Keeping the Marketing Team away from the Exchange Server

[Alan Truism]

Our marketing/public relations team regularly has to send out
newsletters to anywhere between 500 and 2000 people at a time.

Obviously, I don't really want them using our regular exchange server
for these mailings.

Is there a decent product that can maintain a list of individuals and
send out customized query-based mailings that you guys recommend?

 

[Mark Arnold [MVP]]

Our marketing/public relations team regularly has to send out
newsletters to anywhere between 500 and 2000 people at a time.

Obviously, I don't really want them using our regular exchange server
for these mailings.

Is there a decent product that can maintain a list of individuals and
send out customized query-based mailings that you guys recommend?

Err, why on earth not?
Here's a plan. Using Exchange for this is perfect - just with a little
care.
Make sure there is an account and mailbox that is always used to
"send" these messages.
Create two SMTP connectors under where you see Routing Groups.
One will reject messages from this new mailbox. The other will only
accept mail from this mailbox. You will see what I mean on the
delivery restrictions tab of the connectors.
Then....
You set a schedule so that the connector will accept the email from
this account but will sit on it until a time of your choosing (after
6pm kind of thing)
Then the message will get sent while you're all tucked up in your
favourite booth in the pub.
Anyone working late will have their messages sent in the normal way
and not be held up by the queue of email since they'll be sending
through a different connector.

 

[Mark Arnold [MVP]]

Our marketing/public relations team regularly has to send out
newsletters to anywhere between 500 and 2000 people at a time.

Obviously, I don't really want them using our regular exchange server
for these mailings.

Is there a decent product that can maintain a list of individuals and
send out customized query-based mailings that you guys recommend?

I forgot something.
Take a peek at: http://www.msexchange.me.uk/rg1.htm which gives you
pictures of what you need to see/configure.

 

[Bharat Suneja [MVP]]

Mark,

Afaik, this doesn't work. Messages get routed using the Connector for a
particular address space. If the Connector has Delivery Restrictions in
place and the sender can't send over that Connector, messages don't get
re-routed over another Connector for that address space.

This is one reason in a hosting scenario I can't used Delivery Restrictions
to route messages from folks in one SMTP domain to be routed over one
Connector (to route using a particular SMTP virtual server with
corresponding IP address, fqdn and ptr record).

Believe there was a workaround based on permissions (rather than Delivery
Restrictions), but haven't had the chance to determine if the workaround
works.
--
Bharat Suneja
MVP - Exchange
www.zenprise.com
NEW blog location:
exchangepedia.com/blog

 

[Mark Arnold [MVP]]

Mark,

Afaik, this doesn't work. Messages get routed using the Connector for a
particular address space. If the Connector has Delivery Restrictions in
place and the sender can't send over that Connector, messages don't get
re-routed over another Connector for that address space.

This is one reason in a hosting scenario I can't used Delivery Restrictions
to route messages from folks in one SMTP domain to be routed over one
Connector (to route using a particular SMTP virtual server with
corresponding IP address, fqdn and ptr record).

Believe there was a workaround based on permissions (rather than Delivery
Restrictions), but haven't had the chance to determine if the workaround
works.

Yeah, it does work.
Trust me.
There's something on msexchange.org about it as well. It's one of
Fugatt's docs.
Of course, now you've questioned it I'm suddenly racked with doubt

 

[Mark Arnold [MVP]]

Mark,

Afaik, this doesn't work. Messages get routed using the Connector for a
particular address space. If the Connector has Delivery Restrictions in
place and the sender can't send over that Connector, messages don't get
re-routed over another Connector for that address space.

This is one reason in a hosting scenario I can't used Delivery Restrictions
to route messages from folks in one SMTP domain to be routed over one
Connector (to route using a particular SMTP virtual server with
corresponding IP address, fqdn and ptr record).

Believe there was a workaround based on permissions (rather than Delivery
Restrictions), but haven't had the chance to determine if the workaround
works.

So, unless I've made an arse of the question (as likely as the sun
rising in the East) the links are:
http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/MF025.html
http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/MF009.html

 

[Alan Truism]

Err, why on earth not?
Here's a plan. Using Exchange for this is perfect - just with a little
care.
Make sure there is an account and mailbox that is always used to
"send" these messages.
Create two SMTP connectors under where you see Routing Groups.
One will reject messages from this new mailbox. The other will only
accept mail from this mailbox. You will see what I mean on the
delivery restrictions tab of the connectors.
Then....
You set a schedule so that the connector will accept the email from
this account but will sit on it until a time of your choosing (after
6pm kind of thing)
Then the message will get sent while you're all tucked up in your
favourite booth in the pub.
Anyone working late will have their messages sent in the normal way
and not be held up by the queue of email since they'll be sending
through a different connector.

I'm not so much concerned about the traffic going through my mail
server.

I'm more concerned with them trying to track 2000 - 5000 contacts in
Outlook address books, Public Folders, or (worse of all) contact
records in active directory.

 

[Mark Arnold [MVP]]

I'm more concerned with them trying to track 2000 - 5000 contacts in
Outlook address books, Public Folders, or (worse of all) contact
records in active directory.

Gotcha.
In which case you should tell them where to get off.
If they are doing mailshots (whatever you want to call them) you have
some form of mail merge application/list/whatever.
This is entirely down to the marketeers.
Keep them well away from Outlook and AD. It's 100% their problem.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Who said anything about adding records? There's no reason Marketing should add any such records if they're doing a mail merge or using third-party software to generate mailings.

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

Our marketing/public relations team regularly has to send out
newsletters to anywhere between 500 and 2000 people at a time.

Obviously, I don't really want them using our regular exchange server
for these mailings.

Is there a decent product that can maintain a list of individuals and
send out customized query-based mailings that you guys recommend?

You might go with a hosted service for this kind of thing - plenty of
companies provide listserv access for small shops, which will handle
bounces/subscribes/unsubscribes gracefully.