10 Helpful Categories to Organize Your Inbox | Virtual Assistant
If you look at your inbox and the little number makes you die a little inside… or you feel an immediate sense of clutter the moment the page loads… you probably need a little organization. Luckily this can be really simple to do! I’ve put together 10 helpful categories to organize your inbox to make it even easier.
As a virtual assistant for photographers, I help de-clutter inboxes every week. My team and I do inbox management, and make sure things are rolling smoothly. You deserve to open your communication space and not feel overwhelmed or frustrated. What kind of energy are you bringing to your clients when you’re immediately drowning in your inbox?
In my head, there are two main (simple) ways to keep your inbox clear with that “I’ve got my shit together” feeling.
One: You can archive everything that has not been dealt with. Anything that has strings that still need to be wrapped up, leave that in the inbox. That way, you know that everything there is still in motion. Anything else… ARCHIVE. Done. It will still be searchable if you ever need it again.
If that feels stressful to have everything in one lump pile of archive, then the other options is:
Two: Provide label categories for the different aspects of your business and then move them emails to their appropriate categories when done.
As a VA for photogs, I’ve seen people do it both ways successfully! It’s just an organizational style preference.
But if you are wanting labels for your email, here are 10 helpful categories to organize your inbox (specifically for photographers):
Client Communication: anyone who is a booked, paying client goes in here! The what to wear/when to meet/have I paid?? questions get moved here once you’ve answered them.
CRM: this is for any emails coming from your CRM… the reminders, the alerts, the payments… it can all land here.
New Inquiries: anyone who is a new inquiry can be moved into this folder after they’re received a response!
Not Booked Inquiries: this can be anyone who doesn’t end up booking… the out of budget responses or the unavailable dates.
Gallery Emails: whether it’s Pixieset or whatever you use… having a place to put all those notifications them can be really helpful.
Outsource Vendors: people like me, who you outsource to, can have their own specific labels or one general category… think editors, VA etc.
Receipts: This is a great way to store all your purchases and make sure they’re easily accessible in one place.
Shipping/Delivery: you’re going to order things for your business, especially if you offer products… put all those notifications here.
Taxes: collecting all communication from your bookkeeper or CPA in one place can be really helpful.
Seasonal Offers: so if you offer Black Friday, or Mini Sessions etc… create labels for the different types of events and move the emails there when done.
Here’s a graphic you can download of the 10 helpful categories to organize your inbox, and use it for reference!
