How to Add Contacts and Send Messages to a Distribution List in Outlook

If you often send the same messages to different people on Outlook, then creating a distribution list will be useful for you. It is somewhat like a group on Facebook or WhatsApp. By using an Outlook distribution list, you can send a message to multiple contacts at once. Creating an Outlook distribution is eas. Outlook gives you two ways to add people in a distribution list; you can directly add the email addresses of the person you want to add to the list or import the contacts from your address book. Once a distribution list is ready, you can send or share a message with all the people into it at once.

Here is how to add contacts and send messages to a distribution list in Outlook

Note: The instructions given in this guide will work on almost all newer versions of Microsoft Outlook.

Creating a distribution list in Outlook

The distribution list feature in Outlook is titled as Contact Group. Therefore, you’ll need to select the ‘Contact Group’ from the New Items button on the Home tab. Here is how to create a contact group (distribution list) in Outlook.

1. Open your ‘Outlook’ application.
2. Now, open the ‘Home’ tab from the top. It will be the second tab in the Outlook window.
3. Look for the ‘New Items’ button and click on it.
4. Go to ‘More Items’ in the New Items options.
5. And click on the ‘Contact Group.’ You can also try pressing ‘Ctrl + Shift + L’ shortcut keys. This will open the Contact Group window over the Outlook window.
6. Click on the ‘Name’ field of the Contact Group window and insert a name that you want your distribution list to have.
7. Follow the screen direction to finish creating the Contact Group.

After creating a distribution list, you’ll need to add people to it. 

Adding people to a Contact Group (distribution list) in Outlook

Use the “Add Members’ dropdown button of the Contact Group window to add members to your distribution list. You can add people from your Outlook Contacts, Address Book, and directly through an email address. Here is how.

1. Open your ‘Outlook’ application.
2. And then, open the ‘Contact Group’ window. Skip Step 1 and 2, if you’re already there.
3. Now, open the ‘Contact Group’ tab.
4. Look for the ‘Add Members’ dropdown button and click on it. A dropdown menu will pop-up with several options through which you can add members to your distribution list.
5. Click on ‘Outlook Contacts’ in the dropdown to choose people from your Outlook contacts. You can pick any method you want to use.
6. Now, find a contact you want to add to the Contact Group and select it to add. If you have a lot of contacts, then use the search to find the person by email address or name.
7. Repeat Step 6 to add all the contacts you want in the distribution list.
8. After you finish adding the entire members, click ‘OK.’
9. Then click the ‘Save & Close’ option of the Contact Group window.

The distribution list is now ready to use. You can now send a message at once to all of the added members by using your distribution list.

Sending a message to a Contact Group (distribution list) in Outlook

If you have a message that you want to share with all the people in your distribution list, then you can do it quickly by adding the distribution list in the “To” field of the new Outlook message. Here is how.

1. Open your ‘Outlook’ application.
2. Now, open the ‘Home’ tab from the top. It will be the second tab in the Outlook window.
3. Click on ‘New Email.’
4. Now, click the ‘To’ field of the new email message.
5. Select the distribution list you want to send the message. Remember, the entire contact of the selected distribution list will receive your message.

Tip: You can also add your email in the ‘To’ field to keep a copy of the email message.

1. Enter the other fields as usual.
2. Enter your message or attach the file you want to share.
3. Review your created message.
4. If everything is okay, click ’Send’ to send the message to the distribution list.

As soon as you click ‘Send,’ your message will be sent to all the persons in the selected distribution list. This will save a lot of your time and effort.

Richard Turner   is a creative person who has been writing blogs and articles about cyber security. He writes about the latest updates regarding mcafee.com/activate and how it can improve the work experience of users. His articles have been published in many popular e-magazines, blogs and websites.

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