What is a Bulk Mailer?

A bulk mailing software is a software designed to send out a high volume of messages, e.g. newsletters, campaigns, e-zines, announcements, support and group mails. MailList Controller is a desktop and server software running on your computer and NOT an interface for a subscription based online service.

How does a Bulk Mailer send out Email Messages?

MailList Controller requires an email account, which supports SMTP - but it will also work with your MS Exchange server and also supports the "Pickup Directory Mode" for direct mailing (without using SMTP) if you have your own mailserver.

It sends your messages in exactly the same way as a regular mailclient.  The bulk mailer software sends one seperate message to each recipient (Subscriber) - in regular To: mode, it does not use bulk carbon copies. This ensures, that the privacy of your recipients is not at risk and allows to send personalized email newsletters.

In other words: if you list has e.g. 300 subscribers, then it will send 300 seperate email messages and each message contains only the email address of the current recipient.

Does using a Bulk Mailer equal sending SPAM?

No, using a bulk mailer does not equal sending SPAM, but you should always be aware of the fact, that you should not flood your recipients with too many messages and that you should not use the bulk mailer to send message to people who don't want to receive messages from you. Its also required, that you enable the recipients to exclude them from future mailings, if they are no longer interested in your service.  There are rules for sending commercial email messages!
See also: Newsletter Basics and Anti-Spam rules

A bulk mailer is only a name for a software product, which is able to send many (bulk) email messages.

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)

MailList Controller is a fast bulk and mass mailer, but will not overload your mailserver. It includes different options, which can be used to throttle down and slow down the mailing. This options are also very useful if your mailaccount has restrictions. Some mail accounts are limited in the number of messages sent out per hour, others require a pause between the messages. MailList Controller can be setup to work with any of this restrictions.

If you can send out an email from your computer, then you can also send out a newsletter using MailList Controller. MailList Controller supports SMTP, ESMTP, SSL and StartTLS authentication.

Mailserver Pickup Directory for Direct Mail

This option can be used if you are running a local mailserver, which has a pickup directory. In this mode, the program does not send using SMTP. It creates a .eml file in the pickup directory for each message, which will be used directly by your mailserver. The mailserver picks up the .eml file and sends it.

MailList Controller will create the messages in the pickup directory very fast: up to 100.000 messages in less than 5 minutes, so it might be required to slow down or limit the number of messages per hour, if your server runs out of resources.

This option is the fastest way to send out messages if you are running a local mailserver, which has a pickup directory. Please note, that the program does not receive any confirmation from your mailserver and your mailserver is responsible for sending out the messages an error processing. Please refer to the user manual of your mailserver for further details.