Want to send a bunch of emails personalized to each recipient? Sending mass emails is easy using Microsoft Word's mail merge, less so with Gmail. This Google Docs template, however, brings email merging to Gmail.
The free template is provided by consulting firm IT4SmallBusiness and includes in-depth instructions on the first tab.
To start using this template, log into Gmail, open the MailMerge Google Docs template, and make a copy of it to your Google Docs account (under File > Make a copy...). Write your email on the second sheet, "Email text" and add the special fields like <>. Then go to the third sheet to add the data that will replace those special fields (e.g., the list of email recipients, their names, and other personalized info).
Note that you'll probably want to send your mass emails in batches, lest Google label you a spammer. Mail merge with Gmail would be handy for a lot of uses, from mailing clients/customers to sending party invitations with custom instructions, as the example shows.
