How do I make sure my emails don't get marked as spam?

How do I make sure my emails don't get marked as spam?

If you are using Sumac to send bulk emails, the best way to ensure the emails you are sending will not be marked as spam is to use Sumac's Batch Scheduling tools to make sure you are conforming to your SMTP server's sending limits, and that you aren't sending too many emails at once.

When sending a bulk email, you can specify how many emails go in a batch, and set up delays between batches to help you conform to your SMTP server's guidelines. Some servers may specify that you should send no more than 300 emails per hour, or that emails should be sent at least 10 seconds apart. Using Sumac's Batch Scheduling settings helps to ensure that you do not get flagged as a spammer for sending too many emails too quickly. 
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Email Batch Settings are configured in the Office record under Utilities > Customize Database > Offices:


Before you start sending bulk email on a regular basis, speak to your Internet Service Provider for guidelines on sending emails to large numbers of contacts so you can set up your Batch accordingly. 

There are a few other ways to ensure the bulk emails you're sending through Sumac don't get marked as spam:
  1. If you are using an SMTP server provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP), make sure that you tell your ISP that you are a charity and that you are sending email to people who have requested it
  2. Make sure that every email has the ability to unsubscribe
  3. If someone unsubscribes, make sure that you don't send to them again
  4. If some ISP (e.g. Shaw) reports that your email is spam, then the email they bounce back to you normally has a link for you to click to get off their spammers list. Click it and follow their procedure.
If you are using an external email marketing tool to send bulk emails (like MailChimp or Constant Contact), that system typically handles spam reduction and unsubscribe requests for you. If you are using MailChimp or Constant Contact, Sumac does provide an integration that helps you to send your mailing list from Sumac into MailChimp or Constant Contact quickly and easily.

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