Cold Emailing

Using Gmail's SMTP to send emails - What you need to know

Noel Bouwmeester
LAST UPDATED
August 16, 2024
READING TIME
7 min.

Gmail’s SMTP server is reliable and has a high delivery rate.

In some cases, it makes sense to use the server for email outreach.

However, if you plan on doing so, there’s something you really need to know.

From September 2024 onwards, you’ll only be able to use their SMTP server in 3rd party apps by using the sign in with Google option.

We’ll explain all below. ⬇️

What is SMTP anyway? 🤷‍♂️

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is, by far, the most widely used protocol for sending emails. 

SMTP comes into action when you click the send button in your email client. Hitting that button connects your email client to the SMTP server.

SMTP then functions as a postman, taking your email to the receiving server (typically an IMAP) server, to which the recipient’s email client can connect to check their email.

Using Gmail’s SMTP with third-party apps or services 

From September 2024 onwards, you can only use Gmail SMTP with apps that use Sign in with Google.

Before that it was possible to use the server in any app by logging in to the server with your username and password. To tighten security, that will change.

The bad news is that there’s less flexibility regarding where you can use Gmail’s SMTP. 

The good news is that connecting to the SMTP will be much easier with Sign in with Google. No need to manually add server information; just log in, and most cases, you’re done!

With the new approach coming into effect soon, it doesn’t make sense connecting manually to Gmail’s SMTP server anymore. 

Adding SMTP servers to Gmail 📧

Using Gmail’s SMTP server with third-party apps is but one way of the equation. It’s also possible to add non-Gmail SMTP servers to your Gmail interface. 

The most likely scenario here is when you want to add another sending email account to Gmail. Here’s how to do that:

Step 1: Collect SMTP server info from your email service provider or domain. You need:

  1. ➡️ Your email’s username and password
  2. ➡️ The server’s address. Usually it follows this syntax: subdomain.domain.com. For example the Gmail SMTP (not to be used here) is smtp.gmail.com.
  3. ➡️ The port number the server uses. SMTP typically utilizes port 587 (TLS encryption), port 465 (SSL encryption), or port 25 (no encryption). TLS offers the strongest encryption, SSL is still good, but port 25 is unencrypted and therefore less secure.

Step 2: Go to your Gmail account and click the settings icon. Then click Accounts and Import.

Step 3: Scroll down to Send mail as, and in that section, click Add another email address.

Step 4: A window will pop up where you must give a name to this email account and add your email address. Click next when done.

Step 5: Add the SMTP server and your username and password, and select the correct port. Hit Add Account when done.

Step 6: If all went well, the sending account should now be active. If it’s not, check if you entered the port number and encryption method entered correctly. The information has to match with the details your ESP gave you.

Even if Google lets you know that the account has been successfully added, it’s always a good idea to send a few test emails to see if everything works.

Gmail SMTP: Embracing secure sign-in 🫂

Using Gmail’s SMTP server can still be worth it, but you need an app or service that uses the Sign in with Google option.

As you know now, that isn’t necessarily a disadvantage, as it makes connecting to the SMTP server easier and more secure.

To learn more about SMTP servers in general read: What is an SMTP server? A simple explanation.

Noel Bouwmeester
SEO Content Writer @ lempire
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star
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$30/mo
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$2,999/mo
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AI evaluation precision, gamified KPIs
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Potentially high cost and steep learning curve
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Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes
Complex sales structures and businesses of all sizes
Steep learning curve
4.6
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Not publicly available
Collaborative teams
Connected planning
Complexity and steep learning curve
4.6
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Companies with complex sales structures
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Complexity for smaller teams and potentially high costs
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Companies who want to automate commission calculations and payouts
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Businesses that need a comprehensive and user-friendly sales compensation management software
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4.8
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Not publicly available
Companies with modern sales culture and businesses who want real-time insights
A built-in dispute management and real-time visibility
Users say it works slowly, customer support is slow
4.9
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star
star
star
star
$30/user/mo
$50/user/mo
Smaller sales teams
Powerful automation
Lesser user base and average user interface
4.7
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star
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Not publicly available
Companies with scalable needs
Automated Commission Calculations
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ERP
CRM
Summary
Backbone of a business's internal operations.
Backbone of customer-centric interactions and operations.
Goal
To centralize and streamline core business processes in a company.
To increase customer experience, satisfaction and loyalty, and boost sales.
Focus
Internal operations and processes across departments (finance, accounting, inventory, supply chain, HR, and sales).
All interactions with leads and customers.
Manages
Internal business data like financial data, inventory levels, production details, supply chain, HR info.
All customer data like contact info, purchase history, communication history, customer preferences and more.
Users
Finance, accounting, operations, supply chain, and HR departments.
Customer-facing teams like sales, marketing, and customer service.
Benefits
Streamlines operations, improves data accuracy, enhances decision-making, boosts collaboration, increases productivity.
Improves customer relationships, increases sales, strengthens customer service, personalizes marketing campaigns, provides insights.
Price
$150 per user per year on average.
$10 to $30 per user per month on average.
PRM Tool
Rating
Feature
Pro
Con
Mobile App
Integrations
Free Plan
Pricing
4.65
star
star
star
star
star-half
Org-wide alignment
User-friendly layout and database
Suboptimal as a personal CRM
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Lack of tracking system
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Team: $20/month
Business: $45/month
4.7
star
star
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Social Media Integration
Easy contact data collection
No marketing/sales features
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Lack of tracking system
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7-day trial
$12/month
4.75
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Block Functions
High customization capability
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Business: €14/month
N/A
Open-source
Open-source flexibility
Requires extensive manual input
square-xmark
Limited
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Self-hosted
$9/month or
$90/year
3.1
star
star
star
Simple iOS app
Ideal for non-tech-savvy users
iPhone only
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iOS only
Limited
square-xmark
1-month trial
$1.49/month or
$14.99/month
3.6
star
star
star
star-half
Smart Contact Management
Feature-rich and flexible
Reported bugs
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Rich
square-xmark
7-day trial
Premium: $13.99/month
Teams: $17.99/month
4.4
star
star
star
star
star-half
Customizable Interface
Customizable for teamwork
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Rich
square-xmark
Standard: $24/member
Premium: $39/member
4.7
star
star
star
star
star-half
Integrated Calling
Integrated Calling
Too sales-oriented & pricey
square-check
Rich
square-xmark
14-day trial
Startup: $59/user/month
Professional: $329/user/month
4.8
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star
star
star
star
Business Card Scanning
Business Card Scanning
Mobile only
square-check
Limited
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$9.99/month
4.45
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160+ app integrations
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No free app version
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Rich
square-xmark
14-day trial
$29.90/month or
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Capterra Rating
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Free Plan
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4.5
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star
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square-check
14-day
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€15/month/seat billed annually
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4.2
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star
star
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30-day
square-xmark
But it offers reduced price to authorised nonprofit organisations
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€500/user/month billed annually (includes Einstein AI)
Best overall operational CRM
4.3
star
star
star
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star-half
square-xmark
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Limited to 3 users
Comprehensive incentive management
€52/user/month billed annually
Small-medium businesses and automation
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star
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14-day
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Sales teams and ease of use
4.1
star
star
star
star
square-xmark
square-check
Limited 10 users
$9.99/user/month billed annually
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Free plan for very small teams up to 10
CRM goal
Increase the sales conversion rate for qualified leads from marketing automation campaigns by 10% in the next 6 months.
SMART Breakdown
1. Specific: It targets a specific area (conversion rate) for a defined segment (qualified leads from marketing automation).
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Actions
Step 1: Refine lead qualification criteria to ensure high-quality leads are nurtured through marketing automation.
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Outcomes
Increased sales and revenue
Improved marketing automation ROI
Marketing and sales alignment
Data-driven marketing optimization
Table
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CRM Software
Approach
Data-centric
Customer-centric
Focus
Interactions across various channels and touchpoints, both online and offline.
Sales, marketing, and customer service interactions.
Functionality
Automatically collects, organizes, tags, and makes data available in real-time.
Helps businesses track customer interactions, sales pipelines, prospects, and service requests.
Goals
Personalized customer experiences across all channels.
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Data integration, management, and accessibility, allowing for detailed analysis and segmentation.
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Data Handling
Handles both identified and anonymous data, stitches together various data points.
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Use Cases
Personalized marketing campaigns, targeted advertising, content customization across multiple channels.
Managing campaigns and leads, enhancing customer service, providing better customer support, increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Examples
Insider, Bloomreach, Salesforce Marketing Cloud CDP
HubSpot, Salesforce Sales Cloud Lightning Professional, and Zoho CRM
CRM
Free plan
Best feature
Best for
Con
1. HubSpot CRM
square-check
Sales automation
Sales teams
Up to 1,000 contacts
2. Insightly
square-check
Custom fields
Basic needs
Not enough info about the free plan
3. Agile CRM
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Deal and sales pipeline tracking
Small teams
Up to 10 users
4. Zoho CRM
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Lead and contact management
Businesses of all sizes
Limited to 3 users
5. ClickUp
square-check
Unlimited tasks and unlimited members
Personal use
Up to 100MB storage
6. EngageBay
square-check
Live chat
Small and midsize enterprises
Up to 1,000 branded emails per month
7. Bitrix24
square-check
Unlimited users and 5 scrum teams
Big teams
Up to 5GB of cloud storage
8. FreshSales
square-check
Easy to use and simple setup
Beginners
Up to 3 users
9. Mailchimp
square-check
Very beginner friendly
Marketing teams
Send up to 500 branded emails per month
Type of Affiliate Marketing
Unattached
Related
Involved
Format
Paid advertising
Social media or YouTube channels
Dedicated website or blog
Focus
Quick income
Your niche
Your audience
Engagement with your audience
square-xmark
square-check
square-check
square-check
square-check
Very close connection with your audience
Pro
Little effort
Higher credibility thanks to your niche
Long-lasting and scalable
Con
Paid ads cost a lot
Potential for bias since you don’t use the thing you promote
Require time, effort, and dedication

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