E-mail Mail Merge with MS Word and Outlook-Part II

Last month we created a Data Source (Excel file) from a subfolder in our Outlook Contacts file labeled "Buyer Prospects." This month we'll cover the last two steps, creating a Main Document (your "form letter") and then Merging the Main Document with the newly created Data Source file from Contacts.

1. Open MS Word
2. Click "Tools," then Mail Merge.
3. The "Mail Merge Helper" screen will appear, displaying 3 Steps.
4. Click on the "Create" button under Step 1 "Main Document," then click on "Form Letters..."
5. A Microsoft Word window opens stating that you can use either the Active Window or a New Main Document. Select "New Main Document"
6. Now under Step #1 Main Document, there are two buttons labeled "Create" and "Edit" and both have drop down arrows. Under the "create" button, there should be two entries: "Merge Type:" (which lists "Form Letters") and "Main Document:" (which lists "Document 1 or 2 or whatever")
7. Click on the "Edit" Button
8. The drop-down menu displays "Form Letter: Document 1 or 2 or whatever" Click on that.
9. The "Mail Merge Helper" screen goes away, and you see a more-or-less blank page. Except, you should also see the "Mail Merge Toolbar" either just above the "ruler" if you have your ruler display set, or as the last toolbar displayed above the blank page. If you don't see a toolbar with the words "Insert Word Field" and a dropdown arrow, click on "View" on the menubar, then on "Toolbars" and then "Mail Merge." On the blank MS Word page, type the letter you wish to send as your Main Mail Merge Document. You might begin with "Dear" then press "Enter" twice, and type the body of your letter, then the closing line.

When you've finished typing the letter, (don't worry, if you wish to make changes later on you can), click File on the menubar, then Save As. I saved the example letter as Buyer Prospects.doc, but you should select a filename that is appropriate for your specific letter.

10. The next step is to select your Data Source. Go back to Tools on the menubar, select Mail Merge..., then select #2, and Data Source. Click on "Get Data" and then from the dropdown menu, "Open Data Source." A File Directory Window will open. Go to the bottom of it, and select the "files of type" then "MS Excel Worksheets." The file you saved as Buyer Prospects.xls (or whatever file name you chose) will display. Double click on it.
11. A window will open asking "Named or Cell Range." Select Entire Spreadsheet and click OK.
12. When first setting up your Main Document (within a few seconds after clicking on OK in step #12), you will get a message stating that Word found no merge fields in your Main Document. The message box provides a button to click on (Edit Main Document). Click on the button. Note that now, in your document, on the toolbar above the document body there is a button with a drop-down arrow that reads "Insert Merge Field." It is located to the left of the "Insert Word Field" button. Click on "Insert Merge Field" and select "firstname." Do the same for "lastname." Be sure to put a space between "firstname" and "lastname" and a comma or semicolon immediately following "lastname." Click Save.
13. Also note that all the data fields in your Contacts list appear in the Merge Field drop-down menu. Thus, you can not only customize your letter to be individually addressed (including street address, city, state & zip), but to also reference another custom field located in the actual body of the letter.
14. Click on Tools once again, then Mail Merge... and then click on Step #3, Merge Data with Document.
15. The Merge window now displays. Where the entry box says Merge To: click the dropdown menu and select "electronic mail." Leave the "All" box checked in the setting to select records to be merged and click on the "Setup" button. Another window opens and displays an entry line labeled " Data field with mail/fax address." Scroll down the dropdown menu until you get to the "EMailAddress" field and click on it. Next, enter a subject line. This will be the text displayed in the Subject: line of each E-mail you send.
16. Click on the "OK" button, and then on the "Merge" button.
17. E-mail-merged personalized messages have now been sent to your mailing list!

Some ISPs have recently begun to limit the number of E-mail messages one is allowed to send at one time. The reason most often given for this limitation is to prevent "spamming" (E-mailing unsolicited and unwanted messages to a huge list of recipients). That is the "Good" reason. The "Real" reason is most probably to limit the daily through-put in order to conserve space allocation on the ISP's server. You should check with your ISP to determine if such a limitation exists.