$100 million B2B cold email strategist, Alex Berman, dedicated his success with cold emails to one thing: personalization.

According to him, sending personalized emails is the one thing that matters the most.

As anyone who send out customized emails or text messages before, it takes time and effort to achieve winning personalization.

But thankfully, there’s a way to simplify the process and achieve scale by sending emails in bulk.

In this blog post, we will explain how to send personalized bulk emails in Gmail for free using a technique called mail merge.

We will utilize the combination of Google Sheets and Gmail to accomplish this without the need for CC or BCC fields or any third-party software.

By the end of the article, you’ll be blasting personalized emails legally and ethically.

Setting up the mail merge

First, let’s get all the ingredients in place before preparing the tasty recipe.

To get started with the mail merge process, we need to set up the necessary tools and resources.

So, follow the steps below:

Make a copy of the Google Sheets template provided by the Google Developers official app script directory.

This template already includes the mail merge script that we will be using.

Once you have made a copy of the Google Sheets template, it will be duplicated to your Google Drive account. You will see various mail merge fields or columns in the sheet.

It is important to note that there are certain columns you should not edit.

These include the “Recipient” column and the “Email Sent” column:

• The “Recipient” column is where you should add the recipient emails, but do not edit the name.
• The “Email Sent” column will be automatically populated with the date stamp when the script starts sending out the emails.

Customizing the email

As already said, customization is key. After all, targeted emails generate 58% of total revenue.

Now that we have the ingredients in place let’s move on to preparing the dish, which is customizing the email.

This step is crucial to ensure that each recipient receives a personalized email.

For a better understanding of the process, consider a scenario where you want to send a guest post outreach email to various websites.

In this below example, you have columns for the first name of the website owner, their email address, the website URL, and a compliment:

To personalize the email, you will use merge fields, which are placeholders for the data from the Google Sheets columns. For example, you can include the website owner’s first name in the email by enclosing the column name in curly braces, like {first_name}:

Open Gmail and create a draft email. In the draft, include the subject line and the email content, using the merge fields to insert the recipient-specific information dynamically. For example, the subject line could be “Regarding Guest Post: {website_owner_name}”

It’s recommended to have both the Google Sheets and Gmail windows open side by side for easy reference.

Copy and paste the column names from the Google Sheets into the draft email, enclosing them in curly braces.

Make sure to review and proofread the draft email to ensure accuracy and personalization. Would you like to continue with the next heading?

Creating and sending the draft email

Now that you have customized the email, it’s time to create and send the draft email to your recipients.

For that, follow these steps:

In Gmail, go to the draft email that you have created with the personalized merge fields.

Use the mail merge script in Google Sheets to send the emails. This script will automatically populate the merge fields with the corresponding recipient data from the Google Sheets.

Before sending the emails, you will need to complete the authorization process. Select your email account and grant the necessary permissions for the script to access your Gmail account.

Once the authorization is complete, click on the “Send Emails” button in the mail merge script. It will prompt you to enter the subject line of the draft email that you created.

After entering the subject line, click “OK” to start the process of locating the email, replacing the merge fields with the recipient-specific information, and sending out the emails.

The script may take a few seconds to complete the sending process. Once it’s done, you will see the date stamps automatically inserted in the “Email Sent” column of the Google Sheets.

Reviewing the sent emails

You’ve sent out the emails, but the job is not done yet.

After sending out personalized bulk emails, it is important to review and track the progress of your email campaign.

This can be done by checking the date stamps in the Google Sheets where the Mail Merge script is used.

The date stamps indicate when each email was sent.

You can also take a look at an example of a sent email to get a better understanding of how the personalized content is presented.

In the email, you will notice that variables such as the recipient’s first name, website, and guest post topic have been replaced with the relevant information.

This adds a personal touch to the email and increases the chances of engagement from the recipients. It’s necessary as about 89% businesses have embraced personalized marketing.

By reviewing the sent emails, you can assess the effectiveness of your personalized bulk email campaign and make any necessary adjustments or improvements.

Furthermore, it allows you to track the responses and engagement levels, helping you measure the success of your outreach efforts.

Remember to keep track of the date stamps and analyze the responses received to gain insights into the impact of your personalized emails. This information will be valuable for refining your email outreach strategy and achieving better results in future campaigns.

Additional tips and considerations

I’m a big believer of improvement. I believe we can always improve upon an existing piece and make it better (that’s why BloggingX is among the most read blogs!).

When using Gmail for sending personalized bulk emails, there are a few important tips and considerations to keep in mind:

• Free Gmail account email limit: Free Gmail accounts have a daily sending limit of 500 emails.
• Upgrade to Google Workspace: Consider upgrading to Google Workspace for higher email limits, up to 2000 emails per day, based on your plan.

By keeping these tips and considerations in mind, you can effectively send personalized bulk emails in Gmail and make the most out of this free and powerful feature.

Wrapping up

In conclusion, sending personalized bulk emails in Gmail for free using the Mail Merge script is a game-changer. With just Google Sheets and Gmail, you can easily customize and send personalized emails without any fancy software.

The process is simple: set up the mail merge, tweak the email with merge fields, send it out, and check the results.

The best part?

Each email feels like it was crafted just for the recipient. By using merge fields, you can address people by their names, include personalized compliments, and make a lasting impression. It’s a surefire way to grab their attention and stand out from the crowd.

Keep in mind that there are some limitations.

With a free Gmail account, you can send up to 500 emails per day. If you need to send more, you might want to consider upgrading to Google Workspace for higher limits.

We hope this guide has inspired you to try sending personalized bulk emails in Gmail for free. If you have any questions or need further help, drop us a comment below. And don’t forget to subscribe to our channel for more awesome tips and tricks!