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Manage Your Own Bulk E-Mail List

Capable program lets you build and manage mass mailing lists. But don't call it spam.

By Paul Heltzel, PCWorld   

Mailing lists have a bad rap. You might call it bulk e-mail or spam--but sending batch e-mail messages can be a great way distribute a newsletter, announce a product update, or stay in touch with customers. If you need to send e-mail to a large group of people, Email Postal Software can help you build a list, manage the addresses, and make sure everyone on the list gets your message.

EPS uses wizard menus to walk you through extracting addresses, building a list, customizing it, and using it to send messages. The program pulls addresses from documents you already have--the messages in your in-box, for example, or a database or Web page, among other possible sources.

After building a database of addresses, you can add or edit entries. The program automatically eliminates duplicate entries, then pulls out the names of the recipients (if it can find them) and puts them into separate fields in the database. The program proved quite capable--for example, it recognized that JULIO_IGLESIAS; Iglesias, Julio; and Julio_Iglesias@suave.com should all be entered into the database as "Julio Iglesias." If EPS isn't sure, it will ask the user if it has guessed correctly. The name-extraction feature lets you start each letter "Dear (user name)," for that personal touch. The execution wizard offers further customization options, such as adding boilerplate text to your messages.

I found the program intuitive and its wizards clear and conversational. It has some problems, but since this is a first version I can forgive them. For instance, you can't batch-delete multiple addresses when editing your list. Also, when editing entries, you can't tab to the next category--you have to mouse there. In addition, the included e-mail editor is a no-nonsense tool with few features. The company is already working on an update, and a future versions will allow styled text, spell checking, and attachments.

All in all Email Postal Software is easy to learn and powerful. I'd like to see some improvements in future versions, but if you need to send mass mailings, it will get the job done. EPS sells for $249.95 as a download and costs $15 more for the CD-ROM version with manuals.