Bulk email marketing is a technique of promotion and affecting sale on the internet using the specific medium of email communication. This is a curious methodology to indulge in because of the history behind the practice. For all useful purposes, even spammers come under the ambit of bulk email marketers. The differentiating factor lies only in the fact that most legitimate email marketers will follow governmental rules and guidelines that have since been instituted to regulate the practice of spamming.
Another interesting differentiation between the two groups of marketers is the fact that one will not bother using a specialized software like email campaign software for the purpose of bulk emailing. This is because of the basic philosophy of spammers of being anonymous, untraceable, and low cost. Though campaign software can be used for spamming as well, the basic premise of spamming makes it impossible to use it. The software itself consists of a database and an application to send email based on a template with content in it. This actually makes the practice of mailing quite simple and more precise. Additionally, the use of the software legitimizes your practice quite a bit.
Bulk email marketing software can either be an in-house architecture or an online architecture. The in-house version requires you to purchase the required hardware and software and maintain it for as long as you will be mailing in bulk. The main advantages of using the in-house option is that you have a lot of control over operations and the security of your database is completely in your control. The downside is of course the costs involved in getting the necessary infrastructure, site costs, utility costs, and maintenance costs to name a few. While the per mail cost of using this software may be low, with the fixed costs being offset by the number of units produced and sent, every mail sent doesn't mean a sale. Therefore, these costs will remain a burden.
Using the online version is much cheaper and quite hands-off. There are membership costs or enrollment costs that you have to pay to the service provider but this is not as astronomical as the in-house option. Additionally, you don't have to bother about being a tech whizz when you are using the online option. The downside of this approach is unfortunately the lack of robustness in the content templates available and the lack of freedom you would have had. In addition to this, the costs of this option can increase per batch of mails sent; something to seriously consider when costing along with the problem of a lack of security of your distribution list.
Both methods weigh equally in pros and cons and it is a matter of your individual situation when it comes to choosing either. A good rule of thumb is that if you are just starting out, use an online option and understand the mechanics of what you are doing. When you become a master, then you can go for more complicated in-house options.
