Use mail merge to send bulk email messages

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Before you begin, open a blank document in Word and type the body of the email message you want to send.

To send an email, a MAPI-compatible email program like Outlook or Gmail needs to be installed.

Step 1: Prepare your main document

• Go to Mailings > Start Mail Merge > E-mail Messages.

  

Step 2: Set up your mailing list

The mailing list is your data source. For more info, see Data sources you can use for a mail merge.

Tips

• If you don't have a mailing list, you can create one during mail merge.

• If you're using an Excel spreadsheet, format the ZIP Codes or postal codes column as text to preserve any zeros. For more info see Format mail merge numbers, dates, and other values in Excel.

• If you want to use your Outlook contacts, make sure Outlook is your default email program and the same versions as Word.

Step 3: Link your mailing list to your email message

Make sure your data source has a column for email addresses and that there's an email address for everyone you're sending email to.

1. Go to Mailings > Select Recipients.

2. Choose a data source. For more info, see Data sources you can use for a mail merge.

3. Choose File > Save.

If you need to edit, sort, or filter your mailing list, see Mail merge: Edit recipients.

Step 4: Add personalized content to the email message

1. Go to Mailings > Greeting Line.

2. Choose the format you want to use.

3. Choose OK to insert the merge field.

4. Choose File > Save .

You can add other fields from your data source to your email message. For more information, see Insert mail merge fields.

Note: You'll need to format your email manually after inserting fields.

If any part of your address or other fields are missing, see Mail merge: Match Fields to fix.

To change the font, size, or spacing of the merged content, select the merge field name and make the changes you want.

Step 5: Preview and finish

1. Choose Preview Results, and then choose Next or Previous to see the names and addresses in the body of your letter.

   

2. Choose Finish & Merge > Send E-mail Messages.

   

3. In the To box, choose the email address column or field from your mailing list.

   Note: Word sends an individual message to each email address. You can't Cc or Bcc other recipients. You can include links, but you can't add attachments to the email.

4. In the Subject line box, type a subject line for the message.

5. In the Mail format box, choose HTML (the default setting) or Plain text to send the document as the body of the email message.

6. Under Send records, use one of the following:

   • All records (default).

   • Current record only the record viewable on your screen is sent the message.

   • From and To send only a range of records.

7. Choose OK to run mail merge.

Step 6: Save the personalized message

Go to File > Save. When you save the main document, you also save its connection to the data source. To reuse, open the document and answer Yes when prompted to keep the connection to the data source.

See also

• Use mail merge to create and send bulk mail, labels, and envelopes

• Mail merge - A free, 10 minute, video training

Before you begin, open a blank document in Word and type the body of the email message you want to send.

To send an email, a MAPI-compatible email program like Outlook or Gmail needs to be installed.

Step 1: Create a main document in Word

1. Go to Mailings > Start Mail Merge > Email Messages.

   

2. In Word, type the email message you want to send.

Step 2: Set up your mailing list

The mailing list is your data source. For more info, see Data sources you can use for a mail merge.

Tips

• If you don't have a mailing list, you can create one during mail merge.

• If you're using an Excel spreadsheet, format the ZIP Codes or postal codes column as text to preserve any zeros. For more info see Format mail merge numbers, dates, and other values in Excel.

• If you want to use your Outlook contacts, make sure Outlook is your default email program and is the same version as Word.

Step 3: Link your mailing list to your email message

Make sure your data source has a column for email addresses and that there's an email address for everyone you're sending email to.

1. Go to Mailings > Select Recipients.

2. Choose a data source. For more info, see Data sources you can use for a mail merge.

3. Choose File > Save.

If you need to edit, sort, or filter your mailing list, see Mail merge: Edit recipients.

Step 4: Add and format merge fields

1. Go to Mailings > Insert Merge Field, and then choose the fields to add.

   

2. In your main document, select Drag fields into this box or type text, and click or tap the text to remove it.

3. Add and format the fields you want to be included in the email message, and choose OK.

Step 5: Preview and send email messages

1. Go to Mailings > Preview Results to see how the email messages look.

   

   Use the left and right arrow buttons on the Mailings tab, to scroll through each email message.

2. Select Preview Results again to add or remove merge fields.

3. When ready, go to Mailings > Finish & Merge > Merge to E-Mail.

   Merge to E-Mail is unavailable if you have not selected your default email program.

4. Choose the To merge field, the subject, and whether to send as text, HTML, or as an attachment. When you send as an attachment, the email has no body text, but the message is sent as an attached document.

5. Select Mail Merge To Outbox.