you can send mass emails with gmail using a browser extension (free). we’ll show you how and explain why email marketing software is a better option.
bulk email (also known as bulk email) is when you send an email to a large number of contacts. It could be an email marketing campaign to generate leads or drive sales, or follow-ups with your customers.
You can send mass emails through a free email service provider like gmail or outlook, but you risk your emails ending up in subscribers’ spam folders. You also won’t be able to send highly personalized emails or customize email layouts to fit your brand.
however, if you want to cut costs for one or two email campaigns, bulk emailing with gmail is a good place to start.
how to send mass email in gmail
Before you get started, you’ll need a free Google account. Your gmail account and other tools like google docs and google slides are part of the google workspace (formerly known as g suite) online toolset.
Your first step begins with the installation of a free mail merge extension.
step 1: install a mail merge extension
mail merge is a way to send personalized mass emails by combining personal data taken from a list of subscribers, such as an email, name and business address.
You will need to install a google workspace extension to add mail merge features to gmail to send mass emails.
We recommend a popular mail merge plugin called Yet Another Mail Merge.
Visit the yamm installation page and click the install button.
then select allow in the popup window to give yamm permission to access your contacts and edit documents.
step 2: compose your message
open gmail and type the content of your email.
Include a salutation line at the top of your email body that can be customized to include the formal address and name of your email recipients.
include the content you would like to personalize for each email recipient in your email blast using a keyword in braces like this: “{{first name}}”
step 3: prepare your list of subscribers
Use a spreadsheet to organize your contact information.
Inside gmail, click on the google apps menu in the top right corner of your screen. select the drive icon to open google drive.
create a new google sheet or upload an excel spreadsheet (or .csv file) if you already have your list of subscribers ready.
Each column in your spreadsheet should have a heading that describes the type of information you have on your subscriber list.
here is an example:
Custom content in the email draft such as “{{first name}}” must have the header that perfectly matches the text within the set of brackets.
nb: At least one of your columns must include an email list.
step 4: start the mail merge
click the extensions tab in the main menu at the top of your google sheet.
selectyet another mail merge: mail merge for gmail and then choose start mail merge from the dropdown menu.
Type in the Sender Name so your recipients know who sent them an email.
select the email draft you prepared in email template.
step 5: send mass email
You can now send your emails or schedule them to be sent later.
the free version of yamm limits you to sending only 50 emails at a time.
if you have more than 50 recipients, use a free email marketing tool like sendinblue.
start sending bulk emails with sendinblue
Free plan includes 300 emails per day, ready-to-use email builder and templates, reports, and unlimited contact storage.
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why you shouldn’t send mass emails in gmail
If you’re looking to grow your business through email marketing, avoid using gmail bulk email.
While you may save money at first, you will eventually run into some problems.
you can’t send more than 500 emails per day
You can only send and receive a maximum of 500 emails in a 24-hour period. the number of recipients in a mass email is also limited to just 500.
Companies with a growing subscriber list will use the 500 limit very quickly. you may need to separate lists and spread out email campaigns over several days. this is tedious and time consuming.
and once you reach the limit, you must wait a full 24 hours before you can resume sending email from the account.
all your important emails, like product announcements or responses to customer inquiries, will have to wait until the next day.
your emails will be marked as spam
If your from address ends in @gmail.com, there’s a high chance your email blast campaign will never reach recipients’ inboxes.
Free webmail providers are designed for personal use. therefore, when a mass email is sent from one, the sender is marked as suspicious.
google will temporarily disable your account if your emails were marked as spam or if you sent a large number of undeliverable messages to invalid email addresses.
It is best to use a sender address linked to your domain name. an @gmail.com address for business purposes doesn’t look professional.
you have to design the emails manually
gmail is designed for one-to-one correspondence. even in a business context, that usually means plain text emails with a static signature at best. there is no built-in email design tool.
another mail merge and most other mail merge plugins suggest designing your newsletter in google docs and then importing it into gmail.
Using a text editor as a layout tool is frustrating and time consuming.
Take a look below: want to spend hours doing this?
source
when you can send this, created in minutes with a dedicated email design tool and service:
a ready-to-use template, available with sendinblue’s free plan
To stand out in the inbox and get the reader to take action, text-based emails just aren’t enough. especially compared to today’s email marketing examples.
As an e-commerce, plain text emails won’t do justice to the products you’re trying to sell. Eye-catching brand emails are the norm not only for online stores, but for just about any business.
If you want your gmail bulk email to look good, you need chrome plugins or extensions to insert graphics, colors or branding elements. that’s a lot of hassle.
You’re better off using tools designed especially for email design.
why you should invest in an email marketing service
don’t risk your sender and brand reputation with gmail mass email.
To send marketing emails to large groups of contacts, you need a bulk email service like sendinblue.
And if you’re still thinking about gmail bulk email, here are five reasons to invest in email marketing software.
cool and attractive email designs
a sleek and professional email design will build trust in your brand.
A good email marketing service makes email design easy by offering responsive email templates and drag-and-drop email editors.
A drag-and-drop editor (like the one below) eliminates the need to hire an email designer or code emails from scratch, saving you time and money.
plus, your emails will display correctly on all desktop and mobile devices. Such features dramatically improve email marketing results. but you won’t find them in gmail.
better email deliverability
Deliverability is the most critical factor when sending mass emails. refers to the sender’s ability to send emails to the inbox and not the spam folder.
Between misspelled or expired addresses (tip: use the double opt-in option to avoid them) and anti-spam filters, your email has to jump through several hoops to reach your inbox.
sendinblue has a rigorous authentication process in place to keep spammers out and protect senders on our shared IP addresses. Dedicated IP addresses are also available for bulk email senders.
Because email marketing services are made to send mass emails, the deliverability will be much better than with gmail.
an email limit that fits your needs
as mentioned, gmail allows you to send 500 emails per day or one email to 500 different recipients.
You may not have close to 500 contacts at this time. it’s okay. But if you plan to grow your email list, a more flexible email marketing service will allow you to send as many emails as you need.
with the sendinblue lite plan, the base price of $25 includes 20,000 monthly email sends and unlimited contact storage.
email performance analysis
When sending a mass email campaign, you need to know what kind of impact it has on your audience.
for example, checking if your emails were delivered, how many people opened them, how many clicked through and made a purchase, etc.
In other words, did your email marketing campaign achieve its goal?
gmail doesn’t offer any reporting features, but an email marketing service will give you all essential email metrics including but not limited to:
- open rate
- click-through rate
- bounce rate
- delivery rate
- unsubscribe rate subscription
Taking sendinblue as an example, this is what an email analytics dashboard typically looks like.
gpdr compliance
gdpr is an eu legislation that imposes a series of rules on how an individual’s data is used and collected. this includes email addresses.
Before you send a mass email, you must obtain permission to do so through a process known as “opt-in”. You must also include an unsubscribe option in the footer of your email.
When sending a gmail blast, you must manually verify that all members of your list have opted in and that all unsubscribes have been removed. this takes time and a small mistake could cause you to break the law.
sendinblue equips your email marketing with gdpr compliant features like subscription forms and unsubscribe links in the footer of all emails.
a gdpr compliant registration form built with sendinblue
also, you don’t have to worry about regular cleaning of the list. unsubscribes and hard bounces are automatically removed from your contact lists.
send mass email for free with sendinblue
now you know how to send mass emails in gmail, but that doesn’t mean you should.
in fact, we strongly recommend that you don’t. 🙂
A dedicated email marketing solution will make your campaigns look good, get delivered to the inbox, and deliver better results.
sendinblue gives you everything you need to create and manage your email blasts, no matter the size of your budget.