5 benefits of using mail merge on Outlook to get more replies

Using the mail merge feature in Outlook can transform how you manage email campaigns and engage with your Outlook contacts. Especially if you want to find a way to send personalized emails at scale.

In this blog post, we look at what the Outlook mail merge tools consist of, benefits of using mail merge in your Outlook account and an alternative way to send bulk email messages with the help of AI to help you personalize it at scale.

What is the Outlook mail merge system?

Outlook's mail merge wizard is a feature that allows users to create a template email and send it to multiple recipients with personalized elements. You can personalize them by insert merge field to select the fields you want to integrate into your email like name or location.

There are four quick steps to start mail merge for your bulk email messages:

1. Create a database of your contacts in Excel spreadsheet,
2. Create a new email through the mail merge wizard,
3. Choose your mail merge recipients,
4. Preview your email body, edit individual emails and edit recipient list.
   

We have a step by step guide on how to use merge fields here.

5 benefits of using mail merge on Outlook

From enhanced personalization, to increased efficiency. There are a few benefits of using mail merge system in your Outlook account. Below are a few more.

1. Enhanced personalization for mass email campaigns

Mail merge allows you to create a mail merge field for each variable you want to personalize. This means you can go beyond {First Name} and a generic template and make room for more details such as:

• Referencing recent purchases or meetings,
• Mentioning specific interests.

This level of detail shows recipients that you recognize and value their unique preferences and history with your organization, significantly increasing the likelihood of engagement and responses.

2. Increased efficiency

Instead of crafting individual emails manually, you can prepare one template that automatically populates with individual data for multiple recipients. This saves a considerable amount of time and effort, allowing you to focus on other business priorities.

3. Multiple use cases on top emails

On top of sending bulk emails, you can use mail merge for multiple use cases including bulk email, letters, labels, and envelopes. You'll have to prepare a Microsoft Word document and use this to incorporate certain data into your mail merge such as:

• For letters: To include a personalized greeting. Each letter prints on a separate sheet of paper.
• For emails: So that each recipient's address is the only address on the To line and sent directly from Microsoft Office Word.
• For envelopes or labels: Where names and addresses come from your data source.
• For a catalog merge: That lists a batch of information for each item in your data source. Use it to print out your contact list, or to list groups of information.

4. Improved accuracy

With mail merge, the risk of mistakes such as misspelling names or entering wrong information is greatly reduced. The data is pulled directly from your connected database, ensuring that each recipient gets the correct information.

5. Improved tracking

Mail merge tools are also handy to help set up unique identifiers for each email, such as specific subject lines or embedded tracking links. This allows for easier tracking and management of responses. You can quickly identify which campaign or email prompts more engagement and tailor your approach based on real-time feedback and results.

Alternative mail merge process

If you don't want the fuss of using a step by step mail merge wizard or setting up a mail merge document each time you want to personalize a bulk email campaign in Microsoft Outlook, using a CRM such as folk is a good idea.

folk for mail merge in Outlook and Gmail

If you tend to use Outlook contacts and have some in your Google contacts, folk is an all-in-one CRM that can help merge your address book in one place. This way, you'll benefit from a real-time sync to keep all your contact information up-to-date without having to dive into a Microsoft excel sheet or Word document each time.

Key features:

• Mail merge: folk's mail merge software lets you send ultra-personalized emails in bulk from your own domain. It can support multiple emails including Gmail and Outlook so you don't need to be limited to a default email program.
• Email marketing automation: folk's AI tool 'Magic Field' allows you to create custom variables to personalize mass mailings with relevant information from your data.
• Contact management and sync: folk can keep your contact information up to date across all your email accounts using real-time sync so you don't have to go into each one separately, each time you have to update a contact. You can also create custom fields in your address book to distinguish contacts by industry, company and more.
• Pipeline management: folk is highly customizable and can be used in listicle form or Kanban-board view so it can align with your internal sales cycle, marketing campaign, recruitment process and more.
• Database template library: If you want to get started quickly, use these database templates by folk that are highly customizable. You can change the column headers, current view and correct fields.
• Email message templates: folk X is a free Chrome extension that comes with a basic folk account and can help you build your own email template library so you can focus on the personalized mail bit.

Conclusion

Using the mail merge feature in Outlook can transform how you manage email campaigns and engage with your audience. But if you have a mailing list in both Gmail and Outlook, a CRM such as folk can help you capture personalized information from each contact and keep your contacts folder up to date.

More resources

• How to use Mail Merge in Outlook (and 5 alternatives)
• Top 10 best mail merge software in 2024

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