What is Notion?

Notion is a versatile all-in-one workspace that combines note-taking, project management, and collaboration tools into a single platform. It’s designed to help teams and individuals organize their work, ideas, and projects in a flexible and customizable environment.

Why Send Emails from Notion?

Integrating email functionality with Notion can significantly streamline your workflow and enhance productivity. Here are some compelling reasons why you might want to send emails directly from Notion:

  1. Centralized Communication: Keep all your project-related communication in one place, reducing the need to switch between multiple apps.

  2. Data-Driven Emails: Leverage Notion’s powerful database features to send personalized emails based on your stored information.

  3. Automated Workflows: Set up automated email sequences triggered by changes in your Notion workspace.

  4. Template Management: Create and manage email templates within Notion, ensuring consistency in your communications.

  5. Collaborative Email Creation: Work with your team to draft and review emails directly in your shared Notion workspace.

  6. Seamless Integration: Reduce friction in your workflow by sending emails without leaving your Notion environment.

In the following sections, we’ll explore the native email capabilities of Notion, their limitations, and how third-party tools can help you unlock the full potential of email integration with Notion.

Native Notion Email Capabilities and Third-Party Tools

Notion doesn’t have built-in email sending capabilities, but there are two main ways to send emails using Notion data:

  1. Simple Mail Merge

    • Use a Notion formula to create a mail merge feature
    • This allows you to generate an email based on database properties and an email template with one click
    • The generated email opens in your default email client, ready to be sent
    • There are templates available that make this process easy to set up

  2. Bulk Email Sending

    • Use third-party tools like NotionSender or Zapier
    • These tools allow you to send emails to multiple recipients using data from your Notion databases

In the following sections, we’ll explore these options in more detail, showing you how to implement each solution for your email needs.

Third-Party Integrations

Notion Email Composer Template

If you’re looking for a simple mail merge solution, you might think of using a Notion formula.
But here’s the thing - writing that formula yourself can be a real brain-teaser.

Good news though! The Notion Email Composer Template is here to make your life easier.

How It Works

  1. Duplicate Template: Copy email template database with placeholders.
  2. Configure Database: Add relation to templates and “Send Email” button.
  3. Use: Click button to generate personalized emails instantly.

NotionSender

NotionSender is a specialized tool for integrating email functionality directly with Notion workspaces.
It offers two-way email capabilities:

  • Sending: Uses Notion databases as mailing lists for personalized bulk emails
  • Receiving: Captures incoming emails and stores them in Notion databases

Key features

  • Direct use of Notion databases for email management
  • Personalization using Notion database fields
  • Email tracking and analytics within Notion
  • Email-to-task conversion for workflow management
  • Template creation and management in Notion’s interface

Pros

  • Full Notion integration for sending and receiving emails
  • Leverages Notion databases for mailing lists and organization
  • Enables personalized bulk emailing
  • Streamlines workflow by keeping everything in Notion
  • User-friendly for existing Notion users

Cons

  • Limited Free Tier: Essential features like custom sender addresses and mail merge require a paid subscription
  • Only useful for active Notion users
  • May have a learning curve for new users

NotionSender Setup Guide

Follow these steps to set up and start using NotionSender:

  1. Access NotionSender

    • Visit the NotionSender website
    • Click “Connect Notion” or “Get Started”

  2. Account Creation/Login

    • Choose email or Google sign-in

  3. Notion Connection

    • Follow prompts to link Notion workspace

  4. Create a database on Notion

  1. Configure Notion Databases

Navigate to the “Notion Databases” section in NotionSender.
You’ll see a list of your Notion databases. For this example, we’ll focus on the “Customers” database.
Click on “Send emails” to configure this database for email campaigns.

In the Customers database settings, you’ll find several important options:
a) Ready to send emails:

This section will display database pages that are marked as ready to be sent but haven’t been sent yet.

b) Automatically send emails:

This is a premium feature that allows you to automatically send emails when they’re marked as Ready to Send.
Toggle this option on if you want emails to be sent automatically within a few minutes of being marked ready.

  1. Setup email configuration option

  1. Setup properties configuration

  2. Begin sending emails If you enabled ‘Automatically send emails’, it will start sending emails. If not, you can send email by clicking Send buttons.

    You can preview it before you send.

Zappier

Work In Progress…

Make

Usually, Make is a breeze to use and easier on the wallet compared to Zapier. But for this Notion email thing? Zapier won me over. I tried setting it up with Make and just couldn’t get it to work. Zapier nailed it though - super simple. So yeah, both can hook up Notion to your email, but Zapier’s the way to go here. Trust me, I learned the hard way!

Conclusion

Whether you’re using a simple mail merge formula or diving into full-scale automation with third-party tools, Notion can supercharge your email game. Pick the method that fits your style and needs. Remember, the goal is to save time and boost productivity. So go ahead, give these Notion email hacks a try and watch your workflow transform. Happy Notioning!