Gmail lets you send a message to many people in one go. However, you might not want your recipients to feel like they’re part of a mailing list. You’ll also want to hide email addresses from others. We show you how to email many recipients individually in Gmail. It works on most devices, including Android phones, tablets, iPhones, laptops, desktop PCs, and Chromebooks.
How to send emails using Bcc in Gmail
Use Bcc if you don’t want to disclose the email addresses of other recipients. However, they’ll know they’re on a mail distribution list. It’s your only option if you have a free Gmail account.
Here’s how to use Bcc on a desktop:
- Sign in to your Gmail account.
- Select Compose in the upper-left corner of your screen.
- Click the To field.
- Click Bcc and enter the email addresses of all the recipients.
- Type the subject and message.
- Click Send.
The following steps work on Android and iOS. We use an Android phone for this tutorial, but iPhone users can follow along.
Here’s how to use Bcc on the mobile app:
- Open the Gmail app.
- Tap Compose in the lower-right corner.
- Tap the down arrow icon in the To field.
- Type the email address in the Bcc field.
- Enter the subject and message.
- Tap the Send icon in the upper-right corner.
How to use the mail merge feature in Gmail
Mail merge (previously multi-send) lets you send messages to a large audience. You can also customize them with merge tags like @firstname and @lastname. Gmail replaces these tags with the recipient’s first and last name, so each person receives a unique email. They can’t see the email addresses of other recipients. When you use the feature, an unsubscribe link appears at the bottom of the email.
Individual users can’t use mail merge in Gmail. This feature is only available to those with a
Google Workspace
plan. You can add recipients one by one or from a spreadsheet.
Adding recipients manually
- Sign in to your Gmail account and click Compose.
- Type the recipient’s email address in the To field.
- Click the mail merge icon in the upper-right corner.
- Select Mail Merge.
- Enter the subject and message.
- You can personalize your message using the @firstname, @lastname, @fullname, or @email tags in the email body.
- Click Send all.
Mail merge allows you to add only one recipient to the Cc or Bcc fields of each message. Avoid using it. Recipients added to these fields receive a copy of each outgoing mail. It could exceed your daily send limit.
Adding recipients from a spreadsheet
- Sign in to your Gmail account.
- Click Compose.
- Click Use mail merge next to the To field.
- Select Add from a spreadsheet.
- Choose your spreadsheet.
- Select Insert.
- Select the relevant columns with recipient details like email, first name, and last name.
- Click Send all.
If you use a spreadsheet to add recipients, Gmail doesn’t allow you to use the Cc and Bcc fields.
Send mass emails using third-party tools
If you don’t want to purchase a Google Workspace plan to access mail merge, try free third-party tools like Mailmeteor, Yet Another Mail Merge, and Mail Merge with Attachments.
Mailmeteor for personalized bulk emails
Mailmeteor helps you send custom emails to multiple contacts directly from your Gmail account. It ensures that they aren’t flagged as Spam or Promotions. You can install Mailmeteor from the Google Workspace Marketplace.
The free plan lets you send 50 personalized emails daily. The paid plan starts at $10 and allows up to 15,000 emails monthly. Mailmeteor Premium is free for students, teachers, and other members of schools or universities through its Education Program.
Yet Another Mail Merge
You can create mail merge campaigns from Gmail with Yet Another Mail Merge (YAMM). The free plan offers response, unsubscribe, and bounce tracking. It lets you send up to 50 emails per day. The paid plan’s price starts from $25 per year and provides basic features, scheduling, and priority support. You can email up to 400 recipients daily.
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Mail Merge with Attachments
Mail Merge with Attachments lets you send custom emails to multiple recipients. You can add different documents from your computer or Google Drive. The free plan allows you to send up to 50 emails daily. The paid subscription costs $50 per year and has a daily limit of 400 email recipients, scheduling, tracking, and no footer. You can install Mail Merge with Attachments from the Google Workspace Marketplace.
Reach a wider audience with Gmail
You can use Bcc to email multiple recipients if you have a free Gmail account. While this method hides addresses from others, they’ll know they’re on a mailing list. With a Google Workspace account, you can personalize bulk emails with the mail merge option.
Organizing your inbox can get bothersome when promotional emails and spam clutter your Gmail account. Use its advanced search filters to separate the wheat from the chaff. If emails and attachments are filling up your storage, you might want to upgrade to Google One.
