{"id":60459,"date":"2022-11-08T00:58:16","date_gmt":"2022-11-08T00:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/?p=60459"},"modified":"2026-10-06T16:29:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T16:29:35","slug":"how-to-send-a-newsletter-a-step-by-step-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/en\/blog\/2022\/11\/08\/how-to-send-a-newsletter-a-step-by-step-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"How to send bulk emails: Gmail, Outlook, Excel or a tool"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you ever pasted 200 addresses into the “To” field, hit “Send” and kept your fingers crossed? Almost all of us have been there.<\/p>\n\n

And it almost always ends the same way: emails in spam, reply-all chains and no idea who opened it.<\/p>\n\n

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Quick answer:<\/strong> there are three ways to send bulk emails. From Gmail or Outlook with mail merge and an Excel list, if you’re sending a few hundred a day. With blind carbon copy (BCC), only for internal notices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And with an email marketing tool once your list grows, because it adds the unsubscribe link, the statistics and the authentication that Gmail, Yahoo and Microsoft require.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

In this guide, you’ll see how to do it with each option, step by step, and what to check so your emails reach the inbox.<\/p>\n\n\n

What is a bulk email and when is it legal to send one?<\/h2>\n\n

A bulk email is the same message sent to many recipients at once<\/strong>, usually with some personalized data such as the name. A newsletter, an offer or a notice to all your customers are bulk emails.<\/p>\n\n

Bulk doesn’t mean spam.<\/strong> The difference is permission.<\/p>\n\n

In Spain, the LSSI prohibits sending commercial communications by email to people who haven’t requested or authorized them. The exception is your customers: you can write to them about products similar to the ones they’ve already bought, with an easy way to unsubscribe.<\/p>\n\n

The GDPR<\/a> adds another obligation: being able to prove that consent. That’s why it’s best to collect contacts with a subscription form<\/a> and, even better, with double opt-in<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

And purchased databases? Out of the question. On top of the legal risk, they’re full of addresses that don’t exist and spam traps.<\/p>\n\n

3 ways to send bulk emails (and when to use each one)<\/h2>\n\n

Not all options are suited to the same job. What changes between them is the volume they can handle and what you know after the send.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Here’s a quick comparison:<\/p>\n\n

<\/th>Gmail or Outlook (mail merge)<\/th>Blind carbon copy (BCC)<\/th>Email marketing tool<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Recipients per day<\/td>500 on free Gmail; 1,500 with Google Workspace mail merge; 5,000 on Outlook.com<\/td>The same mailbox limits<\/td>No daily limit (depending on your plan)<\/td><\/tr>
Personalization<\/td>Name and fields from your Excel file<\/td>None<\/td>Fields, groups and segments<\/td><\/tr>
Unsubscribe link<\/td>Only in Google Workspace<\/td>No<\/td>Automatic in every send<\/td><\/tr>
Statistics<\/td>No<\/td>No<\/td>Opens, clicks, bounces and unsubscribes<\/td><\/tr>
Design<\/td>Text or basic HTML<\/td>Text<\/td>Editor and templates<\/td><\/tr>
Who it is for<\/td>A few hundred contacts, one-off sends<\/td>Internal notices<\/td>Newsletters, promotions and growing lists<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n
\"3<\/figure>\n\n

1. How to send bulk emails from Gmail<\/h3>\n\n

With a free Gmail account, you can send up to 500 emails a day.<\/strong> If you go over that, Google blocks sending for a few hours. You’ll find the details in sending limits<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

If your company uses Google Workspace (Business Standard or higher), you also have mail merge<\/strong>. Open “Compose”, add the recipients or link a Google spreadsheet, and turn on “Use mail merge”.<\/p>\n\n

Then type @ to insert tags such as @firstname in the text. When you send, each person receives an individual email without seeing the others.<\/p>\n\n

Google limits this feature to 1,500 recipients a day and adds an unsubscribe link at the end. For a small business with a small list, it works.<\/p>\n\n

What you won’t get are open or click statistics. We explain it with screenshots in how to send bulk emails for free using Gmail<\/a>. And we compare the results in Gmail vs. Mailrelay<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

2. How to send bulk emails from Outlook with Excel<\/h3>\n\n

Word’s mail merge is the classic way to send a bulk email from Outlook.<\/strong> It combines three programs: Excel stores the list, Word writes the message and Outlook sends it.<\/p>\n\n

Before you start, prepare your Excel file. Use one row per contact and one column per piece of data, with simple headings in the first row: “Name”, “Email”, “Company”. No merged cells or empty rows.<\/p>\n\n

Then follow these steps:<\/p>\n\n