Send Email Faster Using Remote Images and Links

I was talking to a customer today who was somewhat frustrated by how long it took to send an email newsletter to her list. I asked her to send me the log file for the sent email and a copy of the newsltter itself so I could take a look. Three things were obvious:

1. The embedded image in the email was over 3Mb large
2. Her antivirus software was scanning each outgoing message
3. She was including a large .pdf attachment to the email

When using large images in your email or when using multiple images in your campaign, consider using a remote image path to the images rather than locally embedding them. This way, rather than weighing down each message with large, locally embedded images, you can link to the images hosted on the Internet. The effect, as far as the recipient goes, is the same; but the time to send your message will decrease significantly if you use remote images rather than locally embedded ones.

To use a remote image, click Insert/Picture and select the “Remote Image” option. Enter the full // path for the image that you want to use and click OK. To modify an existing image, just right-click on the image and select “Image Properties.”

Also, rather than attaching large files to an email, consider linking recipients to the file(s) hosted on your website or file sharing site. This will achieve three things:

1. People are more comfortable clicking on a link to get to information than they are about opening attachments (which are notoriously used to spread viruses.)
2. It will keep your message light so your email marketing campaigns send faster, and
3. It will prevent problems with antispam filters who are cautious about certain attachments in email

Finally, most antivirus software is configured by default to scan both incoming and outgoing email. When sending large email marketing campaigns, consider disabling the outgoing scan. Contact the GroupMail support team for instructions on disabling antivirus software from scanning outgoing messages. This will speed things up substantially.

Interested? Speed your email up with GroupMail.