Your Secret Weapon: Make + Gmail for an Organised Inbox

You know that overflowing Gmail inbox feeling, right? The one where you spend more time searching for an important email than actually responding to it? For busy South African SMMEs, time is money, and a cluttered inbox can be a major productivity drain. But what if I told you there’s a superhero duo that can swoop in and rescue your inbox from chaos, automatically categorising your mail for easy and important reads? Enter Make (formerly Integromat) and Gmail!

This powerful combo allows you to automate repetitive tasks, transforming your email management from a messy chore into a streamlined, efficient process. Forget manually sifting through hundreds of emails; with Make and Gmail, you can set up intelligent workflows that do the heavy lifting for you.

Why Automated Email Categorisation is a Game-Changer for SMMEs

 

For any small to medium-sized enterprise in Mzansi, efficiency is key. Every minute saved on administrative tasks is a minute you can invest in growing your business, serving your customers, or even enjoying a well-deserved cup of rooibos tea! Here’s why automating your email categorisation with Make is a brilliant move:

• Boosted Productivity: No more wasting precious time sifting through irrelevant emails. Important messages land exactly where they need to be, ready for your immediate attention.
• Reduced Stress: A tidy inbox is a happy inbox. Less digital clutter means less mental clutter, allowing you to focus on what truly matters.
• Improved Responsiveness: By prioritising your inbox, you can respond to critical inquiries faster, leading to happier clients and better business relationships.
• Consistent Organisation: Make ensures that your categorisation rules are applied consistently, so you don’t miss a beat (or an email!).
• Scalability: As your business grows, so does your email volume. Automation scales with you, preventing your inbox from becoming an unmanageable monster.

 

Getting Started: Building Your Email Automation with Make and Gmail

Ready to bring some order to your digital life? Here’s a basic breakdown of how you can set up a scenario in Make to categorise your Gmail automatically.

First things first, you’ll need a Make account (they have a free tier that’s great for getting started!) and a Gmail account.

1. Connect Gmail to Make: This is the initial handshake. In Make, you’ll create a “scenario” and add a Gmail module. When connecting a standard, free Gmail account, you’ll typically need to enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) on your Google account and then generate an App Password. This 16-digit password is specifically designed for “less secure apps” like Make to access your Gmail without using your main account password, adding an extra layer of security. If you’re using a Google Workspace account (e.g., yourname@yourcompany.com), the connection process might be simpler, often allowing you to “Sign in with Google” directly without needing an App Password. You’ll need to give Make permission to access your Gmail account. This usually involves a few clicks through Google’s authorization process. Don’t worry, it’s designed to be secure.
2. Choose Your Trigger: The trigger is what kickstarts your automation. For email categorisation, your trigger will almost always be “Watch new emails” in the Gmail module. This tells Make to keep an eye out for any new messages arriving in your inbox.
3. Define Your Filters and Actions: This is where the magic happens! After your “Watch new emails” module, you’ll add more modules and set up filters.
   • Filters: Think of these as your email bouncers. They decide which emails get to pass through to a specific action. You can filter by:
     • Sender Email Address: “If the email is from [email protected], then…”
     • Subject Line Keywords: “If the subject contains ‘invoice’ or ‘payment’, then…”
     • Specific Words in the Body: “If the email body contains ‘meeting notes’, then…”
     • You can combine multiple filters for more precise control (e.g., from a specific sender AND contains a certain keyword).
   • Actions: Once an email passes through a filter, the action tells Make what to do with it. For categorisation, the most common action is “Modify Labels” in the Gmail module. You can:
     • Add a Label: Create labels in Gmail (e.g., “Invoices”, “Client Queries”, “Newsletters”, “Urgent”) and have Make automatically apply them.
     • Move to a Folder (Label): In Gmail, folders are essentially just labels. So, you can “move” an email to a specific label.
     • Archive: Automatically archive emails after they’ve been labelled.
     • Mark as Read: If you want certain emails to be automatically marked as read once categorised.

Practical Tip: Start simple! Don’t try to automate everything at once. Pick one or two categories that cause you the most inbox clutter (like newsletters or recurring notifications) and build a scenario for those first. Once you’re comfortable, you can expand.

 

Unleash the Power: Key Use Cases for South African SMMEs

Now that you know the basics, let’s explore some real-world scenarios where Make and Gmail can really shine for your business:

• Client Communication: Create a “Client Enquiries” label. Any email from a known client’s domain or with specific subject keywords can automatically land here, ensuring you never miss a vital customer message. You could even have different labels for “New Leads” versus “Existing Clients.”
• Invoice and Payment Tracking: Set up a label for “Invoices” or “Payments.” When emails from your accounting software or specific suppliers come in with “invoice” or “payment confirmation” in the subject, they can be labelled automatically. This makes tax season and financial reconciliation a breeze.
• Supplier and Vendor Management: Have a dedicated label for each key supplier or vendor. All communication from them gets funnelled into their respective labels, making it easy to track orders, queries, and updates.
• Newsletter Declutter: We all sign up for newsletters, but they can quickly overwhelm the primary inbox. Create a “Newsletters” label and set up a filter to send all marketing emails to this label. You can then review them when you have dedicated time, without them distracting your main workflow.
• Urgent & Priority Emails: This is crucial. If you have specific contacts (like your top clients or business partners) or keywords that signify urgency (e.g., “URGENT”, “ACTION REQUIRED”), set up a filter to apply an “Urgent” label and even notify you via another platform (like a Slack message, if you use it).
• Team Collaboration: If you have a shared Gmail inbox, Make can automatically assign emails to team members based on keywords or sender, ensuring the right person handles the right query without manual delegation.

Remember to regularly review your scenarios in Make and your labels in Gmail. As your business evolves, your categorisation needs might change. A little tweak here and there can keep your automated system running smoothly. With Make and Gmail by your side, your inbox will transform from a source of stress into a perfectly organised hub, allowing you to focus on growing your business and making a real impact in the South African market.