This is a benefit of sending bulk emails with names in a personal way using Outlook because it keeps that personal feel. You can use Microsoft Word and easily send bulk emails to recipients at once. With Mail Merge, this feature works hand in hand with Outlook; here’s how to do it and send bulk emails in Outlook with individual names step by step:
1. Ready Your Mailing List
There must be a list of all recipients with names and email addresses. This can be established in an Excel sheet. To do that:
- Create columns for each piece of information (such as Name, E-mail).
- Write in the names and email addresses of the recipient in their columns.
- Save your Excel file when you are done compiling your list.
2. Preparing Your Email Template Using Word
You will create the letter you want to send in Microsoft Word. To create a mail merge:
- Open Microsoft Word.
- Click in the menu at the top of the page: Mailings Tab.
- You are going to receive a drop down menu; click Start Mail Merge and select Email Messages.
- Now, write your body of the email as you would if writing an email.
3. Add Your Excel Contact List
Once you have composed your letter, you will then embed your Excel contact list to Word:
- Open your Mailings tab, then click Select Recipients.
- Choose Use an Existing List and open the saved Excel file.
- Select the worksheet containing your list of contacts and then click OK.
4. Insert Merge Fields
In order for every recipient to be addressed by individual names:
- Put your cursor where you would like the recipient’s name to go in your email.
- Open the Mailings tab and click Insert Merge Field.
- Choose the Name field or whatever column name you’ve defined in Excel for the recipient’s name.
If you want your email to begin “Hello [Name], ” you would type “Hello ” and then paste the merge field for the recipient’s name after this.
5. Preview Your Emails
Before you send preview how your emails will look:
- Preview In the Mailings tab you can preview what each email will look with the individual names inserted.
- Use the arrow buttons to view the emails for different recipients.
6. Send Your Bulk Emails
Having previewed your email you can now send the emails:
- In the Mailings tab click Finish & Merge.
- Select Send E-Mail Messages.
- In the popup dialog box, choose the column that includes the email addresses-that is usually the “Email” column from your Excel list.
- Enter your subject line for the email message in the appropriate box.
- Click OK and Outlook will then start sending the emails one at a time.
7. Check Your Outlook Sent Folder
Now go to your Outlook Sent Items folder after sending all the emails and check whether they are delivered or not.
Best Practices of Sending Bulk Emails in Outlook
- Check Before Sending To All: You have to test for the check by sending the email to yourself or a small group so everything will be fine.
- Do Not Forget to Overlook the Sending Limitations by Outlook: There are usually some daily limits of email sending based on the mail provider. If your list is huge, split it into portions so you will not be flagged as spamming.
- Make it Personal: With mail merge, recipients never see one another’s email addresses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I use more than names?
A: Yes, you can add many fields from your Excel sheet, like company names, locations and whatever else you want to import. Make sure that all the information you add goes into a different column.
Q: I do not have Microsoft Word or Excel?
A: You can duplicate the same by using free alternatives in Google Docs and Google Sheets. You could have contact lists on Google Sheets, and you could even use add-ons like “Mail Merge with Attachments” in Google Docs to send individual emails.
Q: Are there open rates so that I may know if my emails were opened by the recipients?
A: Mail merge is not natively reporting on opens in the Outlook environment. However, there are third-party tools and services that you can use in conjunction with Outlook to track opens.
Q: How many emails can I send out at one time before Outlook gets me on its spammer list?
A: It depends on your email provider and the kind of Outlook account you are using. For standard accounts, they usually have approximately 300 emails per day. For paid Outlook accounts, it could be much more. It is very essential to note that your best practices will result in appropriate steps to avoid spam filters.
Conclusion
The ease of mail merge is that one uses it with Microsoft Word when sending a ton of emails and keeping them personalized. This will ensure every recipient receives an email with his name in it and reaches quite a number of people personally. Just don’t forget to double-check before hitting that send button!