How to Use Mail Merge in Gmail.

Many people don't realise that Gmail has a mail merge built in, so they spend money on third-party add-ons to send large amounts of emails to their contacts in one go. Well, in this blog, we are going to show you how to use mail merge in Gmail.

Unlike other solutions, Mail Merge in Gmail is very straightforward to use. You do most of the work directly from the new email compose window in Gmail. Mail merge in Gmail also allows the recipient to unsubscribe from your emails, keeping your email marketing communications compliant with best practices, regulations, and laws.

Remember, Gmail has a 1500-day limit for sending mail merges, and you can send a total of 2000 emails daily. So, if you have an extensive mailing list, you may need to look for a dedicated paid-for solution.

Creating your mailing list to use in a mail merge.

For any mail merge to work, you need to have a mailing list and the first name and surname of the recipient. The email addresses so the email is sent to the correct recipient and their names to make your email friendly and personable.

You can create and store your mailing list in two ways in Google Workspace: in Google Sheets or Google Contacts.

The first option is to create a Google Sheet and enter your data into it; the advantage of using a Google Sheet is that you can easily share it with team members to keep the contact details up to date. If you have a newsletter sign-up box on your website, most web platforms like Squarespace let you connect to a Google Sheet, so whenever a visitor signs up for your Newsletter, their email address and Name are automatically put into a Google Sheet for you!

The format of your Google Sheet should be as follows:

• Your Google Sheet should have no headings.

• Column A should contain the email address.

• Column B should contain the first name.

• Column C should contain the surname. Having the surname is optional.

The second option to store your Mailing List is through Google Contacts. You do this through the Google Contacts label system.

• You create a label in Google Contacts.

• You add the recipients to the label.

Using labels to manage your contact lists only works if you run a solo business and no one else needs access to modify or change the mailing list. I would recommend the Google Sheets method for everyone as it has so much more flexibility; you may not need that flexibility at the moment, but if your business grows and scales, you'll be thankful you used Google Sheets.

Start composing your mail merge in Gmail.

Okay, now that you have created your mailing lists, you can start composing the email you plan to send.

• Click the Compose button in Gmail.

• On the To row in the compose window, click the icon of the two silhouettes with a plus icon.

• Then, put a tick next to Mail Merge.

• You'll see the option to Add from a spreadsheet.

  • Select this option if you created a Google Sheet full of your contacts.

  • Then, in the next window, select that Google Sheet and click Insert.

  • Confirm the email and name fields that appear in the checker window.

  • You'll see the name of your spreadsheet appear in the To box.

If you did not use a Google Sheet but instead used labels to manage your mailing list, start typing the name of the label you created into the To box, select the label, and your contacts will be added.

Are you going to send a plain text or templated email?

Next, you must decide whether to send a plain text or a templated email.

• If you are sending a plain text email, type as you would any other email. You can use the @ symbol to add name fields to the email. Once you have completed your email, click Continue (where the send button is typically located) and follow the onscreen instructions to send your mail merge email.

• If you are going to send a templated email, don't enter any text into the email compose window, as anything you enter will get wiped when you insert your template. Instead, click the Select a Layout button from the email compose toolbar at the bottom of the compose window. Once you click this button, you can select from pre-designed templates to use, modify, or design your own. Any design will be saved to your Google Drive to be used again in the future or even shared with your team members so they can use the same template.

• Once you are happy with your template, click the Insert button to add it to your email; again, use the @ symbol to add name fields to your template.

• Click the Continue button and follow the onscreen instructions to send your mail merge email to your contacts.

And that is it! You have successfully created and sent your first mail merge in Gmail!