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Luca Martinetti
Asked: 2009-09-21 06:03:34 +0800 CST

Sending an email to about 10K users (NOT SPAM!)

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After an update to my website I need to send a mail to all my users (about 10K).

I got the data email,user,new_pass in a plain CSV file.

Do you know any good service that can import the mail template and user data and send the mails?

Thanks

email

5 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    If you have a website that has that many users, I guess you have full control over a server.

    I highly recommend you install PHPlist. It is overkill on small sites, but for a site with as many users as yours, it has many nice features such as auto pruning of dead addresses (and on a 10k list, you need it!).

    Full features

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  2. Preventing your server from being listed on one of the many spam blacklists (you can check if you are already listed here) and managing/configuring the underlying mail server (postfix etc) is a considerable amount of hassle. If you are considering sending more than one mail to your subscribers, I would recommend outsourcing this to a 3rd party such as mailchimp (pay as you go pricing would be preferable). There is also a free version for up to 500 subscribers.

    If you simply require a single mail shot, then make sure:

    • Your server has MX and reverse DNS records
    • You have SPF DNS records (many servers reject mail without a valid SPF, GMail for example)
    • Your mailserver's HELO response matches your hostname
    • Your mailserver is not an open relay
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  3. I second the PHPList recommendation. It allows you to send mails in batches and to throttle the send process so that you do not exceed your IPS's hourly limit. It is a little bit of work to set up and configure.

    I do think that ConstantContact, MailChimp etc charge exorbitant fees for their services, and they get away with it because of the barriers that a normal guy sending out emails faces. For larger numbers of subscribers, this quickly turns into real money.

    If this really is a one-time deal, you probably don't want to set up PHPList. It took me a few days and several test mailings to get it working. In this case, I recommend http://www.easycontact.com/packages.html (have not actually used them) because their pricing is on a per-campaign basis as opposed to a subscriber-basis.

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  4. We use PHPlist and it can be a bit of work to get going. Not even so much for the technical details of installing PHPlist and your rDNS settings, DKIM, SPF, etc., but getting your ip whitelisted, working with the different webmail providers to pass your e-mail on. I think it comes down to how valuable your time is. It took me about a day to get the software technically running and another week or part time work to get the majority of the e-mail providers accepting our e-mail.

    If you have the time to invest to get PHPlist running, it's worth it, but if not, I'll put in another plug for ConstantContact or iContact. I've not used either, but a few friends I know do, rather than administer it yourself.

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  5. PHPList will work but if you don't want to use existing infrastructure, which I'd recommend to keep any possibilities of being flagged as a spam server, you can use a commercial mailing service such as mailjet.com

    I personally try to separate mass mailing from my production infrastructure.

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