#331: Gmail: How To Create Filters for Email Subscriptions

Michael Murphy

Dec 17, 2020·3 min read

De-clutter Your Inbox.

Do you get a lot of email newsletters and subscriptions that clutter up your Inbox?Do you want an easy way to unsubscribe to unwanted email subscriptions?
Do you wish you could sort newsletters automatically to their own label/folder so you could read them at your own pace while keeping your Inbox clean?

About This Tutorial:

• This tutorial will show you how to create Gmail Filters to sort all email subscriptions (newsletters, mailing lists, etc) to de-clutter your inbox and keep all your email newsletters/subscriptions under one label (folder) so you can read through them all at once and make it easy for you to unsubscribe from those you no longer read.
• A Gmail filter allows you to set rules for incoming mail so you can tell Gmail how to handle or process certain emails when they arrive.
• Gmail filters can apply a label, archive emails, delete, star, and/or forward incoming emails to another email address based on the rules you set (i.e; Skip the Inbox and apply the label Subscriptions for all emails that contain the word unsubscribe).
• Gmail Filters are applied to all incoming mail. If you want to find old emails to sort and label, then you can use the search function of Gmail.
• In this filter recipe, I use the search term ‘unsubscribe’ because most email newsletters and subscriptions contain that word (or they should!)
• To skip the article and watch a video tutorial, scroll to the bottom.

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How To Create Gmail Filters for Subscriptions:

Once you create this Gmail Filter, all new incoming email newsletters and/or subscriptions that contain the word ‘unsubscribe’ will bypass your main Gmail inbox and automatically be filed in the ‘Subscriptions’ folder (or whatever label you choose) located in the sidebar.

1. Sign in to Gmail (https://gmail.com)
2. Click on the Search Mail field at the top of Gmail
3. Click the drop-down arrow to the far-right in the search field
4. Look for ‘Has the words’ and type in unsubscribe (or other keywords)
5. Click ‘Create Filter’ at the bottom-right
6. Check the box for ‘Skip the Inbox (Archive it)
7. Check the box for ‘Apply the label: Choose a label
8. Click the drop-down arrow and select a label or select ‘New Label’ and type in Subscriptions
9. A new label will be added to the sidebar called ‘Subscriptions’
10. Click ‘Create New Filter’
11. Done.
12. All new emails that contain the word ‘unsubscribe’ will automatically skip your Inbox and go directly to the ‘Subscriptions’ label (folder)
13. To modify the filter, go to Gmail Settings.

How To Edit or Delete Gmail Filters:

1. Click on the gear icon in the top right
2. Click on ‘See All Settings’
3. Click on ’Filters and Blocked Addresses’
4. Click on ‘Edit’ to modify the filter
5. Click on ‘Delete’ to remove the filter
6. Click on ‘Create a new filter’ to create another
7. Click ‘Import filters’ to import filters that were previously exported.

Video Tutorial:

I Help People Figure Things Out

- My name is Mike Murphy, I’m a one-man-band and podcaster.
- I make podcasts and tutorials that teach people how to make better content.
- @mikeunplugged on Twitter or Instagram
- I also work full-time as a product support specialist at Simplecast