Creating a Mailer

Using PHPMailer, creating a simple PHP class to send emails was extremely easy. It took me less than 30mins to get that working. However, the addition of more advanced mailing features is going to take longer.

• Create Sublists – Aside from just creating one large list, users will want to be able to break their main list into various groupings (e.g. Atlanta Emails, Savannah Emails, etc.).
• Dynamic Variables – Customers will want to be able to personalize each email with the recipients name, city, or other store information.
• Bounce-backs – The application will need to be able to respond to the various different bounce-backs (hard vs. soft bounces) as well as be able to integrate the various feedback loops available from corporations such as AOL.
• Message Throttling – I can’t have one customer’s mailings clogging the pipes with an oversized email, so a message priority will have to be used.
• Online Viewing – Most email applications block images, as well as filter out much of the html from html emails. So, the addition of a feature to view the emails online will be a necessity.
• Automatic Unsubscribe – The system will have to allow members to automatically unsubscribe. I believe this is a legal requirement as well, so no system user will be allowed to circumvent this.

There are undoubtedly more things that I’m not thinking of at the moment. Regardless, it’s going to take quite a bit of programming and finessing.