Gmail is not only one of the best e-mail accounts you can register to send and receive emails but it is also an excellent online tool for managing e-mails, whatever the address you have. You can add labels, stars, create multiple mailboxes, set filters and configure many different options to customize mail management.
Also, with Gmail, you can use scripts that automate some operations.
In other articles we have seen:
- Receive an SMS when an email arrives on Gmail
- Generate statistics and personal reports on the use of Gmail.
On this occasion we see how to send personalized e-mail messages to multiple contacts at once, with a single e-mail, with the function of " Print Union ".
The mail merge technique, also included in the functions of Microsoft Outlook, allows you to send messages via e-mail in which there are variable fields that automatically change according to the list of addresses to which the message is sent.
Practically, you can send the same message with written:
" Hi NAME,
How are you, I wanted to invite you to this event tomorrow.
Your reservation number is NUMBER ".
The pattern of the message therefore remains the same for each email that changes the NAME and NUMBER according to the address to which it is sent.
With the support of Google Docs (Google Drive) and Google Script, you can now easily create and send a mail merge in Gmail.
1) First of all, create the email template in Gmail to send to a group of people.
The model can be saved as a draft or as a predefined answer.
In the model, you have to replace the variable terms by putting with a word like $% Name% .
For example, if you want to customize the name of the person to whom the email is sent, replace the name with " $% Name% " or "" $% first_name% ".
2) Open Google Drive and create a new spreadsheet.
In the first row of the table, enter the terms that are used in the email template in Gmail and in the last field of the first row, write " Email Address ".
3) Fill in the spreadsheet by writing the list of Email addresses to which the message will be sent under the " Email Address " column and customize the other fields by writing the various names.
4) Add a Google script.
Install the Yet Another Mail Merge extension on Chrome.
Back in the spreadsheet, you should see a new menu in the toolbar called " Mail Merge " in the toolbar (Mail Merge means Mail Merge).
Then click on " Mail Merge -> Standard Merge ", select the model created previously and send the Mail to all the addresses written on the table.
After sending, a new column called Merge Status appears in the spreadsheet in the toolbar to be informed about the success of the sending.
The spreadsheet used for mail merge can be reused when you just want to remove the Merge Status column the next time.
The mail merge also works with Google Apps or any other email address that is associated with Gmail.
If there are problems, you can also try another of the Merge Mail scripts from those available in the Script Gallery.
Keep in mind that Gmail doesn't allow you to send more than 500 Email messages per day.
