📋 What is Mail Merge?
Mail Merge allows you to send personalized emails to multiple recipients at once. Instead of sending the same generic message to everyone, each person receives an email customized with their name, address, and other personal information.
Why Use Mail Merge?
- Personalization: Each email addresses the recipient by name (e.g., "Dear John Smith")
- Efficiency: Send to hundreds of members in minutes instead of hours
- Professional: Looks like individual emails, not mass spam
- Tracking: Keep records of all campaigns sent
✅ Best For: Membership renewals, event announcements, newsletter distributions, payment reminders, chapter updates
🚀 Basic Usage - Send Your First Campaign
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Open Mail Merge Page
Go to Admin → Mail Merge
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Write Your Email Subject
In the "Subject Line" field, enter your email subject. You can use merge fields like {{NAME}}
Example: Welcome {{NAME}} to the 2025 Game Watch Season!
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Write Your Email Body
In the "Email Body" field, write your message. Click the merge field tags to insert personalization.
Dear {{NAME}},
We're excited to announce our upcoming game watch events...
Best regards,
CVCWVUAA
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Select Recipients
Choose who receives the email:
- Check "Paid Members" to include members who have paid dues
- Check "Unpaid Members" to include those who haven't paid
- Use the search box to filter by name or email
- OR paste specific email addresses in the "Email List" box (one per line or comma-separated)
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Preview Your Email
Select a member from the dropdown and click "👁️ Preview" to see how the personalized email will look.
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Export for YAMM
Click "📥 Export Mailing List" to download a CSV file with all personalized emails.
💡 Pro Tip: Always preview with 2-3 different members to make sure the personalization looks correct for everyone!
📧 Using YAMM (Yet Another Mail Merge) with Gmail
YAMM is a Gmail add-on that lets you send bulk personalized emails directly from your Gmail account. Here's how to use the CSV file you exported:
Step 1: Install YAMM
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Open Gmail
Go to mail.google.com and sign in with your CVCWVUAA email
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Install YAMM Extension
Search for "Yet Another Mail Merge" in the Google Workspace Marketplace or visit yamm.com
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Grant Permissions
YAMM will ask for permission to access Gmail and Google Sheets - this is normal and required
Step 2: Prepare Your Mail Merge
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Export CSV from Admin Page
From the Mail Merge page, click "📥 Export Mailing List" - this downloads a CSV file
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Upload to Google Sheets
In Google Drive, create a new Google Sheet and import the CSV file (File → Import)
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Review the Columns
Your sheet will have these columns:
- Name - Full member name
- Email - Recipient email address
- Phone - Member phone number
- Subject - Personalized subject line (already customized!)
- Body - Personalized email body (already customized!)
Step 3: Send Mail Merge with YAMM
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Open YAMM
In your Google Sheet with the imported data, click "Extensions → Yet Another Mail Merge → Start Mail Merge"
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Create Email Template
YAMM will ask you to compose an email. Since we already personalized everything, simply use:
Subject: {{Subject}}
{{Body}}
This tells YAMM to use the pre-personalized Subject and Body columns from your spreadsheet.
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Send Test Email
YAMM will offer to send a test email to yourself first - always do this!
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Send to All Recipients
Once the test looks good, click "Send Emails" to send to all recipients in your sheet.
⚠️ Important: Gmail has sending limits (500 emails per day for regular accounts, 2,000 for Google Workspace). If you have more recipients, YAMM will automatically schedule the rest for the next day.
✅ Tracking: YAMM adds a "Merge Status" column to your sheet showing "EMAIL_SENT" for each successful delivery. You can track opens and clicks with YAMM's premium features.
📝 Pre-Made Email Templates
We have several ready-to-use templates for common scenarios. Click "📂 Load Template" in the Mail Merge page to use these:
Available Templates
1. "Old Gold - New Fire" Chapter Update
Use for: General chapter updates, membership encouragement
Subject: 🔥 Old Gold - New Fire | Chapter Update
Dear {{NAME}},
Our new slogan says it all: OLD GOLD - NEW FIRE.
Little by little, the Game Watches are growing. People are coming back...
[Full template available in the system]
Location: /content/emails/chapter-update-old-gold-new-fire.txt
2. Game Watch Invitation
Use for: Inviting members to game watch events
Location: /content/emails/game-watch-template.html
3. Dues Reminder
Use for: Reminding members to pay annual dues
Can be exported from Outstanding Dues page
💡 Creating Your Own Template: Write your email in the Mail Merge editor, then click "💾 Save Template" to save it for future use. You can load it anytime with "📂 Load Template".
🏷️ Available Merge Fields
Merge fields are placeholders that get replaced with actual member data. Click any merge field tag in the Mail Merge page to insert it.
| Merge Field |
Description |
Example Output |
| {{NAME}} |
Full member name |
John Smith |
| {{EMAIL}} |
Email address |
john.smith@example.com |
| {{PHONE}} |
Phone number |
(804) 555-1234 |
| {{ADDRESS}} |
Street address |
123 Main St |
| {{CITY}} |
City |
Richmond |
| {{STATE}} |
State |
VA |
| {{ZIP}} |
ZIP code |
23832 |
Usage Examples
Subject: {{NAME}}, Don't Miss the WVU vs Virginia Tech Game Watch!
Dear {{NAME}},
We hope this email finds you well at {{CITY}}, {{STATE}}.
We wanted to personally invite you to our next game watch event...
If you have questions, call us at our office or reply to this email.
See you there!
CVCWVUAA
💡 Best Practices:
- Always use {{NAME}} in the greeting to personalize
- Only use {{ADDRESS}}, {{CITY}}, {{STATE}} if relevant to your message
- Test with members who have complete vs. incomplete data
🔧 Troubleshooting Common Issues
Problem: No members showing up in recipient list
Solution:
- Check that "Paid Members" or "Unpaid Members" boxes are checked
- Clear the search box - you might be filtering everyone out
- Verify members have email addresses in the database
- Refresh the page to reload member data
Problem: Merge fields showing as {{NAME}} in final email
Solution:
- Make sure you clicked "📥 Export Mailing List" which pre-processes the merge fields
- The CSV columns "Subject" and "Body" should already have names filled in
- If using YAMM directly, use the correct YAMM syntax (different from our system)
Problem: Some members getting blank name field
Solution:
- Some members may not have a name in the database
- Check the Member Database and add missing names
- Consider using "Dear Member" as fallback for generic greetings
Problem: Gmail/YAMM won't send to all recipients
Gmail Sending Limits:
- Free Gmail: 500 emails per day
- Google Workspace: 2,000 emails per day
- YAMM will automatically schedule overflow for the next day
- To send immediately to more people, split into multiple campaigns or upgrade your Google account
Problem: Emails going to spam
Solution:
- Avoid spam trigger words: "FREE", "ACT NOW", "LIMITED TIME", excessive exclamation marks!!!
- Include your physical address (4701 Stoney Creek Pkwy, Chester, VA 23831)
- Add an unsubscribe link if sending promotional content
- Use a professional subject line
- Send from a verified email address (cvcwvuaa@gmail.com)
Problem: CSV file won't open in Google Sheets
Solution:
- Use File → Import in Google Sheets instead of trying to open directly
- Select "Replace current sheet" or "Insert new sheet"
- Make sure "Detect automatically" is selected for separator type
📌 Quick Reference Card
| Task |
How To |
| Send to all members |
Check both "Paid Members" and "Unpaid Members" |
| Send to specific people |
Paste emails in "Email List" box |
| Personalize with name |
Use {{NAME}} in subject and body |
| Preview before sending |
Select member + click "👁️ Preview" |
| Save for later |
Click "💾 Save Template" |
| Use with YAMM |
Click "📥 Export Mailing List" → Import to Google Sheets → Use YAMM extension |
💬 Need More Help?
If you're still having trouble or have questions not covered here: