How To Mail Merge
Those who don’t have a job that require sending out a large amount emails may not know why mail merge is a lifesaver. Publicists call mail merge their best friend because it’s the easiest way to send out mass emails while still being able to personalize it. Of course, it’s not needed for every email but it is amazingly helpful when it comes to press releases, certain pitches and press invites. As publicists, we want to get hundreds of editors’ and writers’ eyeballs on something as quickly as possible.
If you have Gmail, it will be a piece of cake to get the hang of mail merge if you follow the simple steps below:
Step 1 - Open a blank email and add your subject line. Add your opening to you email and make sure to add {{First Name}} after your opening greeting. It has to match this format exactly. For example, it should look like this: Hi {{First Name}},
Next, add the body of your email and your closing signature. Leave the typed-out email open.
Step 2 - Open Google Sheets and create two columns, the first one titled “First Name” and the second “Email”
Add your list of contacts by adding their first name in the first column and their email in the second.
Step 3 - Once your contacts are added, it’s time to begin the mail merge. On the top toolbar section, click on “Add-ons” and then click on Yet Another Mail Merge and then click “start mail merge”.
When the pop-up appears, make sure your name is in the box that says “Sender Name” and under “Email Template” in the drop-down menu, pick the subject line for the email and then click start mail merge on the button. (Caveat – You may have to go to https://yet-another-mail-merge.com/ to purchase a specific plan to be able to send more emails. It’s very reasonably priced).
Once your emails have been sent out, you will receive a tracking report to your email, that will give you a breakdown of how many recipients opened your email. On the google sheet, it will also show which recipients opened your email, did not open it and if there were any bounce backs.
Now you’re all set! Go forth and send those emails!
