Preparing for a mail merge

A mail merge is the automation of adding data (like names and addresses) to mailing materials (letters and envelopes). In order to run your mail merge, you'll need to use at least 2 programs: one for spreadsheets and another for creating your mailing materials. Here's how to prep your data and run a mail merge from LACRM:

Export your data.

• ‍‍You can export your data from Less Annoying CRM for use in your mail merges. Learn how to export a specific group of contacts here.

Prepare your data.

• Delete the columns that don't include the data you want, for example you may not need phone numbers or background info included in your letters, envelopes, or labels.

Prepare your mailing materials.

• ‍Create template documents, labels, and envelopes in a word processing program like Microsoft Word.

Merge your data with your mailing materials.

• Using Microsoft: If you plan on creating your mail-merge documents in Word and Excel, you can follow this tutorial from Microsoft.
• Using Google: Google Docs and Sheets don't have a built-in mail-merging feature, but you can purchase a plugin (like this one) to help you merge your data. There are also plugins that work with Google Sheets and Gmail (like this one) to help you run an email merge; instead of creating documents and labels that you can print, you can send personalized emails.
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