Email Blasts: The Do’s And Many Don’ts Of Mass Email Sending

Email Blasts — the powerhouse of email campaigns. Both Transactional and marketing email messages can rely on sending massive amounts of email all at once, given the circumstances of the trigger/email marketing campaign itself. Still, email blasts gone wrong land in spam folders faster than a fake foreign prince can offer you his inheritance money.How exactly should you go about sending an email blast? Before diving into the finer points, always refer to the CAN-SPAM Act to ensure your email messaging is compliant.  We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention it, and you can face hefty fines and penalties.

Let’s start with the bad

We know, a little harsh out the gate, but these bad practices are something to consider with sending, Generally speaking, if it would hinder your day to day sending and land you in the spam folder, that’s doubly so for when you’re sending out an email blast. Still, let’s get into it:

DON’T send from new domains and IPs

Brand new domains and IPs don’t have any reputations yet, so Inbox Service Providers (ISPs) don’t know what to expect. An email blast right out the gate for any new domain or IP is a one-way ticket to the spam folder, so be mindful of where you are sending from in the first place. Consider using an older domain or warm up your IP before sending that much email at once, and you’re bound to have better results.

DON’T Send to Old Email Lists

This should be a given, but don’t send to a list that you dug up from 10 years ago and expect to land in the inbox. Even if you think your email campaign will interest them, it’s better to ditch that old email list. Especially with GDPR taking effect last year, old lists are a fast way to end up in the spam folder (or worse, rack up some hefty fines). Make sure your lists are clean, and comprised of users who have completed your opt-in.

DON’T Mislead Your Recipients

This is covered a little bit in the CAN-SPAM Act, but you have to be very clear about what your emails are about. You cannot mask an email marketing campaign under the guise of a transactional email receipt — it’s shady. It’s also a good idea to avoid click-bait subject lines or anything that might confuse your recipient. Click-bait tends to hit spam filters easily, so it’s best to avoid it. Plus, everyone hates click-bait.

Now on to the good

Enough of the dreary and ominous warnings, let’s move on to the good things you can do to help land your email blasts land in the inbox. Some of these might be obvious, but it’s always good to have a reminder.

DO Follow email best practices

Outside of the CAN-SPAM Act, it’s always a good idea to follow best practice. Make sure that your emails are designed nicely and follow your style guide, this avoids you looking like a like spammer or phisher. Remember to keep your transactional and marketing emails separate if possible with subdomains, and always send to email lists that are updated and clean.

DO Make sure your ESP can handle it

Email Service Providers (ESPs) always have different tiers of service, and even then not all of them have a great solution for burst sending or email blasts. Here at Mailgun, our RapidFire Throughput SLA can send 250,000 emails in a single minute. If you aren’t using a solution that can handle that volume that quickly, your email messages can bottleneck. Bottlenecking leads to inaccurate sending times, which might impact your complaint rate.  

DO Give a little heads up

While it isn’t necessary, it’s polite to let your ESP know when you plan on sending out a massive email blast. It helps support teams keep an eye out for anything that might go wrong with your sending, especially if you have a dedicated contact with your ESP like our Managed Deliverability Services. Better troubleshooting is peace of mind.

Overall, be mindful

Remember that email blasts require carefully organized email campaigns in order to work successfully. Check with your team to be sure that everything on your end can handle the amount you plan to send out, and be sure your email messages have correct spelling, design, and aren’t misleading. Because whether you’re an app developer or an email marketer, nobody wants issues with their sending — especially when you’re sending in bulk.