Table of Contents
If you are a teacher, these Gmail mass email tools provide shortcuts to make your life easier.
Being a teacher isn’t an easy job—no matter what grade level or subject you are currently teaching. As a teacher, you are not only responsible for your students’ education, you are also responsible for their wellbeing while they are in your classroom. Because teachers are such an important—and often overlooked—part of the workforce, we want to provide you with a few tips to make sending emails easier than ever. All it takes to streamline your email sending process is a mass email tool. These tools have several features that are ideal for teachers searching for ways to save a few minutes of their busy days. So, let’s get started and take a look at all of the ways a mass email service can make your life easier so you can save time and unnecessary headaches.
What is a Mass Email Tool?
Most teachers have used mass email tools before.
While mass email tools are widely used in the business and marketing world, these tools are severely underutilized outside of those fields. The main reason that these tools are overlooked is probably because teachers send fewer emails than people who work in marketing or sales. However, that doesn’t mean that teachers can’t benefit from the tools offered by these mass email services. It is also very true that teachers send and receive hundreds of emails every day, so any opportunity to streamline the process is welcome.
A Gmail mass email tool is a type of software that works with your Gmail account to help you send and track email campaigns. Using one of these tools, it is possible to create, send, personalize, and generate comprehensive open reports on any mass email you send. While these features may sound overwhelming, they make sending emails easier than ever. Plus, they offer some easy-to-use design features that will help you create well-designed messages instantly.
The website Jonathon Spire says that the majority of these services are affordable as well, with many offering free trials. If you are interested in paying for a Gmail mass email tool, then you can expect to pay anywhere from $10 to $20 per month for their basic service plan.
1. Reporting Capabilities
Comprehensive reporting is the most valuable tool for teachers that mass email services have to offer.
Teachers need to be in constant contact with their students and their parents. Because this is part of the job description, keeping a close eye on your inbox is required. In order to keep track of the parents or students that have opened or replied to your message, you can use the reporting capabilities included with mass email tools.
When you send out messages using a mass email tool, the emails are automatically tracked. A few days after you have sent out your message, you can pull a report to see who opened and who has replied to your email. This is especially useful when student information is required for a special event—like a field trip.
To prepare for the field trip, you will need to collect parental consent forms, be notified of any dietary restrictions, and keep track of parental chaperone sign ups. When you send out the informative field trip email using a mass email tool, you can easily collect information and identify students/parents who have yet to reply. That way, you can make sure everyone replies and that there is minimal confusion on the day of the trip.
2. Automatic Follow-Ups
If you have trouble getting people to reply to your first email, you can schedule automatic follow-ups.
Getting students or parents of students to respond to your message can be frustrating—but it doesn’t have to be! For the important information you need, you can schedule for automatic follow up emails using a mass email tool. Using the reporting that is collected from the first batch of emails you sent, you can stipulate that a follow up be sent if the recipient hasn’t replied for x number of days. Depending on the urgency of the message, you can designate for any amount of time you want before following up. Since we all lead busy lives, it is likely that a few of your recipients will need more than one reminder before they get back to you. That’s no problem when you have a mass email tool on your side. All you have to do is set up another automated rule for a second reminder after another designated amount of time. Then, using the comprehensive reports, you can collect the few stragglers that have yet to hand in their information and reach out directly.
Using automatic follow-ups, you can allow your mass email tool to send the messages behind the scenes so you can focus on the work in front of you.
3. Email Personalization
Instantly personalize messages for your whole class.
As a teacher, you are likely using a few email templates to use for the whole class. Depending on the amount of students you teach every day, it would be nearly impossible to compose a unique email to all of the students or their parents. If you already have some email templates ready to go, you can easily use a Google Sheet with your student’s information to personalize all of your messages.
All you have to do to start personalizing your messages is to make sure you have a Google sheet with your student’s names and emails included. In the world of mass emails, this is referred to as your “address list”. Once you have your address list in order, all you have to do is designate which parts of your email should be personalized and import your address list. When you import your address list, the names of your students will instantly populate. So, instead of writing “Dear Student” as a way to address every member of the class, you can automatically address each student individually by name. This adds a personal touch to your emails and will also help you get more replies. The more a message looks like it is addressed to the student specifically, the more likely they are to take notice and reply.
4. Easy-to-Use Message Designer
You don’t have to be a graphic designer to create exceptionally designed emails.
Depending on the grade you are teaching, sometimes using plain text in your emails isn’t enough. This is especially true for younger students who receive learning material via email—a trend that has become much more common post-lockdown. If you need to send learning materials to your students via email, make sure that you are providing them with easily readable and well designed messages. For example, if you are providing materials for a video lesson, use your mass email tool to embed the video in the message rather than providing a series of links. Using the intuitive design capabilities available with mass email tools, you can also add pictures and animations to guide a student through the different steps they need to take to learn/review a lesson.
The designer included with a mass email tool is perfect for sending out engaging review materials, virtual lessons, or even fun announcements—like a class pizza party! Really, any email that requires some design elements can be easily created using the tools provided with a mass email service.
If you are a teacher looking for a way to optimize how you send emails, then we highly recommend using a mass email tool. Try a few for yourself and decide which one works best for your teaching needs. From sending out invitations to collecting digital permission slips, your mass email tool can help you every step of the way!
