In the previous column, we discussed how Amazon Web Services’ Simple Email Service (or SES) can be used to send various types of automated mail. I then showed you how to verify your e-mail address to use Amazon SES.
Let me now show you how to use SES for bulk e-mail.
Before I begin, I recommend that you verify your e-mail address before you start. Log in to AWS and navigate to the SES dashboard. Click on Identity Management and then Email Addresses. The Email Addresses screen will confirm that your email address has been verified.
An API is required if you want to send large numbers of e-mail messages. The console is useful for sending small numbers of messages or checking that SES is working properly. To verify the e-mail addresses you intend to send messages from or to, you will need to follow the steps in Part 1 here.
To send an e mail message, go to SES console’s Email Address Identities screen. Select the check box next the email address you wish to send a test message to, then click the Send a Testing Email button as shown in Figure 1. The figure will confirm that the address in question is verified.
[Click on the image to see a larger version.] Figure 1: Click the Send a test email button and select the sender. It is very easy to send a test email message. Figure 2 shows that all you need to do is enter the recipient’s email address, the subject line, and the message body. You will get an error message if the recipient’s email address is not verified. You can verify multiple mailboxes from the same domain.
Figure 2: It is very easy to send a test email message. The console allows for slightly more advanced testing. You may have noticed the More Options link in the figure. You can access additional fields like Return Path, CC, and BCC by clicking this link.
The big question is how to send messages from e-mail addresses that are not verified. It is impossible to manually verify every address in a mailing list if it is not already.
This interface is intended for testing purposes. AWS has placed strict restrictions on the testing interface. As you’ve seen, mail can only be sent to or from verified domains or mailboxes. However, there are other restrictions. You can send only 200 messages within 24 hours, and SES can only process one message per second.
These limits are put in place by AWS to prevent fraud and abuse. You can request to have these limits removed. However, AWS must be the one to do so. It will not allow unlimited SES access to new accounts. To have these limits removed, go to AWS Support Center, click on Create Case, then Service Limit Increase and SES Sending Limits.
AWS doesn’t make it easy for you to remove the limits. AWS will need to know how many messages you plan to send. The more detailed your request, the more attention it will pay.
You will also need to explain why bulk e-mail is necessary and confirm that you have a process for handling bounced messages. Although I was unable to capture the entire questionnaire in one screenshot, you can see the types questions AWS asks in Figure 3.
[Click on the image to see a larger version.] Figure 3: These are some of the questions you will need to answer when asking for a job.
