There's a secret I want to share that has saved me countless hours in my work.

As a systems change practitioners, our goal is often to generate long-term:

• Impact

• Engagement

• Collaboration

We're often facilitating countless activities, groups, & processes.

And, we need a lot of capacity for trust-building, collective action and relationality.

The last thing we need is for communication to be an extra burden on our already-stretched capacity.

I used to find email communication to be a huge hassle.

Getting updates out to large groups of people was time-consuming. In that past, it felt like I was stuck between frustrating options:

For a long time, I was caught in this cycle.

It was either

• A low-engagement group blast or

• A tedious, one-by-one personalization process.

The whole experience felt clunky.

Then, I found a solution.

It saves me multiple hours every single month.

This solution is Mail Merge.

It's a powerful tool that allows you to send a single, personalized email to a large group of people all at once.

So, what exactly is mail merge?

And why is it so beneficial for our work in impact networks?

What is Mail Merge?

At its core, mail merge is a tool that takes an email template and combines it with a data source like a spreadsheet.

It automatically creates and sends a personalized emails to each recipient.

The most common use is to personalize with a person's name. But, you can also use it to include other unique details from your spreadsheet.

Mail merge does not just save a lot of time.

It’s to simplify your communication so you can focus on the deeper work of systems change.

The Benefits of Mail Merge

Using mail merge transforms your e-mail communication.

It offers several key advantages:

1. Efficient communication for large groups: Communicate with a large number of people in a seamless and efficient way.

2. Fosters Trust and Relationships: You create a more personal and engaging experience. This can increase reply rates and maintain stronger relations.

3. Creates Separate Email Threads: When someone replies, their response comes directly to you. This allows for a natural, one-on-one conversation.

4. Enables Long-Term Engagement: You can provide updates and keep engaging network members without the usual time-intensive effort.

5. Better Analytics and Tracking: You can see who opened your email, which links were clicked, and who replied. This gives you valuable insights into how your network is engaging.

How to Get Started

Ready to save time in your email communication?

Here’s how you can make this approach work:

1. Your Tool and Your List

First, install a mail merge program.

For Gmail, a tool like Mailmeteor will show up as a new tab in your email interface.

Next, create a spreadsheet that serves as your recipient list. It should have the names and emails of everyone in your activity.

This list is the foundation.

2. Create Your Email Templates

Think about the recurring emails you send for every activity you run.

This is where you save the most time.

I've found it useful to have templates for:

• Invitations

• Context & Welcome messages

• Reminders

• Follow-ups

By having these templates ready, you never have to write the same emails from scratch again.

3. Personalize and Send

With your list and templates, the process is simple.

You plug in the template, select your recipients, and personalize the email.

A key tip I've learned is to always balance clarity with a personal touch.

I always include a line that shows I care, like, "I hope everything's going well on your end." It’s not just about the first name; it’s about making the whole interaction feel authentic.

Conclusion

The main point is that this approach will save you time.

This frees you up to be more present for:

• Building deep relationships

• Designing collaborative activity

• Facilitating meaningful conversations

…that are essential for long-term systems change.

This is a simple but powerful way to re-claim your capacity for what truly matters.

That’s it!

In community,

Adrian

PS: Thanks for reading! ❤️ Let me know what I can improve, if you have questions or what you want to learn about. I am just one email away!

P.P.S: If this has resonated with you, you might be interested in what's coming next. I'm currently developing The Impact Network Operating System. It is an integrated system that covers MailMerge in-depth and five other key tools I use for organizing collective action.

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