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Sending a bulk email in Freshsales

Freshsales sends bulk email from the Contacts list, and the account has a daily limit on how many contacts a bulk send can go to. When the list of contacts you want to email is bigger than the limit, you have to split the send across days. This page explains why paging through the list isn't a safe way to do that, and the tag-based workaround that is.

Why paging isn't reliable​

Freshsales has no option to select a range of rows, such as rows 1 to 610. The header checkbox on the Contacts list selects only the current page (up to 100 contacts), with a link to select everything that matches the current filter instead.

Paging alone can also skip or double-send contacts. Many of the contacts share the same import timestamp, so when the list is sorted by Created at, the order of the tied rows can change between page loads. A contact that was on page 6 on day 1 can be on page 7 on day 2. The fix is to tag the first batch and then filter on the tag, so each day's send is defined by the tag rather than by a page number.

Split the send across two days​

This example splits about 1,219 contacts into a batch of 600 and a batch of about 619, for an account on a 1,000-contact limit. Adjust the batch sizes to your limit.

  1. Open the Contacts list and apply the filter that defines the audience. Keep the view sorted the same way throughout, for example by Created at, and set it to 100 contacts per page.
  2. On page 1, tick the header checkbox to select those 100 contacts. Then go to Bulk actions > Add tags and add a tag such as Oct-Batch-A.
  3. Repeat step 2 on pages 2 through 6. That tags 600 contacts.
  4. Day 1: add the filter Tags contains Oct-Batch-A, select all the matching contacts, and send the email.
  5. Day 2: change the filter to Tags does not contain Oct-Batch-A, select all the matching contacts (about 619), and send the email.

The does not contain step on day 2 is what makes this safe. It sends to everyone in the audience who wasn't tagged on day 1, whatever order the rows are in that day.

Use a tag name that says which send it belongs to, such as the month and the batch letter, so you can tell it apart from older tags later. You can leave the tag on the contacts once the send is done.