How to Export an Email List from Gmail

Today, we’re going to show you a simple process to do just that, with step-by-step instructions anyone can follow.

What is Gmail?

Gmail is the email service from Google. In 2004, it was first rolled out as an experiment, with users joining on an invitation-only basis. The experimentation phase of Gmail ended in 2009, making this email client available to the general public. 

The service was designed to outperform all the other email services available, offering a huge amount of storage space, an interface that is well-designed and easy-to-use advanced security features, and multiple inboxes that are easy to manage thanks to various filters and labels. 

These excellent features are why Gmail stands out from the competition and why it’s so popular as an email client worldwide today. Gmail comes included with Google Workspace, but can also be used as an independent program.

Nowadays, there’s hardly a person without an email address on Gmail. And perhaps you use one too, for your business account. However, Gmail is not the best for business use, which is why you may want to export your mailing list from Gmail to some other tool.

Here is how to do just that.

How to export Google contacts

If you need to download an email list from Gmail, you’ll be glad to hear that no matter what your reasons are for doing so, all it takes is a few simple steps. To start, click on the Gmail dropdown app menu that can be found on the left side menu of the navigation pane in your Gmail account. Select ‘Contacts’ from the next dropdown app menu that appears.

This will bring up a dialogue box from which you can select ‘Group’. Then, choose the group from which you want to download your mailing list. You can choose your main contact list, a list of the most contacted recipients, or any other group you have created. Click on ‘All Contacts’ if you want to export every single email address to your Gmail account.

Once you do this, the download wizard will direct you to a page where you can choose the file format you wish to save your downloaded email list. If you want to use your exported contact list outside of Gmail, then CSV format is one of the most recommended email options. Once you’ve chosen your desired file format, click on ‘Export’.

This will bring up a new dialogue box to save the downloaded list. Click ‘Save File’ and then ‘OK’ before choosing the location where you wish to save your file. Name your file, and finally, click on ‘Save’ before checking that it has successfully been saved to your chosen location.

How to export emails as well as contacts in Gmail

Along with exporting all of your contacts from Gmail, there is also the option to export email messages. You might want to do this to back your messages up or simply because you wish to move them to a different platform and do business through email. 

To export your email messages from Gmail, start by opening your web browser, heading to Gmail, and signing in if needed. Once you’ve logged in, click on Google Apps. This is a nine-rectangle symbol that is located in the top-right corner. Once the dropdown menu appears, click on ‘Account’ and head to ‘Personal Info & Privacy’. 

Then, select ‘Control Your Content’ from the top-left corner. Select ‘Create Archive’ and click on ‘Select Data to Include’. Press ‘Next’, and select the desired formatting option from the available choices. Once complete, click on ‘create archive’. 

Wait a few seconds or minutes for Gmail to export all your emails. You will then receive an email in your Gmail inbox containing a zip file that includes all your archived email messages.

For email marketers, this can be a useful practice to hone their email strategy and write more effective emails – as they can analyze the emails they wrote and received from their email audience.

Why you should organize your Gmail contact list

Before exporting your contacts from Gmail, you might want to organize them into different lists and email folders. If you’re running a business using Gmail, your contacts are especially important. 

Even if you’re not exporting your list, keeping them well-organized can make communication with important people easier and help you achieve business success. Organization and management of your Gmail contacts help with faster and hassle-free exporting and can also be a critical step in strengthening your business relationships instead of doing just a regular email blast.

Perhaps, like many Gmail users, you’ve not given much thought to your Gmail contacts and you only see them as something for online conversations. The good news is that Gmail offers a range of excellent contact management tools that allow you to use your Gmail contact details when using Google’s other tools for productivity, such as the Calendar.

Why is my Google Contacts list important?

You might wonder why having a well-organized and managed list of contacts is so important. After all, Gmail will conveniently automatically store any email IDs you send emails to. However, taking the time to sort and organize your contacts will make it easier for you if you export them in the future, enabling you to use better the full list of features that Google offers. 

Bear in mind that over time, you might end up with lots of contacts in Gmail, some of which you have no reason to contact again in the future. Organizing them into groups that make sense is always better, allowing you to find and reach the contacts you are in touch with more quickly. For example, you can send cold emails to segmented lists of emails with ease.

Moreover, lists of emails frequently get outdated with contact addresses that are no longer used, and a clean email list is a prerequisite for a great email strategy.

Since your Gmail contact list is a part of your overall Google account, the list you set up in Gmail will be the same as the one you might use with other Google Workspace tools, which can make it easier when sharing documents and files or sharing your calendar, for example.

On a related note, it’s easier to send email newsletters, cold emails or other batch emails if you have your bulk email lists neat and in order. One of the secrets to effective emails that all email marketers know is that the quality of your list determines the results.

How to import a Gmail contact list

If you are moving to Gmail from another email client, then the first step to getting names on your Gmail contact list is to import them. To do this, log into your Gmail account and select More, then Import, on the left side menu of the Contacts window. 

This will bring up a box entitled ‘Import contacts from other accounts’. Once this appears, click on the email client you currently use where your contacts are saved. You will usually be prompted to agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and then asked to enter your login details to access your other email client. Follow all the prompts until your contact list is imported to Gmail. 

Once complete, your Gmail account will display a list of imported contacts. They will usually be placed in a contact group called ‘Imported (Your Email Client) Contacts. You can change the name of this group later if you wish. Remember that you can only use this method to import up to 3,000 contacts at once. 

If you need more email contacts to import, then you should use your other email client to create an export list in CSV format that can be separated into lists containing fewer than 3,000 names. This way, you can easily send mass emails (or bulk emails) with Gmail or another tool of your choice later on.

How to create a new contact in Gmail

Sometimes you want to add somebody you have just met as a contact in Gmail, for example, if you’ve been given a business card containing somebody’s email address. To add a new contact in Gmail, head to the search bar at the top of the window, where you can look for a contact by typing in the email address and hitting the search button. 

Alternatively, you can use the label icon on the lower right of the window. Click on the ‘Add new contacts’ icon and type the name of the contact that you wish to add when prompted, along with their profile icon. You may be provided with suggestions based on the name that you type using existing Google+ profiles. 

Then, click on ‘Create’, which will bring up a blank contact card. Enter all the information you want to store on your new contact and click the ‘Save’ button. You’re now one step closer to your next email campaign.

How to build Gmail contacts list or Google Groups

There is a Gmail groups feature that helps anyone sort their busy inboxes and facilitate the communication process – it’s called Google Groups.

The Google Groups feature allows you to better organize your Gmail contacts by grouping them together based on your chosen criteria, with each group containing an email address for each participant. For example, you may have one group for friends, another for family, one for co-workers, one for clients, one for employees, and other types of Google Groups with a different list of persons you want to reach out to. 

To create a group, head to the Contacts window and click on ‘New Group in the side panel. This will bring up a pop-up. Name your group and then click on ‘Create Group’. Then you can add contacts by clicking on the ‘Add person’ contact button on the lower right. Click on the person’s name to add them to the group, or click on ‘Create’ to create a new contact to add to this group.

Wrapping up

Email marketing campaigns ran in Google are okay – but you deserve better than that. By exporting your email list from Gmail, you can make sure that your next email campaign can be done with any tool of your choice. And this is not a tough process by any means – anyone can do it.

And to protect your future emails from going out to the wrong contact addresses, validate your lists in time! Email distribution lists can go stale, as emails get outdated, people stop using them, or perhaps they add an email with a typo to your list.

Validate individual emails and lists with Bouncer and make sure your email metrics are through the roof across your email marketing campaigns! Sign up for your free trial now and get started.

Frequently asked questions

Is it easy to export an email list from Gmail?

It’s actually easy enough that anyone with a Gmail account is able to do it in just a few clicks. No matter how many email IDs, contact labels or Google Groups you have, it’s effortless. There is no need to have an owner role or something specific – anyone with access to a Gmail account can do it.

Can I export an email list from Gmail to Excel?

Yes, by default, you’ll be exporting your list to CSV file that any Excel or Google Sheets can open with ease.

Are there apps for extracting emails that I can use?

Yes, besides the manual option described above (which is entirely free to use), there are free and paid Google Chrome extensions and email apps that can help you automatically export your Gmail contact addresses.