allows users to add or remove email subscriptions with a single click. Upon sign up, users are given a list of all of their subscriptions and newsletters. Now those email notifications will be coming in a lot slower! You can also discover new subscriptions.

Boomerang – Boomerang is a must-use tool for many business Gmail users and marketers alike. This lightweight plugin allows you to schedule emails to be sent later, and painlessly set email reminders. Schedule recurring messages by calendar or simple text options without the need to go through a separate program.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator – Have you ever had to bounce back and forth between your email client and your contact’s social profiles to verify you have the right lead? Now, with Sales Navigator, your Gmail can give you a brief overview of your contact’s social pages through a single plugin — a social CRM tool that replaces Gmail ads. Who your contact is, what they do, your shared connections, various business-relevant information, all of this at your fingertips.

WiseStamp – Take your email signature beyond the standard three line contact information by using the WiseStamp plugin. With WiseStamp, users can add their picture, social media accounts, business credentials and standard contact information in a much more approachable and professional design. According to WiseStamp, users who add a picture to their email signature got 32% more replies to their emails. They also found a 10% increase in social network reach by adding their social apps.

Gmail is also host to a handful of features that some users tend to shy away from. The built-in options add a little to the learning curve, but are still approachable to novice users. Aside from time-saving keyboard shortcuts, Gmail gives users access to: file storage, calendaring, photo hosting, presentation-building and more.

The plugins that are at your disposal for cleaning up and boosting Gmail efficiency can take your ramshackle inbox from skimmed-through paper piles to an individually filed, catalogued and triaged system that will leave you wondering how you survived before adding them to your forgotten plugin library.

Try these out within your Gmail account and let us know your favorite plugins that we may have missed!

Updated: Nov 15, 2024