SMTP Server Setting Up. Deliver Free, Unlimited Number Of Emails For Life In Under Two Days.

Trying to send large number of emails is by no means an easy job. If you ever tried it, you will know.

When you try sending in the beginning with no experience and no knowledge you might think to yourself: When I send email, I just press the Send button and the email goes. I have done it many times and it somehow works. What could be the problem?. Well, the problem with that is, if you have a list of a thousand clients. Try hitting the Send button a thousand times… per week. Also, you need to do the usual business running and errands. Talking with your clients, meeting, organizing and so on. When your list grows bigger, you start to ponder, how can I automate this?

After you read this post, you will have all the tools required to setup and configure SMTP server on your own. You will know exactly what you need and where to get it. I will tell you all the big secrets without all the complicated jargon.

First, let’s examine all your current existing options when you have at least 1000 subscribers:

* You can use one of the many email service providers like get response, AWeber and such. That may seem to be the logical choice at first, but if you check their pricing, you will be very surprised. They usually offer very small prices at the beginning, but as your list grows, they become exponentially large. I encourage you to read their fine print. This is just one issue. Another one is they usually place you on a shared server along with 300 others (unless you are paying some very exorbitant fees for a dedicated server). If one of these 300 ends up blacklisted for some reason, entire IP will be blacklisted. This will instantly stop delivering any email to everybody on this server. Do not thing it will not happen. Keep in mind, that it’s enough for even one out of those 300 to be rotten apple and everyone is a goner.

* You can use your Internet Provider or one of the free relays like GMail or Yahoo. These guys have extremely limited accounts. Usually, you cannot send more than 100 emails per day with them. This is not even an option that we are going to discuss here, at least not for a serious business. It’s just not enough. In addition, some free relays may stick in their advertisements at the end of each of your emails. This simply will not do.

When you think about it, your realistic options are between a full service email provider and SMTP setup on your own computer. Configuring SMTP may seem like Chinese to you now. You may be exclaiming now: What are you talking about? SMTP and ME??? We are not meant for each other!!! Heck, I don’t even know what SMTP is. Hold on just a tad longer. SMTP is just an acronym for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. I would emphasize the word Simple here. Every message you ever sent must go through one or more of those servers. They are the ones who actually relay your messages to their destination. They are more or less like a geeky mailman running inside your wires. So then having your own SMTP server is like having your own post office and a whole bunch of mailman running around for you. Now, how cool is that? Huh?

Let me state your benefits. When you are setting up SMTP on your computer, you get the following:

* You control everything. You no longer depend on anyone for your email. Nobody can put any limitations on how many messages can you send, when and at what speed. Nobody dictates anything and you are not sharing your server with anyone.

* Price. You simply do not pay anything extra. Whether you send a 1000 or a million, nobody cares. You do not have to be afraid whether you fit into your email provider’s provider pricing plan, because… there is no email provider. This is refreshing. You only pay for your Internet connection as usual. If you want incoming messages, you also pay some 10 bucks a year for that.

* No time limits. Your server is completely yours, you can send any time you like.

* Speed is not limited. Send as fast or as slow as you like, configure throttling if you want or if you have a time critical message like invoice or special sale notification, it’s going full speed.

We have established the benefits, now lets see what does it take to configure SMTP server?

* First, you need the software to install on your PC. This is a place for me to shamelessly promote my own email delivery server. I wrote it, it’s the best. Because I said so, and yes, you can use any other SMTP server as well, but I personally like mine better.

* Ask your Internet provider for a clear, open port 25 on your Internet connection. Some of them would close port 25 for their clients, forcing everybody to just use their SMTP server. This tends to be widespread among larger providers as they usually don’t care much about their clients. Check if your port 25 is blocked (Our email delivery server has this check built in. See, I told you it’s better) and if it’s blocked, call your provider to open it.

* When setting up SMTP server, you will require a static IP. If you have Cable or DSL connection at your home or business, chances are, you will have a dynamic IP. IP is your address online. It is a set of 4 numbers, that identify you on the Internet while you online. Every time you come online, you must have one, but it is not necessary to have the same one every time. If it changes, it means you have a dynamic IP and you will not go very far with that, because almost every other recipient will reject you. Again, call and talk to your Internet provider, ask them for a static IP. They cost $0-$5 per month. Some providers will try to push what they call business Internet on you. That’s a lot more money and it doesn’t make any difference. It goes over the same wire, it uses the same router and they provide the same support. If they have no other options, tell them to take a hike and sign up with a different provider. I got mine for 34 bucks Canadian. That’s including the static IP.

* If you also need to receive your email using your own SMTP, you must register a domain name. This should be under $10 bucks a year!! Go to Godaddy. I got many domains there. They are consistently reliable when you learn to ignore huge pages choke full of offers of other services you don’t need. You will also have to ask them to point your records to the static IP you have just received from your Internet provider. That’s including MX record. Don’t worry, if you call them, they will know what you are talking about.

* Make sure you get a good and stable Internet connection for your SMTP server. Ask your provider about the OUTGOING speed in particular, because you will be sending. They usually show you the incoming speed, but not outgoing, which is 10 times slower.

That’s it. Now let me make an easy to-do list. I said you can set up SMTP server in under two days. Most of the time, you can get it in two hours!!! I just over allocated for emergencies. So here goes:

* If you have an Internet connection already or when shopping for a new Internet connection, call your provider and ask them about the following:

– Is port 25 open for your SMTP traffic? If not, can they open it?

– Ask them for a static IP address and see how much will it be.

They must provide you all of that and every provider CAN do that. From my experience and experience of my clients, I find, that sometimes when you call them, first level of support doesn’t have a clue about it. They are simply not trained to answer these kinds of questions. If they answer that they cannot do it or they don’t know, just hang up and call again. This particular support rep is useless, it is faster to try to call back and try another one.

* Keep in mind, that you do not have to own a domain to send your email. You have to have a From: return address, but that could be anything. Now, if you DO want your own domain, go to Godaddy or anybody else you like and get a domain. Ask them to point your domain records to your newly acquired static IP.

* After you purchase a domain (if you do), configure your SMTP server to accept email for that domain.