Gmail: how to send an email campaigns?

Email marketing is an essential tool for digital marketing and it’s important to master its functionality and advantages. This article will explore the possibilities of Gmail, a concrete case for mail merge use. We’ll analyze the conditions and methods necessary for success. The use of this tool will focus on using Gmail and its features for sending email marketing campaigns. This article is structured by following the necessary steps to configure and launch email campaigns in a simple way. It’s important to know that Gmail’s features allow for effective targeting and email personalization.

Configuration and Preparation

The purpose of this chapter is to explain the configuration of mail merge for Gmail. It’s important to follow the instructions to set up an email marketing campaign, a crucial digital marketing tool. First, it’s important to open your Gmail account and go to the applications menu in the top right. Then select “Drive” and create a new Google Sheet. Google Sheets allows you to organize your customer data to specifically target email marketing campaigns. You need to give your spreadsheet a name. Then, you must create columns with the contact information for each of your customers. In any case, the “Email” column must be present. Copy and paste your prospecting data into the spreadsheet.

Next, you need to create a new message in Gmail. This message is a draft that you can modify later and that can be used by the extension module. What’s important in this chapter is to create a new spreadsheet, insert customer contact information and create the skeleton of a targeted message. It’s important to know that the “Recipient” field should remain empty. The add-on will take care of sending the emails. It’s a good way to have direct communication with customers.

Steps to Launch an Email Marketing Campaign

This chapter explains the steps to launch an email marketing campaign. First, you need to return to the Google spreadsheet and click on “Add-ons,” then “Get add-ons.” After that, search for the module called “Yet Another Mail Merge” and install it. You need to return to the “Add-ons” tab which is now available. Hover your mouse over it and select “Start mail merge.”

Additionally, you need to select the email draft that you wrote earlier in order to send it. You also need to choose the sending mode: immediate or at a later time/date. In addition to these steps, it’s advised to test the email. Send it to your address and possibly to some colleagues to check the display, avoid typos or potential problems with images. The YAMM module allows you to send 50 emails per day for free. If you want to send more emails, you can choose a paid plan. This chapter explains how mail merge works and the different steps necessary to launch an email marketing campaign. Finally, it details how to personalize emails with the tags from your spreadsheet.

Email Personalization with Tags

This chapter is dedicated to email personalization using tags. It’s essential to understand this if you want to create effective and well-targeted email campaigns. Using tags allows you to personalize emails, which increases reader engagement. By using tags, you can insert specific information for each recipient. You can use the information in the “Email” column created earlier. You can therefore personalize the subject line of the email and the body of the message based on the available data.

You can use the tag $%Column Name% in the message body. For example: “Hello $%FirstName%, we are contacting you to offer you an exceptional offer…” You can also personalize email subjects with tags using the first name, for example, always using the tag $%FirstName%. This is important because personalized subject lines attract more attention and increase email open rates.

Optimizing Email Marketing Campaigns

To optimize an email marketing campaign, you first need to think about segmenting your distribution list. We’re talking about Google Sheets. You can easily segment by creating multiple spreadsheets with different targeting and different messages. This allows you to design relevant messages for each group of recipients.

To maximize effectiveness, it’s essential to test different approaches. This means you can experiment with different subject lines, different content, and different sending times. By experimenting, you can identify strategies that work best with your customers. It’s important to analyze the results of email marketing campaigns. By tracking key indicators, you can analyze open rates, click-through rates, and the number of unsubscriptions. This analysis allows you to make decisions and adapt.

The Advantages of Using Gmail for Email Marketing

Choosing Gmail for email marketing offers several key advantages, especially if you have customers who also use Gmail. The main reason is deliverability. Emails sent via Gmail land directly in the main inbox. Email marketing is easily accessible, increasing the visibility of your message compared to tools that often place emails in the “Promotions” tab. Gmail is intuitive and easy to use, even for beginners. Creating and sending emails is simple and fast, not requiring advanced technical skills.

Using Google Sheets and the Yet Another Mail Merge module together creates a combination of possibilities for email marketing campaigns. By using mail merge, you can send personalized emails to a large number of contacts without having to enter them manually. The free version of Yet Another Mail Merge allows you to send up to 50 emails per day, which is sufficient for small businesses or for initial testing. For larger needs, paid options offer more voluminous daily sends.

Tips for an Impactful Email Marketing Campaign

For an impactful email marketing campaign, you first need to focus on the subject lines of the emails. You need to create concise, captivating, and relevant subject lines. The goal is to attract the attention of recipients. Emojis can help make the subject more attractive. Personalizing the subject can help a lot.

The design of the email itself is also important. The email needs to be clear, easy to read, and contain relevant information. Using a simple layout, with headings, subheadings, and bullet points, can improve readability. You also need to optimize calls to action. Call-to-action buttons need to be clearly visible.

The Limitations of Gmail for Email Marketing

Although Gmail is an excellent tool for email marketing, it does have certain limitations. One of the limitations is the number of daily sends. The Yet Another Mail Merge module allows you to send 50 emails per day in the free version. If you have a large distribution list, this can be a bit slow. To send more emails, you’ll need to switch to a paid version that will allow you to increase the number of emails. You also need to be careful about email design. Gmail is not designed to create very elaborate emails with a lot of graphics and complex layouts. Personalization options are limited compared to those of dedicated email marketing tools.

Additionally, Gmail doesn’t offer tracking and analysis as detailed as some email marketing tools. It’s therefore a bit more difficult to precisely measure the effectiveness of a campaign. This kind of information is useful if you want to refine your strategies and improve your results.

In conclusion, using Gmail and the Yet Another Mail Merge module is a practical solution for sending email marketing campaigns, particularly for small businesses or marketing approaches. It offers ease of use, effective targeting, and personalization. The advantages, such as good deliverability and easy configuration via Google Sheets, make it attractive.

However, it’s important to take into account the limitations of the tool, particularly in terms of sending volume. Personalization and results analysis may be less advanced compared to dedicated email marketing platforms. By following the advice and taking these elements into account, you can use Gmail as an effective tool for your digital marketing.