The issue is this. You have 1 primary email, we’re going to call that “primary@gmail.com”, that you want to use all the time. You also have “secondary@gmail.com” and “tertiary@gmail.com” as well. You don’t want to have to login to those accounts, but you want to 1) get emails instantly from those accounts and 2) send as if you’re sending from those accounts.

Getting email from other accounts…

The Bad Way
Go enable “POP” email on the account you want to get email from. To do it that way you go into “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” section of settings on the “secondary@gmail.com” and “tertiary@gmail.com” emails and enable “POP” email. Then you go into the “Accounts” section of settings on the “primary@gmail.com” email and click the “Add a POP3 mail account you own”.

The problem with this is that Gmail has a set time that they run their POP3 mail checking scripts. So it can be over an hour before you get an email. You can go into the “Accounts” section of settings of your “primary@gmail.com” address and click “Check mail now.” But that’s annoying. And there is no way to change how often Gmail checks the POP3 account.

The Good Way
Go to the “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” section of settings on the “secondary@gmail.com” and “tertiary@gmail.com” emails and click “Add a forwarding address” button. Add your “primary@gmail.com” account as the address… get the confirmation code (this is easier with two browsers open at once, btw)… input it… and then set your “secondary@gmail.com” and “tertiary@gmail.com” emails to forward to your “primary@gmail.com” email. We suggest going so far as to setting the “secondary@gmail.com” and “tertiary@gmail.com” emails to delete their copy once it’s forwarded. This truly keeps you from ever having to “get in there” again.

Now when someone sends you an email you get it as quickly as you normally would. No more waiting on the POP3 script to run.

Sending email from other accounts…

First off, if you’ve set up a POP3 account on your “primary@gmail.com” email then you’ll already have a new “Send mail as” email added to that account as well. If not you’ll need to add one under the “Accounts” section of settings. The “default” way Gmail sets this up is for this email to be treated as an alias. Gmail’s description of what an alias is and does can be a bit confusing. Basically if you want to send email as “someone else” that is NOT you then you want to uncheck that box. If you want it to be sent as you then leave it checked.

The Bad Way
The next part (after you click the “Next Step” button) you’re given the option to send through the “primary@gmail.com” account, or to send through the other account. The default is to send it through the “primary@gmail.com” email account. The problem with this is that people who get the email will see a “via gmail.com” (where “gmail” is your domain is you’re using Google Apps).

The Good Way
Some people don’t mind “the bad way” but if you want it to truly send AS your “secondary@gmail.com” or “tertiary@gmail.com” emails you want to check the the other option. If your other emails are something other than Gmail or Google Apps then you’ll need to check with your email host to find out what the outgoing SMTP settings are. Otherwise, if you are using Gmail or Google Apps for your “secondary” and “tertiary” emails then you can use the following settings.

You’re all set!

That’s it! Now when someone sends an email to either your “secondary@gmail.com” or “tertiary@gmail.com” you’ll get it on your “primary@gmail.com” account right away… and, when you reply, you’ll be replying as that account and actually sending as that account. The great thing is that you only have to login to one account.

Addendum

If you have a lot of emails on your “secondary@gmail.com” or “tertiary@gmail.com” emails that you want to actually move to your “primary@gmail.com” account then you should first set up the POP3 for past emails and set up the POP3 account to check them. It will download them all to your “primary” account. The one issue with this is that it can take a very long time depending on how many emails you have.

Facebook pages can be a very powerful way to get your name out there. The internet of today is a conversation and, whether you like it or not, Facebook is one of the main “hubs” of that conversation.  Using a page can be tricky and sometimes a bit frustrating but, if done correctly, the amount of “Likes” (“Fans” or “Followers”) your page can get can be astounding and suddenly you’re the “EF Hutton” of the internet conversation because everyone is listening to you.

Here are a few FREE tips to getting more “Likes” on your Facebook page.

Stay Relevant

If you have a Facebook page about your computer repair business posting pictures of kittens may get you a few likes but, in the long run, it’s not really helping your business. Keeping posts relevant to not only what you do but to the audience you want to attract is crucial. So, obviously, if you want cat lovers as a primary client for your computer repair business than MEEOW! to your heart’s desire.

Why So Serious?

Try being “funny” and using something current to reel people in. For example, if you have a Facebook page for your restaurant you could’ve used the end of 2012 to reference the Mayan calendar with a post about something like, “where will you have your last meal?” Again, making posts relevant to what you do and who you want as customers is key… but keeping it light hearted is always a good way of bringing in more “Likes.”

Use Current Events

Staying current doesn’t mean simply posting every day it means keeping up with current events and posting — again relevant — posts based on those events. One great example of using current events to gain a following is from Dr. Beth Robinson — who deals with adoption related issues among other things — created a post about the “adoption joke” that was made in the superhero movie, “The Avengers” last year and then shared that post on her Facebook page.

No Religion. No Politics.

Unless you’re specifically running a page for a church or religious or political organization posting your personal views on religion or politics is probably going to do you more harm than good. Facebook is notorious for being a breeding ground for “bad press” and if you’re going to go viral you’d like to try and make it for something people “Like.”

Stay off the Bandwagons

As tempting as it is don’t simply re-share or re-post something that has already gone viral. Making a comment about something that is very topical is one thing but simply jumping on a bandwagon is another. Your goal should be to build your own bandwagon and get everyone else to jump on with you.

Use Facebook AS Your Business

Once you have a Facebook page you can use Facebook AS that page. That means you can search Facebook for other pages and posts that are relevant to your business and then either “Like” them, share them, or even comment on some of them. Doing this will mean that people see your page as “part of the conversation” and will have that many more ways to find you.

Invite Your Friends

If you’re not on Facebook with a personal profile this may be an irrelevant tip, but if you are — and most are — then this is something so simple that many people never do. Once you’re administrator of a Facebook page you have the ability to invite friends to “Like” the page.  This means when they “Like” it their friends will see they’ve “Liked” it and then will hopefully like it as well.

“Like” It Again, Sam

One final tip… something few people know is if you “unlike” and then “like” something again it will show on your personal timeline again as you having “liked” it.  That means people who might have missed it in their feed the first time have a 2nd chance of seeing it.

Those are just a few of the FREE ways you can turn Facebook into a real advantage for your small business. Of course, if you want to spend some money as well there are other ways — such as “Promoting” a post — that are built into the Facebook system as well. These are fantastic, affordable tricks that you can easily read about on Facebook’s help pages.