Barbour ABI Training Room: How to Mail Merge Using the Platform

Welcome to the Barbour ABI Training Room series. In this blog we break down how you can use mail merge within the Barbour ABI platform. Further training and resources can be found in the ‘My Barbour ABI’ section of the website.

Filter Construction Data for Mail Merges

To find the right data for your mail merge, you want the search in the Barbour ABI platform to focus on People. You can also use Project or Company searches depending on what you want to target.

1. On the main screen of the platform, select People.
2. Click New Search then Filter to start refining your search.
3. Click Search for individual contacts.
4. Select Exact match and Job title.
5. Type the job title you’d like to target in the text box.
6. Click Roles and select the company roles you’d like to target to further enhance your search.
7. Click Updated and toggle the Filter by published or updated date option.
8. Select Updated and New. Move the slider to select the timescale of when the data was added to the platform.
9. Click Project location and select the project regions you are wanting to target.
10. Click Categories and select the type of projects you’re wanting to target.
11. Click View to see your filtered data. You can also view the associated projects by clicking the arrow next to each person in the list.
12. Click Save Search. Give the list a name in the text box, then click Save
    and Save Search.

Export Search Data from the Barbour ABI Platform

1. Click Export.
2. Click New Export.
3. Give the export a name in the text box.
4. Under Select export type, select Saved search.
5. Under Select a saved search, select your previously saved search.
6. Click Next.
7. Select from the list what you’d like to exclude and click Next.
8. Select from the list which data you’d like to mark as mailed today.
9. Click Export.
10. In the list of exports:
    1. Click Download to download and use the data immediately.
    2. Click Rerun to run the same export again and retrieve updated data.
11. When you’re downloading, save the list to a secure location on your device.
12. In Excel, to remove any repeat contacts – click Remove duplicates, select Person Email, and click OK.

Use Data in Word and Outlook to Send Targeted Emails

1. In the Barbour ABI platform, click the option to Get support with mail merges to access templates for mail merges.
2. Click Download email template. There are also options for letter and call list templates which you can use.
3. The template will automatically open in Word. The dynamic fields (marked with parenthesis) in the template will automatically pull data from the downloaded list. Add your own copy to the template to build the email you’d like to send.
4. Save the template onto your device so you can keep a record and reuse or come back to it later if you need to.
5. Make sure when you’re using Word that you’re signed in to the correct account in Office, as this will affect which address the email will be sent from.
6. Click Start Mail Merge and Step-by-Step Mail Merge Wizard.
7. Make sure you are on step 1 of the wizard. Click the Previous button if you need to.
8. In step 1, select Email messages and click Next.
9. In step 2:
   1. Select Use the current document to use the current template
   2. Select Start from a template to use a Word template
   3. Select Start from existing document to use another template you’ve saved
10. Click Next.
11. In step 3, select Use an existing list and click Select list.
12. Find and select your saved list of data and click Open. Make sure Open a Read Only copy is selected and click OK.
13. Click OK.
14. Check the correct data is being pulled through, then click OK and click Next.
15. In step 4, you can add more dynamic fields by clicking More items and selecting from the list, then click Next when you have all your desired fields.
16. In step 5, use the arrows to preview the emails that will be received by the list of recipients. Check the dynamic fields are pulling through correctly, then click Next.
17. In step 6, click Electronic Mail.
    1. Under To, select the field which contains the recipient email addresses.
    2. Under Subject line, type in the title of your email.
    3. Under Send records, select whether you want to send to all in the list, the current record you’re viewing, or a selection from the list.
18. Click OK.
19. Your mail merge will start sending, so make sure you keep the Word document open while this is in progress.

For more information on creating the best emails that boost interaction, view our blog on How to Boost the Impact of Your Email Marketing