In today's digital age, email communication is a cornerstone of our personal and professional lives. We rely on it for everything from coordinating schedules to sharing important documents and keeping in touch with friends and colleagues. Microsoft Outlook is an essential tool for managing our messages, however, it's important to remember it’s not designed for mass mailing.
Outlook's Purpose
Outlook is designed to help you send, receive, and organize emails efficiently. Outlook's primary purpose is to enhance personal productivity and facilitate one-on-one or small group interactions.
The Problem with Mass Mailing
While Outlook is a powerful email management tool, it's not suitable for sending bulk emails to a large recipient list. Attempting to use it as a mass mailer can lead to a host of issues, including:
- Email Server Limits: Email servers have limitations on the number of emails you can send in a given time period. Attempting to send too many emails at once can trigger server-based restrictions.
- Spam Filtering: Mass emails from Outlook can often be flagged as spam by recipient email services. This is because sending numerous emails in a short time may resemble the behavior of spammers. Outlook lacks the necessary features for managing these complexities.
- Reputation Damage: Sending a high volume of emails that get marked as spam can damage your email sender reputation. This can impact the deliverability of all your future emails, potentially for your entire organization.
- Blocking: If you exceed your email service's sending limits, you risk having your email account being temporarily blocked.
Solutions and Alternatives
To avoid encountering issues when sending a large number of emails, we would advise sending through alternative solutions:
- Email Marketing Platforms: Consider using specialized email marketing platforms like Adestra, Informz, MailChimp, or Constant Contact for sending mass emails. These platforms offer features such as list management, tracking, and analytics.
- Professional SMTP Services: For more advanced users, professional SMTP services like Mailgun or SendGrid can help you send bulk emails without triggering spam filters.
If you have any questions or need further assistance on this topic, please don't hesitate to contact us. |
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If you're like me, you've probably encountered the need to create test user accounts using your email address, both for work and personal purposes. Often, this can lead to a dilemma where you've exhausted your available email accounts and resort to generating seemingly random email addresses like 'mbrandttester@assctech.com.' Unfortunately, these bogus email accounts serve no real purpose for testing, making the process less effective.
Fortunately, there's a simple solution to this problem that I wish I had known about earlier. You can use your regular email address, such as 'mbrandt@assctech.com,' and append a '+' symbol followed by a specific identifier. For example, you can create test accounts like 'mbrandt+testing@assctech.com' or 'mbrandt+monday@assctech.com.' The beauty of this approach is that the email server will disregard anything after the '+' symbol, ensuring that all these test emails are delivered to your inbox. This clever trick streamlines the testing process without the need for additional email accounts. |
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| atCIO Series - How to Create and Maintain a Technology Roadmap |
Do you have a technology roadmap? Most likely your organization has a strategic plan. How does your technology align with that plan? Join AT's team for a presentation and panel discussion on how to get started and how to manage your roadmap. Whether you have a plan already or need to start one our team will walk you through our approach to creating and following a technology plan.
Come join us on November 16th at 1:00 PM CT. |
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| Time for an Upgrade |
I finally upgraded...upgraded what you ask? I traded in my iPhone 12 Pro for the latest version in the iPhone series, the 15 Pro. Now I'm sure I disappointed many of our "Android" team members that I stuck with Apple but I'll be honest it is just easier. There are several new changes that I've come to appreciate with both the new iPhone and the latest version of iOS.
Battery life - my old phone definitely didn't hold a charge as well as it had in the past. It is nice to be able to make it through a day without charging the phone a few times. Although I found out afterwards that the 15 Pro has the worst battery life for the entire 15 series!
Action button - I wasn't sure what to think about the new button but now I can say I'm a fan. You can set the button to perform a handful of actions (this replaces the physical mute button). Flashlight, DND, magnifying glass and several others are your current options. However, I see Apple adding more. My current setting - magnifying glass - these eyes are not getting any younger!
Voicemail Transcription (IOS 10) - This may be the most entertaining of the new features. I love the ability the read voicemails. It isn't perfect but so far it has done a pretty good job with the transcription.
Improved Camera and Chip - One the first things I noticed when I started using my new device was the improved speed (especially coming from an older 12). Everything is much faster and smoother. From a specifications standpoint the camera is much better then my older phone. Can I tell by looking at the pics...nope but I'll take their word for it. I have notice zoomed and low light pictures are much better. Here is a pic of Julia and Theo taken with the new phone! |
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| Congratulations to Tyler and Ashley Schenk who were married at a beautiful ceremony on October 7th. Most of the AT family was present to share in the joy of the their special day. We wish them a lifetime of happiness! |
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| Three Ways IT Teams and Staff Technology Champions Can Collaborate |
Association technology teams are seeing a boost in the number of non-tech staffers finding solutions to their IT problems. Knowing that, organizations must create a culture and process where all staff have a way to bring their ideas to the table.
Read More |
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| New Report Finds Members Want Improved Technology and Education Offerings |
Forj’s 2023 State of Association Member Experience report found that organizations are not meeting member expectations. Improving technology offerings, focusing on retention, and creating community-driven learning can prove beneficial.
Read More |
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We have an archive of our newsletters and industry related
articles available on our website, click HERE to access them.
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| NiUG 2023 TechXchange |
Location: Bethesda, MD
Join us at the only advanced iMIS event November 1-3 in Bethesda, MD. This premier event enables you to discover innovative ways to streamline your association and advance your career through 3 days of immersive training, powerful keynotes, and connecting with your peers. |
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| HighRoad Solutions Webinar: Visualizing the Digital Member Journey |
Location: Online
Marketing and membership are constantly talking about the member journey - but what are they really talking about? While teams focus on optimizing campaign assets like email copy, landing pages, and adverting banners, sometimes it’s hard to visualize where your member is in the marketing funnel. Join us as we demonstrate how to understand where your members are in their engagement lifecycle with you and the actual paths they’re taking across multiple channels before converting. |
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| NOVEMBER |
| 16 |
| 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM CDT |
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| Association Forum's Association 101 |
Location: Association Forum Headquarters, 10 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 800, Chicago, IL
An orientation for association professionals, Association 101 is designed to provide a solid foundation of knowledge and appreciation for the unique environment, culture and dynamics of associations. |
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| Association Forum Holiday Showcase |
Location: Hilton Chicago
Holiday Showcase 2023 Incubate is your opportunity to:
- Discover a fresh approach or a new concept
- Translate lessons into insights
- Have a voice in discussions and decisions that will impact our industry
- Ignite change in yourself or others
- Elevate your skills or acquire new ones
- Discover technologies, strategies, tools, and networks that accelerate your professional and personal growth
- Regroup, reinvigorate, reinvent
- Be energized by your community, inspired by your experience
Don't miss out on this unparalleled opportunity to connect, learn, and elevate your professional journey. Mark your calendars and join us at the Holiday Showcase, where two full days of education, networking, and boundless inspiration await. |
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| ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition |
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Mark your calendars for the next annual meeting. Details coming soon.
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