I thought I would simplify my life with MaxBulkMailer

Migs · Joined: 02 Oct 2006 Posts: 14

Friends:

Using MaxBulkMailer 4.4.4 on Mac OS X 10.4.8:

I thought I would save time with this application since I distribute our club's competition info to 54 addresses and my ISP only allows 40 at a time. I used to have two lists of half the recipients using Entourage, and thus sent two styled mails to inform them all.

With MaxBulkmailer (MBM) I have to:

Fire up Dreamweaver and type in/style the text
View the corresponding HTML
Copy the HTML into MaxBulkmailer
Add links to the graphics in two places in the HTML within MaxBulkmailer
Send to myself to see that there are no errors
Check my mail to see how it will look when my members get it.
Change the recipients to the list of 52
Send to them

If only I had known that this application cannot handle styled text or pasted images...

... now I have three choices:

upgrade to the pro version
use the old system in Entourage with two lists and two mailings
use this new system coupled with Dreamweaver!

Let this be an experience for us all! - Migs Crying or Very sad

stanbusk · Site Admin Joined: 28 Dec 2005 Posts: 2169

What do you mean with 'If only I had known that this application cannot handle styled text or pasted images'? Reading your message I can see you have pasted HTML code to MaxBulk. What styled text has to do with HTML? If you can't see pictures it is likely because you don't use absolute URLs.

Migs · Joined: 02 Oct 2006 Posts: 14

Stan:

The description on the site mislead me to believe that I could add graphics WITHOUT using HTML to do so. There must be many others like myself who bought the product and then woke up to reality that simple graphics cannot be pasted into the mail window. The only way to do so is to employ HTML programming. Either that or surrender to plain text messages.

Mac users should not be expected to know HTML to use the standard version of an e-mail application.

Miguel

stanbusk · Site Admin Joined: 28 Dec 2005 Posts: 2169

MaxBulk doesn't allow to paste pictures. Pictures have to be files you drop as attachments in the attachment panels. Note that picture pasting is a feature that will be implemented very soon as it is actually very simple. In your case and if I understand well you own MaxBulk Mailer standard, the low cost version of MaxBulk Mailer. That version has some limitations described in the documentation, in the MaxBulk web page and in the MaxBulk FAQ. One of those limitations is styled text. Low cost MaxBulk has no support for it but has full support for pictures in plain text and HTML.

Migs · Joined: 02 Oct 2006 Posts: 14

I ended up forking out the extra $15 for the pro version... -Migs

claudette · Joined: 09 Oct 2006 Posts: 2

same thing happened to me Embarassed

stanbusk · Site Admin Joined: 28 Dec 2005 Posts: 2169

That means MaxBulk Mailer Standard should disappear. We will consider removing it. It is strange those things happen because we clearly explain the differences everywhere.

jackalfive · Joined: 02 Aug 2006 Posts: 7

Migs,

Your procedure list is exactly how I go about making mailers too. Nothing wrong with that. All the mailers I'm sending are html layout based, with images and links and text. I use Dreamweaver to do my layout, then copy and paste the entire coding verbatim, send some test mailers to various addresses, add my mailing list to Recipients and send it off.

As long as all your image and href links are absolute and not relative, you should be fine.

Migs · Joined: 02 Oct 2006 Posts: 14

I am using it regularly now with good results. I just had to get the hang of it. It still has a few quirks but in its latest version is a nice program. I like being able to view my mailings before they go out. Saves a lot of time. Plus the tech support is great via this forum. -Migs

Janaia

I downloaded the MaxBulk version to try the software. When I went to buy it, I didn't know whether to order Pro or standard. I found no link or information by the checkbox asking which I wanted to order. I even did a search on "Standard" and "Pro" and did not find a comparison of features. The documentation I had downloaded didn't list the differences between the two, either. Only after I'd bought standard and complained did I learn from Stan that only Pro supported "styled text." I was *very upset* to have to pay not just $10 more, but $15 to upgrade. Very very poor marketing. Info is buried. Or else, very smart but sneaky financial sense.

stanbusk · Site Admin Joined: 28 Dec 2005 Posts: 2169

The differences between Standard and Pro Versions are listed on the product page itself in 9 languages. Then it is the second entry of MaxBulk Mailer FAQ.

TexasXpress · Joined: 19 Feb 2007 Posts: 1 Location: East Texas

I also downloaded and tried out the demo version before deciding which version to purchase; however I had no problem in reading about each product and the added features/abilities of the Pro version vs the Standard version. I didn't feel as they had been nested or hidden in any way, all you have to do is click on the link for each product and read it.

As for html, you don't have to know "much", just use a wsywig editor like GoLive or Dreamweaver, create your layout, then copy the source and paste into MaxBulk, and don't forget to attach any images used. As far as not knowing "much" html, it does help if you can double check your links and make sure they are direct, and not pointing to some location on your computer.

MaxBulk definitely beats paying some subscription service to send out bulk mails on a template that a 100 other ppl could be using too.