Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to get an account set up?
Once you submit our request form, we will contact you to complete the process. Generally, you'll be up and running within a couple of business days.
Why can't I get up-and-running immediately?
While we would like to be able to enable an "instant signup" for Mail-Blast, the nature of this product precludes us from doing so for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, we are very cautious about spam and we require the manual step to ensure that our users are serious and are also willing to agree to our anti-spam policy. Secondly, we want to help you get the best results from your email marketing, and working directly with us is the best way we can get you up and running quickly and effectively.
Therefore, we require that you work through one of our consultants when you establish your account. We also ask that you explicitly agree to our anti-spam policy, and that you provide us with a little information about how you intend to use Mail-Blast.
Thanks for your understanding. This process helps us to keep Mail-Blast working for everyone.
What about support?
Mail-Blast has a great deal of helpful information built into the system and accessible through the "Help" button at the upper right when you're inside your account. In addition, you can always contact us with any questions you may have.
How does Mail-Blast integrate with my website?
There are two main ways. First, you can put simple forms on your website to allow visitors to subscribe to your email lists. Second, you can automatically display all of your past email newsletters so that website visitors can see them. This display is handled automatically. Please contact us for more information on this topic.
Can my newsletter look like my website?
Yes. And, in fact, it should be consistent with all of your branded marketing materials. Our design team can make you a Mail-Blast template that will perfectly compliment your existing brand image.
What is spam? Why are you so uptight about it?
At Mail-Blast we hate spam, and we have a strict anti-spam policy.
In our opinion, spam is any email you send to someone who hasn't given you their direct permission to contact them on the topic of the email. At best, spam is unethical. At worst, it is actually illegal.
Spam is unethical because you are forcing your prospects to pay for your marketing (the bandwidth consumed by spam and the filtering required to abate the deluge cost big money - costs that ISPs pass on to their customers). Would you conduct a telemarketing campaign by calling collect? Would you send direct mail C.O.D?
Spam may be illegal because many jurisdictions are passing laws prohibiting it. In the USA, CAN-SPAM, although only a small step in the right direction, does actually make sending certain forms of unsolicited email illegal.
Finally, it's just plain ineffective. It makes your company look bad and it will never achieve the level of response you can get from responsible, ethical marketing techniques.
I don't have a mailing list. Can I buy lists from you?
No way! Buying email lists is a colossal waste of money. Even if the list is up-to-date and accurate, you are still mailing people who've never heard of you or expressed an interest in hearing from you.
If you don't have a list, the only responsible and ethical approach is to build your own. We can offer you plenty of advice on how to do this, and it really isn't that hard.
I bought a mailing list. Can I use it on Mail-Blast?
Nope. Absolutely not. It is in violation of our anti-spam policy and will result in the immediate cancellation of your account. If you want to become a spammer, there are plenty of ways to do this. We won't allow you to do it on our system.