You can easily send emails to small groups of people, using Microsoft Outlook’s ‘Contacts’ list.

If you need to manage email lists larger than a couple of hundred names, you’d best use a specialized email broadcasting and mail list management service, like the very popular AWeber.com service – which I use and recommend. Another option is to use an email broadcasting method provided by your web hosting service – if they offer one.

Using MS-Outlook to manage small group emailing
Using the popular old Microsoft Outlook 2003 email client as an example – first you must setup a new mailing list, called a “Distribution List” in Outlook. You must give it a name, select the existing contacts which you want to include from your Outlook Contacts list, and then save your new Distribution List.

Give your Distribution Lists easy names to remember, keeping in mind that they will be in alphabetical order in your Contact List and mixed in with all your other contacts. It’s a good idea to also have a contact form set up for yourself. Then you can add yourself to any Distribution List and get a copy of any group email message you send out.

Start a new 'Distribution List' in Outlook...

..Add people from your chosen Contacts list (Ctrl+Click for more than 1)...

Next, start a new message, just as you would any new Outlook message. You might want to save this message for future use. To send the message to one of your Outlook ‘Distribution List’ lists, be careful to follow this method – here’s why:

How would you like to receive an email which revealed your email address in the “To:” section of the message header, along with every other recipient’s address? If you pay attention to security and privacy as much as most people, you wouldn’t like it, because everyone receiving that message now has your email address. Nothing like pissing off the recipients you may be trying to help out or to persuade to take some action!

By adding your Distribution List only to the Bcc (Blind Carbon Copy) field, you’ll avoid this faux pas and the recipient will only see their own email address. To make it work that way, click on the “To:” button in your new message, select your Distribution List from your list of contacts and, with it highlighted, click on the “Bcc” button.

..Create you new message, just like any other, but use that "To:" button...

..Finally, select your Distribution List from your contacts.

When you send your message, a copy will now go to each person in your Distribution List – with only their own email address visible.

About Spamming:
Spam of course is “unsolicited email” – in other words, you are spamming if you send ANYTHING which the recipient did not request. Usually, spamming is taken to mean that you are sending unwanted advertising to someone who did not request any emails from your company.

Double Opt-In:
Double Opt-in is an important anti-spam feature and is enforced on AWeber.com and other professional mail list management systems. In Double Opt-in, when a visitor signs up to your email list, they are sent an approval message. If they don’t respond to that message in a way which indicates their approval (usually by clicking on a link), or if they don’t respond at all, they will not be added to your email list.

Double Opt-In is important in fighting spam, but it gets in the way when you want to upload a list of your existing contacts to a new email listing service – they may force all your already approved members to approve you all over again – in case you’re a spammer taking advantage of their service. Also, you don’t want informal groups, friends, relatives and such to have to go through a Double Opt-In. This is where using methods not requiring opt-in, like Outlook or your web hosting service’s mass mailing features is handy.

Don’t Spam!
Not only is spam a bad thing, unethical, and a losing marketing strategy over the long term – but also, a few complaints from those you have spammed can get you kicked out of your hosting service, off your email service and can result in your IP address being black-listed. Please don’t spam.

Until next time – no spam please…
_jim coe