Send Personalized Emails with SMTP and Mail Merge in Google Sheets

Send Personalized Emails with SMTP and Mail Merge in Google Sheets

Sending personalized emails can significantly improve your engagement rates and strengthen relationships with your audience. By combining SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) and Mail Merge with Google Sheets, you can automate this process while maintaining a personal touch. In this blog, I’ll guide you step-by-step on how to send personalized emails using Google Sheets and SMTP, leveraging Mail Merge to customize each email with ease.

Table of Contents:

1. What is SMTP and Mail Merge?
2. Why Use Google Sheets for Mail Merge?
3. Setting Up SMTP for Sending Emails
4. Step-by-Step Guide: Mail Merge with Google Sheets
5. Tools and Add-ons for Email Automation
6. Visual Charts and Tables for Understanding the Workflow
7. Tips for Successful Email Campaigns
8. Conclusion and Resources

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1. What is SMTP and Mail Merge?

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the standard protocol used to send emails across the internet. It helps in delivering emails from your client (Google Sheets in this case) to your recipients’ email servers. SMTP allows you to send bulk emails without restrictions, provided your SMTP server is correctly configured.

Mail Merge is a process that allows you to send personalized messages to multiple recipients. It pulls data (such as names, emails, and other personalized content) from a data source like Google Sheets and inserts it into your email template.

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2. Why Use Google Sheets for Mail Merge?

Google Sheets is an easy and accessible tool for storing and managing data. You can use it as your central database to personalize emails using various fields (name, company, message, etc.). The combination of Google Sheets with SMTP Mail Merge allows you to:

• Send hundreds of personalized emails at once.
• Track responses and manage email campaigns effectively.
• Automate routine communication (such as newsletters, thank-you emails, or invitations).
• Avoid the limitations of traditional email platforms.

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3. Setting Up SMTP for Sending Emails

Before you can send personalized emails using Google Sheets and Mail Merge, you need to set up an SMTP server. Follow the steps below:

Step-by-Step SMTP Setup:

1. Choose an SMTP Provider: Popular options include Gmail, Sendinblue, Mailgun, and SendGrid. (Note: Gmail’s SMTP is limited to 100 emails/day for free users.)
2. Obtain SMTP Server Credentials: Once you sign up for a service, you will be provided with SMTP server details such as:
   • SMTP Server: smtp.gmail.com (example for Gmail)
   • Port: 465 (SSL) or 587 (TLS)
   • Username: your email address
   • Password: your email password or app-specific password.
3. Test the SMTP Connection: Ensure that your SMTP setup works by sending a test email using an email client (e.g., Outlook, Thunderbird) before moving on.

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4. Step-by-Step Guide: Mail Merge with Google Sheets

Step 1: Prepare Your Data in Google Sheets

1. Open Google Sheets and create a spreadsheet with columns for the data you want to use (e.g., Email, Name, Subject, Message).
2. Example columns:
   • Column A: Recipient Email
   • Column B: Name
   • Column C: Custom Subject
   • Column D: Personalized Message

Email	Name	Subject	Message
user1@gmail.com	John	Welcome to Team!	Dear John, Welcome…
user2@gmail.com	Sarah	Let’s Connect	Hi Sarah, Let’s…
user3@yahoo.com	Mike	Thanks for Joining	Hi Mike, Thanks…

Step 2: Use a Mail Merge Add-on

To automate the process, you’ll need a Mail Merge add-on for Google Sheets, such as Yet Another Mail Merge (YAMM) or Mail Merge with Attachments.

• Install the add-on from the Google Workspace Marketplace.
• Grant necessary permissions for the add-on to access your data and send emails on your behalf.

Step 3: Compose Your Email Template

1. Open Gmail or your preferred email client.
2. Write a draft email with placeholders for the dynamic fields. For example:
   • “Dear {{Name}},”
   • “We are pleased to have you join us at {{Company}}.”
3. Save this email as a draft.

Step 4: Perform the Mail Merge

1. In your Google Sheet, go to the add-on menu.
2. Select the Mail Merge tool (YAMM or others).
3. Choose your email draft and specify where to pull the recipient data from.
4. Send a test email to yourself to verify everything works.
5. Send the email to your list.

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5. Tools and Add-ons for Email Automation

• Yet Another Mail Merge (YAMM): Highly recommended for Gmail users; easy to set up and allows personalization with Google Sheets data.
• Mail Merge with Attachments: For adding attachments and working with Gmail.
• GMass: A more advanced option for users who want deeper analytics and automatic follow-ups.

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6. Visual Charts and Tables for Understanding the Workflow

Mail Merge Process Diagram

mermaidCopy codegraph LR
    A[Google Sheet] --> B[Mail Merge Add-On]
    B --> C[SMTP Server]
    C --> D[Recipient Mailbox]
    B --> E[Personalized Email]

Comparison Table for SMTP Providers

SMTP Provider	Free Tier Limit	Daily Send Limit	Paid Tier Cost (monthly)	Security Features
Gmail	100 emails/day	500 emails/day	$6+ for Google Workspace	SSL/TLS encryption
Sendinblue	300 emails/day	40,000 emails/day	$25/month	Advanced features
Mailgun	5,000 emails/month	Unlimited	$35/month	API and tracking
SendGrid	100 emails/day	100,000 emails/day	$15/month	IP management

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7. Tips for Successful Email Campaigns

1. Personalize as Much as Possible: Using the recipient’s name, company, and specific details significantly increases engagement.
2. Test Before Sending: Always send a test email to yourself to ensure the layout and personalization fields work as expected.
3. Monitor SMTP Quotas: Ensure you don’t exceed the limits set by your SMTP provider to avoid email throttling or delivery issues.
4. Track Open Rates: Use tools like YAMM or GMass to track who opened and clicked on your emails, helping you refine future campaigns.
5. Use a Clear Call-to-Action: Make sure each email has a clear objective, like clicking a link, filling out a form, or responding.

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8. Conclusion and Resources

Mail Merge combined with SMTP in Google Sheets is a powerful way to send personalized emails to a large number of recipients without manually addressing each one. Using tools like YAMM and SMTP servers, you can easily automate this process while maintaining a high level of personalization.

Helpful Links:

• Yet Another Mail Merge
• Mail Merge with Attachments
• How to Get SMTP Server Details for Gmail

With the above strategies, you can scale your email outreach while maintaining a personal touch, all while managing and automating the process efficiently using Google Sheets.

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Resources

• SMTP server setup documentation
• Google Workspace Add-ons
• YouTube tutorials on Mail Merge

Can I do a mail merge in Google Sheets?

𝍁 MAIL MERGE FROM THE GOOGLE SHEETS ™ VERSION OF THE EXTENSION ➤ Open the Spreadsheet file and sheet you want to merge from. ➤ Start the add-on from Extensions > Mail Merge > Start. ➤ Select the ‘Email To’ .

How to automate email sending from Google Sheets?

Method 3: Using Google Apps Script to Automate Email Sending

1. Step 1: Open your Google Sheet and navigate to the script editor.
2. Step 2: Write the script for sending emails. …
3. Step 3: Customize your email content and recipient list. …
4. Step 4: Set up a trigger to run the script automatically.

How to send bulk personalised emails from Gmail?

Step-By-Step Guide on Sending Mass Email in Gmail

Step 1 – Create multiple Gmail accounts (optional)

Step 2 – Add your contacts.

Step 3 – Group your contacts using labels.

Step 4 – Compose the email.

Step 5 – Select the email recipients and send your email.

Can you schedule a mail merge in Google Sheets?

In your Google sheet, the Scheduled status appears under the Merge status column. When the mail merge is sent to a recipient, the recipient status in the Status column changes to EMAIL_SENT. info You can schedule only one mail merge at a time. If you try to schedule more than one, a warning appears.