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Im having a big problem here! I need to send a newsletter to all my subscribers (around 1200) The thing is that it only sends the newsletter to 150-180 of them. I have a script implemented in php that uses the PhpMailer() class to send the newsletter to all the subscribers.

I purchased a plan in MailJet that allows me to send 30 thousand emails per month, so Im using their SMTP host to send the newsletter.

Here is my script:

$mail             = new PHPMailer();
$body             = $message;
$body             = eregi_replace("[\]",'',$body);

$mail->IsSMTP();
$mail->SMTPAuth   = true;
$mail->Host       = "in.mailjet.com";
$mail->Port       = 80;
$mail->Username   = "username";
$mail->Password   = "password";

// thing regarding the body, subject, etc of the email //

$to_list = explode(',',$to);
$between_delay = 75; //max limit of mails send at a slot
$send_count = 1; 
$send_delay = 1; //Delays the program execution for the given number of seconds.

ignore_user_abort(true); // Ignore user aborts and allow the script to run forever
set_time_limit(300); //to prevent the script from dying

foreach($to_list as $row){
    if ( ($send_count % $between_delay) == 0 ){
        sleep( $send_delay ); //Delays the program execution for the given number of seconds.
    }
    $address = $row;
    if(!empty($address)) {
        $mail->AddAddress($address, "User");
        $mail->Send();
        $mail->ClearAddresses(); //clear address
   }
   $send_count++;
}

if(!empty($mail->ErrorInfo)) {
     // display an error
}

I really dont know what may be the problem but for some reason it stops sending emails after the number 180 approximately. Could it be something regarding the set_time_limit(300); ??

dan
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  • why not use `set_time_limit(0)` if you think that's the issue? – d-_-b Dec 29 '12 at 23:01
  • the thing is that Im new with phpmailer and I followed a tutorial and it said to set up a time limit... I thought it may have something to do with it! Do you think that could be the problem? Setting the time limit to 0 would let the script run forever right? thank you – dan Dec 29 '12 at 23:06
  • I'm no expert but if that is the restraint then that is the restraint. There are lots of questions here about circumventing the time limit, and which php.ini settings are used. I don't think this is related to your mail function, but rather your php settings. If it is taking too long, you have it kill the function to not use too many resources ( i assume). if you want it to keep going, you'll have to make a change (assuming that the time limit is the issue). – d-_-b Dec 29 '12 at 23:09
  • Yes I agree with you! the main reason I posted this question is because I wanted to have some advices before wasting more money sending wasted emails – dan Dec 29 '12 at 23:20
  • I hear ya! I'd maybe rephrase the question to ask for suggestions on how to set up your time limit, rather than 'what is wrong with the php mailer' (which is what I gathered from the question.. I could be wrong though..) – d-_-b Dec 29 '12 at 23:23

2 Answers2

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I don't recommend sending a copy of the newsletter to each individual email address; it wastes bandwidth and forces your script to send multiple copies of the message.

Instead, consider using the blind-carbon-copy (BCc) feature of your SMTP server to send the mass email. This will allow your SMTP server to optimize the delivery of the newsletter, and it will save you bandwidth as well.

A quick lookup of the PHPMailer API says you can add BCc'd addresses using the $mailer->AddBCC() function. For example, $php_mailer->AddBCC('somebody@example.com', 'Joe Somebody'); should work.

jmkeyes
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  • I didnt know that! Excuse me but Im new with PhpMailer(). How can implement Bcc? Thank you – dan Dec 29 '12 at 23:53
  • You shouldn't need to implement anything. Just create a single email like normal, add all subscribers as `BCc`'d addresses, and (if your SMTP server or PHPMailer requires it) a dummy `To` address. When you send the email, the SMTP server should send the message to each recipient without any further work on your part. – jmkeyes Dec 30 '12 at 00:05
  • Awesome! And regarding the main problem that Im having... do you think the time_out could be the cause of not sending the newsletter to all of my subscribers? I need to send it to the 1200 subscirbers... and now it only sends it to 180 of them more or less =/ – dan Dec 30 '12 at 00:08
  • From the code you've shown, it looks like you're sending each copy of the newsletter to each subscriber, one after another, waiting until each has finished sending. By the time you've gone through 180 subscribers, it's likely that your script or your SMTP server connection has timed out. – jmkeyes Dec 30 '12 at 00:12
  • Also, beware sending large amounts of email: even if your SMTP server sends the mail, it doesn't mean that your subscribers will receive it. – jmkeyes Dec 30 '12 at 00:17
  • But im not sending them in slots of 75? sleeps 1 second then sends 75 more and so on? What do you mean with "beware sending large amounts of emai"? I need to send the newsletter to all of my subscribers in one way or another. Thanx again – dan Dec 30 '12 at 00:24
  • Create a single email, attach all 1200 subscribers as BCC'd addresses, and send the email. The SMTP server will handle everything else. Sending large amounts of email with the same content is a very easy way to be blacklisted as a spammer. – jmkeyes Dec 30 '12 at 00:40
  • many thanks @Joshua K ! Im gonna try this and come back with the results. – dan Dec 30 '12 at 03:20
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Just to update this post, Mailjet now has an easy to use PHP wrapper to send your emails and perform any requests on our new REST API.

You can find it on Github here and the complete documentation here.

Charles Collas
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