Should I use the CRM or the Gateway eNewsletter to send out mass email?

Both the CRM and the Gateway eNewsletter have the ability to send large quantities of email, but you will find that sometimes it is better to use one rather than the other depending on the type of project you are conducting.

The CRM has the option of setting up either hard copy correspondence or email; however, the CRM's mass mailing is optimized for targeting your audience by issue rather than sending mass amounts of unsolicited email. The kind of emails created within CRM are ideal for informational letter-style emails that do not require a response from the constituents.

If you are a U.S. House user:

• Emailing from the CRM takes place inside of the House's email infrastructure. The House's infrastructure is shared by all in the House and includes your staff's Outlook accounts, all offices' CMS platforms, and several offices' e-newsletter platforms. This also provides the "house.gov" domain to your "from" e-mail address.
• Because emailing uses the House's email infrastructure, every office and vendor share the responsibility to ensure that a good reputation is maintained on the shared House IP addresses.

The Gateway eNewsletter is a product designed specifically for transmitting large amounts of email. You should always target your audience and make sure you're sending your contacts emails they want to read; however, it is a better tool for sending unsolicited emails. (If you would like to send email from the Gateway eNewsletter, you can still take advantage of the CRM's saved searches to build lists and then import those lists into the Gateway eNewsletter).

• Emailing takes place outside of your organization's infrastructure with unique IPs provided for each account.
• We monitor client accounts to ensure high deliverability rates.
• The Gateway eNewsletter allows for more interactive and eye-catching emails with e-news sign up and tell-a-friend widgets, social sharing options, and a survey building tool. The Gateway eNewsletter also has detailed reports that track delivery, views, shares, and other possible interactions.

*Good data is of the utmost importance when emailing. With this in mind, we recommend taking advantage of the CRM's Duplicate and Household Check and iConstituent's list cleaning services to ensure accurate contact data. If you are interested in learning more about list cleaning, contact support@iconstituent.com.