Social Source Commons

Looking for a way to send out email in bulk? You might be able to get away with a tool like Outlook or Mailman if you have a very small list, or a free list management tool like Google Groups or Topica’s service if you don’t need the list to look very professional. But likely, you want a way to send out emails to dozens, hundreds, or thousands of people that is easy to setup, trouble-free, and sends good-looking emails to your constituents. For these purposes, a hosted bulk emailing service is a great choice. These services typically allow you to manage your list, create emails, and view reports through a web-based interface, as well as take subscriptions through your website. Which emailing service should you use? We asked seven nonprofit technology experts which they would recommend.

Tools for putting together email newsletters and action alerts through email blasting programs

Some Simple Steps:

• Start with a plain text editor
• Don't switch back and forth between your blaster's HTML & WYSIWYG editors
• Put together your content
• Create your buttons
• Resize your images and THEN upload them
• Run your code through Premailer
• Test that message in as many email clients as possible making sure it at least looks decent in Outlook

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