Q:  What are my Internet service provider's limitations and how do those limitations affect my ability to send emails from Spectra/myStratus?

A: The emailing features in Spectra/myStatus are powerful marketing tools, but there are limits imposed by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Here are some great tips to make sure you will not be slowed by your ISP.

ISP Limits

Before sending email from the software, it is strongly recommended that you check with your ISP to find out what their limit is for the number of emails you are allowed to send in one day.

Most ISP's limit the number of emails they allow you to send in any given period of time; some are limited on a minute basis, some hourly, and some for every 24-hour period. It is best if you know what the limit is prior to sending bulk emails to your clients through Spectra/myStratus.

For example:
If you want to send a marketing piece to 4,000 clients but your ISP only allows 500 in a 24-hour period, you don't want to send all 4,000 in one mailing. If you exceed your limit, your ISP may or may not send a message to Spectra/myStratus, causing an error. If the software receives a message from your ISP, an error will be generated for you so you'll know there was a problem (although you won't know who received the email and who didn't). If Spectra/myStratus does not receive a message from your ISP (and thus does not generate an error), you won't have any idea that 3500 people simply did not get the email.

The error message your ISP sends Spectra/myStratus contains no details, so the software has no way to let you know what caused the error. There is also has no way for Spectra/myStratus to determining what your daily limits are, so it is crucial that you know your limits and operate within them when sending email.

Additional Resources

• Article - "Knowing Your ISP"
• Article - "Why can't I send email from all my accounts"
• Article - "Email Rate Limit"
• Article - "Help Manual"