How to Send an Email Blast in Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is one of the most recognizable email platforms. Many businesses and universities use the software because it sends blasts quickly and effectively to large groups of people. When you send this type of email, you only have to send something once, no matter how many recipients exist.

If you send the same email to each person individually, you may create an unintentional error. There is also a chance that you will forget to include one of the recipients. To learn how to send an email blast in Outlook, consider the information that is below.

What is an Email Blast?

The introduction gave a brief description of an email blast, but you must understand it in more detail. It is one email message that goes out to multiple recipients. It is not the same as chain mail or spam.

The difference between an email blast and spam is that you, the sender, have something personal in the message for the recipients. It could be an invitation for a birthday party or a work memo, for instance. You could also include some personal anecdotes that the recipients would immediately recognize, such as an inside joke if your email is to a group of friends.

How to Send an Email Blast in Outlook on the Computer

Whether you have a Mac or Windows system, you can use the browser to send an email blast on Outlook. Use the steps below to learn more.

Press the “compose” or “new email” button.
Enter the email addresses of your recipients in the “to” field. Press enter after each one.
Click send.

Pull Contacts from Your Address Book

On the desktop browser or app, you can include contacts from the address books that exist on Outlook. You can even use the tips found later in this article on how to create an email list on Outlook to always have access to the same group of people. Use the below steps, however, to send an email to select contacts.

1. Press the “new email” button.
2. Click on the word “to.”
3. Select the address book you need to open.

4. Look for each recipient for your email. They will be in alphabetical order.
5. Hold down “ctrl,” and click on each contact you want to include in the email.
6. Press “ok.”
7. Click “send.”

Email Every Contact

The desktop edition of Microsoft Outlook also allows you to email every contact. The steps are similar to those used for sending a message to only some. Learn how to send an email blast in Outlook to all of your contacts using the below steps.

1. Press the “new email” button.
2. Click on “to.”

3. Select the first name, hold down “shift,” and select the last on the list.
4. Click “ok.”
5. Press “send” after entering the message.

If there is even one person that you want to exclude, use the “ctrl” button on your keyboard. Hold it down, and click on the name that should not receive the message.

Send an Email Blast to Multiple Recipients Using the Outlook App

You can also send an email blast on the Outlook app, available on both Apple and Android devices. After you download the application from the store, you can log in to get started. Use the below steps to learn more about how to send an email blast in Outlook mobile.

1. Open the Outlook app.
2. Press the plus sign to compose a new message.
3. Click in the space labeled “to.”

4. Type in each contact.
5. Press their email when they pop up automatically or type a semicolon after every entry.
6. Click the send icon.

Note that the Outlook app does not allow you to access your contact lists. When typing in email addresses, however, you can press the “search directory” button. This feature will let you select each person in the address book individually.

Send an Email to Undisclosed Recipients

There may be instances in which you do not want others to know who else will receive the message. Outlook, therefore, allows you to create an email blast for undisclosed recipients. It requires you to do two things, including learning how to create an email group in Outlook 365, each outlined below.

Create an Email Group

You have to understand how to create an email group in Outlook 365, which you can learn more about using all of the steps below.

1. Go to www.outlook.com or open the Outlook desktop app.
2. Press on the “home” tab, then “find.”

3. Click “address book.”
4. On the pop-up tab, press “file,” then “new entry.”

5. Select “new contact,” and press “ok.”
6. Under the “full name” section, enter “undisclosed recipients.”

7. Enter your email address in the “email” section.
8. Press “save.”

When learning how to create an email group in Outlook 365, you may encounter an error message that reads “duplicate contact detected.” This response comes from the fact that you already have a contact in your address book with your email address. You can continue, however, by pressing “Add new contact.”

Send an Email to the Undisclosed Recipients

After you learn how to create an email group in Outlook 365, you can send your email. Follow the below steps.

1. Start a new email.
2. Select the “to” field, and start typing “undisclosed recipients.”
3. Click on the contact when it pops up.

4. Press the “Bcc” button.”
5. Click on the contacts you want to include. Use the “shift” key when including all of them and the “ctrl” key when excluding some.

6. Press “ok.”
7. Send the email after you compose your message.

The steps are the same for the mobile app. Remember, you do have to enter each contact in the “Bcc” field individually, however. Separate each with a semicolon.

It is essential here that you learn how to create an email group in Outlook 365 for desktop. It will not work on the mobile platform.

Using Mail Merge

Mail merge, a feature in Microsoft Word, is another method you can use to send an email blast. You must comprehend two separate processes, including how to create an email list on Outlook.

Prepare a Microsoft Document

First, you will need to compose your message in Microsoft Word. The desktop app has built-in features that allow you to migrate the information to an email called mail merge. You can use the below steps to learn more.

Open Microsoft Word and log in if necessary.
Click on the document itself, and type out your email. Use any font details you need.
Select the “Mailings” tab.
Press “start mail merge.”
Select “email messages.”

Create a Mailing List

After you get your Word document set up, you can send out the email blast. You can learn how to create an email list on Outlook using the steps below. This process will ensure everyone gets your message.

After you select “email messages,” you will press “type a new list.”
Enter contact information for each of the recipients in the dialog box.
Press “ok” when done.

Though the above steps help you learn how to create an email list on Outlook, other options exist for you under mail merge.

Use an Existing List

Some individuals choose to forego learning how to create an email list on Outlook. They enter contact data for the recipients on an Excel spreadsheet instead. The “use an existing list” option allows you to pull the data from that document.

Choose from Outlook Contacts

The other option available under mail merge is to choose from your pre-existing Outlook contacts. You will select each recipient you want to include from your address book.

Sending the Email

No matter how you import the addresses for the recipients, you can now get to sending your email. Use the list below to finish up the mail merge process.

After importing or selecting recipients, press “finish & merge.”
Click “send email messages.”
Type in the subject line for the email, then press “ok.”

Personalization Options

When you use mail merge, there are a wide variety of personalization options available to you. Using any of the below features is sure to garner the attention of your recipients.

Add Graphics

Microsoft will allow you to insert artwork. YOu can navigate to the “insert” tab to use clip art, for instance. You can also upload your logo or even a graph from the insert tab.

Add a Signature

The insert tab also allows you to customize your email signature. You can draw it or let Microsoft create a digital version for you.

Change the Text

On the Home tab, you can change the font size, color, and design. You can make it bold or italicized and underline specific points to emphasize them.

Add Background Colors

Finally, Microsoft Word will let you add background colors. You can highlight your text, for instance, to make it pop. You can also put in a pattern or color for the background of the entirety of your message.

Tips for Email Blasts

By now, you should know several methods for how to send an email blast in Outlook. The tips and tricks below will ensure the process goes smoothly and that you always seem professional.

Ask the Recipients to Check Their Spam Folders

The information above mentioned that you should make the email blast personal. This process will help it to avoid the spam folder.

In rare instances, however, antivirus software may still reroute your email blast to the spam folder. Ask the recipients to check it if they tell you they never received your message.

Check Over the Recipient List

If you have to use the above steps to learn how to send an email blast in Outlook, you likely have a long list of recipients to add. Make sure you double-check the list before pressing send. You do not want someone that the message should not go to receiving it.

Put the Call-to-Action High

If your message is long, keep the call-to-action towards the top. Recipients will likely skim or skip parts of the email, even though you took so much time to learn how to send an email blast in Outlook.

Keeping the call-to-action high up in the message will increase the chance that they see it. Recipients will also be more likely to take the steps you want them to take.

Just Press Send!

The information above is there to help you learn how to send an email blast in Outlook, no matter the platform you use. You can add your recipients manually, import them using your address book, or you can use mail merge to ensure everyone gets your message.

Make sure that you keep the email personal, however. Doing this will increase the chances that it avoids the spam folder and that people will read it.