A mail merge is one of the most efficient ways to mass communicate with a huge number of people at the same time. There are many different types of mail merge tools and software available, however, it’s difficult to find a tool that takes care of the process from start to finish. When you do, these are often extremely complex or expensive.
Mass emails are a key communication tool used in almost every single business today. Not only can they be used for internal communication (such as monthly business briefings or reports), but they can also be used to communicate externally with clients or customers (such as newsletters or product updates).
Finding a way to directly transfer the data from your Excel spreadsheet into an email template and send it to all recipients is the most streamlined and productive method. Luckily, with Sheetgo, you can easily create a mail merge from a simple Excel in just a few simple steps, and even automate the entire process. Let’s explore in more detail how to create a mail merge from Excel using the Sheetgo web app.
How to create a mail merge from Excel
Sheetgo mail merge
Using the Sheetgo web app, you can automatically transfer data from your Excel spreadsheet into a customized email template that’s ready to send out your mass email to recipients in just a few simple steps. Unlike the Excel mail merge feature and other tools, Sheetgo offers additional benefits and features, such as:
- Transfer data straight from your spreadsheet: Sheetgo makes mail merge simple. When you create your email, Sheetgo will directly transfer the email data from your Excel file and add them as your email recipients for you.
- Smart tags for personalized mass emails: Customize your mass email to each and every individual with no effort at all. Sheetgo offers a way for you to add personalized information by automatically extracting the data from your spreadsheet.
- Gmail integration: Sheetgo has Gmail integration so that you can directly send emails from your Gmail account, whilst experiencing the benefits of mass emailing through Gmail.
- Automatic process: Sheetgo automates your workflow from start to finish; from automatic data transfer from your Excel spreadsheet to automating the sending process.
How to create a mail merge from Excel
Let’s say I am a Marketing manager, and I need to send out a monthly newsletter to all of my company’s customers. I have a huge database full of the data of each client, including their full name and email address:
Using the Sheetgo web app, I can connect my spreadsheet to the Email feature, where I can type out my newsletter.
Then, Sheetgo will automatically take the email addresses from my spreadsheet and send my email to each recipient via Gmail in just a few moments.
1. Sign up for Sheetgo
Sheetgo
It’s easy to sign up for Sheetgo! Simply log in with your Google, Microsoft, or Dropbox account to get started.
2. Create a new workflow
In the Sheetgo web app, click New workflow. Select Connect files. Make sure to name your new workflow clearly in the top-left field.
3. Connect your source data
In order to upload your Excel file, click Single file. Search for and add your spreadsheet file name. Make sure that you also select the correct tab where your data is located.
When finished, click Next.
Next, scroll to the ‘Generate’ section and select Email.
4. Add email addresses
Sheetgo gives you the option to either manually enter email addresses, or to transfer the email addresses located in your Excel file. Let’s explore how to perform both options:
Use custom recipients
With this option, you can manually enter email addresses of your choosing. This is a good option for communication with smaller groups of people, such as your department.
Simply select the Use custom recipients option and enter email addresses into the field.
Get dynamically from column
By selecting this option, Sheetgo will automatically recognize email addresses in a column within your Excel spreadsheet and add them as your recipients. This is great if you have a large database full of emails, saving you lots of time and effort.
To use this option, select the Get dynamically from column option and select the column containing the email addresses in your Excel, using the dropdown menu. As you can see, in my example, customers’ email addresses are located in Column C.
5. Create your email
Now that you have connected your spreadsheet to the Email feature, it’s now time to create your email content.
You can directly type in your email into the text box. Sheetgo offers different formatting options, including headers, bullet points, and action buttons.
Don’t forget to customize the subject line too!
6. Optional: insert smart tags to personalize your email
Looking to personalize your mass email? Sheetgo can take each column from your spreadsheet and turn them into buttons called Smart tags. When you add these to your email content, Sheetgo will automatically substitute these with the specific data from that column, for each row.
Let’s say I want to personalize my email by adding a quick welcome message. I can use the First name smart tag in this text. As a result, each customer who receives the email will see their first name in the welcome message.
Once you’re happy with your email, click Finish and save.
How do I send a mass email from Excel?
And there you have it! Using the Sheetgo web app, not only can you create a mail merge from your own Excel file, but you can also experience the added benefits of customizing with smart tags, and connecting directly with your Gmail account.
Interested in finding out more about how you can personalize your emails using Sheetgo? Take a look at our article on How to send personalized mass emails.
Alternatively, check out our related blog posts below.
