I have seen so many badly executed bulk mail shots over the years that it makes me wonder if we should have to have a license to use the Internet… joking, (Sort of)! 
My first gripe is getting mail from people that either don’t use or don’t know about B.c.c.
‘Blind Carbon Copy’ allows you to send e-mails to many addresses without showing that you have and without disclosing the other peoples address, thus protecting your recipients privacy. This is my main grievance when receiving bulk mail, the lack of respect for my address and privacy.
The second is that the many people that get my address in the header of the bulk message my not be running secure computers and my address can then be distributed further, again with out my consent. Some of those people could be spammers as so many Windows P.C.s have viruses that spammers use to harvest such addresses in order to target people with Spam, which in turn can help the virus spread further too!
Next on the list is badly written messages, that are not thought out well, if at all. Not actually sending the details is one such annoyance. Getting dates wrong and just generally forgetting stuff, which then results in yet another bulk message as they have to send amendments. Often messages are not written using correct grammar, punctuation or spelling. All of these things devalue the message you are trying to get across and pisses people off!
Adding large attachments and over sized images is a pain too. It takes longer to down load and clogs up your hard drive, and if you’re not even that interested in the message anyway, you have wasted time and bandwidth, which in the case of bandwidth can be expensive, particularly when using mobile devices and 3G.
So, my advice (for what it’s worth) for an effective and professional mail shot…
- Use the B.c.c field. In the ‘To:’ field put ‘your’ address, this means no one can see any other address, as the ‘To:’ field will show to all, so putting in your address and not one of the list addresses means that all you recipients only see your address. Then everyone else on your list into the B.c.c field.
- Write the message correctly, like you were writing a paper letter to your grandma! Use correct grammar, spelling and punctuation. Proof read your message before you send it, at least twice to make sure there are no errors and you have said everything you need to and included all dates and information needed. When you think you have finished, put the message into your drafts folder and leaver it for at least an hour, but as long as possible and then go back to it and proof read it again! If you find any errors, correct them and pop the message back into the drafts folder for another hour! Only when you come to proof read it and you find no mistakes should you send it. never proof read or send a message when you are in a rush and never send any message when you are drunk!
- If you want to send a file, like a flyer or document (attachment) use your website if you have one or a file hosting site for the file to be downloaded from instead, thus allowing the recipient to download the file ‘when’ and ‘if’ they choose to and simply include the link to that file. Don’t force them to download files. If you must include images, make sure they are small in file size, say 300KB or so, though that is for a recipient you know has a good broadband connection. Be aware of your recipients Internet connection and size of file you want to send.
- Use a descriptive subject line. Messages with no subject can be rejected as spam so it makes no sense to omit a subject, plus you can use it to draw your recipient in to your message.
- When sending business or professional mail shots, always include an opt out. It may also be polite to include something similar in personal bulk mail.
- You can also use professional bulk mail software and or services, rather than sending from your own personal account too. If you use WordPress you can use a plugin called ‘Newsletter‘. The free version is very powerful and more than enough for most bulk mail purposes and automatically includes links to unsubscribe.
The above I would say applies to everyone sending bulk mail for whatever reason, but if you are a professional, trying to push your services or products you really should learn how to use computer and Internet tools properly.
Spotted a typo or other error, have some words of wisdom to add? Please let me know!
