Mass email software
Discussion
I have a growing contact list with email addresses and it's time to send them all an electronic newsletter.
The last time I did this I copied and pasted the content, addresses & subject into a few hundred 'new emails' via Outlook. That was a year ago and now the list is in the thousands, so it's time to be a little smarter.
I want a system which;
a) I can import the email addresses into
b) I only have to put the subject and title in once and it will send them all for me'
c) supports HTML and plain text emails
d) can change the name of who in the company it is sent from but still return emails and replies to my account
e) isn't going to get me involved in any spam legislation or my messages automatically routed to junk bins.
Anyone use such a system?
The last time I did this I copied and pasted the content, addresses & subject into a few hundred 'new emails' via Outlook. That was a year ago and now the list is in the thousands, so it's time to be a little smarter.
I want a system which;
a) I can import the email addresses into
b) I only have to put the subject and title in once and it will send them all for me'
c) supports HTML and plain text emails
d) can change the name of who in the company it is sent from but still return emails and replies to my account
e) isn't going to get me involved in any spam legislation or my messages automatically routed to junk bins.
Anyone use such a system?
Can you not just create a new distribution list in Outlook? Go to contacts, right click and choose New Distribution List. Add the recipients to the list and away you go.
What you MUST do is to send the email to yourself, and BCC the distribution list otherwise it will reveal all the receipients email addys to everyone.
You can change the "From" address in Outlook and leave the "Reply" addres alone. HTH
What you MUST do is to send the email to yourself, and BCC the distribution list otherwise it will reveal all the receipients email addys to everyone.
You can change the "From" address in Outlook and leave the "Reply" addres alone. HTH
How about Mailman?
It's free, and if you want to have some discussion on your email list, it auto-archives.
www.gnu.org/software/mailman/
It's free, and if you want to have some discussion on your email list, it auto-archives.
www.gnu.org/software/mailman/
Thanks all, some great ideas to start looking into.
I wish I could just use Outlook but the contacts aren't stored in Outlook, rather our central Marketing system. Also, for some strange reason the contacts part of my Outlook is broken.
I liked the look of this one but it starts at $500 which is a bit pricey for what I'm going to use it for.
miniman said:
Can you not just create a new distribution list in Outlook? Go to contacts, right click and choose New Distribution List. Add the recipients to the list and away you go.
I wish I could just use Outlook but the contacts aren't stored in Outlook, rather our central Marketing system. Also, for some strange reason the contacts part of my Outlook is broken.
alunr said:
Lyris Listmanager
I liked the look of this one but it starts at $500 which is a bit pricey for what I'm going to use it for.
If you plan to be doing more than one e-mail campaign it may be worthwhile creating a "Filemaker Pro" database. The program is very easy to use and has quite powerful features for sending mass e-mails.
It's an incredibly powerful program for all database type stuff. Our print company has almost completely moved away from the industry standard "Shuttleworth" management system, instead we have built our own bespoke system using Filemaker.
It's an incredibly powerful program for all database type stuff. Our print company has almost completely moved away from the industry standard "Shuttleworth" management system, instead we have built our own bespoke system using Filemaker.
.......or......
if you want a freebie solution then do the following. Set up an SMTP server on your PC / Server. (Loads of freebie ones about but IIS does the trick so lock as you use IIS Lock Down).
Now you need a bit of PHP (or ASP or JSP) up your sleeve. Create a mailing list in MySQL or any other scripting compatible database and then use your new SMTP server and PHP to send out to all in your DB.
Have a look at www.webmonkey.com on how to create a PHP mailing script. Quite easy if you have all the necessary parameters and it's all FREE!
Anyhow.....otherwise you can buy a package that does it for you.
(Tips from an ex-student)
if you want a freebie solution then do the following. Set up an SMTP server on your PC / Server. (Loads of freebie ones about but IIS does the trick so lock as you use IIS Lock Down).
Now you need a bit of PHP (or ASP or JSP) up your sleeve. Create a mailing list in MySQL or any other scripting compatible database and then use your new SMTP server and PHP to send out to all in your DB.
Have a look at www.webmonkey.com on how to create a PHP mailing script. Quite easy if you have all the necessary parameters and it's all FREE!
Anyhow.....otherwise you can buy a package that does it for you.
(Tips from an ex-student)
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