How to use mail merge in Gmail

How to use mail merge in Gmail.If you want to send the same email to your customers, customers, employees, club members or similar group, you can type the email once and send the message to everyone using the Gmail mail merge tool.Once called the “multi-send” feature, Gmail mail merge allows you to insert Google contacts or a mailing list from Google Sheets. Then personalize your email message with merge tags, include unique unsubscribe links, and enjoy the easy bulk email process with your favorite email app.

About Mail Merge in Gmail

Let’s take a look at the Google account requirements, send limits, and other details related to mail merge in Gmail.

Mail merge is available to Google Workspace subscribers, including Workspace Individual, Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise Starter, Standard and Plus, and Education Standard and Plus.
Supported Google Workspace accounts have a daily limit of 2,000 outgoing email messages. With mail merge, you are allowed to send emails to up to 1500 recipients, which leaves you with 500 for other emails.
You can only add one recipient to a CC or Bcc field using mail merge. Just be aware that this sends an email to that address for each recipient in the “To” field. For example, if you send a mail merge to 100 recipients, the address in the Cc field receives 100 copies of that email.
You can include attachments with merge; however, this counts towards your storage space. For example, if you send a 1 MB attachment to 100 recipients, you will use 100 MB of space.
Each message contains a unique, auto-generated unsubscribe link at the bottom in case a particular recipient no longer wants to receive your emails.
If a recipient has previously unfollowed your messages and you included them in the mail merge, you will see a notification after the email is sent, indicating the number of recipients who will not receive the message.
You can’t use mail merge for replies or forwards, scheduling emails, or using confidential mode.

How to Add Recipients to Mail Merge in Gmail

While you can select recipients for your email after you create your message, it’s best to select them ahead of time when using mail merge. You will then be prompted to provide available merge tags to personalize the message.

Add recipients from Google Contacts

Follow these steps to start using your Google contacts as recipients.

Select New in the top left corner to create a new email. Use the Show main menu icon (three lines) if you don’t see the Write button.

In the Compose window, select the Use Merge (contact symbol) icon to the right of the To and check the box for merge.

You can then start typing recipient names and choose from the options provided, or select the link To and select recipients from the box ” Select Contacts.

Add recipients from Google Sheets

To insert recipients from Google Sheets, start by making sure your sheet is set up correctly.

All recipient information should be on the first tab of the spreadsheet.
Each recipient and their details must be on a separate line.
Use textual column headings to indicate merge tags. If the title contains a special character, the merge tag is defined by the column letter instead, such as @A for column A.

Once your table is ready to go, select New in the top left corner of Gmail to compose your message.

Select the Use Merge icon to the right of To and check the box for merge. Then select Add from Spreadsheet.

In the window that appears, use the Google Drive tabs at the top to find and select a Google spreadsheet. Then click the Insert button in the bottom right corner.

In the next window, select the names of the columns containing the recipient information for the merge tags from the drop-down lists. Note that you can only see dropdowns for email, first name, and last name; however, you will see merge tags available in the email for other details in your spreadsheet.

Select Done and you will return to the Write window with the sheet name in the To.

Tip. If your recipient list is in Excel, consider converting the Excel file to Google Sheets for mail merge.

How to Use Merge Tags in Your Email

Once you add recipients to the mail merge, you will have merge tags available.As of this writing:

If you’re adding recipients from Google Contacts, you can use tags for first name, last name, full name, and email address.

If you’re adding recipients from Google Sheets, you can use tags for column headings in the spreadsheet.

To add a tag to email, type the @ (At) symbol next to the tag name, or select a tag from the drop-down list. You can add tags almost anywhere in your message, with the exception of the email subject line and hyperlink text.

Merge tag preview

If you are wondering how the details are displayed after inserting the merge tag, you can easily view the preview.

Hover over the merge tag in the post and select Preview.

A window will open showing all recipients and their respective details for that tag. If you have many recipients, you can use the Search at the top to find them.

When done, press OK and you will return to the Write window.

Enable merge tag default value

You can also set default values for merge tags. This is useful if the recipient is missing the details you are trying to add. For example, if you’re inserting a “Name” merge tag and the recipient doesn’t have a name in the list, you can use the default word or phrase instead.To add a default value, hover over the merge tag in your email and select Set Default. Add a word or phrase to the field that appears and select Save. For any recipient that is missing information, the merge tag in the email will be replaced with a default value.

Preview and Send Your Email

When you’re done creating a Gmail campaign, you can preview the email before sending it. This allows you to see the email the way your recipients will see it, so if you need to make any changes, you can do so before hitting the send button.

When you’re ready, select Continue at the bottom of the Write window.

When you send bulk emails, you will see a pop-up message with a summary of the spam. Select More Info for more information, then Got it to continue.

You will then see another pop-up window that will show you the number of recipients you are sending the email to and a preview option. Select Send Preview.

Within minutes, you will receive an email marked “Test Message” in your inbox. The merge tags will be populated with the first recipient in your list, or the default value, if applicable. After viewing the preview, you can return to the “Create” window to make the necessary changes. When you’re ready to send an email, follow the same steps and select Send All in the Ready to Send window. Merge emails you send can be found in the Submitted folder just like any other sent email.

Make Emails Easy With Gmail Mail Merge

When you need to send a newsletter, announcement, or other bulk email, keep Gmail’s mail merge feature in mind. With the ability to insert contacts from Google Sheets, use merge fields for personalized emails, and preview a message before sending it, all without a third-party mail merge add-on, the process is a breeze.For related tutorials with other applications, see How to create a mail merge in Microsoft Word for print messages, not email marketing.

How to use mail merge in Gmail

About Mail Merge in Gmail