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I would like to filter my registered users db, check the ones who suscribed to the newsletter and send an HTML type email.

Are there some scripts out there for this? A cPanel feature maybe? Or do i have to write this with a php script?

Thanks in advance.

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4 Answers

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I'd say don't bother, it's not worth the hassle of setup, maintaining a clean IP, and achieving high deliverability. Plus, the reporting is far more sophisticated than you would be able to achieve in building something yourself.

Use something like MailChimp or Campaign Monitor, both excellent services that have free plans or free trials.

As for the subscription, i would let the service handle it by using their forms on your website. If you really need to be able to see the status of the subscribers, then both have APIs that will let you grab the info to display in your application.

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+1 - Don't underestimate the hurdle of deliverability. In most cases, it's better to let someone else handle newsletter campaigns. – Virtuosi Media Nov 17 '10 at 1:08
Ok that brings a lot of clarity to my mind :D. I will take a look at this sites (and their apis). Thanks anthonyg – Hernantz Nov 17 '10 at 2:45
I would also suggest, that you look at Google App Engine. code.google.com/intl/hu-HU/appengine/docs/python/mail/… With it is also possible sending out e-mails, also in bigger amounts. – bdadam Nov 17 '10 at 15:08
@Hernantz - You can probably find extensions for some of the more popular CMS's like Wordpress, Joomla, and Drupal that interact with the mail services' APIs rather than having to write your own. – Virtuosi Media Nov 18 '10 at 20:18
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I'm not aware of any scripts available to do this however, you could query your database to export the info you need in a txt file then use a service such as campaign monitor or Mailchimp (I've used both and both work great, Mailchimp however, has a free version if you are sending out low volumes of emails).

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ok this external service is good to me, but how to handle the new suscribers and the ones that have unsuscribed? is there a way to update/sync the mailing db with my usrs db? – Hernantz Nov 16 '10 at 22:35
Both of these services handle unsubscribes for you. They also offer forms that you can implement on your site to allow users to subscribe directly to certain lists. or you can manually upload a list and they will automatically remove anyone that has unsubscribed/duplicate emails. – Joshak Nov 17 '10 at 13:32
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Take a look at http://www.openemm.org

  • Easy to use
  • Open Source version
  • Active development
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I have used jangomail, constant contact, and mailchimp. The best solution i have found is intersprire newsletter manager. The beauty of their service is that you can own the software and install it on your own server. Then you can use outside smtp services or setup other SMTP servers to send your emails.

SMPT.com is far cheaper than using mailchimp, ConstantContact or much of the other newsletter providers. With the combination of using SMTP.com and Interspire you will save quite a bit of money.

Plus for riskier campaigns where you fear you will get blacklisted you can setup numerous STMP servers on cheap hosting accounts and send 500-2k emails a day, monitoring your smtp server to see if it gets blacklisted.

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Most web hosts don't like their users sending out bulk emails precisely because there are users who do this sort of thing that will get their entire netblock blacklist. Then when their legitimate users try to send transactional emails to users, they end up in the user's spam box or just getting bounced back. I would strongly recommend using a MailChimp-type service for the "riskier" campaigns, just because they have the capability to tell you beforehand whether it will cause problems. And they have the infrastructure in place to prevent/undo blacklisting. – Lèse majesté Nov 18 '10 at 17:38
Also, could you link to interprise newsletter manager? I'm not finding it on Google. – Lèse majesté Nov 18 '10 at 17:41
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Here you go interspire.com/emailmarketer/…. Mailchimp is not a good choice unless you have double opt in subscribers. Services like MC, CC, and others will not allow you to use purchased lists, scrubbed contacts, etc. None of this is illegal, but it causes blacklisting on email servers. These services go far beyond Can SPAM act rules because they protect their IP address. Best bet used VPS accounts on multiple servers. Thats how the pros do it. – Frank Nov 18 '10 at 19:46
Once you have a totally clean list then you can use a different SMTP server for the actual mailing, Because at that point you will know that the list members are not going to mark your messages as spam, and most of the unsubscibes will take place on your test hosted SMPT servers. – Frank Nov 18 '10 at 19:47
Those are good point about purchased lists. I've only ever used in-house opt-in lists. – Lèse majesté Nov 18 '10 at 21:06
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