
Bulk email is an interesting process to market one’s product or to contact all your loved ones at a time. Leaf through this article to learn how to send bulk emails without getting blocked by spam filters.
Bulk emails are generally referred to as the emails that are sent to many recipients at a time. The number of recipients can vary. Often, this term is looked at as junk email, reason being the term is more likely known to be unsolicited emails sent to a large number of people. This concept is followed mainly by business organizations for marketing their products, goods, and services. However, it can also be used by individuals to send information to family or friends, for example to send invitations, photos, etc. This service can be used by companies to reach existing clients and gain prospective clients as well.
Mass email should not be associated with spam. However, a lot of spam emails are sent using this practice. This impression about bulk being spam is deep rooted. Hence, most of the people receiving lots of emails are hesitant about opening it. Many a time, the advertising in these emails is offensive. All these factors further make sending bulk email difficult, in addition to almost all email providers’ technology that blocks such communication. So how do you send it to make sure that it reaches all your recipients, and most importantly, it is opened and read by them?
Though sending emails is just like a simple message that needs to be delivered across, it is also important to make sure it reaches the recipients and gives meaning to the whole purpose. Simple measures, when taken care of, can help in effective bulk mail sending.
Requirements
It is important to consider the number of emails you wish to send, to determine if one single email or several attached emails need to be sent. The number of recipients is also an important factor. You will need to check the number of people so as to choose the system of sending bulk mail, like a personal email or any special mass email service provider. Note down if there are any special requirements. For example, personalization for increasing the click-through rates and implementation of HTML coding.
Service Providers
There are various options to choose from when it comes to technology to deliver it. It can be done by using a specifically designed software or an email service provider. There are 3 major options, viz., personal email system, email service providers, and bulk email software that you can choose from. Using a software is effective as it manages all the contacts, creates templates for email, and gives scope to branch messages to various contact groups. As for email service providers, they give you the maximum level of customization. You can enhance the overall appearance and feel of the email. It is wise to choose service providers, keeping in mind the nature and number of emails you wish to send.
Step Wise Execution
- The first thing to take care of is to check how you write your email. It is wise to focus on your message. Include all the details that your recipients need to know. For example your phone numbers, address, etc.
- Use an accurate subject line that is relevant to the message. Using titles like ‘contact urgently!’ or ‘do not forget’, etc., will only increase the chances of blocking due to the spam and even if it filters easily, the reader will get confused and may not even open it.
- Use accurate headers. This will help in distinguishing it from spam.
- Once done, you will need to fill the fields marked as ‘BCC’. You will need to fill the recipients’ address here. This will send the email to all and will also keep their address private.
Using Gmail and Outlook
- Gmail: You will need to have a Gmail account first. After you log on, go to settings – Forwarding and POP/IMAP. Here you can check for the option that says “Enable POP for mail that arrives from now on” and also “Enable IMAP”.
- Outlook Express: Open the address box in Outlook Express, click on ‘new’. Select new group. Then select personalizing the group name and add email addresses by highlighting them from your address book. Select ‘OK’.
Tips to Remember
It is a list of do’s and don’ts for sending emails, especially in marketing.
Do’s
- Always ask permission from your recipients and also give an option to unsubscribe.
- Publish your privacy policy, make sure it is easy to find and read.
- Choose a double opt-in or single opt-in subscription method. This will avoid mistakes.
- Use a real ‘To’ and ‘From’ address.
- Collect and count the bounces. You can remove the addresses that get bounced very often.
- Use a valid envelope ‘Mail From’. When sending separate mails, use VERP or some other system that identifies bouncing addresses.
- Be clear of your motives, do not hide any particular information from your readers, for example, ‘From: ‘ (i.e. sender’s) email address. You don’t want to violate the terms of sending bulk email. Also, send useful information only.
- Always use a legal method to gather the email addresses of your recipients.
- Send your bulk mail on a regular schedule. Doing so will make you more visible to the subscribers.
Don’ts
- Do not send unsolicited emails to any visitors of your website.
- Do not mislead subscribers with wrong and fake names, deceptive offers, etc.
- Do not add removed addresses back to the list of recipients.
- Avoid sending very large-sized messages. In case, you want some graphics or animation that is making the message heavy, put it on your web server and add its link in the email.
- Do not make several attempts to send a rejected message. Make sure you wait for a reasonable time and then resend.
- Do not use IFRAME HTML tags when using HTML messages. These are generally used by viruses, so there are more chances of the message getting blocked by virus blockers.
- Also don’t use ‘web bugs’, i.e., images with a CGI query string in case of HTML messages. These web bugs are mostly used in Spam. They may get blocked by certain mail clients.
- Also, avoid over sell in the message. Use interesting information that will be helpful.
- Avoid swapping or renting your email lists.