How to create email distribution lists in mail.com and Outlook

Need to send an email to your book club or all the parents in your daughter’s class? If you email a group regularly, you can create an email distribution list, AKA a contact group, so you can send messages to them in a single click. Our blog shows you how to create email lists – in mail.com and using Outlook.


 

Woman sits at desk using computer with French bulldog on lap
In just a few clicks, create contact groups and send emails everyone on your list

Create a contact group in mail.com

The mail.com address book lets you assign your contacts to one or more groups. In addition to the pre-defined groups in Contacts, like “Family”, you can create custom groups. Your groups help you keep your address book organized, but can also function as email distribution lists.

To create a new group, log in to your mail.com account in the web browser and go to the Contacts tab. In the upper left corner, click New Group. In the window that opens, type in a name for your group and click Save. This new group will now appear on the list in your Groups tab.

Now it’s time to add contacts to your list. Click on the group name, then Add more Contacts.  All you have to do is select the addresses by clicking the box to the left of the names. Now press Save, and voila! You have a distribution list

Send an email to a group

Now it’s time to send an email to your mailing list. You can click on the name of the group in your address book, then click on the envelope symbol. A window will open for you to compose and send your message. Alternatively, you can click on Compose E-mail and simply start typing in the name of the group. The name will pop up as a prompt, and you can click it to add it to your recipients.
Screenshot of email group option in mail.com contacts
You can send a group email from your Contacts or your Compose E-mail window

Adding or deleting contacts to your email group

Did someone join your club and you’d like to add a contact to you distribution list? No problem! Just click Contacts to see all the people in your address book. Click on the name of the person you wish to add to your group, and their contact information will open. Mouse over the Groups heading and an Edit button will appear. Click Edit, then check the names of the contact groups you’d like to add the person to. Finally, click Save.

To remove someone from your distribution list, click on the name of the group and then click Edit in the upper right corner of the group information. Now mouse over the name you wish to delete and click the “-“ symbol that appears to the right of it. Finally, press Save.

Create an email group in Outlook

If you use MS Outlook to check your mail.com account, the process for creating an email distribution list will be slightly different. Here, email distribution lists are called Contact Groups. To create a distribution list in Outlook:
  1. In the lower left, select People – or if you are using compact navigation, click the people icon (see screenshot below).
  2. Select New Contact Group on your Home tab.
  3. Click Add Members to open an address book or list, then add addresses to your list by clicking them. When you are finished, click OK.
  4. Type in a name for your contact group.
  5. Once you have finished, click Save & Close.
Screenshot of People icon in MS Outlook email program
If you are using compact navigation in Outlook, look for this icon in the lower left corner

Your new distribution list will now appear in your Outlook contacts. Whenever you want to send an email to this Outlook group, simply click on its name on that list – or open a new email and start typing the name of the group into the To field, then select it when it pops up.

We hope you found this post helpful! Why not leave us some feedback before you start creating distribution lists!

Images: 1&1/GettyImages
 

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