# Seeking email provider for mass emailing purposes **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 3, 2024, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-email-provider-for-mass-emailing-purposes/1005185 "2024-08-03T05:08:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jdc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@jdc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdc)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-email-provider-for-mass-emailing-purposes/1005185/21 "2024-08-04T01:38:46Z")
You should check with Mail Jet or SMTP To Go to see if their mail server has spam rules you need to be careful about. You might need to put in a hang between each send to avoid triggering such rules. I used to send a few thousand emails with an Access application and my domain host / web host / email serving company was actually using a email server from a large provider and they could not modify the spam rules for me. The cure was to put a hang between each send of 200ms. Now I send from a google-for-nonprofits domain which is essentially sending via gmail, I have the MX record set up with the gmail keys for SPF and DMARC and I can send bulk emails provided I don’t blast them out as fast as the computer can do SMTP as a mail client. ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-email-provider-for-mass-emailing-purposes/1005185/22 "2024-08-04T03:24:46Z")
[authsmtp.com](http://authsmtp.com) will probably work for this. I’ve used 'em for 10+ years. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-email-provider-for-mass-emailing-purposes/1005185/23 "2024-08-04T05:56:22Z")
I do something like this with my hosting provider, [webquarry.com](http://webquarry.com). Their administration page lets you create a “mailing list”. I send an email to the webquarry mailing list address using my normal SMTP server (which happens to be Comcast but no reason Earthlink wouldn’t work) and webquarry forwards the email to all the addresses in the mailing list. I don’t see anything in the documentation about a limit on the number of addresses in a mailing list; I have about 150 in mine. I have the Silver Shared Hosting plan which costs $8 per month. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-email-provider-for-mass-emailing-purposes/1005185/24 "2024-08-04T14:18:44Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Their administration page lets you create a “mailing list”. I send an email to the webquarry mailing list address using my normal SMTP server (which happens to be Comcast but no reason Earthlink wouldn’t work) and webquarry forwards the email to all the addresses in the mailing list. This is what I don’t need. I can send them myself. I prefer to. I just want them to not be stopped by the SMTP Server (due to the rapid pace of SMTP transactions and/or the near-identical email bodies) and to not be flagged by other ISPs as spam (due to the volume of similar emails going out into the world). ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-email-provider-for-mass-emailing-purposes/1005185/25 "2024-08-04T15:53:15Z")
That’s what the mailing list accomplishes. Your SMTP server just sends one email. The webquarry server sends the hundreds of emails to the list. I’ve never had any of my mailings flagged as spam by any other ISP. You do need to maintain the list on the server, although that can be done programmatically. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-email-provider-for-mass-emailing-purposes/1005185/26 "2024-08-04T18:33:29Z")
I’m on the Webquarry page but I don’t see where I would be able to engage them for such service without signing on to have them host my web sites. Can you clarify? ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-email-provider-for-mass-emailing-purposes/1005185/27 "2024-08-04T21:31:59Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > This is what I don’t need. I can send them myself. I prefer to. I just want them to not be stopped by the SMTP Server (due to the rapid pace of SMTP transactions and/or the near-identical email bodies) and to not be flagged by other ISPs as spam (due to the volume of similar emails going out into the world). The ONLY way to do this is to have your own domain, setup SPF, DKIM, and DMARC and use a provider that gives you an authenticated relay. That’s it. Forget Mailchimp, Webquarry, or any other marketing service. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-email-provider-for-mass-emailing-purposes/1005185/28 "2024-08-04T22:31:03Z")
Yeah, given the specifications they’ve set, they’re going to want a new domain and a SMTP host that allows bulk mail, but keeps their IPs out of the block lists. I figure the last one is going to be the tricky part. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-email-provider-for-mass-emailing-purposes/1005185/29 "2024-08-04T22:48:26Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > The ONLY way to do this is to have your own domain, setup SPF, DKIM, and DMARC Yes, the only way to do it as wanted by the OP. The explanation is that SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are all ways to demonstrate that the message _really_ comes from who claims to have sent it. This requires that you control the domain. If you own `ahunter3.charity` and you create DNS entries saying `example.com` is an authorized place to send my email, then you can use `example.com` as your SMTP relay. You cannot create those settings at EarthLink, so if `ahunter3@earthlink.net` sends an email through `example.com`’s SMTP server, all of the receivers will reject it, because `example.com` is not authorized to deliver mail from `earthlink.net`. You also need to deal with the other side of the interaction, and have a place to receive email when people reply. I guess you can always just do one of those `donotreply@ahunter3.charity`, but I find that very aggravating, “so you get to email me, but I can’t email you?” > [@scabpicker](#): > > keeps their IPs out of the block lists The reputable email relay services stay reputable by keeping tight control over their customers. They will usually have rules about unsubscribe and opt-out settings, and often take spam reports pretty seriously. (Spam is still a problem, and there are lots of bad actors, but someplace like Mailchimp is out of business the day they do something to get banned by gmail.) So the OP’s choices are to do as suggested, get a domain, get a mail relay service, and configure their DNS as documented by the relay. Or, migrate their FileMaker process over to use one of the bulk mailers tools that allow for mail merge. You may be able to use your existing relay extremely slowly. If you’re sending a quarterly newsletter to 200 addresses, and can send 1 per minute that’s fine. If you have 5,000 addresses and can send a maximum of 100 per day, then not so fine. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-email-provider-for-mass-emailing-purposes/1005185/30 "2024-08-04T22:54:06Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > The reputable email relay services stay reputable by keeping tight control over their customers. They will usually have rules about unsubscribe and opt-out settings, and often take spam reports pretty seriously. (Spam is still a problem, and there are lots of bad actors, but someplace like Mailchimp is out of business the day they do something to get banned by gmail.) Yeah, but they all slip up. Both M365 and Gmail have had their IPs end up on my company’s block lists. They both had to wait for those IPs to be removed from the lists by the normal procedures. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2024, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-email-provider-for-mass-emailing-purposes/1005185/31 "2024-08-04T23:02:26Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > I’m on the Webquarry page but I don’t see where I would be able to engage them for such service without signing on to have them host my web sites. Can you clarify? Well, webquarry DOES host my web site, so my situation is a bit different. You might need to set up a new domain name with them, and not use it for anything except the mail forwarding. I would send them a message and ask. They have been very responsive when I ask them questions. ---
**Author:** ![otismilburnn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/85f322/32.png) [@otismilburnn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otismilburnn)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2025, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-email-provider-for-mass-emailing-purposes/1005185/33 "2025-06-04T07:26:43Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > I’ve got Earthlink. And FileMaker. Was a good combo for years and years, I’d load up a database with an array of recipients, write an email body (with merge codes fetching info from the individual’s record), and use the native Send Mail via SMTP Server to execute the sending of an email to each, in a looping script. > > In the last decade there’s been more clamping down against spammers (who should be flayed and salty poison ivy pressed against their open wounds); one outcome of the clamping down has been Earthlink’s servers reacting to a rapid sequence of email-sending by inserting an unknown x-minute pause before they’ll allow more emails from that (email account? email account with similar email body and subject line?) to be sent. Then they imposed a cap on the total number of emails per day. > > I periodically need to be able to send out mass emails. Most recent example, I’m handling the email responsibilities of a committee that needs to tell delegates from all the various states that they are credentialed to attend the forthcoming presidential nominating convention. It isn’t spam. But it’s several hundred emails with identical content (give or take the merge of their state or caucus name). > > I’m okay with moving to a different email service provider to do mass emails. An organization that has a standard protocol for okaying mass emails and which will let me send an email per second with SMTP server credentials and not slow me down after the first dozen; which will let me authenticate in some fashion that yes I am the sender and will accept liability if there is any. > > (I don’t want to use other software though. I’m FileMaker-centric and want to be able to use FileMaker scripting to send the emails) > > If you have any recommendations or advice, please reply with. You might want to look into SMTPget, iDealSMTP, Mailersend, or Sendinblue they allow SMTP access, support reasonable sending rates (1 email/sec is fine), and have proper protocols for verifying and authenticating senders. They’re also friendly to FileMaker’s native SMTP scripting, so you can keep your current workflow without extra software. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-email-provider-for-mass-emailing-purposes/1005185.md?page=1)