Bulk email is when one email is sent to multiple recipients. The number of bulk email recipients per email can vary from the hundreds to thousands, to tens of thousands. Bulk emailing is generally used by companies to direct market services and goods to consumers.
Although bulk email shouldn’t be equated with spam email, many spam emails are sent using the process of bulk emailing. The Radicati Group, a technology marketing firm, released a report in May entitled, “Email Statistics Report 2009-2013,” in which it estimates worldwide email traffic in 2009 to reach 247 billion email messages per day. The report also notes 81% of all email traffic is spam.
Due to prolific bulk email abuse, many consumers may be reticent when opening an email they feel is sent to them in bulk.
Who Uses Bulk Email?
Bulk email is used by both individuals and businesses, although it’s generally thought of as a direct marketing tool used by companies. An individual might use a bulk email to send dinner invitations, distribute vacation photos, or to send a birth announcement. Bulk emailing needs vary by individual and are generally sent to friends and family whom he or she knows.
Companies commonly use bulk email to create direct email marketing campaigns that promote services or goods to consumers. A bulk email can be used to reach existing clients, as well as reach prospective clients. Many companies create multiple bulk email versions and target each one’s message to a particular group of people.
Prior to internet technology, company direct mailing occurred through postal mail. While the internet now creates a faster and often less expensive means to reach consumers, there are advantages and disadvantages to using bulk email.
Bulk Email Advantages
Bulk email provides a company or individual the ability to quickly send a message to numerous recipients at a very low cost.
- Reach thousands of recipients with one email
- Send thousands of bulk emails within minutes
- Provides low-cost solution when compared with traditional postal mail
Bulk email can be cost effective, especially when compared to traditional postal delivery times and costs. The current first-class rate for US Postal Service commercial postcard mailings is 20.5 cents per postcard.
Bulk Email Disadvantages
Bulk email can be quick and easy to send, but it is only effective if a user receives and opens the email.
- Requires a user to open an email in order to read it
- Users may opt-out of receiving future emails
- Spam filters may block or remove a bulk email from a user’s inbox
Recipients opening bulk email is one of the first challenges facing a company’s direct mail campaign. In a July 8, 2009 Direct magazine article, “E-Mail Delivery, Open Rates Up, Clicks Down,“ Richard H. Levey published findings from the Epsilon’s Global Consumer Email Study. The study notes email open rates increased in the first quarter 2009 to 22.1%. However, users clicking a link within the email dropped slightly to 6.1%.
Additional bulk email challenges include the ability for a recipient to opt-out of future emails, a feature required by bulk email law, as well as spam filters which may place the email into a separate folder or may delete it entirely.
Bulk Email Allows Timely Reach with Less Expense
Bulk email can be an effective method to mail a large set of recipients quickly and for a lower expense
when compared to traditional postal mail. These advantages must be weighed against the disadvantages of whether a recipient will open the email and continue to opt-in for future emails, or if a spam filter will block the bulk email from being delivered.
Additional Reading on Bulk Email:
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