Send to Multiple People Easily

A contact group (sometimes called a distribution list) lets you email a group of people by typing just one name. Instead of adding each person individually, you add the group and everyone receives the email.

Creating a Contact Group in Outlook Desktop

Step-by-Step

Open Outlook
Go to People (or Contacts) at the bottom of the navigation
Go to the Home tab
Click New Contact Group
Enter a name for your group (e.g., "Marketing Team" or "Project Alpha")
Click Add Members
Choose where to add from:

- From Outlook Contacts - From Address Book (company directory) - New E-mail Contact (type an email address)

Select the people you want to add
Click Members (or double-click names)
Click OK
Click Save & Close

Adding Members from Address Book

Click Add Members > From Address Book
Search for names in your organisation
Double-click names to add them
Click OK when done

Adding External Email Addresses

Click Add Members > New E-mail Contact
Enter the person's name and email address
Click OK

Creating a Contact Group in Outlook Web

For Outlook.com and Microsoft 365 Online

Go to outlook.com or your Microsoft 365 Outlook
Click People in the left navigation
Click New contact dropdown
Select New contact list
Enter a name for the list
Type email addresses and press Enter after each
Click Create

Using Your Contact Group

Sending an Email to the Group

Create a new email
In the To field, type the group name
Select it from suggestions
Compose your message
Click Send

Everyone in the group receives the email.

Sending to Group Plus Individuals

You can add the group and additional individual recipients:

Type the group name in To or Cc
Add individual email addresses as needed
Send the email

Managing Contact Groups

Adding New Members

Go to People/Contacts
Find and open your contact group
Click Add Members
Add the new people
Click Save & Close

Removing Members

Open the contact group
Select the member to remove
Click Remove Member
Click Save & Close

Renaming a Contact Group

Open the contact group
Change the name at the top
Click Save & Close

Deleting a Contact Group

Go to People/Contacts
Right-click the contact group
Select Delete
Confirm deletion

Deleting the group does not delete the individual contacts.

Contact Group Tips

Use Clear Names

Name groups by team, project, or purpose
Examples: "Sales Team", "Board Members", "Event Committee"
This makes them easy to find when composing emails

Keep Groups Updated

Add new team members when they join
Remove people who leave or change roles
Review groups periodically

Check Recipients Before Sending

Click the + icon next to the group name in To field to expand and see all members
This confirms who will receive your email
Useful for checking the group is up to date

Use Bcc for Large Groups

When emailing many people who do not know each other:

Put the group in Bcc instead of To
Put your own email in To
This hides recipients' email addresses from each other

Nested Groups

You can add one contact group inside another contact group. For example, a "All Staff" group could contain "Marketing Team", "Sales Team", etc.

Shared Contact Groups

Sharing via Email

Create a new email
Attach the contact group (drag it to the email)
Send to colleagues
They can add it to their contacts

Company Distribution Lists

Your IT department may have created shared distribution lists for your organisation. These appear in the Address Book and cannot be edited by regular users.

Common Questions

Can I Reply to Just One Person in a Group Email?

Yes. When replying to an email sent to a group, you can choose:

Reply (goes only to the sender)
Reply All (goes to everyone)

Do Recipients Know They Are in a Group?

Recipients see the group name in the To field. They do not see the individual members unless they expand it.

Can Others Edit My Contact Groups?

No. Personal contact groups are private to your account. For shared groups, your IT department manages company-wide distribution lists.

Need Help?

For Outlook help or group email setup, contact helpdesk@netlumait.com.au or call 1300 521 162.

How to Create a Contact Group (Distribution List) in Outlook