Mail Merge in Gmail using xFanatical Foresight

Introduction

In this article, you will learn how to mail merge in Gmail using xFanatical Foresight Automation tool. Mail merge is a powerful tool that allows you to send personalized emails to multiple recipients without having to manually tailor each message. It’s particularly useful for businesses and organizations that need to communicate with large groups of people efficiently. With the Foresight Automation tool, you can take your mail merge efforts in Gmail to the next level, streamlining your communication process and saving valuable time.

Understanding the benefits of Mail Merge

Before we dive into the technicalities of mail merge in gmail, let's take a moment to understand why it's such a valuable tool:

• The main benefit of mail merge is its ability to automate and personalize mass emails. With mail merge, you can tailor your emails to the recipient, making them feel more personal and increasing your chances of engaging them.
• Apart from personalizing, mail merge saves a lot of time as well. You can create one email template and merge it with a list of recipients in place of composing and sending individual emails.

Why Mail Merge in Gmail?

Mail merge is a process of sending bulk emails. It’s a part of most data processing applications that enables users to send the same letter or a document to several recipients. Mail merge in Gmail is very useful. Gmail is the most popular email service provider with 1.5 billion active users. Like, who has the time to type and re-type the same email over and over again?

Business owners should have Gmail mail merge for their businesses. It allows you to customize each and every email effortlessly. 

• Sending emails to specific customers with sensitive information regarding business or service.
• Sending updates to the customer regarding upcoming offers and deals.
• Lastly, there are PR campaigns. Businesses put a lot of effort into PR campaigns and journalists need to attain these campaigns. So, the mass emails to these journalists need to be impeccable.

Introducing xFanatical Foresight Automation Tool

xFanatical Foresight Automation tool is an innovative tool designed to enhance your Gmail experience by automating repetitive tasks. It seamlessly integrates with Gmail, making it easier for users to perform complex actions like mail merges without any hassle. The tool is user-friendly, requiring minimal technical knowledge, which makes it accessible for everyone from small business owners to large corporate teams.

Instruction for Rule Creation

1. First, create a Google Sheet with two columns: Email Address and First Name.
2. Next, download the Google Sheet in CSV format. To do this, click on the File button, then select Download, and choose Comma Separated Values (.CSV).
3. After downloading the file, log in to your  xFanatical Foresight  account with your  Google Admin account.
4. Go to the Rules page.
5. Click the blue button at the bottom right to create a new rule.
6. In the Select a trigger screen, click Data Uploaded trigger.
7. Click on the upload box and upload the downloaded .CSV, wait for the CSV to be parsed.
8. In the Edit trigger screen, Leave all settings at their defaults.
9. Click Next.
10. On the Select an action screen, click the Email action. 
11. Click Sign in with Google to grant approvals to xFanatical Foresight in Google Workspace .
12. In the To field, select Email Address.
13. Enter a Subject and body for your email message. To start your greeting, click the icon and select the First Name variable.
14. Click Review.
15. Enter the Rule name, click Create.

Rule Triggering

• Click on the Upload Icon and then upload the same .CSV file again. The process will take a few seconds.

Rule Verification

1. Look for the notification in the top right-hand corner and click on it.
2. Then, select View All from the options provided.
3. Alternatively, navigate to the Logs page from the left sidebar.
4. You can confirm the mail merge process by accessing your Gmail account and checking the Sent folder.

Mail Merge with Multiple Templates and Rich Personalization

This is the second instance of mail merge. Now you will explore how to send a bulk email in Gmail using multiple templates with xFanatical Foresight Automation tool

Rule Creation Instructions

1. Create a Google Sheet with multiple templates. The sheet should have seven columns:
2. Next, download the Google Sheet in CSV format. To do this, click the File button, then select Download, and choose Comma Separated Values (.CSV).
3. log in to your  xFanatical Foresight  account with your  Google Admin account.
4. Go to the Rules page.
5. Click the blue button at the bottom right to create a new rule.
6. In the Select a trigger screen, click Data Uploaded trigger.
7. Click on the upload box and upload the downloaded .CSV, wait for the CSV to be parsed.
8. Click Next.
9. On the Select an action screen, click If action.
10. Rename Branch 1 to THANKYOU_FOR_YOUR_PURCHASE. Now, set the condition of this branch. Set the variable to Email Template Name, set the operator to text is exactly, and input the email template name THANKYOU_FOR_YOUR_PURCHASE as the value field.
11. Click Add next action.
12. Select Email action.
13. Select the Email Address Variable on the To field.
14. Enter the Subject line, compose the email message.
15. In the email message body, click on the icon to populate the variable list and choose the variables. In our demo, we have included the First Name variable and the Purchase Date variable in the email message body.
16. On the right side of the rule, you'll see an Automation Graph. Click the If shape to return to the If action. 
17. Then, in the If action, click Add Branch.
18. In the second branch, set conditions similar to the first branch, but adjust the value field. For the second branch, the condition should be Email Template Name text is exactly THANKYOU_FOR_YOUR_LOYALTY.
19. Click Add next action  in the If condition.
20. Select the Email action.
21. In the Edit screen,  in the To field, select the Email Address variable. 
22. Then, add the Subject line and craft another email in the email message body.
23. Navigate back to the If action by clicking the If. In the If action, set the branch name to COUPON_CODE.
24. Conditions will be as follows: Email template name text is exactly COUPON_CODE and a different email template in the email message body.
25. Click Review.
26. Enter the Rule name, and click Create.

Triggering of Rule

• Click on the Upload Icon and then upload the same .CSV file again. The process will take a few seconds.

Verification

1. Look for the notification in the top right-hand corner and click on it.
2. Then, select View All from the options provided.
3. Alternatively, navigate to the Logs page from the left sidebar.
4. Go to your Gmail Sent folder and see, multiple emails have been sent to different users according to the template name.

Note

• Gmail now allows sending up to 2000 emails daily. This is the updated email sending limit for Gmail.
• Once you've established the rule, you can save time by reusing it to upload new CSV files.
• A mail merge doesn't always need to be initiated by a CSV file. As a Google Workspace user, you can send personalized welcome emails to new Google Workspace users.

Conclusion

Mail merge in Gmail using the xFanatical Foresight Automation tool is a game-changer for efficient and personalized communication. By following the steps outlined above, you can easily set up and execute a successful mail merge campaign, saving time and ensuring accuracy. Whether you're a small business owner or part of a large organization, this tool can significantly enhance your email marketing efforts.

If you have yet to install Foresight, check out this quick start.

Please visit the  xFanatical Foresight Automation tool to learn more and sign up for a free trial.