Merge Hyperlinks
How to mail merge with hyperlinks using Mail Merge add-on?
This article describes how to mail merge with hyperlinks using Mail Merge add-on to allow a personalized hyperlink to be sent to each email recipient. When combined with a file sharing service such as Google Drive, mail merging with hyperlinks can be used to mail merge with attachments.
Step 1: Create two columns
In Google Sheets, create two new columns and name them as you want (e.g., Hyperlink URL and Hyperlink Text)
The Hyperlink URL column is going to contain the mail merge hyperlink reference (or mail merge URL link) such as https://www.quicklution.com, while the Hyperlink Text column is going to contain a representive text such as Quicklution.
Step 2: Add <link|X> tag
In the name of the Hyperlink URL column, add the tag <link|X> where 'X' is the letter of the Hyperlink Text column. This makes sure that the mail merge link in the Hyperlink URL column is associated with the text in the Hyperlink Text column.
Step 3: Insert hyperlink URLs and text
For each data row, insert a mail merge hyperlink URL and hyperlink text in the respective columns.
In the two examples below, job role description documents are shared with company employees as file link attachments. In both examples , the mail merge link URL (column G) links to a file link attachment containing a job role description specific to each employee's job role.
Step 4: Insert hyperlink merge fields
In your merge template, insert the hyperlink merge field as you would for any other merge field.
In each of the examples, the merge field *|Hyperlink URL <link|H>|* is added.
Example 1 (personalized mail merge hyperlink text)
Merge Template
Merged Content
Example 2 (same mail merge hyperlink text)
Merge Template
Merged Content
Both examples above show how to insert a hyperlink in a merge template to mail merge with attachments.
Mail merge with attachments using hyperlinks
When you mail merge a Google Drive file hyperlink, it appears as an attachment in Gmail. This means that mail merging with a hyperlink can be used as an alternative to mail merging with a file attachment, as shown in the screenshots below.
Email Template
Link to Google Drive file
Merged Email
Link to Google Drive file shown as an attachment