1Prerequisites

  • A Gmail account (personal or Google Workspace)
  • A Notion account (free tier works)
  • A free account on Make.com
  • 5 minutes of uninterrupted focus

2Set up your Notion database

Before touching Make.com, create the destination for your emails.

2.1 Create the database

  1. Open Notion and create a new page called "Email Inbox".
  2. Add an Inline Database (Table view).
  3. Name the database "Captured Emails".

2.2 Configure these properties

Property NameTypePurpose
NameTitleEmail subject line
SenderEmailFrom address
ReceivedDateTimestamp of the email
StatusSelectNew, Actioned, Archived
Body SnippetTextFirst 200 chars of email body
Gmail LinkURLDirect link to open the email
LabelMulti-selectGmail label (e.g., Urgent, Read)
💡
Pro tip: Add a Priority Select property with options High / Medium / Low. Use Make.com filters later to auto-tag emails from specific senders as High priority.

2.3 Share with Make.com

  1. Click the ⋯ menu in the top-right of your database page.
  2. Select Add connections → search for Make → click Confirm.
  3. Copy the Database ID from the URL: notion.so/workspace/[DATABASE-ID]?v=...

3Build the Make.com scenario

3.1 Create a new scenario

  1. Log into your Make.com account and click Create a new scenario.
  2. Search for and select the Gmail module as your trigger.
  3. Choose the trigger: Watch Emails.

3.2 Connect your Gmail

  1. Click Add to create a new connection.
  2. Sign in with Google and authorize Make.com to access Gmail.
  3. Set Folder to INBOX (or STARRED for starred emails only).
  4. Set Filter type to SEARCH: label:important -category:promotions -category:social
⚠️
Important: On a Google Workspace account, your admin may need to whitelist Make.com in the Google Admin Console under Security → API Controls → App Access Control.

3.4 Map the data fields

Notion PropertyGmail Data
NameSubject
SenderFrom
ReceivedDate
Body SnippetSnippet (or Body for full text)
Gmail Linkhttps://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/{Message ID}
LabelLabel name(s)
🧠
Smart mapping: Set Status to New manually so every incoming email starts in your "New" queue. For Body Snippet, use substring() to cap it at 200 characters.

4Test your automation

  1. Send yourself an email with the subject Test: Blueprint Working.
  2. Click Run once in Make.com (top-right).
  3. Check your Notion database — the email should appear within seconds.
Build this on Make.com →