Step by step guide to integrating Yamm with your existing CRM system

So, you want to connect your CRM to a tool that actually sends emails people open—and you’ve landed on Yamm. Good call. This guide is for anyone who’s tired of wrestling with clunky exports or copy-pasting contact lists. I’ll walk you through a real-world, step-by-step process for integrating Yamm (that’s Yet Another Mail Merge, for the uninitiated) with your CRM system. No fluff, no empty promises—just practical steps, sharp warnings, and tips to keep you sane.

Before you start, a reality check: Yamm is built around Google Sheets and Gmail. If your CRM is glued to Outlook or something wildly custom, this guide won’t magic away all your problems. But if you’re using a mainstream CRM and Google Workspace, you’re in good shape.

Step 1: Get Your Bearings — What Yamm Can and Can’t Do

Let’s be clear: Yamm isn’t a full-blown CRM or a heavyweight marketing platform. It’s a mail merge tool that plugs into Google Sheets and drafts/sends emails from your Gmail account. Its superpower is simplicity, but it’s not magic. Here’s what you should know upfront:

  • What Yamm Does Well:
  • Personalizes bulk emails quickly.
  • Sends from your real Gmail (so less likely to hit spam).
  • Uses Google Sheets as your contact list.

  • Tracks opens and clicks.

  • What Yamm Doesn’t Do:

  • No built-in CRM features (no pipeline, no sales dashboards).
  • Doesn’t “listen” for CRM updates on its own—import/export is manual unless you automate with third-party tools.
  • No fancy email design tools—keep it simple.

If you’re expecting a slick, two-way sync with Salesforce or HubSpot out of the box, you’ll be disappointed. But if you just want to send targeted emails using real CRM data, Yamm is a solid, no-nonsense tool.

Step 2: Prep Your CRM and Your Data

Before you touch Yamm, get your CRM house in order. Clean data in = fewer headaches later.

What to do:

  • Decide Who You Want to Email: Filter or segment your CRM contacts. Maybe you want all active leads, or just people who signed up last month.
  • Export the Right Data: Export your contacts as a CSV or Excel file. You’ll want at least:
  • Email address (obviously)
  • First name, last name
  • Any custom fields you want to personalize (company, last purchase, etc.)

Pro tip:
Export only what you need. More columns mean more room for things to break—especially if your CRM spits out weird field names or messy formatting.

Watch out for: - Blank emails or duplicate addresses—these will trip up Yamm. - Funky formatting (dates, phone numbers, weird characters).

Step 3: Set Up Your Google Sheet for Yamm

Yamm runs off Google Sheets, so your CRM export needs to land there.

How to do it:

  1. Open Google Drive, create a new Google Sheet.
  2. Import your CSV/Excel file (File > Import > Upload).
  3. Check that each column has a clear header (like “Email”, “First Name”, etc.).
  4. Make sure your “Email” column really only has email addresses—no notes, no blank spaces.

Quick sanity check: - Are all the columns you want to use in your email there? - No duplicate emails? - Data looks clean and readable?

If anything looks off, fix it now. Yamm’s not going to clean this up for you.

Step 4: Install Yamm (If You Haven’t Already)

If you already have Yamm, skip ahead. If not, here’s the honest deal: Yamm is a Google Workspace add-on, so you’ll find it in the Google Workspace Marketplace.

How to install:

  • In your Google Sheet, go to Extensions > Add-ons > Get add-ons.
  • Search for “Yet Another Mail Merge.”
  • Click “Install.” You’ll need to give it permissions (yes, it’s safe—but review what you’re granting).
  • It’ll show up under Extensions > Yet Another Mail Merge after install.

Heads up:
Yamm works only with Gmail and Google Sheets. If your organization has locked-down permissions, you might need IT to approve the add-on.

Step 5: Create Your Email Template in Gmail

Yamm uses draft emails from your Gmail account as templates. That means you can use Gmail’s editor (simple, but it gets the job done).

Steps:

  1. Go to Gmail and click “Compose.”
  2. Write your email. Use placeholders for personalization—these match your Google Sheet columns. For example:
    Hi {{First Name}},
    I saw you recently signed up for {{Product}}…
  3. Save it as a draft. Don’t move it or delete it until after your campaign runs.

Things to know: - Yamm’s merge tags are double curly braces ({{ }}) and must match your Google Sheet column headers exactly—including capitalization and spaces. - Keep formatting simple. Gmail is not Mailchimp.

Pro tip:
Test your placeholders. If your header is “First Name” but you write {{first_name}} in your email, it won’t work.

Step 6: Run Yamm and Map Your Data

With your Sheet prepped and your template ready, it’s time to actually run Yamm.

How to do it:

  1. Go back to your Google Sheet.
  2. Click Extensions > Yet Another Mail Merge > Start Mail Merge.
  3. In the sidebar:
  4. Choose your draft email as the template.
  5. Set the sender name (optional).
  6. Pick any tracking options (opens, clicks).

  7. Map columns to fields if Yamm asks.

  8. Hit “Send Emails.”

What to expect: - Yamm will send one email per row, filling in your placeholders. - You’ll see a status column appear in your Sheet (“EMAIL_SENT”, “BOUNCED”, etc.).

Cautions: - Gmail has daily sending limits (typically 500/day for free users, 1,500 for paid Google Workspace). Yamm can’t break these. - If you hit a limit, Yamm will stop and tell you.

Pro tip:
Test with a small batch first—send only to yourself or a handful of colleagues. Check that personalization works and nothing looks weird.

Step 7: Track Results and Update Your CRM

Yamm gives you basic tracking (who opened, who clicked). But, and this is key: it won’t automatically update your CRM. If you want results back in your CRM, it’s still a manual process (unless you use third-party tools or scripts).

How to handle it:

  • Review the “Merge status” and tracking columns in your Sheet.
  • For important actions (like a reply or a click), you’ll need to copy info back into your CRM.
  • Some CRMs let you import updated data from a Sheet or CSV—use this if possible.

If you want more automation: - Look into tools like Zapier or Make.com to connect Google Sheets and your CRM. - These tools can push Yamm results (like opens, clicks) back into CRM fields—but setup takes time and patience. - Don’t expect perfect, real-time sync. There will be hiccups.

Pro tip:
If you’re doing this often, document your process. That way, you (or anyone else) can repeat it without reinventing the wheel.

Step 8: Automate (But Only If It’s Worth It)

If you’re running regular campaigns and tired of manual exports/imports, automation is an option. But be honest: it’s usually not “plug and play.” Here’s what to consider:

  • Zapier, Make.com, or similar: Can connect your CRM and Google Sheets. But you’ll need to map fields, handle errors, and monitor for changes.
  • CRM Add-ons: Some big CRMs (like HubSpot or Salesforce) have native Google Sheets connectors. These can push data to Sheets on a schedule.
  • Google Apps Script: If you’re handy with code, you can script imports/exports. But this is not for beginners.

When automation makes sense: - You’re emailing hundreds or thousands of contacts regularly. - Your CRM data changes often. - You want to stop copying/pasting forever.

When it doesn’t: - You run a couple of campaigns a month. - Your CRM list is small and stable. - You don’t want to debug automations at 11pm.

What to Ignore (Unless You Really Need It)

You’ll see articles and plugins promising “seamless” CRM-to-Yamm integration, AI-powered magic, or “done for you” services. Most are overkill, overpriced, or don’t actually work as advertised. Here’s what’s usually not worth your time:

  • Overcomplicated workflow tools if your needs are simple.
  • Paying for custom development if your process is just a few exports/imports per month.
  • “All-in-one” platforms if your team is already happy with Gmail and Sheets.

Start simple, scale up only if you hit real pain.

Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate as You Go

That’s the honest roadmap. Integrating Yamm with your CRM isn’t rocket science—but it does take some setup, sanity checks, and a willingness to keep things tidy. Don’t overthink it. Start with a clean export, test with a small batch, and build from there. If you end up needing automation, layer that in only after you’re comfortable with the basics.

Above all: keep your process simple, document what works, and don’t chase shiny tools until you really need them. Good luck—now go send something people will actually read.