The E-mail Bulk Mode Threshold determines at what point an email that is addressed to multiple recipients will be sent using bulk email handling. For example, when the bulk mode threshold is set to 30, if the recipient count in the TO field is greater than 30, bulk email handling will occur on that email.
Emails sent via bulk email handling can be thought of as single, unique emails sent to those individuals; as if you had opened the Communication module and sent each recipient their email manually. Each recipient receives their own individual email and does not see any other recipients. The CC and BCC copies will be sent as if they each received this email as their own email. If the recipient clicks Reply All it will only reply to the sender, as no other email addresses are connected to the email the recipient receives.
In addition to applying when the recipient count is higher than the number specified, bulk email handling occurs automatically regardless of the bulk email threshold in the following cases:
- There are merge fields included in the email; OR
- The email is sent to a list/committee; OR
- The email is sent to a system defined group (i.e. Active, etc.); OR
- Recipients are selected from within specific modules, like Events (i.e. actual event attendees, etc.) or Billing; OR
- The recipient’s email is typed in manually and is not in the database.
Why does bulk email handling happen automatically when I may not want it to? Within the database, emails often contain or have the potential to contain unique links and information that are particular to that specific individual. This requires that each recipient receive a unique email. For instance, list/committee recipients each need their own unsubscribe link and so these emails have to be sent individually.
If emails are sent WITHOUT bulk email handling (i.e. the number of recipients does not exceed the number specified, or any of the above bulleted items are not a factor), then all recipients see each other’s email addresses in the To and CC fields, and have the ability to Reply All to all recipients. Email addresses entered in the BCC field are never visible to the recipient.
To view and configure this setting:
- Click Setup in the left-hand navigation panel.
- Click Email Settings in the Communications section.
- Set the E-mail Bulk Mode Threshold. For example: if set to 30, when an email is sent to 30 or fewer recipients in the To field, all email addresses will be displayed and recipients will be able to "reply all". If the email is sent to 31 or more recipients, the email will automatically BCC every one, so recipients will not see others email addresses and will not be able to reply all.
- Click Save.