How to Create a Newsletter in Gmail

Want to set up your own mailing list or email a group frequently? Find out here how to create a newsletter in Gmail using Contacts and even have a welcome message sent automatically.

First, a Supersonic Gap Appears

The Concorde famously flew supersonic, loud and—hot.

During each flight, the whole airplane would stretch and slits appear where none had been before. The flight engineer (the last, by the by, on a commercial airplane at the time) could conveniently put his hand in one, for instance, but only during flight.

Want to stretch Gmail’s abilities a bit, too, and set up a mailing list in it? Let’s get flying:

How to Create a Newsletter in Gmail

How to Add Recipients to a Newsletter in Gmail

Add Existing (or New) Contacts

To add a contact to your Gmail newsletter:

1. Go to Google Contacts.
2. Optionally, search for the contact or email address using the Search field.
3. Click the three dots (More actions) menu for the contact.
4. Select the Gmail newsletter label you created.
   Important: Do ensure you have permission to send bulk email.
   Which address? For contacts with more than one address, Gmail will use the first (topmost) one listed when you send a newsletter. To add a different address to the list, do create a separate contact with just that address and add it instead.

To add more than one contact in one go:

1. Check all contacts you want to add to the newsletter.
   Find recipients: You can use search, of course, to limit the selection.
2. Click Manage labels.
3. Check the label for the newsletter.
4. Click Apply.

Add a Recipient from an Email

To add an email sender to a newsletter you have created in Gmail:

1. Open an email from the sender you want to add.
   Some automation: See below for setting up a special address in Gmail and automate part of the process.
2. Hover over the sender’s name or email address with the mouse cursor.
3. Click Add to Contacts.
   Note: If the sender is already in your Google Contacts, skip this step.
   
4. Now click Edit Contact.
5. In Google Contacts, click No Label.
   Already labeled: For an existing contact already labeled, click the label (if it’s just one) or __ Labels.
6. Check the newsletter’s label.
   
7. Click outside the label editor.
8. Now click Save.

Send New Subscribers a Welcome Email Automatically (and Make Your Life Easier Adding Them)

To set up Gmail to welcome people as they email a special “subscription” address and let you add them to your Gmail newsletter easily:

• Set up a Gmail autoresponder complete with alias address and auto-reply with the following differences:

1. In addition to Send template, check Apply the label when you pick actions for the autoresponder rule.
2. Click Choose label….
3. Now, typically, pick New label…
4. Name the label for new newsletter subscriptions so that you can easily recognize it.
5. Click Create.

As emails arrive with the newsletter subscription label:

1. Add their senders to your Gmail newsletter.
2. Remove the label from the email.

How to Create a Newsletter in Gmail: FAQ

Can I set up a Gmail newsletter on an Android phone or iPhone?

Yes.

To create a newsletter in Gmail on your phone:

1. Open Google Contacts in your preferred browser.
2. Follow the steps above.

(How to create a newsletter in Gmail tested in a desktop browser; first published July 2020, last updated June 2024)