Using Siri and MailShot Pro to send email to groups

One of the more useful features of Siri on the iPhone 4S is the ability to send email messages by asking Apple's intelligent assistant to do it. Telling Siri to "Email [name or nickname] about [subject]" produces a nicely formatted, but empty Mail message that Siri asks you to complete via dictation. This works fine with sending email to individuals, but what about sending to groups?

Erica Sadun and I pondered this question as we were writing our popular ebook "Talking to Siri: Learning the Language of Apple's Intelligent Assistant." We found the answer in a US$3.99 app called MailShot Pro.

Installing the app on your iPhone 4S lets you create custom groups which Siri can use to send emails to several recipients at once. With a quick tap, you can import individual names from the Contacts app or groups from Address Book on your Mac. You can also add names and email addresses manually. The groups end up in your Contacts list, accessible to Mail (via Siri or directly), FaceTime, Messages, and any app that can use an address from Contacts.

For the OCD folks out there, MailShot Pro includes a nice touch -- being able to sort the names in your group. If you only have a few groups with a handful of people in each group, you might wish to check out the free version of the app -- MailShot. Should you need more groups or have a lot of people in each group, MailShot Pro is available in the App Store with a tap.