Email marketing campaigns are most successful when you combine quality, personalized copy with large sending volumes. Studies suggest that the average cold email reply rate is 8.5%.
The consensus is the more quality emails sent, the higher the chance of conversions. Here’s the problem—you can’t send emails in bulk with email providers like Gmail and Outlook.
Both providers cap their sending limits at 500 emails daily. To scale, you’d need to leverage bulk email sender tools, and we’re here to help you find the best ones.
What is a Bulk Email Sender?
A bulk email sender breaks Gmail and Outlook’s sending cap. But there’s a caveat to this. Just because you can break the limit doesn’t mean you should.
Without the proper fundamentals like email warmup, multiple sending accounts, and domain setups, there’s a high chance of getting blacklisted.
Things to Note Before Using a Bulk Email Sender
Even if you don’t break the daily sending limit, ESPs could still tag your accounts as spam. To avoid this issue, here are the email marketing fundamentals you need to follow:
Scale Sending Volume with Alternate Domains
Using alternate domains is the best way to avoid being tagged as spam. This protects your main domain from the potential adverse effects of cold email marketing.
Each domain can create three sending accounts. It’s recommended to only send 50 emails daily per sending account. Alternate domains must also be forwarded to your primary domain.
Domain Forwarding and Authentication Setups
The last thing you want happening is leads clicking on your link and being redirected to a non-existent site. That’s why it’s important to forward your alternate domains to your main one.
You also need the proper authentication for each alternate domain, including DMARC, DKIM, and SPF. Without these authentications, you won’t be able to send and receive emails.
If you’re not that tech-savvy, these setups might be confusing. That’s where Instantly’s DFY service comes in. You get to buy alternate domains and complete all authentication in the app.
Email Warmup
New sending accounts that immediately send bulk emails are immediate red flags for email service providers. New accounts need email warmups to help them look more legitimate.
This occurs naturally as you send and receive emails. Tools like Instantly allow you to automate email warmup for free for all sending accounts.
The recommended warmup period is two to three weeks. Remember that warmups should also count toward your daily sending limit. For example, you can send 30 cold emails for the first two weeks and have the remaining 20 as warmups.
What to Look for in a Bulk Email Sender
Breaking sending limits isn’t enough. Bulk email senders need specific tools and features to ensure successful campaigns. Here’s what you should look out for:
Email Sequence Automation
When you send a cold email, there’s a high chance prospects won’t reply. You need follow-ups to improve these odds. For example, your sequence could include four stages: the first email, two follow-ups, and one opp-out email.
Analytics
You can’t just send emails blindly. You must monitor key metrics like open, reply, and conversion rates. These will help you iterate on winning strategies, find bottlenecks, and identify bad habits. The best way to use analytics to iterate on campaigns is through A/B testing.
A/B Testing
A/B testing pits variations of your email against each other. You can A/B test subject lines, personalization, unique selling propositions, or CTAs. Instantly can create multiple variations in the same campaign and find the variation based on prospect engagement.
CRM
Since you’re sending emails in bulk, that also means you’ll be adding hundreds upon hundreds of leads to your campaigns. You need a way to centralize all that data. That’s what a CRM does.
Go for a bulk email sender with a built-in CRM or lead management system. Instantly Dealflow CRM provides a 360 view of all leads and a Unibox that lets you manage all responses.
Unibox also has an AI inbox manager that automates replies based on the context of the email. For example, if a prospect replies that they want to learn more about the offer, the AI inbox manager can send a link to a video or a case study.
Automated Personalization
Personalization is the best way to improve the quality and success of your email campaigns. So, choose a bulk email sender that can automate personalization. You need to be able to create an email copy with custom variables for personalization for each lead in your campaign.
Must Try Best Bulk Email Sender Tools
There are thousands of bulk email sender tools on the market. Some are standalone apps; others integrate into ESPs. Before choosing, remember the email fundamentals and the essential features a bulk email sender tool should have. Here’s what we recommend:
Instantly.ai
When it comes to cold email fundamentals, Instantly.ai has it on lock. We understand what it takes to send emails in bulk and how to sustain bulk sending without burning domains.
Instantly offers unlimited warmups and sending accounts. But we don’t just help with numbers—we’re here to help personalize emails, manage leads, and automate the entire sales process.
You can upload lead lists from any source. Once leads are uploaded, Instantly has a one-click bulk domain tester to verify lead lists. There’s also an option to find pre-verified leads using Instantly B2B Lead Finder.
When leads are uploaded, you can use the AI generator to create custom variables through prompts. These custom variables can then be used to personalize email copy for each lead in your campaign.
After personalized emails have been sent, you can create variations and add spintax to improve deliverability. You can also enable the auto-optimize A/B testing feature, which instantly finds your best-performing email variation.
With Instantly’s Dealflow CRM, which helps close leads through AI-powered workflows. You can send bulk emails and call or text prospects from your browser, ensuring a holistic sales cadence.
Key Features:
- Unlimited warmups and sending accounts
- Email sequence automation
- Automated personalization
- AI-powered inbox manager
- A/B testing optimization
Pricing:
- Growth: $30/month. Includes 1,000 contacts and 5,000 emails monthly.
- Hypergrowth: $77.6/month. Includes 25,000 contacts and 125,000 emails monthly.
- Light Speed: $286.3/month. Includes 100,000 contacts and 500,000 emails monthly.
MailMeteor
MailMeteor integrates seamlessly with Gmail, transforming it into an email marketing platform complete with bulk-sending, automation, and personalization tools.
You have three main options for MailMeteor: the main dashboard, Gmail, or Google Sheets. The Sheets integration lets you upload email lists and use the lead data to personalize emails.
MailMeteor also offers tools for improving deliverability. Their Pro or higher plan lets you use unlimited email validation, bounce detection, and automated follow-ups.
Here’s the kicker—MailMeteor can’t break Gmail’s sending limits. If you’re using a free Gmail account, you’ll still be limited to 500 emails daily. Workspace accounts can send up to 2,000.
Key Features:
- Automated follow-ups and email sequences
- Deliverability boost using MailMeteor Autopilot
- Real-time email tracking
- Email validation and bounce detection
- Trigger-based email automation
Pricing:
- Free: 50 emails daily
- Premium: $9.99/month. Includes 15,000 emails and email tracking.
- Pro: $24.99/month. Includes 45,000 emails and Google Sheets automation.
- Business: $49.99/month. Consists of 60,000 emails and Zapier integrations.
Sender
Sender has one of the best free forever plans for a bulk email sender tool for newsletters and lead nurturing. You only need to upload your lead list, build your email, and automate emails.
There are dozens of premade templates for upselling, product promos, or onboarding. You can also easily create an email using the drag-and-drop email builder tool.
Even with the free plan, Sender lets you send 15,000 emails monthly—that’s right, around 500 emails daily (Gmail and Outlook’s sending caps).
We recommend Sender for contacts who have opted in or subscribed to your email list. Sender can segment contacts and automate personalized outreach for abandoned carts, special promos, or seasonal events.
Key Features:
- Drag-and-drop email builder with premium elements
- Email automation workflow and triggers
- Dynamic personalization
- Lead activity tracker
- SMS Messaging
Pricing:
- Free: Includes 2500 subscribers and 15,000 emails monthly.
- Standard: $15.83/month. Includes 30,000 emails and removes Sender branding.
- Professional: $29.17/month. Includes 60,000 emails and advanced automation.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing. Unlimited emails.
MailSoftly
MailSoftly offers the complete email marketing package, from landing page opt-in forms to lead email workflow automation. The best part is that you can try it out for free without a credit card.
MailSoftly can segment contacts based on customer behavior, preferences, or how they engage with your emails. It also leverages lead data to automate dynamic email personalization.
If you’re not that good with email copy, MailSoftly has you covered. You can use MailSoftly’s AI email generator to create personalized emails for each lead in your list.
Like Sender, MailSoftly offers intuitive, drag-and-drop email builder tools. Users can also select from various customized styles and templates for advertising, launching a new product, or sending a newsletter.
Key Features:
- Email sequence automation
- Contact management and segmentation
- AI email generator
- Domain authentication tools
- Drag-and-drop email builder
Pricing:
- Free: Includes 2,000 contacts and 6,000 emails monthly.
- Basic: $33/month. 5,000 contacts and 40,000 emails.
- Business: $74/month. 15,000 contacts, 150,000 emails, and 1 domain authentication.
- Premium: $119/month. 30,000 contacts and 300,000 emails.
FluentCRM
Don’t let the CRM title fool you. FluentCRM can send emails in bulk straight from your website. Unlike the rest of the tools in this list, Fluent is an email automation plugin for WordPress.
You can use it to manage leads, create automated email sequences, and monitor user activity. It also has robust tools for automated email workflows, especially for eCommerce.
Let’s say you have a form on your landing page. When a lead submits the form, Fluent can automatically email a product recommendation. If the lead doesn’t purchase within a set period of time, Fluent can send a discount promotion email.
What’s great about this feature is that Fluent won’t send emails blindly. Since it is a CRM, it will leverage lead data to personalize recommendations and relevant nurturing material.
Key Features:
- Email marketing automation feature
- WordPress plugin integrations
- Drag-and-Drop email builder
- Contact list management
- Advanced analytics and A/B testing tools
Pricing:
- 1 Site License: $90/year. Unlimited contacts and email campaigns.
- 5 Site Licenses: $174/year. Email sequence automation and custom fields.
- 50 Site Licenses: $349/year. Advanced email automation, smart links, and analytics.
SendPulse
Sending emails in bulk isn’t as simple as uploading an email list with thousands of leads and clicking send all. SendPulse helps you navigate the complexities with recommendations and best practices, like, email validation and maintaining sender reputation.
Their AI tool, Automation 360, lets you create automated workflows that can work within email marketing best practices, such as limiting sending volume and frequency. And it doesn’t only work with emails.
You can create a complete sales cadence starting with forms, Chatbots, or SMS. Each email sent can be A/B tested to help you find the best-performing ones.
Key Features:
- AI automation assistant
- Email marketing recommendations
- Email verification tools
- AI Chatbots
- Advanced automation workflows
Pricing: Depends on lead list size
- Free: 15,000 emails monthly. 100 email verifications.
- Standard: Starts at $6.40/month. Unlimited emails. A/B testing.
- Pro: Starts at $7.68/month. Unlimited emails. 1000 email verifications. Five domains.
- Enterprise: Starts at $10.75/month. Unlimited domains and automation.
Campaign Monitor
Campaign Monitor lets you send beautifully crafted and personalized emails at scale. It also leverages SMS to create a holistic sales cadence for each lead segment.
You can segment leads, track key metrics, and tailor the customer journey for each sales pipeline stage. This is paired with in-depth analytics, A/B testing, and optimization tools.
For bulk sending, Campaign Monitor lets you choose between unlimited plans or charge based on the number of leads in your campaigns.
Key Features:
- Automated email marketing workflow
- Drag-and-drop template builder
- Lead segmentation
- A/B testing and analytics
- Automated personalization
Pricing: Depends on lead list size
- Lite: Starts at $12/month. Includes 2500 emails and email marketing tools.
- Essential: Starts at $29/month. Unlimited emails and automation features.
- Premiere: Starts at $159/month. Unlimited emails and advanced segmentation.
Key Takeaways
Bulk email sender tools let you engage with your audience at a massive scale. But, before increasing sending volume, remember to follow email marketing best practices like domain authentication, email warmup, and scaling sending limits with alternate domains.
To round everything up, here’s a recap of the bulk email sender tools we recommend:
- Instantly.ai is best for sustainably scaling cold email volume.
- MailMeteor and Sender are great at sending customized newsletters at scale.
- MailSoftly and FluentCRM lets you create trigger-based bulk email automation.
- SendPulse and Campaign Monitor can help create holistic sales cadences.
Finding success in email marketing needs more than sending emails in bulk. You need the right fundamental strategies, tools, and practices. Instantly lets you have all three. Try it out today.
