How to Automate Email Sending in Outlook

Outlook users often find themselves spending more time managing their inbox than they’d like. However, by automating tasks within Outlook, the average user can save up to 4 hours each week. Automating email sending in Outlook ensures that you're staying on top of your communication without constant manual effort. 

Scheduling emails, setting up recurring messages, and automating replies can streamline your workflow and significantly boost productivity. In this blog, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of automating your email sending in Outlook. Let’s get started.

In A Nutshell:

Here’s a TL;DR section with bullet points, clearly explaining the key takeaways:

TL;DR: Key Takeaways

• Automatic Emails in Outlook: These are pre-written emails that are sent automatically, either based on a set schedule or triggered by specific actions.

• Benefits of Automating Emails: Automating emails saves time, boosts productivity, and ensures timely communication, whether for follow-ups, reminders, or out-of-office replies.

• Setting Up Out-of-Office Replies: Easily set up out-of-office replies in New Outlook, Classic Outlook, or Outlook Web with clear instructions for each version.

• Using Power Automate for Recurring Emails: Utilize Power Automate to schedule and send recurring emails automatically, making email workflows more efficient.

• Best Practices for Automated Emails: Ensure personalization, clarity, and optimization for deliverability to ensure your automated emails are well-received and effective.

What Are Automatic Emails in Outlook?

Automatic emails in Outlook are pre-written messages that are sent automatically either at a scheduled time or triggered by specific actions. These emails can be used to ensure timely communication without manual effort, whether it’s for recurring tasks, follow-ups, or responses. 

Benefits of Automating Outlook Emails

When you automate your Outlook emails, you eliminate the time spent on repetitive tasks, allowing you to focus on more strategic activities. Here are the top five advantages:

1. Customized Marketing Experience

Automated Outlook emails allow you to tailor your messages to meet the preferences, pain points, and expectations of your audience. Custom offers, personalized greetings, and tailored content can boost conversions while strengthening customer relationships, ensuring your audience remains engaged.

2. Higher Engagement Rates

Recurring automated emails often result in significantly higher open rates and click-through rates. This is because optimized timing and content resonate more with recipients, driving better engagement and client retention.

3. Hassle-Free Communication

With automated emails, you can be certain that messages are delivered on time, every time, without manual intervention. This consistency builds trust with your audience and enhances your brand credibility.

4. Time and Cost Efficiency

Email automation reduces the need for manual labor, which lowers operational costs and boosts overall team productivity. The time saved from not manually sending emails can be reinvested into more critical areas of your business.

5. Seamless Outreach

With email automation, you can schedule your outreach at the ideal time for maximum impact. Sending appointment reminders, follow-up emails, or promotional content through automation ensures timely delivery to the right people, greatly increasing the chances of conversions.

Automating your Outlook emails drives engagement and builds stronger relationships with your audience while saving time and resources. NewMail AI can enhance this process by automatically sorting and categorizing emails based on your preferences, ensuring you never miss an important communication. Get started today!

Next, let’s learn what an effective out-of-office message should include.

What Does An Out-of-Office Message Include?

Just a few pieces of information in out-of-office messages can go a long way in setting expectations for those who reach out while you're away. Here's what to include for the perfect out-of-office message:

1. Clear and Concise Subject Line

Your subject line should be brief yet clear. It should instantly notify the sender that you're unavailable.
Example: Out of Office: [Your Name] Will Be Back on [Date]

2. Personal Greeting 

A friendly greeting sets the tone for the rest of your message. Keeping it warm yet professional helps maintain a positive connection.
Example: Hello,
Thank you for reaching out!

3. Reason for Your Absence

While it’s not always necessary to share why you’re away, a brief mention can be helpful. You can keep it simple, like "on vacation" or "attending a conference," or you can skip the explanation entirely.
Example: I’m currently out of the office attending a workshop.

4. Dates of Absence

It’s essential to let people know when you'll be unavailable and when you’ll be able to respond. You can provide specific dates or a rough timeframe.
Example: I will be out until [Date] and will respond to your email once I return.

5. Point of Contact During Your Absence

Always offer an alternative contact in case the matter is urgent or requires immediate attention. This ensures your work continues smoothly while you're away.
Example: For urgent matters, please reach out to [Contact Name] at [Contact Email].

6. Sign-off and Signature

Wrap up your message with a polite closing. If you have a signature, there’s no need to add your name again, but be sure to include any necessary information, like your job title.
Example: Looking forward to connecting upon my return,
[Your Name]
[Your Position]

Following these guidelines helps you create an out-of-office message that keeps communication flowing smoothly and ensures the right expectations are set while you're away.

With the basics of an out-of-office message covered, let’s move on to setting up automatic replies in Outlook.

How to Send Automatic (Out-of-Office) Reply Emails in Outlook

When you’re away from work, it’s important to let people know you're not available, especially if you're on leave or vacation. Here's how to set it up in both the new and classic versions of Outlook:

1. Setting Up Out-of-Office Replies in New Outlook

Microsoft has streamlined the process for the new version of Outlook, making it quick and easy to set up your automated replies.

• Step 1: Open Outlook and click on the Settings (gear icon) in the top right corner.

• Step 2: Go to Accounts ➡ Automatic Replies and toggle the Automatic replies option to On.

• Step 3: Choose your out-of-office period and customize your message.

• Step 4: Click Save, and you're all set!

You can even opt to automatically cancel meetings and decline invitations during your time away.

2. Setting Up Out-of-Office Replies in Classic Outlook

The classic version of Outlook is a bit more time-consuming, but it's still manageable with these steps:

• Step 1: Open Outlook and click on File in the top left corner.

• Step 2: Select Automatic Replies (or Out-of-Office Assistant if you're using an older version).

• Step 3: Customize your message and save it.

You can set different replies for people inside and outside your organization.

3. Setting Up Out-of-Office Replies in Outlook Web

If you’re using Outlook on the web (or Outlook.com), here’s how to set up your automatic replies:

• Step 1: Click the Settings icon, then navigate to Mail ➡ Automatic Replies.

• Step 2: Toggle the Turn on automatic replies option.

• Step 3: Choose Send replies only during a time period and enter the start and end times for your absence.

• Step 4: You can also block your calendar, automatically decline new invitations, or cancel meetings during your time away.

• Step 5: Write a custom message for both internal and external senders, if needed.

• Step 6: Save your settings.

Note: If you didn’t set a time period, you’ll need to manually turn off the automatic replies once you return.

These steps ensure that your inbox remains organized while you’re away, and others are informed about your absence without you needing to check your emails constantly. 

Once you've set your out-of-office replies, NewMail AI helps automate your email management by generating context-based responses. This ensures nothing important slips through the cracks while you're away.

How to Set Up Automating Recurring Emails in Outlook

While setting up automating recurring emails may seem tricky, especially for new or classic Outlook versions, the process can be straightforward once you know the steps. Here's how you can do it:

1. For New Outlook (Using Power Automate)

1. Access Power Automate:

   • Open Outlook and go to the menu (the nine dots in the top-left corner).

   • Look for "Power Automate" or click on "More Apps" if it’s not visible.

2. Create a Flow for Recurring Emails:

   • In Power Automate, click on "Get Started" to begin the process of creating an email automation flow.

   • Follow the prompts to set up your recurring email with the desired frequency and content.

   • Power Automate is reliable and ensures your emails are sent on time, even when you're not at your desk.

2. For Classic Outlook (Using Auto Follow-Up)

1. Open the Auto Follow-Up Tab:

   • In Outlook, go to the "Auto Follow Up" tab and select “Recurring Messages.”

2. Compose Your Email:

   • Write the email you want to send repeatedly.

   • Customize the timing and frequency of the email (e.g., weekly, monthly) using the settings on the right.

3. Save and Review:

   • After setting up the recurring email, verify the recipients, subject, and message.

   • Save the email and close the window to finish the process.

Types of Recurring Emails You Can Set Up

• Reminder Emails: Ideal for recurring deadlines, meeting schedules, or task updates.

• Updates: Use for regular project progress reports or status updates.

• Follow-up Emails: Automate follow-ups for leads or client communication.

• Policy/Guideline Emails: Send regular reminders about company policies or training materials. 

Automating Email Responses Using Outlook Rules

Outlook’s Rules feature is a powerful tool that helps you automate responses, forward emails, or categorize them based on specific criteria. 

1. Go to File > Manage Rules & Alerts in Outlook.

2. Click on New Rule, then select Apply rule on messages I receive.

3. Set your conditions, such as emails from a specific sender or messages with certain keywords (e.g., “customer support” or “inquiry”).

4. Choose the option “Reply using a specific template” and create your automatic response template.

5. Click Next, then Finish to activate your rule.

Following these steps allows you to automate emails in Outlook, freeing up your time while ensuring your communication remains consistent and timely.

Also Read: How to Undo Send in Outlook Email(Web, Desktop & Mobile Guide)

While automating recurring emails is helpful, it’s important to also consider the limitations. Let’s look at some of these restrictions.

Limitations of Sending Automated Emails in Outlook

While Outlook is widely used for its simplicity and functionality, it has its fair share of limitations when it comes to automating email sending. Here are the key drawbacks that can hinder your email automation efforts:

• No Built-In A/B Testing
  Outlook doesn’t support this feature, meaning you’ll have to manually send different versions of your emails. This approach is time-consuming, and without proper testing, you risk lowering your campaign’s effectiveness and ROI.

• Risk to Your Sender Reputation
  Without proper tracking, it’s difficult to know if your emails are landing in spam or being rejected. In the absence of bounce or spam tracking, you risk damaging your reputation with email service providers (ESPs), which could impact your deliverability.

• Challenging Email Campaign Management
  Sorting through replies and tracking results of Outlook campaigns becomes a hassle, especially for large-scale campaigns. For email marketers, using a dedicated email automation tool is essential to manage campaigns efficiently and scale your efforts effectively.

While Outlook offers some basic email automation features, its limitations make it unsuitable for someone looking to run a large or personalized email campaign. 

Finally, let’s wrap things up with the best practices for sending automatic emails.

Best Practices for Sending Automatic Emails in Microsoft Outlook

Here are some best practices to ensure your automated emails are professional, well-received, and achieve their intended purpose:

• Personalization is Essential: Automated emails should not feel impersonal. Personalizing your emails can significantly increase engagement and make your communication more relevant.

• Include specific details: Tailor the content with information like prior conversations, project specifics, or upcoming meetings to make the email feel more relevant.

• Utilize tools for consistency: Tools like NewMail AI help you maintain personalization without losing the consistency needed in automated responses, ensuring your emails align with your brand messaging.

• Be clear and concise: Keep your message direct and to the point, while maintaining a courteous and professional tone.

• Set expectations: If you mention a follow-up or confirm receipt, clearly communicate when the recipient can expect a response.

• Avoid spammy language: Refrain from excessive capitalization, multiple exclamation marks, or phrases like "URGENT!!!".

• Use a verified sender domain: Sending emails from your company domain (e.g., yourname@company.com) rather than free email providers like Gmail helps improve deliverability.

• Send during optimal hours: Schedule emails to send during mid-morning on weekdays, which increases the likelihood of your message being read.

Also Read: Using Your New Outlook AI Virtual Assistant

Following these best practices ensures your automated emails are effective and your messages are delivered professionally and successfully.

Conclusion

An effective out-of-office message is a simple yet powerful tool to manage expectations while you’re away. On vacation, attending a conference, or just taking a brief break, an organized and polite message helps maintain professionalism and prevents any misunderstandings. 

Hence, it’s worth setting up your out-of-office reply and rest easy knowing your contacts are informed and your workflow stays on track. It’s essential to automate email replies while you're away, but NewMail AI helps you stay on top of your email tasks even after you return. Here's how:

• Automated Replies: Set up personalized out-of-office responses with ease, so your contacts know when to expect a reply and who to reach out to while you're away.

• Intelligent Tagging: Organize your inbox with smart folders, helping you stay organized and ensuring you don’t miss critical messages once you return.

• Smart Drafts: Save time by letting NewMail AI generate email drafts based on context, so you can quickly respond to urgent emails when you’re back.

• Daily Briefings: Get daily summaries of your inbox, so you're always in the loop, whether you’re catching up after a break or just need a quick overview.

Let NewMail AI help you automate the email process, manage responses effortlessly, and ensure your inbox stays organized. Get started today and make email management simpler and more efficient.