How to Create a Distribution List in Outlook

A distribution list is now called a Contact Group in Outlook. It makes it easier to send emails to multiple people by entering one recipient, especially if it’s a large organization. 

You can include as many people as you want in a contact group. By simply using the name of this group, every member included will receive the email.  

How to Create a Distribution List in Outlook?

A distribution list saves you time and from the monotony of creating the same email for multiple people. To use this list, you can enter the list’s name in the recipient address of your email. To create a contact group, you can use the desktop client or the web app version of the app.

However, sometimes emails sent through this list can be marked as Spam on the recipient’s end.

Note: These steps are applicable for versions newer than Office 2010.

On PC

1. Open the Outlook app.
2. On the bottom left corner, find the navigation bar and click on the People icon.
   
3. Select a folder from the left panel where you want to save the contact group.
4. Click on New Contact Group from the top left corner of your screen.
   
5. Give the group a name and click on Add Members. Select people from Address Book or Contact List.
   
6. Double-click on the contact to add it to the list. You can add multiple contacts at once by pressing and holding the Ctrl key while selecting the addresses and click Ok. 
   
7. Click on Save & Close from the top right of the window. 
   

On Web

The web app version of Outlook has a slightly different interface than the desktop app. To create a distribution list using the web version, follow these steps. 

1. Go to Outlook and log in to your account.
2. From the sidebar on the left, click on the People icon. 
   
3. Press the arrow next to New contact to reveal a drop-down menu. Then select New contact list.
   
4. Give the list a name and enter an email address and click on Add.
5. Press the Create button. 
   

Using Distribution List in Outlook

After you create a distribution list, you can easily send emails to multiple people at the same time. To do so, simply follow these steps on your app or web version.

1. Open Outlook.
2. Click on the Message icon and Select New email.
   
3. Enter the names of the contact list in the recipient address.
4. Type in your message and hit Send. 
   

Editing Distribution List in Outlook

Once you create a distribution list, you can add or remove members from the list. You can do so in the following way.

On PC

1. Open Outlook and click on the People icon on the bottom left.
   
2. Select your contact group and click on three horizontal dots.
3. Click on Edit Outlook Contact.
   
4. Click on the name of the person you want to remove and click on Remove Member from the Contact Group tab. To add a member, click on Add Members and select the address.
   
5. Click on Save and Close.

On web version

1. Sign in to your account on Outlook and click on the People icon from the left panel.
   
2. Go to All contact lists and click on the list you want to edit, and click on Edit.
   
3. To add an email address, enter the address and click on Add. To remove an address, select the x icon on the email address you want to remove. To edit the name of the list, enter a new name in the Contact list name field.