As you mentioned it really does depend on the host, however, if you're using the SMTP option (which is set by default), I would think the thing to consider is what your host allows for as far as SMTP traffic.
I'll ask a few other knowledgeable folks around here if they've got any thoughts on that too.
It really does depend on the configuration of your particular host. Its be wise to ask them what they consider reasonable.
That said, your main concern will be hitting the recipients. If you end up sending a lot of emails in a very short time to the same email provider, they will flag your server as suspicious and potentially divert your emails to the spam box.
If you're sending 10,000 e-mails everyday you're likely to hit issues. E-mail servers simply won't like you sending out so many e-mails and you're likely to get flagged as possible spam.
You should look into either verifiying your server as sending legitimate e-mails or using an external, verified, SMTP provider.
if you are on shared hosting the provider limits your sending rate to i.e. 50 mails / hour or whatever they want.
if its VPS your probably hitting limits of your vserver you didn't even know about. happened to me, currently trying to resolve this...
i.e. my vserver has 1024MB guaranteed RAM, I run nginx and mysql on it, using maybe 200MB so I have enough ram but I use a default configured IMAP client that makes a few connections, I get out of memory errors...
figured out postfix+dovecot+saslauthd were firing up countless processes and threads so I hit some limits of my system, check this:
and that happened before I even started sending anything!
currently tying down postfix+dovecot+saslauthd to use minimal number of processes and threads, still in testing phase though....
if anyone can add any more insights I'd love to hear them.
###edit###
sorry for the poor formatting of above code, if a mod can help make it more readable please edit. it contains tabs that's why it looks so weird... or is it just my low resolution?
If SMTP is used, for instance Amazon SES, http://aws.amazon.com/ses/, to send thousands of emails (I mean a lot of emails), will my website hosting company complaint about it? Why?
What resources we are using of the website hosting company when we send thousands of email via SMTP via WordPress with this e-newsletter plugin?
Using Amazon SES is a great way of getting around any host limit. I use it using the API (it was set up before they created the SMTP interface) from my mailer (PHPlists) running on a normal shared host (with a local mail limit of 500 per day).
I set an 8 second wait (thats just over 10,000 per day) in my software, just so I don't hammer the CPU and lock everything/everone else out (and getting the shared host admins angry).
Amazon take spam seriously, so first you have to prove yourself in a test environment before being allowed in production, Then allow you 1,000 per day max and then progressively upgrade your limits (to millions if you want). They like to see your reject/complaint rate % is low. I ran two runs of 700 and then asked for 10,000 per day, that was fine no problem.
I think the cost is 10c per 1,000 so it isn't very expensive at all.
I'm not that familiar with the WPMU and similar Wordpress mass mailers, but I note WPMU say the mass mailer is suitable for up to 5,000 users, otherwise use MailChimp. Using MailChimp would in essence also be a possible route, but clearly much more expensive than running your own batch mailer software. (unless you don't mind 'mailchimp' brand on your e-mails)
That said, my mailer sits idle 95% of the time as I only send out bulk once a month at the most.
Thank you for sharing your experience! That is a good reference :)
For my WPMU site, if each sub-site admin apply for their own Amazon SES account separately, on their own with their own name and credit cards, and then enter their own SES SMTP account info in each sub site dashboard using this e-newsletter plugin, the QUESTION is: will Amazon SES be mad about my WPMU site if one of the sub-site admins sends out spam emails when he/she is using his/her own Amazon SES SMTP to send those spams, via my WPMU setup?
I mean, wouldn't my WPMU site just act like a Microsoft Outlook client? If someone use Outlook to send spam emails using Amazon SES SMTP account from Outlook, will Amazon be mad at Outlook?
If that does happen, what would Amazon SES do? Obviously, they would close out the spammer's SES account. Will they do anything to my WPMU site?
Background info/idea
With this e-newsletter plugin, we could possibly create a mailchimp type of service for each sub site admin although sub-site admins are paying Amazon SES for the email volume and bandwidth. This would give the sub-site admin a full functional website plus an online mailer with some newsletter templates, which is better than what mailchimp offers (you don't get a website from mailchimp :) ) and this is cheaper, too, if you're talking about thousands of subscribers per (sub) site.
That said, my hosting CPU/Memory may need to be very strong to deal with that (thousands of sub sites, each sends out thousands of emails, respectively). Any thoughts?
If one of the sub-site admins sends out spam emails using his own Amazon SES SMTP account using e-newsletter plugin from my WPMU site, will Amazon be mad about my WPMU network site?
I don't mean me sending the spam email. I mean one of the sub site admins on my WPMU send out spam with this e-newsletter plugin from my WPMU site via Amazon SES SMTP using his own SES account, not my SES account.
What could Amazon do to my WPMU site if that happens?
Oh - I thought you were asking what would happen if another user were using your default settings (your SES account), to send spam - if that were the case, Amazon would inevitably terminate your account.
However, if it's being sent thru another SES account, then you shouldn't worry about your own. And no, Amazon will not penalize your own "site" for sending spam, as it's pushed thru an authentication layer via SES.
Responses (15)
WPMU DEV Fanatic — 20th July 2011 23:10 #
Hi winning,
As you mentioned it really does depend on the host, however, if you're using the SMTP option (which is set by default), I would think the thing to consider is what your host allows for as far as SMTP traffic.
I'll ask a few other knowledgeable folks around here if they've got any thoughts on that too.
Chers,
David
Sales & Support Pro — 21st July 2011 13:24 #
Hiya,
It really does depend on the configuration of your particular host. Its be wise to ask them what they consider reasonable.
That said, your main concern will be hitting the recipients. If you end up sending a lot of emails in a very short time to the same email provider, they will flag your server as suspicious and potentially divert your emails to the spam box.
Phil
Member — 21st July 2011 15:16 #
Thank you guys for the quick reply. I am planning to send 10k emails out everyday.
Any suggestion on what kind of hosting setup is needed? and,
What kind of sending strategy should be used to avoid flagging as spam by the same email provider?
Sales & Support Pro — 22nd July 2011 08:59 #
If you're sending 10,000 e-mails everyday you're likely to hit issues. E-mail servers simply won't like you sending out so many e-mails and you're likely to get flagged as possible spam.
You should look into either verifiying your server as sending legitimate e-mails or using an external, verified, SMTP provider.
Phil
Member — 22nd July 2011 11:26 #
if you are on shared hosting the provider limits your sending rate to i.e. 50 mails / hour or whatever they want.
if its VPS your probably hitting limits of your vserver you didn't even know about. happened to me, currently trying to resolve this...
i.e. my vserver has 1024MB guaranteed RAM, I run nginx and mysql on it, using maybe 200MB so I have enough ram but I use a default configured IMAP client that makes a few connections, I get out of memory errors...
figured out postfix+dovecot+saslauthd were firing up countless processes and threads so I hit some limits of my system, check this:
and that happened before I even started sending anything!
currently tying down postfix+dovecot+saslauthd to use minimal number of processes and threads, still in testing phase though....
if anyone can add any more insights I'd love to hear them.
###edit###
sorry for the poor formatting of above code, if a mod can help make it more readable please edit. it contains tabs that's why it looks so weird... or is it just my low resolution?
Member — 14th May 2012 20:35 #
If SMTP is used, for instance Amazon SES, http://aws.amazon.com/ses/, to send thousands of emails (I mean a lot of emails), will my website hosting company complaint about it? Why?
What resources we are using of the website hosting company when we send thousands of email via SMTP via WordPress with this e-newsletter plugin?
Member — 14th May 2012 21:42 #
Using Amazon SES is a great way of getting around any host limit. I use it using the API (it was set up before they created the SMTP interface) from my mailer (PHPlists) running on a normal shared host (with a local mail limit of 500 per day).
I set an 8 second wait (thats just over 10,000 per day) in my software, just so I don't hammer the CPU and lock everything/everone else out (and getting the shared host admins angry).
Amazon take spam seriously, so first you have to prove yourself in a test environment before being allowed in production, Then allow you 1,000 per day max and then progressively upgrade your limits (to millions if you want). They like to see your reject/complaint rate % is low. I ran two runs of 700 and then asked for 10,000 per day, that was fine no problem.
I think the cost is 10c per 1,000 so it isn't very expensive at all.
I'm not that familiar with the WPMU and similar Wordpress mass mailers, but I note WPMU say the mass mailer is suitable for up to 5,000 users, otherwise use MailChimp. Using MailChimp would in essence also be a possible route, but clearly much more expensive than running your own batch mailer software. (unless you don't mind 'mailchimp' brand on your e-mails)
That said, my mailer sits idle 95% of the time as I only send out bulk once a month at the most.
Member — 15th May 2012 00:22 #
@ROIBOT
Thank you for sharing your experience! That is a good reference :)
For my WPMU site, if each sub-site admin apply for their own Amazon SES account separately, on their own with their own name and credit cards, and then enter their own SES SMTP account info in each sub site dashboard using this e-newsletter plugin, the QUESTION is: will Amazon SES be mad about my WPMU site if one of the sub-site admins sends out spam emails when he/she is using his/her own Amazon SES SMTP to send those spams, via my WPMU setup?
I mean, wouldn't my WPMU site just act like a Microsoft Outlook client? If someone use Outlook to send spam emails using Amazon SES SMTP account from Outlook, will Amazon be mad at Outlook?
If that does happen, what would Amazon SES do? Obviously, they would close out the spammer's SES account. Will they do anything to my WPMU site?
Background info/idea
With this e-newsletter plugin, we could possibly create a mailchimp type of service for each sub site admin although sub-site admins are paying Amazon SES for the email volume and bandwidth. This would give the sub-site admin a full functional website plus an online mailer with some newsletter templates, which is better than what mailchimp offers (you don't get a website from mailchimp :) ) and this is cheaper, too, if you're talking about thousands of subscribers per (sub) site.
That said, my hosting CPU/Memory may need to be very strong to deal with that (thousands of sub sites, each sends out thousands of emails, respectively). Any thoughts?
Member — 17th May 2012 02:27 #
If one of the sub-site admins sends out spam emails using his own Amazon SES SMTP account using e-newsletter plugin from my WPMU site, will Amazon be mad about my WPMU network site?
Member — 17th May 2012 04:27 #
yes, and it could disable your account.
More here:
http://aws.amazon.com/ses/faqs/#3
Member — 17th May 2012 06:04 #
@Shawn
I don't mean me sending the spam email. I mean one of the sub site admins on my WPMU send out spam with this e-newsletter plugin from my WPMU site via Amazon SES SMTP using his own SES account, not my SES account.
What could Amazon do to my WPMU site if that happens?
Member — 17th May 2012 10:29 #
Oh - I thought you were asking what would happen if another user were using your default settings (your SES account), to send spam - if that were the case, Amazon would inevitably terminate your account.
However, if it's being sent thru another SES account, then you shouldn't worry about your own. And no, Amazon will not penalize your own "site" for sending spam, as it's pushed thru an authentication layer via SES.
Member — 17th May 2012 16:06 #
Hi Winning, the last that I saw ses did not work with e newsletter but was a feature request. http://premium.wpmudev.org/forums/topic/support-for-amazon-simple-email-service-ses
Lead Developer — 17th May 2012 16:19 #
Should work fine:
http://aws.amazon.com/ses/faqs/#22
Member — 17th May 2012 18:05 #
You'll also want to make sure that your SPF record allows 3rd party relay.
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