# How to send a one-off email to a segment
1. To send a one-time email to a segment, log in to your beabee instance and click *Contacts* in the bottom-left corner. Then select the contact segment to which you want to send a one-time email. You can read about how to create segments [here](https://wiki.beabee.io/help-center-english/community-database/segmentation/how-to-create-a-segment).
2. Click the small email icon above the contact list and select *Send email* from the drop-down menu.
1. To ensure your email is sent only once, select *One-off email*. You can find out how to send recurring emails to segments [here](https://wiki.beabee.io/help-center-english/engagement/crowdnewsroom/how-to-create-a-crowdnewsroom/how-to-set-up-automated-emails-for-crowdnewsroom-participants).
2. To compose the body of your email, you can either select a template from the drop-down menu under *Template* or click *New email* to create a completely new message. Click [here](https://wiki.beabee.io/help-center-english/community-database/segmentation/how-to-create-email-templates) to learn how to create email templates.
3. To make sure you can reuse this email in the future, give it a title under *Template*. You'll be able to find the email later under this name in the *Manage Email Templates* overview. There, you can also view the status of your email at any time and adjust it as needed.
4. If you select *New email*, you can set the subject and body text of your email.
1. You can also choose whether to send the email from your default address or use a different email address. Click [here](https://wiki.beabee.io/help-center-english/onboarding-guide/customise-beabee/organisational-settings/standard-emails) to learn how to set your default email address. To use a different address, toggle the switch next to *Use custom sender* and then enter the desired email address and sender name in the fields that appear.
{% hint style="info" %}
Be sure to use a valid email address as the sender. This is the only way to ensure that recipients can reply to you.
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9. In the *Preview* field, you can see how your email will appear to your contacts. Clicking the arrow below the *Preview Contact* field will show you a preview of the email for each contact in the segment. If you are using merge tags, you can check that they are working correctly.
{% hint style="info" %}
Merge tags are placeholders that are automatically replaced with your contacts' personal information. This could include their name, membership number, or other individual details. They allow you to design emails so that each message appears to be written specifically for the recipient—without having to customize every email individually. You can add them by clicking the small tag icon above your email.
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10. Done! To finish, click the *Send* button
{% hint style="info" %}
You can now find your email by clicking the email icon in the segment and selecting *Manage Email Templates*. There, you can edit or reuse it at any time.
{% endhint %}
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