Gmail officially claims that with a regular Gmail account you can send 500 emails/day and with a Google Apps account you can send 2,000 emails/day. In fact, I've even claimed that with GMass, if you're a Google Apps user, you can send a 10,000 recipient campaign, where GMass will evenly distribute the campaign at 2,000 emails/day for 5 consecutive days.
So if you're using GMass, you should be able to send 60,000 emails/month (2,000/day x 30 days in a month) from a single Google Apps account, right? As it turns out, that usually isn't the case.
In working with over 40,000 accounts in the last year, we've noticed that Google often throttles the number of emails a particular account can send based on a variety of factors, including:
We don't have exact rules on how Google decides how many emails an account can send at a particular time, but here's what we've observed:
So what happens when you try to send, and Google decides you are over limit?
If you are in the Gmail interface, and you try to send a regular email with the regular blue Send button, you'll be stopped with a popup that looks like this:
What does GMass do when it detects that your account is over limit?
So if you're using GMass, you should be able to send 60,000 emails/month (2,000/day x 30 days in a month) from a single Google Apps account, right? As it turns out, that usually isn't the case.
In working with over 40,000 accounts in the last year, we've noticed that Google often throttles the number of emails a particular account can send based on a variety of factors, including:
- How old the particular Gmail or Google apps account is (the older, the better)
- How many conversations exist in the account (may existing conversations are better)
- Whether the account has sent mass emails before (if it has, then you're better off)
- The content of the mass emails (non-spammy content)
- The bounce rate of the overall account (the lower the better)
We don't have exact rules on how Google decides how many emails an account can send at a particular time, but here's what we've observed:
- A brand new Gmail account (ending in @gmail.com or @googlemail.com) with no history has very limited sending ability. Sometimes you are limited to 10 emails right when the account is created.
- A brand new Google Apps account, where the organization itself is new to Google Apps, also has very limited sending ability.
- A brand new Google Apps account, where the organization has a history with Google Apps, can send near the 2,000 emails/day limit almost right away
So what happens when you try to send, and Google decides you are over limit?
Using GMass, you'll notice that Gmail will start bouncing the emails and the bounce notification will look like this:
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| This is the Bounce you'll see if GMass sends an email when your account is over limit. |
If you are in the Gmail interface, and you try to send a regular email with the regular blue Send button, you'll be stopped with a popup that looks like this:
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| This is the error you'll get if you try to send an email with the regular Gmail Send button when your account is over limit. |
What does GMass do when it detects that your account is over limit?
GMass looks for bounce notifications like the one shown above to determine if your account is over limit. In fact, while it's sending your campaign, it's also simultaneously monitoring for these bounces. If the bounces start to appear, and you are technically under the 500 or 2,000 limit, then GMass pauses your campaign for an hour and tries to continue sending later.
Does GMass re-send the emails that have already bounced?
No, GMass won't automatically re-send the emails that have bounced with an over-limit message, but you can easily re-send these messages if you feel like your account has more sending power. Use the manual follow-up tool, the @ button near the Search field, choose your campaign, and choose the "Over Limit" category. A Compose window will launch with the email addresses of those that bounced previously. Then load the campaign using the Load Content dropdown in the Settings box, and hit the GMass button to re-send to those people.
Special Privilege for Google Apps Users
If you have a Google Apps account, and you've reached your limit and are unable to send emails, you have the option of having your Google Apps administrator "reset" your account. This is done through the Google Apps admin console. By resetting your account, your daily quota is immediately reset. This option, however, can only be used 5 times per year per account, so use this sparingly...only in situations where you've hit your limit and you absolutely need to send more email, whether it's through GMass or person-to-person email with the regular Send button.
Does subscribing to a paid GMass account improve my ability to send?
No, it does not. Whether you have a free or a paid GMass account, your sending ability is the same and is determined by Gmail, not by us. We've had users express surprise that they subscribed to GMass, yet still couldn't send as many emails as the Gmail published limits, so it's important to know that GMass has no ability to control how many emails you can send.
So how many emails can I really send with GMass and Gmail?
If you have a Gmail account with an excellent reputation, you'll usually get your 500 email limit for the first 24 hours but only a subset of that for the second 24-hour period. Meaning, if you send 750 emails, where GMass sends the first batch of 450 now (so you have a buffer of 50), and the remaining 300 24 hours later, that usually works. Avoid sending 900 though, because then you would need your full sending ability during the second 24-hour period.
If you have a Google Apps account with an excellent reputation, you'll usually get the full 2,000 email limit for the first 24 hours but only a subset of that for the second 24-hour period. So, you can probably send 3,500 emails, where 1,950 go out the first day, and the remaining go out on the second day, but if you were to send 4,000 emails, you might get some bounces on the second day.
So how many emails can I really send with GMass and Gmail?
If you have a Gmail account with an excellent reputation, you'll usually get your 500 email limit for the first 24 hours but only a subset of that for the second 24-hour period. Meaning, if you send 750 emails, where GMass sends the first batch of 450 now (so you have a buffer of 50), and the remaining 300 24 hours later, that usually works. Avoid sending 900 though, because then you would need your full sending ability during the second 24-hour period.
If you have a Google Apps account with an excellent reputation, you'll usually get the full 2,000 email limit for the first 24 hours but only a subset of that for the second 24-hour period. So, you can probably send 3,500 emails, where 1,950 go out the first day, and the remaining go out on the second day, but if you were to send 4,000 emails, you might get some bounces on the second day.