How to send your first bulk email?

Boldem is an email tool and CDP system that helps you increase conversions and support your brand through personalized bulk messages. Below you’ll find details on how to create your first bulk email and your first bulk campaign.

Initial setup

To use Boldem fully for sending email campaigns, complete the following steps:

1. Email address verification
   • After registering a Boldem account, you must confirm your email address by clicking the link in the email you received. If the email doesn’t arrive, use the Resend option.
2. Sending domain verification
   • To ensure secure email delivery and reduce the risk of your campaign ending up in spam, you need to verify your domain.
   • Steps:
     • Add a domain in account settings.
     • DNS record settings (DKIM, SPF, DMARC, CNAME) with your domain provider.
     • Record validation in Boldem.
3. Create a mailing list
   • Create a mailing list in the Mailing lists section.
4. Importing recipients
   • Add individual recipients manually or import the database in bulk.
5. Create a template
   • Create an email template: either a brand-new one using HTML, or choose from ready-made templates.
6. Campaign dispatch
   • In the Campaigns section, create and schedule your first email campaign. You can find details about this step in the next chapter.

Dispatch of a bulk email campaign

After completing all steps of the initial setup, you can start sending bulk emails.

1. In your Boldem account, select Campaigns from the left-hand menu. A new dialog will appear where you can choose the campaign type:
   • Classic email campaign – the most common type of campaign sent via email. Typical uses include bulk emails, such as newsletters. The steps below will show how to dispatch this type of campaign
   • A/B email campaign – a variant of the classic email campaign that also lets you automatically test different subject lines, senders, or message content on a subset of recipients. Testing is done by splitting recipients according to your settings, sending them different versions of your message, and after a set time evaluating the success (click-through rate and open rate) of each variant, then sending the winning variant to the remaining recipients to increase the campaign’s overall chance of success.
   • SMS campaign – sending a mass message via SMS. Requires purchasing credits to send messages beyond your regular plan.
2. Select Classic email campaign. A form will appear to fill in additional details:
   • The only required field is Campaign name. Together with the Campaign description field, they are for your reference only.
   • As you create more campaigns, use the optional Group drop-down menu, where you can create any number of groups to organize your campaigns.
3. In the Recipient selection step, choose the mailing list you created during setup from the drop-down menu. You can also create a new one right here. The following optional settings are available:
   • Set up segmentation – with this feature you can filter specific recipients by various parameters. Depending on which data you have for recipients in your database, you can limit a campaign, for example by gender or other attributes, by recipient activity in previous campaigns, on your website, and other advanced options. At first, until you have enough data, you’ll most often use segmentation to split recipients by gender, age, or geographic location, and over time also by things like date of last purchase, interests, preferences, frequency, or purchase history.
     • After opening the Set Segmentation dialog, click Select new condition, choose the parameters to filter recipients by, and once you’re satisfied with the result, confirm your choice by clicking Save and segment.
4. Message sender – In this step, enter the required sender email and domain. We strongly recommend entering the Sender Name as well, even though it’s optional. Choosing the right name will increase your email open rate.
   • Optionally fill in the Reply-to email address field. This email address will be used when the recipient decides to reply to your email. If you want the reply-to address to be the same as the sender’s address, leave this field blank.
5. In the Message subject step, enter the subject of your message; we recommend limiting it to 60 characters.
   • Optionally enter the so-called preheader, the preview subject — a short text that follows the email subject and appears in the email preview in the recipient’s mailbox before the email is opened. It’s supplementary text that provides more information about the message content and aims to entice the recipient to open the email. A well-written preheader can increase the success of an email campaign. We recommend limiting it to 150 characters.
6. In the Content and message design section, choose Select existing template and locate the template you created for the campaign during the initial setup. If you haven’t created a template yet, you can create one here:
   • Create a new smart template – we recommend this for most users. You can choose from a wide range of predefined templates or create your own template from existing, relatively safe and fine-tuned blocks that should display correctly in most email apps.
   • Create a new HTML template – intended for advanced users who can work with HTML code and are aware of the risks of using this version of the template.
     • These risks primarily include the fact that not all email clients, such as Outlook or Gmail, display HTML code the same way. A poorly written template can then result in a broken or unreadable email.
     • A third-party template may also potentially contain hidden malicious code or outdated elements that pose a security threat to both the recipient and the sender.
     • Poorly written HTML code (e.g., too many external links, images, or incorrect CSS) can cause email services to mark the email as SPAM.
     • Purchased or custom HTML templates may not be fully responsive, which means they can display poorly or appear cluttered on mobile devices, resulting in a poor user experience.
7. Rozšířené nastavení je určeno především pokročilým uživatelům a nabízí následující možnosti:
   • Unsubscribe method
     • Unsubscribe from all mailing lists – if the recipient clicks the unsubscribe link, they will be unsubscribed from all campaigns in your account.
     • Unsubscribe from all mailing lists assigned to the campaign – if the recipient clicks the unsubscribe link, they will be unsubscribed only from the mailing lists assigned to the current campaign.
   • Domain router – a list of all domain routers that can be used to dispatch a campaign.
   • Campaign link tagging – using tagging, you can track clicks on individual campaign links to your website in analytics tools like Google Analytics. To track those links, you must add UTM parameters to the URL. If you leave this field filled in, Boldem will automatically insert UTM parameters for each link so you can track campaign performance.
     • Click the pencil icon 🖉 to open the dialog box where you can enter a custom campaign name, medium, and source.
   • Measure email opens – if you check this option, a special code will be inserted into the email before dispatch to measure and provide feedback on the email open rate.
   • Track link click-throughs – if you check this option, a special code will be inserted into the email before dispatch to measure and evaluate the number of click-throughs on links in the message.
8. Delivery split is an optional feature designed primarily for customers sending large volumes of messages and allows you to split a campaign into smaller deliveries according to rules you set, which the system sends automatically after a specified delay. Splitting is used, for example, when you don’t want to overload your servers with unexpected traffic or to avoid overwhelming your customer support team with expected inquiries.
   • Distribution method
     • Do not split – default setting, the campaign will be dispatched as a single delivery.
     • Split by percentage – allows you to enter what percentage of recipients you want to include in a single delivery.
     • Split by number of recipients – allows you to enter the number of recipients you want to include in a single delivery.
     • Limit to a specific maximum number of random recipients – allows limiting a delivery to a certain number of random recipients.
     • Limit to a specific percentage of recipients – lets you enter a percentage and limit recipients to that share.
   • Delay between deliveries (in minutes) – specifies the amount of time that elapses between each split delivery.

Tips for a successful mass email campaign

Your goal is to get as many people as possible to open your mass message, have at least some of them click the links, and keep the message out of the spam folder. Below are a few tips to help you do that.

Prevent the email from going to spam

In addition to the necessary settings described in the introductory chapter concerning domain records and the use of quality IP addresses for deliveries, which we at Boldem will arrange automatically for you, you should also follow these rules:

• Don’t use spammy phrases: Avoid overusing terms like “free”, “get it now”, “quick win”, “100% guarantee”, etc., which spam filters often flag as suspicious. Instead, focus on differentiating yourself so your email stands out.
• Keep your mailing lists clean: Regularly update email lists and remove inactive recipients.
• Use double opt-in: Require double opt-in when acquiring new recipients so people confirm they want your emails.
• Clearly label commercial messages: A bulk email is a typical commercial message and has its own rules. It should be clearly labeled (newsletter, updates, promotional offer, etc.) and must include the identity of the business on whose behalf the message is sent.
• Comply with local regulations and the GDPR: Send commercial messages only to recipients who have given consent or to your customers. Maintain documented personal data processing policies and allow recipients to withdraw their consent to receive commercial messages. Remember that you must keep records of recipients in accordance with the GDPR and Act No. 480/2004 Coll.

Increase email open rate

There are several ways to increase your message’s open rate, for example:

• Compelling subject line: Make sure the email subject is short, clear, and enticing. Ideally no longer than 50 characters. Use personalization (e.g., the recipient’s name) and words that spark curiosity without being manipulative or likely to trigger spam filters.
• Clear sender address: Emails should come from a trustworthy address (e.g., a person’s name, not ‘noreply@’), so users know it’s from a real sender. In recent years it’s become common to show the sender as a first name, for example ‘Edeltruda from Boldem’ or ‘Tiburcius from Webkomplet’, which can be an interesting alternative to generic sender names like Newsletter, Example.cz, or Company, LLC. Of course, it’s always a good idea to tailor the sender to your target audience.
• Mobile optimization: More than half of users check email on mobile devices. Make sure your emails are responsive and look good on phones and tablets.

Increase click-through rate

• Simple, clear content: Too much text or information can overwhelm the recipient. Choose a simple design, clear calls to action (buttons or links), and one main idea.
• Testing different versions (A/B split testing): Test different email variants, such as subject lines, button placement, formatting, and images, to see what works best. In Boldem, you can fully automate all of this!
• Personalization: Insert personalized elements (recipient’s name, previous purchases or interactions) into the message body and subject line to increase engagement and click-through rates. Don’t forget that properly configured automations save you time.

Best practices for text content

• Be brief and to the point: Email campaigns are often about a quick message. Avoid long paragraphs and unnecessary clutter. Use bullet points and shorter sentences.
• Call to action: Clearly tell the recipient what to do — “click here”, “learn more”, “download now”. The call to action should be visible and easy to access.
• Use a friendly, conversational tone: Avoid overly formal language unless necessary. People generally respond better to a more personal, friendly writing style.

Using images and media

• Image size optimization: Large images can slow down email loading. Make sure images are optimized for the website and are as small as possible so they load quickly.
• Alternative text for images: Always use alt text for images, because many email clients block images. Alt text ensures the recipient at least knows what the image represents.
• Don’t use only images: Many spam filters mark emails that contain only images as spam. So combine text and images evenly.
• Animations and videos: GIF animations can grab attention, but use them sparingly. Videos are generally not supported by email apps, so it’s better to link to a video hosted on a website.

Don’t forget to give your email an appealing design — if you don’t have experience with often clunky graphics programs, you can use one of the free online tools to quickly and easily create or edit images for your emails or even an entire newsletter.

One such widely known and trusted tool is Canva. Practically every day dozens of AI-powered tools appear on the market that you can also put to use. Among the free or partially free options are, for example, Bing Image Creator, Craiyon, or Leonardo.ai.

Although the terms of most tools generally allow using generated images for marketing or commercial purposes under certain conditions, always review them carefully beforehand to avoid unnecessary problems.

While creativity knows no bounds, remember the 60:40 rule when using images. An email should always be primarily a communication tool, not a flyer. Images shouldn’t dominate the email. Stick to the rule 60% text and 40% images.

• If the opposite is true and the email contains too little text, you will be considered an untrustworthy sender and your email deliverability may drop.
• Similarly, if your email is too large because of the number of images, its deliverability will drop.

Testing and rules compliance

Before dispatch, don’t forget to thoroughly test your message!

• Test on different email clients: Before dispatch, always test the email design on different devices and in different email clients (Gmail, Outlook, mobile apps, etc.).
• Working unsubscribe link: To comply with the European Union (GDPR) and the United States (CAN-SPAM) regulations, the email must always include a working unsubscribe link. This will also increase your credibility.

Results Tracking

Did you successfully send your first campaign? Congratulations! Now all that’s left is to track the results. You’ll find the statistics either in the details of each delivery or in the overview on your account’s main page.