creating a OPT-out email script for FM Pro

[bsacco]

I have a Relational DB that has 5000 contacts with email addresses. I need to fiqure a way to automate the validation and USUBSCRIBE of my email addresses. Is there a way to do this all within FMP or do I have to export everything out into another program then import the addresses back into FMP?

Anyone know how to do this?

[bsacco]

i guess no one knows how to do this...this post has been up since Sept 25th 2004.

[Ender]

Or you have not provided enough detail about what you are trying to do.

[transpower]

I don't know of any automatic method to remove invalid e-mail addresses. Manually, you would do a mass e-mailing to the 5000 contacts (with "Test" in the header) and see which bounce; then remove those from your database file.

[bsacco]

How about this idea...

Use SMTPit plug-in as your mass mailer tool.

Use the below for the Send all found records script:

Go to Record/Request/Page [First]

Set Field [

[transpower]

I have not tried either of those Plug-ins, or other ones that might do what you want, but maybe someone else here has.

[Barbecue]

THe next part I dont get is how to write a script that would read all the bad emails like UNSUBSCRIBE, FAILED, No ACCOUNT etc... and then go back into the DB and either delete them or update them.

Automatically accounting for SMTP errors during sending should be fairly straightforward, since you can use the server's SMTP error number to decide what to do. Handling email responses is another matter. To make this fully automatic, you'd need to anticipate all the possible email responses, and take them into account. For example, in addition to UNSUBSCRIBE, you'd also need to take into account REMOVE ME, PLEASE REMOVE, TAKE ME OFF YOUR LIST, STOP SPAMMING ME, etc.

You'd also need to account for people who put their requests in the message body instead of the subject, and so forth. If you don't have high turnover on your list, it may be simpler to monitor the responses manually.

By the way, you may want to be careful when using the phrase "Opt-out" in reference to your mailing list. The term Opt-out is generally used in reference to unwanted spammer mailing lists, not legitimate mailing lists. Real legitimate mailing lists always use confirmed opt-in. You wouldn't want to be accused of spamming.

With the incredible prevalence of spammers and scammers, you can face some serious negativity if you make a mistake with your list. In addition to receiving seriously unpleasant feedback, you could be hit with cleanup fees or have your ISP terminate your service, or even end up having your address blacklisted by many ISPs. So make sure you carefully document how and when each person signed up for your list, and always provide them a simple and effective means of unsubscribing.

Some tips on responsible permission-based email marketing...

http://www.rlrouse.com/responsible-email-marketing.html