This method will guide you quickly create a contact group (distribution list) from Excel data, without applying the Import and Export Wizard in Outlook. Please do as follows:

1. Open the Excel workbook that you will create a contact group from, select the data, and press Ctrl + C keys together to copy it.

2. Shift to the People (or Contacts) view in Outlook, and click Home > New Contact Group to create a new contact group.

3. Now a Contact Group window is opening. Please click Contact Group > Add Members > From Outlook Contacts. See screenshot:

4. In the popping out Select Members dialog box, put the cursor in the Members box, press Ctrl + V keys simultaneously to paste the Excel data, and then click the OK button. See screenshot:

5. Now you return to the Contact Group window. Please type a name for the new contact group in the Name box, and then click Contact Group > Save & Close button.

So far, you have created a contact group from an Excel workbook already.

Create contact group based on senders/recipients of emails in Outlook

Normally, we can copy a sender or a recipient from an email, and then add it as a contact group member with Add Members > From Address Book, and it seems no way to add multiple emails' multiple senders or recipients into a contact group in bulk. But, with the excellent Add to Groups feature of Kutools for Outlook, you can easily add multiple emails' senders or recipients into contacts groups in Outlook with several clicks only.

Add multiple emails’ senders to distribution list (contact group) in Outlook

Bulk add contacts to contact group in Outlook

Create contact group from category in Outlook