Let’s face it — email takes up a big chunk of our typical workday. Whether we’re replying to emails or sending out freshly drafted emails, searching for attachments, organizing old threads, or simply trying to hit “inbox zero,” it’s easy to feel like email runs the whole show. Here’s the thing though — not all email apps are built the same. A good email app can completely change how you manage your emails and stay organized, making it less of a chore and more of a delightful experience. Which email app you use can mean the difference between wasting several hours every day in your inbox and utilizing the bulk of your workday to focus on other important tasks.
If you’re currently looking to replace your boring & clunky email app that lives on your device because it’s free or provided by your company, you’ve landed on the right page. Imagine if your email app did more than just send and receive emails. What if it could keep you organized, save you time, help you focus better, and maybe even make your work feel a little less overwhelming? Most email apps today come with basic tools such as a unified inbox, email archiving, calendar integrations, undo send, etc. But modern email apps like Spark Mail app are designed to help you get more done and come with a plethora of useful capabilities that you’ll quickly fall in love with. I have been using Spark for almost a decade now, first as a customer long before I joined Readdle, and I wanted to share everything I love about Spark.
In this article, we’ll look at eight beneficial things Spark Mail app has that every email app should have to make your life easier. Let’s dive in!
- Automatic Email Categorization and Gatekeeping
- Customizable Email Snoozing & Set Aside
- Send Later at a Specified Date & Time
- Reminders to Follow Up on No Responses
- Templates with Placeholders for repetitive emails
- +AI, not just AI
- App Integrations
- Tracker Blocking & Privacy
1. Automatic Email Categorization and Gatekeeping
Your email inbox is more or less like a task list that you have little control over, with emails like tasks that you have to act upon. Others can, and do, add tasks to your list, with every incoming email adding to the existing clutter in your inbox. What if your email app sorted and categorized your emails for you? What if you could automatically know which emails to focus on priority and which emails to bother with later, such as newsletters and marketing emails? Spark mail app (free download) automatically does this for you. All incoming emails are automatically sorted and categorized as Personal emails, Notifications, and Newsletters, so you always have a tidy inbox to look at.
I have saved countless hours every month, not having to worry about my inbox getting cluttered, all thanks to Spark’s email categorization. If you’re in a hurry or want to get work done faster, you can instantly know which emails to act upon first.
Here’s where Spark really shines, though. Spark mail app comes with Gatekeeper — wherein emails from any new sender are automatically screened by Spark, giving you the option to Accept or Block future emails from them. This is a great way to save yourself from automated drip marketing campaigns & newsletters that clutter up your inbox.
Your inbox in your current email app may well be a task list that others control directly, but Spark gives you the freedom to filter out the noise and take control of your own inbox.
2. Customizable Email Snoozing & Set Aside
It’s not practically possible to action upon every email in your inbox. Often, you have to leave some emails for later, either due to a purposeful delay from your end or simply because those emails aren’t due for another few days. Leaving such emails sitting in your inbox just leads to clutter and also adds to confusion as to which emails need your attention. Spark mail app allows you to temporarily “snooze” certain emails for later so that those emails are removed from your inbox and put back into it when they’re due. For example, you just received a bill reminder that isn’t due for another two weeks. You don’t want to forget about it, but it’s also not critical.
With Spark, you can simply snooze the email for two weeks. You get to choose the exact date and time when you want the email to appear again in your inbox and whether or not you want to be alerted about it with a notification.
I urge you to download Spark for Free and start snoozing emails from your inbox. I’m confident that you’ll be astonished at how much it helps you focus and get more done.
3. Send Later at a Specified Date & Time
As the name suggests, you can schedule your emails to be sent later with Spark. As you normally do, you can draft an email however you want, and instead of sending it right away, you can ask Spark to send it later. You get to choose the exact date and time when the email is to be sent. You can either create presets for frequently used options or choose a custom date and time for every email.
This ability to send emails later is crucial for maintaining a work-life balance and is also helpful for global teams spread across different time zones. You can prepare emails during your working hours but schedule them to land in your recipient’s or team member’s inbox at an optimal time for them, increasing the chances of a prompt response.
4. Reminders to Follow Up on No Responses
You know when you send out an email to someone and then forget about it, either because you never get a response or you get occupied with other tasks? I’ve personally missed following up on so many emails in the past simply because I completely forgot I had emailed someone. This is especially true when you’re applying for jobs, and you never hear back. Spark has a nifty trick up its sleeve for cases like this. When you’re sending any email with Spark, you have the option of enabling a reminder for a follow-up at a specific date and time.
If you do not hear back from the recipient within the specified timeframe, Spark will automatically remind you about the email and put the entire thread in your inbox, waiting for your action. This is a brilliant method to stay updated about emails that need a response, such as support emails or job applications. I haven’t commonly seen this tool in many email apps, and it’s one of my favorite things about Spark — the simplicity with which it works is fantastic and so practical. I’m sure you will love it too.
5. Templates with Placeholders for repetitive emails
There are certain types of emails that you may be sending out frequently, either at work or as responses to commonly received emails. For example, a small business owner may need to send out responses to common sales queries about pricing and availability, a software support team member may need to email about a known bug that’s currently being fixed, or a website owner may need to respond to frequent sponsorship inquiries or linkback requests.
Spark lets you build and organize email templates that you can utilize when sending emails. These email templates allow you to reuse emails that you send often, saving valuable time and effort. If you’re wasting too much time on repetitive emails that have the same content, you need to get Spark today.
Templates in Spark can include placeholders like your or the recipient’s first name, last name, and full name, as well as custom placeholders that you can fill manually when sending the email.
6. +AI, not just AI
AI is an integral part of Spark mail app today. As newer and newer LLMs hit the market, it’s only natural that we take full advantage of advances in AI for our benefit, at least with something that we struggle with every day. Spark +AI is your own AI-powered email assistant that helps you draft any email exactly how you want, in seconds. With a simple prompt, draft a fresh email as lengthy or short as you want it to be. Instantly rephrase what you’ve written already, correct any grammatical mistakes, adjust the tone of the message, and do lots more with the help of AI — the possibilities are truly endless here.
Check out Spark +AI in detail here.
7. App Integrations
As important as email is in our daily lives, it is only part of the story. Your email habits, especially when you use Spark, help you achieve a lot. Yet, you have to rely on other productivity apps to get work done in some cases. Spark integrates directly with many popular productivity tools, so you can turn any email into a To-Do task, export any email as a Note, or connect your Zoom account to instantly schedule calls. Spark saves you the hassle of jumping between apps repeatedly, saving you ample time and effort.
Spark includes integrations with task and project management apps like Asana, Todoist, Things, Trello, etc., note-taking apps like Evernote, Instapaper, OneNote, etc., online meeting and video conferencing services like Zoom and GoTo, and cloud storage services like Box, Dropbox, etc. Here's the complete, platform-wise list of available integrations:
Task and Project Management
- Windows + Android: Asana, MeisterTask, TickTick, Todoist, Trello
- Mac + iOS: also integrate with 2Do, OmniFocus, Reminders, Things
Note-taking and Organization
- Windows + Android: Evernote, Instapaper, OneNote, Pocket
- Mac + iOS: also integrate with Agenda, Bear
Cloud Storage and File Management
- iOS only: Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive
Online Meetings and Video Conferencing
- iOS only: GoTo, Zoom
The latest spark update also adds integrations with Notion and Microsoft Teams for Windows and Mac, with other platforms following soon.
8. Tracker Blocking & Privacy
This little-known toggle in Spark has a massive impact on your privacy. You see, many email-sending services and newsletter software use embedded images in the email body to track your usage. Every time you open an email, images that load from remote servers are used to track how many times you open the email, what time you open the email, etc. At times, it may also leak your IP address, invading your privacy. Spark includes a simple toggle titled “Load remote images” that can be enabled/disabled to control whether these images should automatically be downloaded when you open any email. I’ve set it to be off, so I can manually load remote images for only those emails that I’m actually interested in. This way, I have control over whether the sender knows if I have opened their email.
Spark is a thoughtfully designed email experience that's a great alternative to any basic, no-frills email app you might be currently using. Switching to Spark is easy — it’s available for iOS and Android devices, as well as Mac and Windows computers.
Download Spark for Free and switch to a modern email experience that helps you focus and get more done.
