Tips for bulk e mailing (not spam)

KevinCarter · #1 08-01-2006, 08:20 PM

For bulk e mailing (not spam) what recommendations all have?
Use a company? Do it from your computer? use a software (recommendations for Mac?)
Send a photo or don't send photo

html or not?

This is for photographer sending to PHoto editors. thanks!

BobSmith · #2 08-01-2006, 08:41 PM

I occaisionally send out newsletters for a couple of non-profit organizations. I send simple html email from a Mac by using an Applescript called "Send Complex HTML" by Paul Berkowitz. I don't have a link handy but it should be easy to find via Google. It works with Entourage. I use Apple's Mail for my routine email program but I launch Entourage just for running this script and sending bulk html email. Works very well...

Bob Smith

EricC · #3 08-02-2006, 03:42 AM

Watch your numbers! I was warned by my hosting company that some isp's monitor the number of inbound e-mails from one address and use that as a tracking tool to tag you as a spammer! I Also found out this week that comcast has a limit of 99 e-mail addresses per mailing. Not sure if it's true but again they're watching.

Eric

BobSmith · #4 08-02-2006, 08:11 AM

You do have to "play by the rules" in order not get listed as a spammer. That's mostly a concern for a mail server operator more than an individual user. That's why your ISP may put strict limitations on the quantity and type of traffic that it allows you to generate. If their mail server gets tagged as a spam source, that affects every user on their system not just you. Blacklisting is typically based on a particular mail server that's delivering the offending spam, not on an individual address as individual addresses are so easy to forge.

I've run my own mail server for about six years now and essentially operate as my own ISP. I have a commercial class DSL line from what is now AT&T. I got it in order to host my own online database of images for my clients (has worked extremely well!!). The servers run on old, otherwise retired computers that just sit in a closet and hum. To offset the cost of the line and systems I provide web hosting and email services to a handful of other small businesses. Many are other photography studios in the area. Anyway, as a result I've become accutely aware of spam issues... both as I try to prevent my users from getting it and as I try to keep my mail server from being tagged as a source. So far, so good...

Bob Smith

maderemark · #5 08-02-2006, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinCarter

For bulk e mailing (not spam) what recommendations all have?
Use a company? Do it from your computer?

This is for photographer sending to PHoto editors. thanks!

I get lots of e-mail from a variety of companies that use "Constant Contact". Check them out and get a free trial offer at:
http://www.constantcontact.com/features/signup.jsp

Regards,

Mark Madere

jkantor · #6 08-04-2006, 03:24 PM

I've been testing out MailChimp and it works very nicely. You can paste in your own HTML source for your messages.

DouglasUrner · #7 08-04-2006, 06:20 PM

The less your message looks like a bulk message the better. At the very least, I'd suggest:

1) Address the message personally to the intended recipient. Don't include a long list of people in a single message, don't use blind lists (e.g. messages where the To header reads "Unknown recipients" or something similar).

2) Spend the time to make the text seem like it is written to the reader. You may want to do several messages so that you can target them more closely -- for example one to folks you've done work for in the past, a different one to potential buyers you met at a trade show.

3) Consider doing something that will enable you to measure the number of readers who probably saw your message. One way to do this is to include a link in the message to an image you want to show to them. Don't link that image to your website or to any other message you send out. Then the hits on the image are people who saw the message.

4) Considering including some sort of "call to action" in the message. An easy one is a link to a special page on your website for more images or a promotion -- whatever fits your business model. The idea is to see how many readers are interested enough to click on the link. Plan on keep the link alive for at least a year so that someone who wants to refer back to it doesn't get a dead link.

5) Be sure that you're able to track requests to be removed from your list and then be sure to handle them.

The ability to measure the results of your marketing efforts greatly increases your ability to target and polish your materials. You can even tell which of your recipients responded by including unique links that can be related back to the names you mailed to. Without going that far you may be able to get a rough idea of response by the IP addresses of the hits on the links in your message. Knowing this can be very valuable since you could use that information to decide who to send a more expensive promotional piece to, or who to plan on following up with further.

Doug