Mass email sending software

[100877jamie]

Can anybody reccomend a very good mass email sending software.

i have to send 3000 emails once a month for a client but have never done this before and need advice on a good company to go with.

your thoughts will be most valued

kind regards

jamie

[gorillaboy]

I've been using emaillabs for a few years.

They've been very good. But I think there's a monthly minimum of $500 (I could be wrong). So it might not be worth it for you since you're sending just 3,000 per month.

[greg]

there are several decent web scripts out there that will do this. best bet is just to go browse around hotscripts.com or somet place like that. Keep in mind though this is borderline spam, and you might be in violation of hostings contracts.

[dcristo]

I've used Aweber.com previously and could happily recommend them. There an autoresponder service which require your list to opt-in to your mailing list.

[100877jamie]

thanks guys!

great advice i shall look into all the ideas now

kind regards

jamie

[JohnG]

Can anybody reccomend a very good mass email sending software.

i have to send 3000 emails once a month for a client but have never done this before and need advice on a good company to go with.

your thoughts will be most valued

Okay, in essence you have two options:

* Do the mailings your self; or

* Contract the mailings out to a third party.

Just before I comment, I want to respond to one point:

Keep in mind though this is borderline spam, and you might be in violation of hostings contracts.

I agree it is prudent to check the AUP of your hosting.

I disagree that this is borderline, if done properly.

Spam is unsolicited bulk email. You are not sending spam if the recipients have requested to be on the mailing list you are administering and when a recipient opts-out, you honour the request.

The best way to ensure the recipients have agreed to be on the mailing list is to use a closed loop verification process.

For the basics, I suggest you read mailing lists vs. spam lists

- and -

Guidelines for proper mailing list management

Since you are being asked to administer and do the mailings for someone else's mailing list, you become responsible for all issues concerning that list.

You will need to sort through the list origin. If the list is not confirmed opt-in, meaning people have verified their consent to have their email address added to a mailing list, then before doing any list mailings, I would suggest you will want to give serious consideration to having the intended recipients confirm their consent to have their email address added to the mailing list.

Returning to the main thrust, since you have never done any mailings before, there are some issues you need to go through:

* Whose domain will be in the from line? Yours or the list owners?

* Getting the messages into the recipient's in box. You will need to check the messages for "spamminness."

(There are a variety of different tools on the net. One way, is to check the message using SpamAssassin.)

* Ensure your mailings are compliant with the various network rules.

* Managing bounces.

This is a short list of issues.

If you want to do this and build up this line of business, one of the better software programs on the market is send studio by Interspire.

Honestly, if you have never done any mailings before, I might look at using a 3rd party to do the mailings for me.

There are a number of good providers around. Some providers offer list management services. Other providers offer list management and sequential auto-responders with broadcast capabilities

Since, the client only wants one mailing a month and given I have no knowledge of the list origin, I would probably consider a service that focuses on list management like Intellicontact.

The services I usually recommend depending on a particular need are:

* Bighip Excellent support, strong delivery.

Only allows confirmed - double - opt-in mailings lists. Generally will not allow legacy list imports. Please contact management for any requests.

(I note in passing that Bighip is about to introduce an innovative RSS service.)

* AWeber Runs single and confirmed - double - opt-in mailing lists. Will allow legacy list imports of non-purchased lists. Normally requires you to confirm or re-confirm the list. Does allow you to publish an RSS feed.

* Email Aces Runs single and confirmed - double - opt-in mailing lists. Will allow legacy list imports of non-purchased and purchased lists.

However, I am suggesting Intellicontact in this case, given what you have stated are your list requirements and the lack of verification as to list origin.

Trusting these comments are of some assistance.

John Glube
Toronto, Canada