How to Create a Mailing List in Gmail

Despite being one of the oldest tactics in digital marketing, email newsletters still remain one of the most effective ways to generate income for businesses.

The low barrier to entry and solid ROI mean that most digital marketers still use it to this day. While there are some great tools out there to create lists and send emails, not everyone can afford to pay for these services.

If you’re a small business or want to use mailing lists for personal reasons, you might not have the money to invest.

Thankfully, there is another way.

If you need to work with smaller lists or don’t send emails very often, Gmail is a great option. Many people don’t know that you can create mailing lists in Gmail, so here is a little guide to help you.

Why Would You Want to Create a Mailing List in Gmail?

There are many reasons you may want to create a mailing list in Gmail. Here are a few of the most popular.

• It improves productivity. If you have to send emails to a large number of recipients – and regularly – you don’t want to have to manually add each email every time, which would take precious time away from actually doing the real work. Having a mailing list solves that problem.
• By combining a mailing list and some form of mail merge (whether you do that with a tool like Right Inbox or with Google Sheets doesn’t matter), you can run email marketing campaigns at scale. Can you imagine adding in 100’s of emails every time you send one? Believe us, it still does happen.

Building Your Mailing List in Gmail Using Labels

Step 1. Log into your Google account and pick Google Contacts from the app drop-down menu.

Step 2. Look at the contacts you need and then select them using the checkbox button.

Step 3. Locate the label icon just above your contacts.

Step 4. Click the Create label button and then give your label a memorable name. We suggest using naming conventions for these so that you don’t get confused in the future.

Step 5. You now need to send an email to these contacts.

Step 6. In the address field, type out the name of the group that you just created using Gmail labels.

Step 7. Add in a subject and the body copy.

Step 8. Click Send. That’s it; you’re all done.

Are There Any Downsides to Using the Gmail Label Method?

As with anything that is free, there are going to be limitations and downsides. Here are a few things you may want to think about:

• There is no possibility of sending automatic follow-ups. If you’re in PR, sales, or outreach, this will be a little frustrating. Email sequences are popular in these fields nowadays, and you don’t want to follow up with all of the contacts manually. Luckily, Right Inbox can help with that.
• There are no statistics or analytics. How are you going to know how an email performed if you have no analytics data?
• This method just isn’t practical for large contact lists. We wouldn’t recommend this way for creating email marketing campaigns. That said, it’s sufficient for the casual user.

How to Make a Mailing List in Gmail Using Search

Step 1. Make sure you’re logged into your Google account.

Step 2. Head over to the Contacts app.

Step 3. Navigate to the top menu and then click the search button (this is the little magnifying glass).

Step 4. Add in the search criteria that you need to help build your list.

Step 5. Select the users that you want from the results that Google gives you.

Step 6. You then need to locate the label icon just above your contacts.

Step 7. Click the Create label button and then give your label a memorable name. We suggest using naming conventions for these so that you don’t get confused in the future.

Step 8. You now need to send an email to these contacts.

Step 9. In the address field type out the name of the group that you just created using Gmail labels.

Step 10. Add in a subject and the body copy.

Step 11. Click Send. That’s it; you’re all done.

How to Add Contacts in Gmail

Step 1. Log into your Google account and navigate to Contacts.

Step 2. Choose the contacts that you want to add from the list.

Step 3. Click on the Labels button.

Step 4. Choose the group that you want to add these contacts to. Alternatively, you can create a new group.

These contacts are now in the Group, and the next time you send a group email, these contacts will receive it as well.

Additional Reading: How to Add Contacts to Gmail: Everything You Need to Know

How to Remove Contacts in Gmail

Step 1. Log into your Google account and navigate to Contacts.

Step 2. Choose the contacts that you want to remove from the list.

Step 3. Click on the Labels button.

Step 4. Deselect the checkbox on the left of the contacts that you want to remove.

How to Delete A Contact Group

Step 1. Log into your Google account and navigate to Contacts.

Step 2. Choose the contact group that you want to delete from the list.

Step 3. Find the More dropdown menu and then select Delete group.

Step 4. Simply click OK.

That’s it. All done. And don’t worry, only the group will be deleted, not the actual contacts.

How to Edit A Contact Group

Step 1. Log into your Google account and navigate to Contacts.

Step 2. Choose the contact group that you want to edit from the list.

Step 3. Find the More dropdown menu and then select Rename group.

Step 4. Choose a new name for the group and simply click OK.

There you go. If you don’t have the budget or are just getting started in email marketing, you now have all the steps you need to start creating lists and sending group emails from Gmail.

And it doesn’t cost a thing.

Email newsletters aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. As previously mentioned there are some great tools out there to create lists and send emails. There is a lot of email marketing software for sending simple newsletters, but not everyone will want to pay for these services.

Create a Mailing List in Gmail FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

What is a mailing list in Gmail?

A mailing list is simply a collection of emails that you will send emails to.

How do I create a new mailing list in Gmail?

Just go to the “Building Your Mailing List in Gmail Using Labels” section above and follow the steps. Additionally, you can use an extension like Right Inbox to make the process faster.

What are the limitations of mailing lists in Gmail?

Unfortunately, you have to do pretty much everything manually. Furthermore, you will not be able to follow up as easily. Therefore, you might lose track of who still needs to receive an email, or who responded.

Is there a way to send emails to an entire mailing list?

By installing Right Inbox, you can send an email campaign to every person on your list. And you will be less likely to get flagged by spam or filtered out, thanks to having a specialized email server on your side!