Mail merge in Outlook lets you send the same email to a list of people with each person's name, company, or other details filled in automatically
Outlook does not have a built-in mail merge feature the way Word does. Instead, you use Word to create the merged emails, then send them through Outlook. The process takes about 10 minutes to set up, and once you understand the steps, you can reuse the same template for future mailings.
The basic idea is this: you create a template email in Word with placeholder fields (like [FirstName] or [Company]), connect it to a list of your contacts, and Word generates individual emails. Outlook then sends them all at once. You need three things to start: a contact list (usually in Excel or Outlook), a Word document with your email template, and about 15 minutes of your time.
Key Takeaways
- Mail merge requires Word and a contact list in Excel or Outlook — Outlook alone cannot do this task.
- You create a template in Word with placeholder fields like [FirstName] or [Company] that pull information from your contact list.
- Word generates individual emails and opens them in Outlook, where you review and send them.
- The contact list must have column headers that match the placeholder names you use in your template.
- You can save the template and reuse it for future mailings to different contact lists.
Prepare your contact list in Excel or Outlook
Start by gathering the names, email addresses, and any other details you want to personalize. Open Excel and create a spreadsheet with one row of column headers at the top. The headers must be exact — if you want to use [FirstName] in your email, the column header must say "FirstName" (no spaces, capital F). Common headers are FirstName, LastName, Company, Email, and Title.
Fill in one row per person below the headers. Make sure every person has an email address in the Email column — this is required. Save the file with a clear name like "MailMergeContacts.xlsx" in a folder you can find easily. If your contacts are already in Outlook, you can export them: go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export, choose "Export to a file", select "Comma Separated Values", and save the file. Then open it in Excel and add or remove columns as needed.
Create your email template in Word
Open a new Word document. Write the email as you want it to appear, but use placeholder fields for any information that changes per person. Type the field name in square brackets, like [FirstName], [Company], or [Title]. For example: "Dear [FirstName], Thank you for your interest in [Company]. We look forward to working with you." Save this document with a clear name like "EmailTemplate.docx".
Keep the template simple — no images, no complex formatting, and no attachments. Outlook will convert this to plain text or basic HTML when it sends, so fancy layouts may not survive the conversion. The subject line should also go in the document at the top, marked clearly so you know which line to use as the subject when you set up the merge.
Open the mail merge wizard in Word
With your template document open in Word, go to the Mailings tab at the top. Click "Start Mail Merge" and choose "Email Messages" from the dropdown. This tells Word you are creating emails, not letters or labels. Next, click "Select Recipients" and choose "Use an Existing List". Browse to your Excel file (or exported Outlook file) and open it. Word will ask which sheet to use — if you only have one sheet, it will select it automatically.
Word will then show you a preview of your data. Check that the column headers match your placeholder field names exactly. If they do not match, go back to Excel, fix the headers, save the file, and start this step over. Once the headers are correct, click OK to proceed.
Insert merge fields into your template
Click in your template document where you want the first personalized field to appear. Go to Mailings > Insert Merge Field and select the field name from the list — for example, FirstName. Word will insert it as [FirstName] in your document. Repeat this for every field you want to personalize. You can insert the same field multiple times if needed (for example, [FirstName] in the greeting and again later in the body).
After you insert all the fields, click "Preview Results" on the Mailings tab to see what the emails will look like with real data. Word will show you the first contact's information filled in. Use the arrow buttons to scroll through a few examples and make sure the spacing and punctuation look right. If something is wrong, click "Preview Results" again to turn off the preview, fix the template, and preview again.
Complete the merge and send through Outlook
Go to Mailings > Finish & Merge and choose "Send Email Messages". A dialog box will appear asking for the field that contains email addresses — select "Email" from the dropdown. Leave "All" selected unless you want to send to only a specific range of rows. Click OK. Word will open Outlook and create one email for each person in your list, with all the merge fields filled in with their actual data.
The emails will appear in your Outlook Drafts folder. Open Drafts and review a few emails to make sure the merge worked correctly — check the subject line, the greeting, and any other personalized fields. If everything looks right, select all the emails (Ctrl+A), then click Send. If you spot an error, delete these emails, go back to Word, fix the template, and run the merge again.
Troubleshoot common problems
If the merge fields show as [MERGEFIELD FirstName] instead of the actual names, right-click on the field and choose "Toggle Field Codes". This switches between showing the field name and showing the result. If the emails do not appear in Outlook after you click OK, check that Outlook is open and that you have selected an email account. Word needs Outlook running to send the messages.
If some emails are missing or some rows from your contact list did not generate emails, go back to your Excel file and check for blank cells in the Email column. Mail merge skips any row that has no email address. If the column headers in Word do not match your Excel headers, the merge fields will show as blank in the preview. Fix the headers in Excel, save the file, and start the merge over from the "Select Recipients" step.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add attachments to mail merge emails?
Word's mail merge does not support attachments. You can mention in the email that an attachment is coming, then send a separate email with the file, or you can paste a link to a shared file (like a Google Drive or OneDrive link) in the email body instead.
What if I want to send to only some people on my list, not everyone?
Before you click "Finish & Merge", go to Mailings > Edit Recipient List. A dialog will open showing all your contacts. Uncheck the boxes next to anyone you want to skip. When you finish the merge, only the checked names will generate emails.
Can I use Outlook contacts directly without exporting to Excel?
You can, but it is easier to export to Excel first. If you want to use Outlook contacts directly, go to Mailings > Select Recipients > Choose from Outlook Contacts, then select your contact folder. Word will connect to it, but you have less control over which fields are included. Exporting to Excel gives you more flexibility to add or remove columns.
What happens if I close Word before sending the emails?
If you close Word before the emails are sent, the draft emails stay in your Outlook Drafts folder. You can open them and send them manually, or you can redo the merge from the beginning. The template document is not affected — you can open it again and run the merge a second time.
Can I schedule these emails to send later instead of sending them all now?
Outlook does not have a built-in way to delay all emails at once. You can select each email individually, click the dropdown arrow next to Send, choose "Delay Delivery", and set a time. But this is slow if you have many emails. A faster option is to send them now, or to use a third-party tool like Mailchimp or Constant Contact if you need scheduling for large lists.