We don’t use the term “revolutionary” casually. But this tool is revolutionary if you’re a high-frequency email person.
Boomerang, I love you.
Here’s the typical experience people have with most web tools:
read a blurb about it sign up (mainly to get a short username) wait for the agonizing 13 seconds to get the email confirmation and activation link try the site for a minute move onto something else forget about the site until you get a “we miss you” email
Not with Boomerang. We saw the brand mentioned online, gave it a try, and proceeded to use the tool probably 25 times over the rest of the day. By the next day, it was painful to work on a browser without Boomerang installed (works on Chrome and Firefox as of this writing).
So, what is it? Boomerang is a deceptively simple tool/service that does 2 things very well:
SEND your emails in the future, and RETURN emails to you in the future. Try it now.
Underwhelmed? That’s to be expected. The simplicity is part of the elegance. Now stop and think about your emails.
What if you send a message to a prospect and need to remind yourself to check back in with them in 2 days. You send the email. Then you have to DO something. You have to mark a tickler file, or update a CRM tool, or write a sticky note. Or bcc yourself and then file the message in a “get back to these people” folder.
What if that message you sent arrived back in your inbox in 2 days? Or a week, or whatever you specified?
What if you’re going on vacation but want to ping a few people with check-ins on updates, or send a message while you know you’ll be away?
What if you get a renewal email for an important item but don’t want to deal with it until 2 days before the actual due date?
How about a person that wants you involved on a project that doesn’t begin for 2 months? What if the email magically re-appeared a few weeks just before the start date?
Boomerang: I hate you.
The ease with which I can now take something out of my inbox only to have it return several days later means that my “inbox zero” goal isn’t as permanent as it previously was. It’s more of a procrastinator-assistant.
I also dread the day that Google announces it’s buying Boomerang and adjusts the service to “better align with the needs of our users” and possibly removes a feature that I consider critical.
I also dread paying for it only to then have it become free in the future. But this is one web service I will happily pay for when the free trial ends.
And Boomerang, I hate how I went from not knowing about you to now finding you a completely indispensable tool. Any browser I use that doesn’t have you installed on it feels weak and lifeless.
The Gmail solution ecosystem is only going to grow. There may be more “deep” Gmail integration solutions, like Wishery, that prove to be a great fit, depending on your business. But for general gmail productivity, I am quickly finding Boomerang to be eerily indispensable. I hope that it gets to flourish regardless of whom inevitably acquires this great product.