How to create a distribution list (contact group) in Outlook
Create a contact group in Outlook so you can email a whole team by typing one name. You will also import contacts in bulk from a CSV file, manage the group, and see the Gmail equivalent using labels.
By Nur Islam- 8:58 video
- 7 steps
- 34.2K views
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When you email the same team again and again, typing ten addresses one by one is slow and easy to get wrong. People get left off, or you have to hunt for addresses you do not remember.
A distribution list in Outlook is called a contact group. You give the group a name, such as Marketing Team, add the members once, and from then on you type the group name in the To box.
The video uses classic Outlook for Windows. Instead of adding members one at a time, it imports each team from a CSV file into Outlook contacts first, then adds them to the group in one go. At the end it shows how to do the same thing in Gmail with labels.
What you need
- Classic Outlook for Windows
- The names and email addresses of each team's members
- Optional: a CSV file per team with Name and Email columns for bulk import
- Optional: a Gmail account for the Gmail section
Step by step
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01
Start a new contact group
Open Contacts (People) in Outlook and select New Contact Group. Type a name for the list, for example
Marketing Team, then click Add Members.You get three options:
- From Outlook Contacts
- From Address Book
- New E-mail Contact
The first two need the people already saved in Outlook. The third lets you type a name and address that are saved only in this group, unless you tick the option to add them to your contacts too.
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02
Import the team's contacts from a CSV file
If you have many people, import them first. Go to File > Open & Export > Import/Export. Choose Import from another program or file and click Next. Select Comma Separated Values, click Next, browse to the CSV file and click Next. Keep
Contactsas the destination folder and click Next.Click Map Custom Fields and check that the name column maps to
Nameand the email column maps toE-mail Address. Map phone numbers or other fields too if your file has them. Click OK, then Finish. The contacts now appear in your list. -
03
Add the imported contacts to the group
Select New Contact Group again and name it
Marketing Team. Click Add Members > From Outlook Contacts. Select all the team's contacts, click Members, then OK. Click Save & Close.The group now shows in your contacts. Open it and the Members list shows everyone in it. Repeat for other teams, such as
Sales Team. -
04
Send an email to the list
Create a new email and start typing the group name in the To box, for example
sales. PickSales Teamfrom the suggestions. It appears as a group, not a single contact. Hover over it to see the members. -
05
Leave someone off one email
Click the + next to the group name in the To box and click OK to expand the list. Outlook replaces the group with the individual addresses. Delete the person you want to leave out.
This only changes this one email. The person stays in the contact group.
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06
Add or remove members later
Open the contact group from your contacts. Use Add Members to import more people or add a new email contact. To remove someone, select them and click Remove Member.
To delete the whole list, open it and click Delete Group, then Yes.
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07
Create a group in Gmail with labels
In Google Contacts, select the contacts you want and click Manage labels. Create a new label, for example
Sales Team, and save. The label appears on the left.When you write an email in Gmail, type the label name in the To box and select it. Gmail adds everyone with that label.
Tips and common problems
- Check the field mapping during a CSV import. The email column must map to E-mail Address or the group will have names with no addresses.
- Deleting a contact from your Outlook contacts does not remove them from a contact group. Remove them from the group itself.
- Contacts added with New E-mail Contact are stored only in the group unless you choose to save them to your contacts as well.
- Everyone on a contact group email can see the other recipients once you expand the list. For private, personalized emails, use a mail merge instead.
Need private, personalized emails instead?
A contact group sends one message that everyone can see. If each person should get their own email, use a mail merge:
Questions
What is a distribution list called in Outlook?
In Outlook it is called a contact group. You create it from Contacts (People) with New Contact Group.
Can I import contacts into an Outlook contact group from Excel?
Save the list as a CSV file, import it into Outlook contacts with File > Open & Export > Import/Export, then add those contacts to the group with Add Members > From Outlook Contacts.
How do I remove one person from a group email in Outlook?
Click the plus sign next to the group name in the To box to expand it into individual addresses, then delete that person. The contact group itself does not change.
How do I make a distribution list in Gmail?
In Google Contacts, select the people, use Manage labels to create a label, then type the label name in the To box of a new Gmail message.
