gmail is one of the biggest email platforms of our time. It has over 27.8% of the email client market share and has over 1.5 billion users.
If you’re one of those users, you may be frustrated typing wrong emails in the “to” field or missing important people from group emails.
gmail groups solve that problem. is a feature that groups your contacts together, gives them a label, and allows you to send emails to that group by simply entering the name of the label in the “to” field when composing an email.
In this guide, we will share the step by step process to create an email group within gmail.
can you create a group email in gmail?
The short answer: yes!
you can use google contacts to create an email group which you can then use within gmail. there is a simple process involved. all you need to do is create contacts, add them to a distribution list, and start emailing them.
the benefits of creating email groups in gmail
Before we dive into the guide, let’s go over some of the benefits that gmail groups can bring:
contact several people at once
Once you’ve built your email group mailing list, you can email hundreds of people at once, similar to how you might use email marketing software. you don’t need to remember the individual email addresses of everyone involved in a conversation; an email group does that for you.
less margin for error
Because your gmail contacts are saved before you add them to a group, you don’t have to manually type the email address each time you want to send. this means there is less room for error and less chance of you making a typo when you try to send an email to that specific address again. It will also prevent you from sending an email to the wrong person by mistake.
save time and be consistent by sending emails to the same people
If you regularly email multiple people using Gmail, adding them to a group can save you time. you don’t need to add multiple colleagues, clients or family members to an email each time. you can use your group instead and make sure you don’t leave anyone out by mistake.
how to create an email group in gmail: a step by step guide
Are you convinced to start using gmail groups? Before you can send a mass email to multiple contacts, you’ll need to create the groups themselves.
1. open google contacts
To create google groups, you will need a google account. it’s free (and easy) to make one.
once you have your gmail account up and running, head over to google contacts; part of the google app library. it’s like a virtual directory of people you email regularly and the starting point for creating email groups within gmail.
2. create a group tag
gmail creates email groups based on the label associated with a contact.
On the left side of your screen, you will see a section for tags. this will be the name of the group. then, click “create tag” and give the new tag a name.
Remember to make your tag names specific and relevant, especially if you plan to create multiple email groups. some examples include:
- “marketing team”
- “vendors”
- “email subscribers”
3. add contacts to your tag
At this point, you have a label for the gmail group you want to create.
Add people to these groups by creating a contact for each person you want on the mailing list. will have space to enter your:
- first name
- last name
- company
- position
- email address
- number phone
- notes
The most important thing (besides their email address) is the tag you give them. make sure to use the same group tag for each new contact. Depending on how many gmail groups you’re creating, you might have a few to choose from:
Repeat this process for each person you want to add to the group. If you have multiple contacts to add, you can bulk upload them from a csv file.
then select the tag in your google contacts sidebar to see a list of everyone with the same tag:
4. prepare your email
once you’ve built your list, it’s time to move on to the fun part: creating the email!
open gmail and create a new email. in the pop-up window, click “to” in the top field. this will open a smaller window with a list of all your google contacts.
Find the tag you want to send your email to, then select it as your email audience.
or, if you want to copy or blind copy a particular group list, type the tag name in those fields:
5. send your email
Finish your email, create a subject line and send it.
will now be sent to everyone inside the tag you’ve selected and added to the “to” field.
how to edit your contact group in gmail
need to make changes to your contact group?
Whether you’re removing someone, creating a new group, or adding a new person, it’s easy to manage tags.
just go back to google contacts and click on the tag you want to edit. you can press the pencil button to change its name.
From there, you can also edit the contacts within that group, add new contacts or delete existing ones. tap the checkbox next to the selected contacts and tap the tag icon to add or remove them from the group:
how to use gmail email groups
congratulations! you have your first gmail group up and running.
Now that you know how to create email groups within Gmail, here are five smart ways to use them to your advantage.
1. send updates to friends and family
email groups in gmail are perfect for keeping in touch with friends and family on a regular basis, especially those who are not on facebook.
You can create an email group for your close family, your extended family, and one for your close friends. just create a gmail mailing list for each one and compose emails for that gmail group. It’s a great way to share photos and updates with each other.
With three-quarters of Gmail users accessing email on their mobile devices, this means your friends and family can catch up with you wherever they are.
2. catch up with a group of people
The combination of the google and gmail contact tag feature is also great for communicating with groups of people, such as clubs, organizations, social clubs, or vendors.
You can send a message to the entire group with a few clicks.
let’s put it into practice and suppose you are planning an event. you create an email group for everyone who is helping you with that event, like:
- signage suppliers
- product manufacturers
- your event team
having a single email group helps everyone stay on the same page. if something happens (like event cancellation), you can let everyone know at once. there is no “did I tell that person?” necessary dilemmas.
However, you don’t need a company to take advantage of email groups. Research by Mailchimp shows that hobby emails achieve an above-average open rate of 27.74%. If you run an organization or a club, but don’t email regularly, it’s definitely worth a try.
3. send emails to people you contact regularly
Most of us have a few people we usually email together, like a handful of co-workers or a client and his assistant.
Setting up an email group for these people will simplify the sending process. you won’t have to deal with someone accidentally missing an important email.
We can see this in action with an agency that offers facebook ad services for their clients. they may want to create an email group that includes:
- the client
- the account manager
- the social media manager
If the agency needed to chat with the client about their ads, they would use the same email group. everyone will receive the same email and always have up-to-date information.
4. send a business update
Not everyone has the money to invest in fancy email marketing software.
If you don’t already use email software, gmail groups can be a great way to send business updates to customers. you can create an email list of contacts and share:
- launch of new products
- special offers and discounts
- customer testimonials
Over 81% of b2b marketers say this type of email newsletter is the most used type of content marketing, while 31% say it’s the most effective way to attract potential customers.
However, the downside of using gmail groups to send email newsletters is that you don’t have access to any analytics or data. you can’t see if they’ve opened or engaged with your email, so it’s best to invest in a professional email marketing tool if you really want your email to work for you.
[button: learn how to send email through manychat] https://support.manychat.com/support/solutions/articles/36000184966-sending-email-through-manychat5. respond to job applications
Do you have a high volume of job applications for you? Instead of responding to each request individually (or worse, not responding at all), you can create gmail groups to do the hard work for you.
Let’s say you have 100 applications for a position you want to fill. Have your hiring or recruiting manager tag each person on the contact list as “potential” or “not.”
you can send a polite rejection letter to the selected 80 contacts tagged as “no”. for the other 20 with potential, create another email that asks the group to schedule an interview, answer a few more questions, or do a test project.
is a quick and easy way to respond to all job applications, no matter how many applicants you receive.
save time sending emails with gmail tags
As you can see, creating labels for your new group of contacts will save you time and money. you’ll never lose important people out of a discussion, or have to remind each individual person that they need to be aware of an update. email groups handle all of that for you.
Start by creating your own labels, add people from your contact list, and use the name from the label in the “to” field of any future emails.
You’ll soon start to see how much time you’ve wasted typing separate email addresses!