In this article, we’ll cover some of the features that may make Spark an excellent choice to work with.
1. Unified Email
Spark makes it simple to add an email address. In fact, you can add multiple if you’d like, and it’s up to you how you want to display them. Some prefer keeping their inboxes separate, but if you’re looking for an inbox that displays them all together, Spark has you covered with its Unified setting.
With Unified enabled, your emails are seamlessly displayed regardless of account. However, if you need to put your focus on one, you can click into its inbox separately by clicking the address in the top left corner.
Spark also offers additional views for your multi-account inbox, which you can read about in the next section.
2. Smart Inbox
When using Spark’s Smart Inbox, the software automatically sorts your emails into three cards: Personal, Notifications, and Newsletters. While Gmail offers handy Smart Filters to help you organize your inbox, Spark is different because you don’t need to go into a folder to find the emails. It places all new emails at the top of your list within these categories, and as you open them, it moves the message down to Seen, where you’ll find them in chronological order.
If you have multiple accounts connected to Spark, you also change how your new messages display in each card by adjusting the grouping and number of visible emails. There are many ways you can adjust this. The most notable being the Unified setting that merges your accounts and the Per Account setting which keeps them separate.
It’s worth mentioning how simple it is to switch between the Smart and Classic inboxes at any time. The options appear as tabs right above your emails if you decide you want to swap.
3. Timing Tools
If you send a lot of emails throughout the day, you may find Spark’s timing tools super handy.
First on the list is Snooze. Snoozing an email removes it from your inbox only to have it return a set amount of time later, when you may be more equipped to deal with it. Under the preferences menu, Spark gives you many options from Later Today to In a Month.
You can also pick your own date, or go with the ambiguous Someday—which actually means you can find it when you’re ready in the snooze folder.
Up next, is Reminders. Unlike Snooze, Reminders are centered around outgoing emails. With this tool, you can ask Spark to remind you to follow up if you’ve yet to receive an answer. With both Reminders and Snooze, you can also set push notifications to alert you outside the app.
Additionally, Send Later is another timing tool that you may find useful. Spark named this one perfectly, as Send Later is exactly that. Simply select a time from the menu or pick a date yourself, and Spark will send it then, even if it’s not running on your device.
4. Assign Options
If you receive an email, and you’re unsure how to answer it, you can assign it to someone else within your Team by clicking Assign in the top right corner. This way, you can direct emails to someone who may be better suited to answer without having to forward the message. It’s also a great solution if you need to delegate emails, but want to avoid sharing your entire inbox.
Once you assign an email to a teammate, it will simply appear in their Assigned to Me folder in the top left corner, where they can take the next steps in responding. You can comment back and forth in the draft workspace to share ideas and ask questions.
5. Shared Drafts
Sometimes it takes a collaborative effort to land a big client, or you just need a second set of eyes on an email. Spark’s Shared Drafts feature is there to help make this seamless.
To share your draft, all you need to do is click the share icon in the top-right corner, select your teammate, and select Invite People. Here, you can choose whether or not you want to permit them to send it as you once they make changes.
Your teammate will receive a notification and access to the draft on their end, so they can help you write. Within the draft, you can send comments back and forth, and receive updates about the status of the email such as who shared it with who and if someone sent it—shared drafts are especially helpful when writing long emails.
6. Built-In calendar
Spark offers a built-in calendar that you’ll actually want to use. It’s minimal, user-friendly, and even looks cool thanks to its simple design and bold color palette. If you know how to use Google Calendar, you’ll find this one is a breeze to work with.
The calendar allows you to integrate and color code multiple email addresses, so you know which event corresponds with what account. You can also create calendars that aren’t associated with an address for things like reminders and tasks.
7. Pinned Folders
While a lot of email clients have pinned folders, Spark’s are extremely simple to use, organize, and color code. They’re Gmail’s user-friendly folders, except you don’t need to keep them in alphabetical, or any other set order. You can drag and drop them in any order you’d like and change the color just by right-clicking.
Want to file an email? This is another simple drag and drop effort—just pull the message over to the appropriate folder. It really is that straightforward.
Plus, you can create Smart Folders that filter emails automatically for you.
It Will Spark Your Interest
Spark is by far one of the best email clients available. It offers all of these useful features in its free account, and more if you choose to upgrade.
If you’re looking for a new place to manage your inbox, why not give it a try to see if you like it?
