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How to Automatically Send Birthday Emails From an Excel List

Jason Miller Oct 21, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user wants to generate and send personalized birthday emails automatically based on client names, birth dates, and email addresses stored in an Excel spreadsheet.

How to Automatically Send Birthday Emails From an Excel List

Product: Excel, Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Managing customer relationships by sending timely, personalized birthday greetings using a spreadsheet database.
Observed behavior: Needs a reliable workflow to automate or schedule the creation and sending of bulk emails triggered by dates in an existing list.

Before you start

Ensure your Excel list has clearly labeled column headers for Name, Birth Date, and Email Address, and verify that your default desktop email client (such as Outlook) is properly configured.

Solution 1Recommended

Use Mail Merge in Microsoft Word and Excel

The standard and most effective method for sending customized bulk emails is utilizing the Mail Merge feature to connect a Word document template directly to your Excel contact list.

Mail Merge allows you to create one template document and dynamically fill in personal details for each recipient. When combined with your email client, it generates individual emails rather than one mass email with hidden recipients.

Prepare your Excel data

Open your Excel spreadsheet, verify all contact information is accurate and headers are in the first row. Save the file and completely close out of Excel.

Start Mail Merge in Word

Open Microsoft Word, create a blank document, and navigate to the 'Mailings' tab. Click 'Start Mail Merge' and select 'Email Messages' from the dropdown menu.

Connect the Excel list

Still on the Mailings tab, click 'Select Recipients', choose 'Use an Existing List', and browse your computer to open your saved Excel birthday list.

Filter for current birthdays

Click 'Edit Recipient List'. In the window that appears, filter the 'Birth Date' column so that only the contacts with a birthday matching your intended sending date are displayed, then click 'OK'.

Insert personalized fields

Draft your birthday email message in the Word document. Click 'Insert Merge Field' to place dynamic data placeholders, such as the recipient's first name, directly into your greeting.

Send the emails

Click 'Finish & Merge' and select 'Send Email Messages'. In the dialog box, choose your email address column for the 'To' field, type a subject line (e.g., 'Happy Birthday!'), and click 'OK' to route the emails through your default mail client.

Use Mail Merge in Microsoft Word and Excel

Email Client Requirement: This method requires a desktop email client like Microsoft Outlook to be set as your system's default email app. Web-based clients alone cannot process the merge directly from Word.

Easily Send Bulk Emails in WPS

Use WPS Writer and Spreadsheets for Seamless Mail Merge

WPS Office includes a robust, built-in Mail Merge feature that seamlessly links your WPS Spreadsheets data with your WPS Writer documents, making it incredibly simple to send customized birthday emails in bulk.

1. Open WPS Writer: Launch WPS Writer, navigate to the 'References' or 'Mailings' tab on the top ribbon, and click 'Mail Merge' to activate the toolset.
2. Open your Data Source: Click 'Open Data Source' and select your WPS Spreadsheet (.xlsx) containing the list of client names, birth dates, and emails.
3. Insert Merge Fields: Type out your birthday greeting template. Use the 'Insert Merge Field' button to add placeholders like '«Name»' to personalize each message.
4. Merge to Email: Once your template is ready, click 'Merge to Email'. Select the column containing the email addresses, enter your subject line, and WPS will process and send the emails through your configured desktop mail client.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) and Word (.docx) file formats.Built-in Mail Merge feature to easily send personalized birthday emails directly from your spreadsheets.Intuitive Mailings tab that simplifies the workflow without complex configurations.Free and lightweight alternative for managing your daily office and communication tasks.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I fully automate the emails so they send in the background exactly on the birthday?

Standard Mail Merge requires you to manually initiate the process. To achieve fully hands-off automation, you would need to use advanced VBA macros within Excel, or integrate your spreadsheet with a dedicated email marketing platform or automation tool like Zapier.

Why aren't my emails sending after I click Finish & Merge?

This usually happens if a default desktop email client is not set up. Ensure that an application like Microsoft Outlook or Windows Mail is installed, logged into your email account, and configured as the default mail application in your Windows or Mac system settings.

How do I ensure the birth date looks correct in the email instead of displaying as a random number?

Sometimes Excel date values import as raw numbers. To fix this, you can format the date column as 'Text' in your Excel spreadsheet before saving, or use a date picture switch in Word by pressing Alt+F9 and adding '\@ "MMMM d, yyyy"' inside your merge field code.

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