Email

How to Use Your Custom Email Address in Gmail (for FREE)

Most folks use Gmail as their default email address. And, that’s fine!

But what if you’re running a business? Would you still use a basic Gmail address for your brand?

Well, that ain’t so smart of you!

Did you know you could set up a custom email address with your domain name for free?

Yes, it’s free meaning you don’t have to spend a dime and it takes only fifteen minutes to set up.

If you’re interested, you should head over to my guide: How to Get a Custom Email Address for FREE.

But this post isn’t about just owning a free email address for your website. It’s about setting it up as a Gmail address — pretty much like how you would use your free Gmail address for personal use.

That’s cool, right?

Here’s Why Linking Your Custom Email Address to Gmail is a Smart Idea

Free Space: When linked to Gmail, your custom email address gets as much as 15 GB storage space, meaning you needn’t worry about running out of space anytime soon.

Search Feature: If you use Gmail, you know the Search Features are probably the coolest of all. It’s such a time-saver! Imagine searching for past emails from your customers or vendors. I know it’s a breeze. That’s exactly why you should custom email in Gmail.

Better Spam Filter: If you’ve been using emails extensively, you know spam is such a pain in the rear side. However, Google has probably one of the best spam filter technology so you needn’t lose your sleep over dealing spam emails. Yes, one more compelling reason why you should use Gmail as your custom email address.

Okay, I Get it. How Do I Setup FREE Custom Email With Gmail?

You’ll need just an existing Gmail ID or create a new Gmail address to set up your custom email address with.

That’s your call.

Once you decide that part, the rest of it is pretty simple.

Step #1: Log on to your Gmail account.

Step #2: Click on the Cog Icon at the top right and choose “Settings” from the drop-down.

Step #3: In the Settings, you can find “Accounts and Import” in the top menu.

Step #4: The “Send mail as” is what you’re going to configure in order to set up your custom email account with Gmail.

Step #5: Click on “Add another email address” and a window will pop up. It’s time to configure it.

Step #6: Enter your custom email address in the pop-up windows. Leave the name as is. Checkbox for “Treat as an alias” should already be checked. If not, make sure you to select it.

Step #7: When you click on “Next Step“, it will ask you to enter the following information:

SMTP Server: Referring to my earlier guide which features Zoho Mail, I’ll use the SMTP Server of Zoho Mail. You can use the SMPT Server of your email host.

Port: You needn’t really do anything here; Gmail automatically choose the port based on your host.

Username: Enter your custom email address.

Password: Enter your password for the custom email address.

Step #8: Before you click on “Add Account”, make sure the SSL (Recommended) is ticked. Now, click on “Add Account” and proceed further.

Step #9: Gmail will send you a verification link/code to your custom email address. Check your inbox to click on the verification link or enter the code manually and click on verify.

Congratulations! You’ve successfully set up your custom email address in Gmail.

Step #10: As an optional step, if you want Gmail to use your custom email address as the default, you need to click on the “make default” link. This essentially means when you create and send a new email, Gmail will use your custom email address in the “From” section.

That’s it! Now enjoy the Gmail features 🙂

I hope this guide helps you set up your custom email address on Gmail.

As a favor, you could share this guide with your friends on social media and spread the word around.

Let me know if you have any questions — share your thoughts in the comments below.

Can’t Afford a Custom Email Address? Here’s How to Get it for FREE

I’ve seen quite a few businesses using a standard gmail address to communicate with their customers. While it serves the basic purpose, it doesn’t really help their branding.

By using a basic Gmail address which doesn’t carry your domain name, you lose potential opportunities to advertise your brand.

Imagine offering your prospects and business partners your business cards which contain your website address but also a basic Gmail address. Looks a little odd, right?

Well, that’s exactly my point!

There are so many domain registrars that sell you domain names and hosting plans with free custom email addresses. But, what if you have bought just a plain domain name and still wants to create a free custom email address for your website?

Yes, you can pretty much do that, for free, thanks to free email hosting services offered by Zoho.

Zoho Mail is primarily meant to serve as a robust email hosting service for businesses / organizations to set up @<your-own-domain> type email addresses. However, individuals can create a free @zoho.com email address, which is as perfect for personal use. Select an option from below based on your email usage.

In this post, I will walk you through the entire process of setting up your free custom email address for your website.

So, let’s get started.

Step #1: Sign up with Zoho.in

Step #2: Go to inbox and click on the confirmation email. You can do it in 30 days but it’s better to do it now.

Step #3: Click on Mail and Enter Your Phone Number and Create a Password. This is for verification purposes.

Step #4: Check your OTP on your mobile phone and verify your phone number on the website.

Step #5: Add your existing domain for Email Hosting with Zoho and create domain-based address. OR Create email account as <username>@zoho.com

Step #6: Click on Add Domain Link in the First Option.

Step #7: Click on Add Domain, Enter Your Domain and Click ‘Ok’.

Step #8: After the Domain is added successfully, I will ask you to “Verify Your Domain“. Although you can do it later, but it’s best to do it now.

Step #9: Click on “Verify Your Domain“. It will take your to Domain Setup panel. You can see a drop-down menu under DNS Manager. Choose Your the one where you bought your domain. In my case, it was Name.com.

Step #10: Zoho Mail will give you some code for verification purpose. You will need to create a CNAME in your domain to prove your ownership.

Step #11: After you’ve created a CNAME record with the instructions given by Zoho Mail, click on the “Proceed to Click on Verification” button at the bottom of the page. You will see a pop-up asking you to “Verify Now“.

Step #12: Once you’ve verified your domain, you’ll see a congratulatory message. Now, you can create a username for your domain-based email address.

Step #13: If you want to create multiple email address for different users, you can do so by following the on-screen instructions. However, if you want to create just one email address at the moment, click on “Skip” to proceed to the next step.

Step #14: In the next step, Zoho Mail allows you to create Groups, meaning a common email address such as hr@yourdomain.com. If you don’t want this, you can click on “Skip” to proceed to the next step.

Step #15: At this point, your email address is created but what about the email delivery? You need to configure your email delivery to start receiving emails, yes?

For this purpose, you need to configure the MX Records (Mail eXchange Records) under DNS Manager. Sounds complex?

Don’t worry, Zoho Mail got proper instructions to walk you through the process.

Essentially, you need to configure your DNS with the MX Records of Zoho.

Simply, choose your domain provider from the drop-down menu and Zoho will walk you through.

After adding the MX Records in your DNS, click on “Next” to proceed to the next step.

Special Note: Zoho advises adding SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM Signature to secure your email address against Email Spoofing. Either you can do it now or skip it for later. Again, Zoho will walk you through the process. So, there’s nothing to worry about.

Step #16: At this point, you email is fully setup. You should be able to send and receive emails using Zoho Mail.

However, if you want to use Zoho Mail using a third-party email client such as Gmail app, you need to configure the settings in the email client using the POP/IMAP.

How to Configure Your New Email Address in Gmail App

Step #1: Before you set up your new email address in your Gmail app, you need to enable IMAP on your Zoho Mail.

Open your Zoho Mail inbox (mail.zoho.com) in another tab. It will load the inbox for you. Click on the Cog Icon at the upper right corner. It will open the mail settings for you.

Step #2: Scroll down and Click on “Email forwarding and POP/IMAP” under “Access Old Version For“. It will open up in another tab.

Step #3: Go to the IMAP Access and Choose “Enable“. Also, you will find the IMAP configuration details there. You will use these details while configuring your email address in your Gmail App.

Step #4: Go to your Gmail App on your Android Device and Click on “Add account” option. It will take you to “Set up email” page. Click on “Other” option, enter your email address and click “Next”.

Step #5: Enter your email address again and click on “Manual Setup” option. Choose “Personal (IMAP)” under type of account, and click next. Fill out the password (Zoho Password) for your email address, and then click next. In the next page, you will need to fill out the Incoming Server name which is imappro.zoho.com. You will also need to enter the Port: 993 and SSL when in the subsequent step. Likewise, set up the Outgoing Server.

Step #6: Once this is done, send a test email to another email address to see if it’s working. If you’ve followed steps correctly, it should.

With this the Mail Client Configuration is over.

I hope you find this guide useful and create your custom email address easily.

Share this post with your friends on social media or share your thoughts in the comments below.

Set up RSS to Email MailChimp Campaign in Less than 30 Mins

If you want to be a successful blogger with a decent fan following, you must master the art of writing awesome content. While this sounds obvious, you should also learn how to grow your loyal audience base by building a list of subscribers gradually. Speaking of subscribers’ list, there are quite a few tools to help you with it. However, I highly recommend using MailChimp, particularly if you’re new to blogging.

In this guide, I will teach you how to,

Create a MailChimp Account and List of Subscribers
Install and Configure Your MailChimp Plugin
Set up an RSS to MailChimp Campaign

Please, note that there are many ways to start an automated newsletter campaign with MailChimp. Once you follow the tips below and create your own email newsletter campaign, you should be in a pretty good situation to customize your email campaign as per your needs. However, if you’re a newbie, you should stick to these simple steps as of now.

Step #1: Create a MailChimp Account

Create an account with MailChimp. It’s free and all you need is an email. When I say FREE, it essentially means there’s a FREE Plan that allows you to send up to 12,000 emails to a list of 2,000 email subscribers per month.

At MailChimp, they call it Forever Free plan.

If you’re new to blogging, this is a great plan for you to check out. There’s simply nothing to lose by taking world’s most trusted email marketing tool for a test drive.

Step #2: Create a MailChimp List of Subscribers

Assuming you have just started your blog and you really don’t have any subscribers, you still need to create a list of subscribers in order to integrate your list to your MailChimp plugin.

Creating a list is no big deal. All you need is fill out some details and click save.

To get started, log into your MailChimp dashboard and click on Lists and then click on “Create List“. Fill out the list details. Save the details once you’re done.

On the next page, you can add contacts (email addresses) by importing your existing subscribers or creating a sign up form. Check out the second option in the next step if you want to create a sign up form.

Step #3: Install & Configure Your MailChimp Plugin

In order to build a loyal audience, you need to allow your blog visitors a chance to subscribe to your new posts. You can do so simply by creating an opt-in form on your blog. There are two ways to do it.

First Option: Install and Configure MailChimp Plugin

There are quite a few plugins available for this. However, I would recommend using MailChimp’s very own plugin because of the compatibility factor. If you want to use any other plugins, you could choose from one of these. My personal favorites include MailMunch Plugin and MailChimp for WordPress.

If you choose to go with MailChimp List Subscribe form, it should be pretty straight forward for you. Once you install and activate the plugin, you will need to enter your API Key. You can generate API Key by following this path: Account under your name > Extras > API Keys.

Then go to your plugin dashboard and enter the key and click connect. (Screenshot below)

Done! You should now be able to add an opt-in on your sidebar widget area.

Second Option: Create Sign Up Forms Using Embedded Forms

If you want to choose any third-party plugin or simply insert the code inside a text widget, you can choose this option. In most cases, you will require just a Form Action code for your plugin to work. However, if you want to use a text widget, then you can generate the code snippet inside MailChimp and then enter it in your text widget box.

First, you need to download and install one of the third-party opt-in plugins of your choice. However, none of those plugins will work on their own. You still need to generate a Form Action.

In order to get the Form Action code, simply click on the Embedded forms option, and then choose only the form action code from the available code snippet (as shown in the screenshot below).

It doesn’t matter if you choose Classic, Super Slim, Horizontal or Naked, your Form Action code will remain the same.

Once you copy the Form Action code, go to the widgets area and enter it at the appropriate place within your plugin. Fill out any other details, save it and you’re good to go.

Alternatively, if you go the text widget way, you can simply copy the entire code snippet and paste it in a widget box. In that case, you don’t need to install any additional plugin.

Step #4: Create a New RSS Campaign

After creating your profile, log into your dashboard, go to campaign tab, and click on Create Campaign located at the right-hand upper corner.

Step #5: Choose Your Campaign Type

You need to select a type of campaign from the available options. Choose RSS Campaign and click on the select button.

Why RSS Campaign? Because we’re going to integrate our blog’s RSS feed.

Step #6: Add Your Blog’s RSS Feed

Enter your blog’s RSS Feed URL. If you have a self-hosted WordPress blog, then you simply add/feed at the end of your blog URL and you should see the xml feed.

For example, for this blog, it’s bogusblogging.com/feed.

So, you need to enter your feed URL and specify time and day – MailChimp will help your blog to automatically send the latest posts to your blog subscribers based on the time and day specified.

MailChimp typically shows the US time zones. If you live in any other time zone though, you need to simply convert the time to your zone simply by searching on Google.

For example, if you enter 4AM EST to IST on Google, you will get the following results: 1:30 PM Wednesday, Indian Standard Time (IST).

This helps you understand when MailChimp will send newsletters to your subscribers.

Sounds confusing? Leave your questions in the comment below and I can explain it further.

If you get this, let’s move on to the next step.

One more thing: There’s an option to resize your RSS feed images. Simply check the box.

NOTE: The next button is located at the bottom of the page just in case you’re unable to see it properly.

Step #7: Set Up Your Campaign

Set up your campaign. Just fill in a few details about your campaign and click next.

Step #8: Choose MailChimp Template

Here, you need to choose an email template. You can go with the first template (Column 1) because you want to get the hang of it.

Step #9: Design the MailChimp Template

Once you have chosen the template, it’s time to design it. A MailChimp template essentially consists of different blocks filled with code designed with RSS tags.

Since it’s an automated RSS-to-Email campaign, you need to configure different elements of your template.

For example, you might want to choose to show only the tile of your most recent post, a description and a few posts published earlier.

To begin with, click on any element of your chosen template and you can see the edit/delete button. When you click on the edit button, you will see the RSS items on the right-hand side of the panel.

On the menubar, click on the source button to edit the RSS code. For your convenience, I’ve created a ready-made code snippet which you can use to replace the existing RSS code.

If you want to make any changes the in the code above, this guide can help you.

Click on each of the existing block and make edits as per your preference. On the top menu, you can click on “Preview and Test” to see what the current template looks like.

Once you’re done with the template, click on Next button to proceed to the next and final step.

Bonus Tip: If you want to show your featured image in the RSS Feed, install and activate this plugin. Because of some weird MailChimp-WordPress compatibility issues, your featured image doesn’t automatically appear on your RSS feed. However, this plugin solves this problem.

Step #10: Review Your Campaign and Activate It

At this point, your campaign is ready to be sent to your email list. MailChimp shows you a list of items for review so you can fix if there’s something is amiss. You should see a green tick against all items if you have done everything right so far. Click on the Start RSS button (Confirm RSS Start) and it’s done and done!

The next time you publish any post on your blog, it will be sent to all the email recipients in your subscribers’ list.

Hope you find this tutorial useful. If you have any questions. Please, leave it in the comments below.