Send Bulk Personalized Emails in Gmail (Workspace Mail Merge Guide), by Ark Coding on YouTube. 2 min 17 s.
- Video length
- 2 min 17 s
- Time to do it
- 15 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Open Google Sheets and build your contact list. Put each piece of information in its own column, such as First name, Email and Company, with one person per row.
Check that your account supports mail merge. It is a Google Workspace feature, so a free personal Gmail account may not show it. On a work account, ask your IT admin if the option is missing.
In Gmail, click Compose and write your message. Leave the To field empty and keep the subject line simple, because personalization is applied to the body text.
Click the Mail merge icon in the compose toolbar. If you cannot see it, look in the three-dot More options menu, or ask your admin to switch the feature on.
Pick your spreadsheet from Drive, then choose the sheet and the header row that holds your column names. Gmail uses those headings to match each field.
Insert your personalized fields. Type @ in the body and choose a column name, or select it from the list, so each email shows that person's own details.
Add an unsubscribe link if you are emailing a group. The built-in option gives people a way to opt out and helps your message avoid looking like spam.
Click Send Preview to check the first few emails. Confirm the names and details landed in the right places, then click Send to start the batch.
Tips and common mistakes
Column headings in your sheet must match your @tags exactly, or the field will come through blank.
Send a preview to a few of your own addresses before you mail the whole list.
Keep subject lines plain and the same for everyone, since personalization only applies to the body for now.
Check your account's daily sending limit before a big batch, or the rest of the list will fail.
Questions
Does mail merge work in a free Gmail account?
Usually not. It is a Google Workspace feature and some admins turn it off, so test it before you build a large campaign.
Can I personalize the subject line?
Gmail mail merge personalizes the body of the email. Keep the subject line simple and identical for every recipient.
What if a field comes through blank?
The @tag probably does not match a column heading. Rename the column so it matches exactly, then run Send Preview again.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
