A Step-by-step Guide to Make an Email Group in Outlook

Creating an email group in Outlook is a game-changer for anyone regularly communicating with the same set of people. 

If you often find yourself manually adding email addresses each time, you’ll love how Outlook groups can simplify your workflow. 

For instance, our marketing team tackled a big project with multiple departments by setting up an Outlook group. This centralized all communication, reducing inbox clutter and ensuring no updates were missed. 

In this guide, I’ll walk you through creating, managing, and effectively using Outlook email groups, and even introduce advanced tips for personalized communication with your contacts.

What is an email group in Outlook?

An email group in Outlook, often referred to as a contact group, is a collection of email addresses that allows you to send messages to multiple recipients at once. 

Rather than manually entering each recipient’s email address every time you want to send a message to a group of people, you can simply use the name or address of the email group, and Outlook will automatically distribute the message to all members of the group.

Benefits of creating a group in Microsoft Outlook

Creating a Microsoft Outlook group offers numerous benefits that can enhance your productivity and efficiency at work. 

• By managing contacts and emails in groups, communication and collaboration become less time-consuming and more streamlined. 

• With a Microsoft Outlook group, you can quickly send messages, organize meetings, and share files with multiple people simultaneously, eliminating the need to contact each person individually. 

• Groups provide a central platform for team discussions and file sharing, ensuring everyone stays updated with the latest information. 

• You can categorize your contacts by department, project, or location, making it easier to find the right contact information when needed. 

• An Outlook group helps you stay informed without being overwhelmed by individual emails, allowing you to focus on your tasks. 

• Clear communication channels established through group creation ensure everyone remains on the same page. 

Additionally, Microsoft Outlook groups offer features like shared calendars, task management, and customizable permissions, further enhancing collaboration and productivity.

Recommended Read: How to create a group in Gmail?

How to create an email group in Outlook?

In this section, you will learn how to create an email group in Outlook using:

1. Windows
2. Mac
3. Web-App

Using Windows

This is how you create a group in Outlook for Windows:

Step 1

Open Outlook. Move to the navigation pane and click on the People icon.

You can also select New Items > More Items > Contact Group from the Home tab.

Step 2

Under My Contacts, choose the folder where you want to save the contact group. Most people prefer to save the new contact group in the contacts folder.

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Step 3

Click on the Home tab in the top ribbon and select “New Contact Group” by pressing the corresponding button.

Step 4

Set a group name for your contact group in the name field.

Step 5

Click on “Add Members” and choose to add member emails from “Address Book,” “Outlook Contacts,” or by creating a “New Contact.”

Here’s what each option entails:

• From Address Book: This option typically includes the email addresses of everyone in your Outlook address book, usually within your organization.
• Outlook Contact List: This mainly consists of external contacts stored in your Microsoft Outlook contacts folder.
• Make a New Contact: This allows you to create and add a new contact to the list.

If your contact list includes only people from your organization, you can add multiple individuals from your company’s global address list. This electronic address book contains the contact details of everyone within the organization.

Step 6

After you have selected all the desired members from the selection dialog box and completed setting up your group, click “Save & Close” to finalize. The Members box will close.

Once saved, you can test your new group by sending a message to the group contact list.

Using Mac

How to create email groups for Mac

Step 1

Open Outlook, go to the navigation bar and click on People.

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Step 2

Next, click on the Home tab and choose “New Contact List” from the navigation bar using the new contact group button to create your group.

Step 3

When the contact group window appears, assign a name to your list of contact emails

Step 4

Click on “Add” just below the navigation bar, and enter each person’s email address to add them to the contact list.

You can continue adding more people using the members’ box.

You can also include a current list of email contacts in your new list.

Step 5

Once you’ve completed your contact list, click “Save & Close” to finalize it. After saving, you can test your contact group by sending an email to your list of contacts.

Using web-app

Creating an email group on Outlook for Outlook Web App.

Step 1

Open the Outlook desktop app and click the Contacts icon located on the left-hand side.

Step 2

Click the small arrow next to the blue “New contact” button and choose “New group” from the drop-down menu.

Step 3

When the dialog box appears, enter the name of the contact group you wish to create. Add the group details in the description field, and then click “Create.”

Step 4

Enter the email addresses or names of the contacts you wish to include in the email group. After selecting the contacts, click “Add” to complete the process.

If you’re the owner of a group, locating the groups you’ve created is simple. Navigate to the People page, click the hamburger menu, and select Groups > Owner.

For better understanding you can also look into this video.

Recommended Read: How to send automatic emails in Outlook? | Complete Guide

How do Outlook email groups work?

Once you’ve set up an email group in your Microsoft Outlook account, there’s no need to enter each email address individually anymore. You can email all the members by simply typing the group’s name or ID in the To field of your email.

Outlook groups enhance productivity and save time daily. Here are some practical uses:

• Team Communication: If you’re part of your company’s marketing department, you can create an email group to easily share feedback and updates with your team.
• Shared Interests: If you and some colleagues share an interest, like basketball, you can use an email group to discuss games or organize events.
• Family Connections: Create an email group for your family to stay in touch easily, sending messages to parents, siblings, or children for group conversations.

Overall, Outlook email groups are a powerful, flexible tool for efficient communication.

Ready to create your first email group in Outlook? The next section will guide you through the process.

How to send an email to a contact group in Outlook?

Here’s how to send an email to a group with multiple recipients you’ve created in Outlook:

Open a new email message and enter your subject and body text. In the To field, begin typing the group ID instead of individual email addresses.

When the group name appears, select it and click Send. Your email will be delivered to all the group members’ inboxes.

How to edit a contact list in Outlook?

Need to add a new email contact or change the group ID of an existing group?

It’s easy!

Open the Outlook app (on any platform or the web) and start a new message. Enter the group ID in the To field, right-click on the group name, and select Edit Contact.

The contact group tab will open, allowing you to easily add or remove members from the existing group.

How to add or remove contacts from your Outlook email group?

You can conveniently add or remove members from your Outlook email group even after its creation. Here’s how:

1. Open Outlook.
2. Navigate to People.
3. Select your Outlook email group.
4. Click on Manage group members.
5. To remove a member, click the X next to their name and confirm by clicking Yes. To add a new member, click Add members, enter their name or email address, and click Add.

And there you have it! Add new members to your group to include them in your upcoming plans and continue the conversation.

How to delete an email group in Outlook?

If you no longer need an Outlook email group, you can delete it with just a few clicks. Follow these steps:

1. Launch Outlook.
2. Navigate to the People section.
3. Access your email group.
4. Click on Edit.
5. Select Delete group from the options.

Step 6: Check the box confirming that you understand all group content will be deleted. Then, click Delete to proceed.

Note that deleting your group will remove all associated content, such as group conversations, calendar events, and attached files.

FAQs

How to create a contact list in Outlook? 

To create a contact list in Outlook, open the Contacts section, click on “New Contact List” or “New Group” depending on your Outlook version, and then add contacts by typing their email addresses or selecting from your existing contacts.

How to create a group email in Outlook without recipients showing? 

To send a group email in Outlook without showing recipients, use the BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) field. Start a new email, enter your own email address in the To field, click BCC, and then add the email addresses of your recipients. This keeps their email addresses private.

How do I create a contact group or distribution list in Outlook online? 

In Outlook online, go to the People section, click on “New contact list” or “New group,” name your group, and add members by typing their email addresses or selecting from your contacts.

How to create a mail merge in Outlook? 

To create a mail merge in Outlook, you’ll typically use Microsoft Word along with Outlook. Write your email in Word, connect it to your Outlook contacts, and personalize each email with fields from your contact list.

How do I send a group email list to someone? 

To send a group email list to someone in Outlook, export your contacts to a CSV file from the Contacts section. Attach this file to an email and send it to the recipient. They can then import this list into their own Outlook or email client.