hwo do I do a mail merge in outlook so that everyone gets their own email and the greeting has their first name

Question

how do I do a mail merge in outlook so that everyone gets their own email and the greeting has their first name

Answer 1

Hi @Nancy McMahan, 

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.   

Based on your description, you want to send individual emails so each recipient gets a personalized message in Outlook on the web with a greeting that includes their first name. I truly recognize the effort you have put in and appreciate the details you shared. 

Outlook on the web and the new Outlook for Windows do not include a native Mail Merge feature for personalized bulk email. Mail Merge is available in the desktop version of Word and sends one message per recipient through Outlook (classic) on Windows, which is why you do not see this option in the browser or the new Outlook experience. Word for the web also does not support Mail Merge. 

Here are some workarounds that will suit your situation by using Word (desktop) with Outlook (classic): 

1/ Prepare your recipient list 

• In Excel, create a table with headers such as FirstName and Email. 
• Verify every row has a valid email address and the first names appear exactly as you want them in the greeting. 
• Save and close the workbook before you start the merge.  
• For your reference: Use mail merge in Word to send bulk email messages - Microsoft Support 

2/ Draft the message and insert the name field in Word 

• Open Word on your computer, write your email content, then go to the Mailings tab and choose Start Mail Merge, E‑mail Messages. 
• Select Recipients, Use an Existing List, and point to your Excel table. 
• Place your cursor at the top of the message and add the greeting with either Greeting Line or Insert Merge Field, then choose FirstName. Example: Hello «FirstName», 
• Use Preview Results to browse several records and confirm the greeting appears correctly.  

3/ Send one personalized message per recipient through Outlook (classic) 

• Choose Finish & Merge, Send E‑mail Messages. 
• In To, pick the Email field, enter your Subject, and select HTML as the format for normal formatting and links. 
• Keep Outlook (classic) signed in on the same Windows device so Word can hand off each message. Note that Mail Merge email does not support CC, BCC, or file attachments, so include download links if you need to share files.  

4/ Test and send confidently 

• Start with two or three test rows to confirm the greeting, formatting, and from‑address are correct. 
• Send to the full list when satisfied, and consider batching large lists to stay within organization sending limits. 
• If you are using the new Outlook for Windows and do not see messages sending from Word, switch to Outlook (classic) because the new Outlook does not support Word’s Mail Merge handoff.  

Alternatively, as a forum moderator, I hope you understand that I don’t have the ability to modify or escalate product issues directly. However, I strongly recommend submitting your feedback through the Outlook · Community. This is the most effective way to ensure your voice reaches the product team and can be considered about how company-only contacts are handled in search results, with potential improvements being considered  for future improvements.    

You've clearly identified a real-world challenge, and your suggestion reflects a deep understanding of user needs - feedback like yours is truly valuable and helps shape the future of Microsoft team. 

Once you’ve submitted your feedback, feel free to share the link here. I’d be happy to upvote it to help increase its visibility.        

Additionally, as other users have raised similar concerns and may not be aware of where to share their feedback, I hope this response helps clarify the situation and suggests a potential next step. Highlighting this information can make it more visible to others in the community who may be facing the same issue, making it easier for them to find guidance and contribute their feedback as well.

Thank you again for your time and for raising this important usability concern. If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out. 

Wishing you a smooth rest of your day. 

---

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Answer 2

To perform a mail merge in Outlook so that each recipient receives their own email with a personalized greeting using their first name, you will need to use Microsoft Word in conjunction with Outlook. Here are the steps to achieve this:

1. Prepare Your Data Source: Create a list of your recipients in an Excel spreadsheet or another data source. Ensure that one of the columns contains the first names of the recipients.
2. Create the Mail Merge Document:
   • Open Microsoft Word and go to the Mailings tab.
   • Click on Start Mail Merge and select E-Mail Messages.
3. Select Recipients:
   • Click on Select Recipients and choose Use an Existing List to select your Excel file or data source that contains the recipient information.
4. Write Your Email:
   • Compose your email in Word. To personalize the greeting, insert the first name field by clicking on Insert Merge Field and selecting the column that contains the first names.
   • For example, your greeting might look like: "Dear <<FirstName>>,"
5. Finish & Merge:
   • Once your email is ready, click on Finish & Merge and select Send E-Mail Messages.
   • In the dialog box, choose the field that contains the email addresses, enter a subject line, and select HTML as the mail format.
   • Click OK to send the emails.

Each recipient will receive an individual email with their first name in the greeting.

Note that this process requires the use of the classic version of Outlook, as the new version may not support these features effectively.

---

References:

• Create a Microsoft Word mail-merge document with Dynamics 365 for Outlook
• Work with mail merge templates