Congratulations! Your packages are listed on the Focal Marketplace, and you're ready to receive client inquiries. But first, you'll need to make sure your spam filter isn't getting in the way of missed emails from potential clients.

When you receive a booking inquiry through the Focal Marketplace, it will arrive as a regular email in your regular email inbox. (Look for the subject line "Booking inquiry from [client name] via Focal.") But, as with all things email-based, sometimes wonky things happen. To prevent that, you'll need to follow three simple steps:

1. Make sure whichever email address you used to create your Focal profile is one you check regularly. Don't use a secondary or throwaway email address, unless you want to miss out on booking inquiries. If you need to switch your email address linked to your Focal profile, send us a message at contact@bookfocal.com or DM us on Instagram (@bookfocal). We'll be more than happy to get you sorted.
2. Add the following email addresses as approved contacts in your email provider: contact@bookfocal.com, notifications@bookfocal.com, and customer.service@bookfocal.com.
3. Create a filter to prevent booking-related emails from going to spam.

Need some tech help with Steps 2 and 3? We've got you covered!

How do I add an approved email contact?

The steps will vary depending on your email provider, but we've covered the big three in Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo.

Gmail

The best way to approve a contact in Gmail is to add it to your contact list. Here's how:

1. Go to contacts.google.com
2. Select 'Create contact'
3. Select 'Create multiple contacts'
4. Enter contact@bookfocal.com, notifications@bookfocal.com, customer.service@bookfocal.com
5. Select 'Create'

Outlook (2003, 2007, and Express)

In Outlook, the best way to approve a contact is to add them to your safe sender list. Here's how:

1. In the toolbar at the top of your desktop screen, select "Actions"
2. Select "Junk E-mail", then "Junk E-mail Options"
3. Select the "Safe Sender" tab
4. Click "Add"
5. Enter contact@bookfocal.com, notifications@bookfocal.com, customer.service@bookfocal.com
6. Click "OK"

Yahoo

In Yahoo, the best way to approve a contact is to add it to your contact list. Here's how:

1. Look for the address book icon under the Yahoo! Mail logo. Click "Contacts"
2. Select "New Contact"
3. Enter contact@bookfocal.com, notifications@bookfocal.com, customer.service@bookfocal.com
4. Click "Save"

How do I create a filter so my booking-related emails are easy to find? (Gmail only)

We'll stick to Gmail here, as it's the most common provider. Here's what to do:

• Look for the "Settings" cog in the top right area of your inbox
• Select "See all settings", then "Filters and Blocked Addresses," then "Create a new filter"

• In the "From" box, enter contact@bookfocal.com, notifications@bookfocal.com, customer.service@bookfocal.com, and then click "Create filter"

• Check off the box "Apply the label," then "New label"
• Name the label "Focal Notifications"
• Check off the "Never send it to spam" and "Always mark it as important" boxes
• Check off the "Categorize as" box, then select "Primary"

• Click the "Create filter" button
• Now, in the left column of your inbox (desktop version), look for your new label and select the three vertical dots
• Set the colour to orange (or whatever colour you prefer)
  

From now on, emails from Focal should never go to spam and should have a label on them.