The Excel spreadsheet to be used in the mail merge is stored on your local machine. Changes or additions to your spreadsheet are completed before it's connected to your mail merge document in Word. For more information, see Prepare your Excel data source for mail merge in Word. Connect and edit the mailing list. Connect to your data source. Click the “Home” tab in Outlook and then click the “Mail Merge” button. The Mail Merge button is found in the Actions group. 3 Click “All contacts in current view” under the Contacts header.
When you need to send a large number of personalized emails, but not enough to justify using a full marketing automation platform, mail merge can be a powerful tool. We have put together this step-by-step explanation on how to mail merge and set up emails sent to relatively large mailing lists using Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Word with Windows.
Mail Merge Using Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel) and Outlook in Windows
Step 1 - Compose your message
Using Word, create a new document that includes your full message to recipients. Use temporary placeholders for first name, last name, and any other details you would like to personalize in the final text. These can be added in a later step. Save the file to your local drive.
Step 2 - Create your mailing list
Using Excel, and again saving to your local drive, create a new workbook that includes separate columns First Name, Last Name, Email Address, and any details you’d like to include to personalize the message. Make sure all of the data you need is contained in Sheet 1 of the workbook.
Step 3 – Mail Merge
Open the Word document created in Step 1 and follow the step-by-step below in Word’s Mail Merge Manager under Tools > Mail Merge Manager.
1. Select Document Type
Select the radio dial for “E-mail messages” and click next at the bottom of the sidebar.
2. Select Starting Document
Having already opened the drafted email, select “Use the current document,” then click next.
3. Select Recipients
Select “Use an existing list” then browse for the file created in Step 2.
Optionally filter or sort recipients if you would like to send the message to only a portion of those in the Excel file by selecting “Edit recipient list…”
4. Write your letter
This was completed in Step 1, but you can make any adjustments to the e-mail message now as well.
If you added any personalization aspects in Step 1, select “More items…” on this screen. For each personalization aspect in your email, place the cursor in the correct location, then select the corresponding field and click “Insert.”
How To Mail Merge Excel To Outlook
5. Preview your letters
Make sure your personalization inserts have worked properly with the recipient list.
Outlook Email Mail Merge Excel
6. Complete Merge
Mail Merge Excel To Outlook
Select the right-most icon to generate email message. Make sure that Outlook is set as your computer’s default email program.