How to personalize email with mail merge in Gmail

Learn to mix Google Contacts and Gmail multi-send to merge names into individualized emails.

In late 2022, Google added the power to personalize Gmail messages despatched from multi-send mode. This implies chances are you’ll now insert a @firstname, @lastname, @fullname or @e mail subject inside a multi-send e mail, and the system will merge the corresponding subject knowledge from a recipient’s Google Contact document. Extra importantly, when Google introduced the characteristic, the corporate additionally indicated that “assist for customized mail merge tags utilizing spreadsheets” might be added sooner or later.

Multi-send mode is out there to individuals who use:

• Google Workspace Particular person.
• Google Workspace Enterprise Normal or Plus.
• Google Workspace Enterprise Starter, Normal or Plus.
• Google Workspace Schooling Normal or Plus editions.

Moreover, a Google Workspace administrator should allow the characteristic by setting Permit Multi-send Mode to ON within the Admin console at Apps | Google Workspace | Gmail | Person Settings | Multi-Ship mode.

The right way to handle a recipient checklist in Google Contacts

A Gmail multi-send merge attracts from knowledge in Google Contacts, so ensure you have right info for every contact subject you propose to make use of in your multi-send merge. If it’s essential to import info into Google Contacts, chances are you’ll obtain a Google-provided template to ensure you have knowledge within the right fields for a .csv import. Open Google Contacts in a desktop-class browser to evaluation the info fields (Determine A) used within the mail merge course of:

• Prefix
• First Title
• Final Title
• Suffix
• E mail

Determine A

First, ensure the info for every recipient is right in Google Contacts with a evaluation of identify and e mail fields. For ease of use, chances are you’ll need to label contacts, so chances are you’ll later choose that label so as to add all related contacts in an e mail recipient subject.

Most often, additionally, you will need to create a contact label (e.g., E-newsletter as proven in Determine A), then add that label to each contact you want to embrace on that checklist. This makes it potential to then choose the label whereas within the recipient subject in Gmail so as to add all contacts with that label to the recipient checklist. Chances are you’ll choose the checkbox to the left of every contact for a set of contacts, choose the label icon (above the checklist of contacts), then select your contact label and choose Apply so as to add the label to the chosen set of contacts.

SEE: The right way to handle your Google Contacts (TechRepublic)

Make sure that your recipients lists don’t exceed Gmail sending limits or guidelines. One notable numeric constraint is that the utmost variety of recipients for a multi-send e mail is 1,500 e mail addresses. Do you have to ship this amount of e mail from an organizational deal with, you’ll be capable to ship 500 further e mail messages that day earlier than you attain the each day total restrict of two,000 messages.

SEE: The right way to ship mass emails from Gmail (TechRepublic)

The opposite important rule is to not ship spam: Make sure that the folks you e mail are individuals who need to obtain your e mail. By default, each multi-send e mail consists of an “Unsubscribe” hyperlink that enables a recipient to take away themselves from this checklist. Nonetheless, while you ship e mail internally — to folks inside your group — unsubscribing will not be an choice. In different phrases, folks could not be capable to unsubscribe from a multi-send inside message, similar to these less-than-useful emails from a pacesetter in your group who has mastered the artwork of the meaningless missive. In case you actually want to by no means see e mail from a selected particular person in your group, you might configure a filter to archive chosen emails mechanically.

The right way to insert mail merge fields in a multi-send Gmail

To create a brand new multi-send e mail, you’ll want to make use of a desktop-class browser, similar to Google Chrome as follows:

1. Go to Gmail.
2. Choose the Compose button within the higher left. (If the button isn’t displayed, choose the three horizontal line menu choice within the higher left nook after which choose Mail.) Alternatively, if keyboard shortcuts have been enabled, press the c key.
3. Choose the multi-send icon from the lower-right portion of the compose menu icons, as proven by the crimson field in Determine B. The icon shows as an envelope positioned in entrance of one other envelope. A textual content field conveys that “You’re utilizing multi-send mode” together with further textual content and a hyperlink to be taught extra.

Determine B

4. Add recipients (e.g., a set of recipients through a Google Contact label), an e mail topic and content material, a lot as you may in any commonplace Gmail.
5. Transfer your cursor within the textual content space of the e-mail to the place you want to insert your merge subject, then sort @ to entry accessible mail merge tags, as proven by the crimson circle in Determine B. As of March 2023, these embrace @firstname, @lastname, @fullname and @e mail.
6. Choose the specified e mail tag from the checklist.

After you’ve got entered all your multi-send e mail content material, choose the Proceed button. At that time, chances are you’ll choose:

• Cancel, which lets you return to modifying your e mail,
• Ship preview, to convey a duplicate of your e mail to your personal Inbox, so chances are you’ll fastidiously evaluation the e-mail content material, or
• Ship all, to carry out the merge, which sends an e mail to every chosen recipient.

Since, by definition, multi-send emails go to many recipients, ensure to preview each message earlier than sending. Inevitably, typos, errors, omissions and incorrect dates/instances have a tendency to stay effectively hidden and solely reveal themselves after you press Ship. Use the Ship preview choice, mixed with cautious proofreading to reduce errors.

If a number of recipients lack knowledge in a merge tag you’ve got used, the system will permit you to enter a default various (e.g., textual content to make use of when no first or final identify is current) or return to the draft and modify the recipient checklist to both add the lacking knowledge or take away the recipient. For instance, in case your e mail begins, “Hello @firstname!” you may select “there” for contacts that lack an entered first identify, which ends up in “Hello there!” textual content to these contacts.