Using YAMM (Yet Another Mail Merge) with U-M Google Mail

Environment

U-M Google

Issue

How can I mail merge with U-M Google Mail (Gmail)?

Resolution

Use Yet Another Mail Merge (YAMM) with the U-M Google service (Gmail) to complete your mail merge.

YAMM lets you select a draft written in Gmail, replace template keys with names and other information from the spreadsheet and automatically send the email. Also, users can configure the add-on to notify one or more email addresses whenever a form is submitted. Another option will send an email to an address submitted by the form.

Install and Use YAMM

1. Install Yet Another Mail Merge software by going to https://yamm.com/ 
   1. Click on the Install button in the top left corner.
   2. Click Create a new account with Google.
   3. Select your U-M Google account from the list or sign in to U-M Google (if not signed in already) in the pop-up window.
   4. Click Go to Marketplace to install the Google add-on.
   5. Click Install on the page that opens and follow any instructions Google presents for installing it on your account.
2. Open a new or existing spreadsheet in Google Sheets, and enter any mail merge information you need, including email addresses and merge content. (Follow YAMM's documentation for formatting the spreadsheet correctly.)
3. Follow YAMM's documentation for creating your email draft in Gmail for the mail merge.
4. Return to your spreadsheet, and click Extensions above the toolbar at the top.
5. Hover over "Yet Another Mail Merge: Mail Merge for Gmail" and select Start Mail Merge from the drop-down menu.
6. Enter a sender name in the field provided and select the email draft from the "Email Template" drop-down menu. (If you do not find the draft, click the refresh icon beside the drop-down.)
7. (Optional) Click "+ Alias, filters, personalized attachments..." above the send buttons to customize the send-as and reply-to email addresses.
8. (Optional) Click the Send test email button to receive a test to your @umich.edu email to preview what it will look like before sending.
9. You have two options for sending the mail merge:
   • Click the Schedule button to set a date and time for when to send the mail merge.
   • Click the Send # emails button to send the mail merge immediately.

Maximum 1,500 emails per day

• The maximum emails that can be sent are 1,500 per day.; this is a Google limit and cannot be changed
• If you cannot send the 1,500 emails, go to https://yamm.com/ and sign in with Google to associate your UMICH account with the YAMM enterprise license

Recommendations for Successful Mail Merge Campaigns

• Some have noted that they needed to be in INCOGNITO MODE for their merge to work correctly.
• Do not change the format of the columns from the default sheets. This will cause the mail merge to fail.
• Do not use Formulas or Scripts in the sheets. This will cause the mail merge to fail.

Additional Information

• The University of Michigan currently has a site license for YAMM.
• As of February 2024, according to YAMM, they are "progressively releasing a major upgrade to [their] YAMM dashboard." They are "changing the interface and you might see a discrepancy between the screenshots in the[ir] documentation and what you have in the dashboard." They have not released details on what the changes will look like or if they will change any functionality with the service.
• While Google's support pages describe a feature to mail merge directly in Gmail, this feature is not available in the U-M Google service, due to licensing

Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.