Why should I use a newsletter manager instead of sending from Outlook?

Do you send out an email newsletter? Do you have lots of things to say and people who want to read it? That’s great! But let me ask you this – how do you send it out? Do you use a newsletter manager like Mailchimp or Constant Contact? Or do you send out your mass emails from an email program like Outlook?

If you are sending newsletters through your mail program, I have just to words for you:

STOP THAT!

It’s a really bad idea to send mass emails from your email program. Sure, you can paste in 100 email addresses in the ‘TO’ line, but you shouldn’t.  Here’s why:

• If all the emails go out together, your ISP (Internet Service Provider) can block your email address as a spammer. Newsletter managers break up the email deliveries to go out in waves so as to not get flagged as spammers. If your email gets blocked, then nobody will be able to get your messages and it’s a big hassle to get off the blacklist.
• Not only can your email address get blocked, but your IP can be blocked too – which can mean people can’t get to your website. That’s right, sending newsletters from Outlook can actually cause problems for your website.
• If your list is large, your email program may struggle to send it and fail.
• Recipients can’t unsubscribe, making them more likely to mark your message as spam.

If those reasons aren’t enough for you, here are a few reasons to use a newsletter manager:

• You can track delivery successes, open rates, click through rates, and see which links get the most clicks.
• You can track which users are opening your messages and which are ignoring them.
• You can see if anyone has marked your message as junk or spam.
• You can set up an easy “unsubscribe” to manage subscribers automatically.
• You can schedule your message to go out exactly when you want.

Keeping up with stats and reports from your newsletter deliveries will help you manage and keep your subscribers. Don’t risk getting your email blocked by using poor marketing practices. There are lots and lots of newsletter management services, including Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Aweber, and more. Some are even free!

Need help with your email newsletter? Contact us today for a free quote!