How to Email Merge using Word and Outlook

Here are the steps and Screen Shots to help you understand how to use Microsoft Word to E-Mail Merge.

Open Word and choose Tools, Letters and Mailings, Mail Merge

(images are screenshots of the process)

You will have steps to follow on the right side, choose E-Mail messages as the document type.

Go to step 2, select recipients

Click the Type a New List radio button, then click the Create link

Click Customize button to add or remove fields from the list.

delete all fields except First name, Last name, E-Mail address

add sfiID field so that you can show affiliates personalized Gateway

Enter a few test addresses into the fields. Use your own address to prove that it is actually sending the emails.

Save the list and make sure you know the name and location to which the list is saved so that you can find it later. mysfilist.mdb

The file is saved as a database list for you.

Go to next step Mail merge recipients

Go to Create your email message,

Click the more items link to see the fields of your list so you can pick the field that you want to insert into the message. (First name, Last name, Email, sfiID)

Preview your e-mail messages, allows you to see that the fields are being inserted as you want them. Click the double arrows to go forward or backward in the list and watch the names change in the window to reflect each person in your list.

Then click the Electronic Mail link to merge to email.

Email address should be showing in the To: block, You can insert the Subject line and choose whether to send as html or plain text.

Go to Outlook and look in the Sent Mail folders to see a list of email sent.

Ok, this system will work for you pretty well as you are just beginning. The problem is that you send the same message to everyone on that particular list. So the first affiliates or prospects get some messages over and over.

You could break it down to those who join each week. Have each week's subscribers on a different list. But this is going to get unmanageable in a short time.

The Solution

The solution is a Smart AutoResponder which keeps up with each subscriber and when they subscribed and allows you to enter a Sequence of messages which should be sent to each subscriber in order and with a certain number of days between messages.

AutoResponder Descriptions 

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