In this fast-paced digital world, almost everything is done online. We have the world at the click of our button, and the best part is that it isn’t time consuming at all. With these technological advancements, the way we communicate has gone a substantial shift, and electronic devices have taken the globe by storm.
Unlike earlier times, where communication was time consuming, we have so many instant options opened out to communicate now. With ease, one can pick and choose the mode in which one would like to convey what they want to. Be it the personal front or professional life, communication is paramount, and with such advanced time, it’s instantaneous. There are various forms or modes of it which are available to anyone to use.
How does email actually work?
Electronic Mail, popularly known as e-mail or email, is a method for exchanging messages or emails between two people or a group of people using electronic devices. Email usage is growing large and strong. At a rapid growth rate, the globe has half the population who use emails for communication. As of 2019, there is an estimated 3.8 billion email accounts. These emails operate primarily across the Internet. When an email is sent, there are a few basic steps that are involved. Let us list it out at the cardinal level,- The sender writes an email
– The receiver receives the email
– Receiver reads it
– Once the receiver has read, he responds
– Sender receives response
This is typically how an email works. But just imagine what happens when you send out an email and receive no response? Let us go one step further. Are we aware of the email was read or not? Because in our minds, we know that if email is read, then the response is sent. But if there is a hitch right there then we wait in anxiety as to why our email has gone unresponded. For some reason, if an email has a pressing matter that needs to be urgently addressed and we do not get a response, then we are all the more worried and our mind begins to frantically worry. Here we are not even sure if the email was opened and read or left unattended.
So we need to understand if the email we sent was opened and read or not. Are there ways? Well, let’s find out. Before that, here is a fun fact. An average adult receives and sends up to 121 business emails per day. Radicati has predicted that this number will be closer to 126, which means 126 emails will be sent and received on an average per day by an adult human.
How to know if your email has been sent?
We humans tend to get impatient at times, especially if we are waiting for something. Same is true in the case of emails. When we send out an email, it gets mildly compelling to check if the email was read because it puts our chattering mind at ease and helps us relax. So, in order to relax our mind after an email was sent, let us know the ways to check if the email was read and opened.
– Read Receipts
– Tracking Tool
Let us dive in.
Read Receipts – Does this sound even vaguely familiar to you. Well, if not, don’t worry! Just read on to become aware and understand better as to what this does and implement it in all your emails going forward.
Read receipts help us in tracking. This tool will let you know the exact time as to when your email was read. All those emails that are time-bound or time-sensitive and need urgent attention, using read receipts are the best option. For all those critical emails to check if the email was read and opened, read receipts tool comes super handy. A read receipt confirms that the email sent by the sender was opened and read.
Now having understood what read receipt as a tool does, let us see how this option can be enabled too.
In Microsoft Outlook – To request a return receipt in MS Outlook, click on options and then sub-menu. Here you can check ‘Request a read receipt.’ Once this option has been checked, you will receive a notification when the email is opened.
In Gmail – The free version doesn’t have the option. But if it is a paid version – G Suite then you can request for read receipt. Goto Apps, then G Suite, then Settings, then Advanced Settings. Here you will be able to turn on the read receipt option. While writing an email, click on the option.
Now let us understand how to check if the email was read using tracking software. Yes, you heard it right. There are third-party tracking tools, and with these options, you can track if the emails were read and opened or not.
Tracking Tools
– Mailtrack: It’s a browser extension designed to work with Gmail. This is a simple email tracker. It is going to let the sender know whether the emails have been opened or not by the receiver. Mailtrack’s email tracking functionality is free of cost to use
– MixMax: This is another amazing tool that tells us whether the email has been opened and read or not. It also tells the sender as to how many times the email has been opened by the receiver
– Circus Insight: This tracking tool tells when the email is opened and read. It also tells the sender how many times the email was opened and the location of the receiver while opening the email
– Yesware: Another brilliant tracking app. This is used for both Outlook and Gmail.
– ContactMonkey: Apart from telling if the email was opened and read, it also tells on what sort of device the email was opened, when and where too
– Snovio: Another app to check if the email was read and opened or not
– Gmelius: Free email tracker that tells how many times it was opened
