Newsletter manager?

[LeftBrainStudio]

I have a client who wants to have several opt-in lists to email out newsletters. Is anything like this currently installed? Anyone with experience using php scripts that do this relatively well?

Thanks,
Gilbert

[wayland]

Check out PHPList which can be installed using the "Auto-Installer Scripts" section of cPanel.

For a list of features, instructions, etc, go to http://tincan.co.uk/phplist

[halyfax]

One word of advice if you are planning on using phplist, if you plan on having more than 100 - 150 subscribers the server cannot handle sending the newsletters. BEtter off using your own smtp server

[wayland]

Thanks for the tip, halyfax!

[brett]

Warning

Even if you use your own machine to send out the emails, you can get suspended. I did, and even had to switch providers. Someone here enforced it. My client's storefront was down for a day or 2 while I had to switch everything over. Not healthy for anyone involved! Dathorn was helpful in getting my files to me, but this was about it.

My other provider which I was forced to switch to was helpful in determining what caused the server to get overloaded.

Note:
- No matter which server the email is sent from, bouncebacks are resent from the server in the from address. With our particularly old customer email list, many bouncebacks were making there way back to the domain hosted here, causing them to be resent here even if they didn't originate here.

A way to avoid/fix this is simply setup a POP elsewhere for the "from" address and have it forward there, so the server won't continue to resend bad addresses. Bounces will simply dump into this other POP.

I hope this helps others! And hopefully the powers that be can be a little more customer oriented when it comes to issues like these instead of the knee jerk reaction which I experienced. I too would be a little overwhelmed maintaining over 30 servers. Imagine if they were all running Windows.

[halyfax]

I plan on using bounce software that will handle the bounce backs, as well you can use programs that check the emails before the email is sent.

With these 2 programs you should be able to handle large lists.

The software I am referring to is available at http://www.maxprog.com/ It is a Mac OSX software, but I am sure there are loads of similiar apps for Windoze.

eMail Verifier works on the same algorithm as ISP mail systems do. Addresses for e-mail are extracted from a Domain Naming Server (DNS) and eMail Verifier tries to connect with SMTP-servers and simulates the sending of a message. It does not send the message though - eMail Verifier disconnects as soon as the mail server informs the program whether the address exists or not.

Maxprog has developed eMail Bounce Handler, a bounce e-mail filtering and handling tool that recognizes bounce e-mails using a customizable set of rules and extracts the recipients addresses allowing you to use them again to try sending your mail or to take them off your list. eMail Bounce Handler simply connects to your pop mailbox in order to retrieve bounces letting any other message untouched. Once your mailbox is processed and all bounces removed from your server, you will get your list of "bad" e-mails addresses. Then you can export it in order to clean your original list or to try to send your mail again. If you use Maxprog Bulk Mailer*, you can name your file "Delete" and then drop it over MaxBulk Mailer recipient list . All addresses from the file will be removed from the list in a snap!

[brett]

Thanks for the feedback halyfax.
Yeah, MaxBulk Mailer is fantastic. I actually use it to send now, and PHPList to maintain the list. Perhaps I'll have to purchase another piece of their software just to clean up our list. Kind of unfortunate that these tools are available on the server in cPanel, but we shouldn't use them. =)
Those cpu eating buggers...

[LeftBrainStudio]

Thanks for the information guys.

What's the official line on sending emails out of here? The mailing lists (opt-ins) will not be too large (<100) and will only be going out periodically. I don't want install scripts that would be overkill. Then again, I don't want my client's account frozen because of a few bounced emails.

-Gilbert

[HOSTropic]

If you haven't already investigated it, another option you may want to consider is using a third party service. You can sign up for one of the unlimited list autoresponder/newsletter publishing services for $15 - $20 per month.* (There are free ones too but they're overburdened with advertising.) The better services provide form generators or links from your own forms, landing pages, database capture of subscribers with upload and download, double opt in, etc.
I've used a couple of different services in the past and they worked out well enough, though since I'm not currently hosting any large lists I've switched to phplist. You should be able to Google on "autoresponder" to get names of service suppliers.
Since the services use their own servers for sending, there's never a risk of getting your client's site downed for server overload.
Ron

*Note, this is valid only if your client is up for spending a bit more money. I personally haven't run into any clients like this, but I've heard there actually are some out there...

[vizability]

throttling messages, bounce handling

fyi

If you do use phplist for a large amount of subscribers, you can set the amount of emails it sends in a certain period of time.
The config file should be changed to only send 75 emails over a period of 10 minutes (600 seconds before you go get the calculator).

ps. If anyone has set up bounce handling with phplist successfully, please let me know. My bounces are going to the default email for the account, rather than the address specified in config.php. (I think this is the same as brett's problem)

thanks
Stuart

https://www.vizability.com.au

[brett]

Hmmm... Not sure I ever mastered the bounces and such with PHPList. This isn't THE way to do it, but what I've had to do for now is:

- Use a reseller that doesn't suspend accounts to professional businesses and proven accounts (willy-nilly)
- Knowing what caused the issue, I've simply been using PHPList to maintain the list only and a local machine (Mac OS X Max Bulk Mailer) to send the emails
- With the from address being a domain on our webserver and the list being pretty old, the bouncebacks were being attempted again my the web/mail server in the FROM address field. To fix this I had to forward this (what's in the from) to a POP account elsewhere. Now bouncebacks just pile up in this other POP...

I'm still working on the ultimate solution. Please tell me if anyone has found it yet. I've learned enough not to TRY anything here. Know first. Business costs $$ and I realize now that for a real business, service is more important to me and my clients. I thought I could get both... =)