ContactMonkey's Mail Merge feature is a quick and easy way to send out personalized emails to a large group of recipients. This can be done using pre-existing Distribution lists / Groups, CSV files, or by manually entering recipients. All you have to do it follow the easy steps below.
1. Click on the Mail Merge button below the compose button on the left side of the screen.
You should see a new message pop up that has the following options:
- "Agg" refers to overall tracking, which will report total/overall statistics as opposed to an individual break down of opens and clicks. If you select "Agg" you will not be able to use Merge Fields. For more details on overall vs individual tracking, please refer to this article.
- SFDC is for Salesforce subscriptions only. For more information, please read here.
- Send Later is not an option for the Sales Tool.
2. Enter all recipients (or a distribution list/group) in the "Send merge to" field.
The "To" field will act similarly to Bcc for generic emails, whereby recipients cannot see who else has received the email.
Alternatively, you can choose to upload a CSV file using the button in the top right of the new message window. More information on CSV formatting can be found here.
3. Use the orange button in the bottom right corner to add merge fields such as "First Name" or "Company Name" in the Subject line or email text.
This information comes from your Contacts or the CSV file uploaded, in which case the fields will reflect the specific column headings from your file.
OR
Use a template that you or your team have created.
Click on the blue "Templates" button to access existing templates from the ContactMonkey sidebar. You can also create a template by filling out the email body text, clicking the blue "Templates" button, and then selecting "Save New Template" in the ContactMonkey sidebar.
Please note that Gmail templates differ from Salesforce templates. For more information regarding Salesforce templates, please refer to this article.
4. Click the green "Preview" button.
This will open up a new window in Chrome breaking down whether all your personalized fields are working.
- Green boxes indicate that the field is working, so the recipient will receive an email with that information filled in.
- Red boxes indicate that this information cannot be found in your contacts or CSV file. It may be missing, or may be formatted incorrectly.
Your mail merge will not send properly unless all fields are green.
5. Hit "Send Merge" and your mail merge will now begin to send to the recipients. We recommend leaving Gmail open while the email is sending.
1. Click on the arrow to the right of the "Mail Merge" button on the top right and select "Mail Merge on the Desktop".
Please note that "Mail Merge with Office 365" is for the Internal Communications tool. You should not be able to select this option.
This will open a new email and a sidebar to the left with "First Name", "Company Name", and other personalized fields. Above this sidebar, under the "Message" section of the Outlook ribbon, are options for sending the mail merge.
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"Track Aggregate" will report total/overall statistics as opposed to an individual break down of opens and clicks. If you select "Track Aggregate" you will not be able to use Merge Fields. For more details on overall vs individual tracking, please refer to this article.
- If the button is dark grey (such as "Track Email" and "Track Links" in the image above), this means that it has been selected.
- "Design HTML" and "Import HTML" (if you cannot see these features in the top left corner, click into the 3 dots in the top right corner to access them) is for setting up and using your own HTML templates.
- The arrow below "Design HTML" will open your preferences.
2. Enter all recipients (or a distribution list) in the "To" field.
The "To" field will act similarly to Bcc for generic emails, whereby recipients cannot see who else has received the email.
Alternatively, you can choose to upload a CSV file using the button in the top beside "Track Aggregate." Once you have uploaded the file, your name will be inserted into the "To" field as a place holder. You do not have to remove it or add anything. More information on CSV formatting can be found here.
3. Personalize the email by dragging in the fields from the sidebar on the left or by double clicking them.
This information comes from your Contacts or the CSV file uploaded, in which case the fields will reflect the specific column headings from your file.
If you are a Salesforce user, you will also see an option for Salesforce templates in the right-hand sidebar under the settings icon. For more information regarding Salesforce templates, please refer to this article.
4. Click the "Preview" button in the top left corner (if you cannot see this features in the top left corner, click into the 3 dots in the top right corner to access)
You will see a bar pop up at the bottom of your new email window.
Click on the arrows to expand the preview.
- Green boxes indicate that the field is working, so the recipient will receive an email with that information filled in.
- Red boxes indicate that this information cannot be found in your contacts or CSV file. It may be missing, or may be formatted incorrectly.
Your mail merge will not send properly unless all fields are green.
5. Hit Send! Your mail merge is now ready to go. We recommend leaving Outlook open while the email is sending.