The Bulk Email Builder in ZipLeads lets you create and send an email to many contacts at once, straight from Contacts → Smart Lists. Once you've selected your contacts, you can create your message with Quick Compose, From Smart Builder or Select Existing Template. Before you send, ZipLeads helps you check who will receive the email, set your sender and tracking options, send a test and choose how the email is delivered. This guide walks you through the whole process and shows you where to check results afterwards.
What is the Bulk Email Builder?
The Bulk Email Builder opens when you select contacts under Contacts → Smart Lists and click Send Email in the bulk-action toolbar.
It gives you three ways to create your email in one place:
Quick Compose for simple messages.
From Smart Builder for Design, Code or Plain Text editing.
Select Existing Template for your saved templates or designs from the Template Library.
The Bulk Email window also supports custom object labels. If your Contact label has been changed to something like Leads or Clients, the screen will show that wording automatically.
Changing the label only changes the wording you see. It doesn't change who is selected, how contacts are filtered or how emails are delivered.
Key benefits of the Bulk Email Builder
The Bulk Email Builder brings writing, recipient checks, delivery options, engagement settings and reporting together in one simple flow.
Flexible email creation: Choose Quick Compose, Smart Builder or an existing template, depending on the kind of message you're sending.
Recipient review: See who was selected, who was filtered out and who is eligible before you send.
Controlled delivery: Send straight away, schedule it for later, or send in timed batches using Drip Mode.
Engagement tools: Set up click tracking, UTM parameters and tagging.
Centralised reporting: Check the results of each bulk send and see wider email reporting in the Statistics dashboard.
Pre-send contact filtering
Before a bulk email is sent, ZipLeads checks the contacts you selected and shows you a recipient summary, so you know who is eligible to receive it.
The summary can include:
Selected contacts: The contacts in your original selection.
Filtered-out contacts: Contacts left out because of things like an invalid email address, being unsubscribed, or email DND (Do Not Disturb) settings.
Eligible recipients: The contacts left once these sending rules have been applied.
Check these numbers before you continue. Filtering helps stop emails going to contacts who shouldn't get them, but you're still responsible for following consent, compliance and email-sending rules.
Email creation options
Pick the option that suits how much design, customisation and reuse your message needs.
Quick Compose: A simple way to write a basic email fast. Quick Compose is separate from the Plain Text Editor in Smart Builder.
From Smart Builder: The full email builder, with these editing options:
Design Editor for building emails visually with drag and drop.
Code Editor for building emails with code.
Plain Text Editor for text-only messages without a visual layout.
Select Existing Template: Choose one of your saved email templates or browse designs in the Template Library.
Additional email settings
Use Additional Settings to set up tracking and contact options for your bulk email.
Track Clicks: Records link clicks so they show up in your email reporting.
UTM Tracking: Adds your UTM parameters to links so you can analyse campaigns and traffic in other tools.
Add Tags: Adds tags to contacts based on the engagement options available in the Bulk Email Builder.
Sending options
Once you've checked your email and recipients, choose how you want it delivered.
Send Immediately: Send the email for processing straight away.
Schedule the Send: Pick a future date and time.
Drip Mode: Send to your recipients in timed batches. You can set the start time, batch size, repeat interval and sending windows.
Drip Mode controls how fast emails are processed. It doesn't guarantee your emails land in the inbox.
How to create and send a bulk email
Follow these steps to choose your recipients, create your email, check its settings and send it.
Select contacts. Go to Contacts → Smart Lists. Apply filters or open a Smart List, then tick the checkboxes next to the contacts you want.
Open Bulk Email. Click Send Email in the bulk-action toolbar. If a selection confirmation appears, check it.
Review recipients. Check the selected, filtered-out and eligible recipient numbers before you continue.
Enter sender details. Fill in the From Name, From Email and Subject. Add preview text, an action name or other email details if you need them.
Choose an editor. Select Quick Compose, From Smart Builder or Select Existing Template, then create or customise your email.
Set optional settings. Open Additional Settings and set up click tracking, UTM parameters or tagging if you want them.
Send a test. Enter the Test Email ID, click Send Test Mail, and check the email you receive for content, formatting, links and sender details.
Review the campaign. Click Review Campaign and check the sender details, content, links and recipients.
Choose delivery. Send straight away, schedule the send or set up Drip Mode. Complete any sending or consent confirmation shown on screen.
Send and track the job. Click Send Email, then find the bulk-action job under Contacts → Bulk Actions.
Important: Check your recipients, sender details and email content before you send. Emails that have already been processed can't be recalled through Bulk Actions.
How to track bulk email performance
ZipLeads gives you stats for each bulk send, plus wider email reporting in the Email Statistics dashboard.
To check a specific bulk send:
Go to Contacts → Bulk Actions.
Find the bulk email job.
Click Show Stats.
Check the processing results and delivery numbers.
If it's available, download the error information to look into any failed contacts.
Click Load More Stats when you need more detailed email reporting.
For wider reporting, go to Marketing → Emails → Statistics.
Use the source filters, including Bulk Action Campaigns, to show only bulk email activity. The dashboard can include reporting for Campaigns, Workflows and Bulk Actions.
Depending on the view, you may see delivered, opened, clicked, bounced, failed and skipped emails.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why is the eligible-recipient number lower than the number of contacts I selected?
Invalid email addresses, unsubscribed contacts and sending restrictions such as DND can reduce the number of contacts who are eligible to get the email.
Q: Does changing the Contact label to Leads or Clients affect email delivery?
No. The label only changes the wording on screen. It doesn't change how recipients are selected, filtered or emailed.
Q: Are Quick Compose and the Plain Text Editor the same?
No. Quick Compose is a separate, simple way to write an email. The Plain Text Editor is one of the editing options in Smart Builder.
Q: Will contacts added to a Smart List later automatically get a bulk email I've already scheduled?
Bulk actions from Contacts and scheduled Email Campaigns send in different ways. Check your selected contacts when you schedule a bulk email, and don't assume later changes to the Smart List will update a bulk action that's already set up.
Q: Can I pause or cancel a bulk email after sending it?
It depends on the type of job and its current status. Check the job under Contacts → Bulk Actions to see which controls are available. Emails that have already been processed can't be recalled.
Q: Can I send bulk email from Company or Custom Object records?
Yes. ZipLeads also lets you send bulk email to associated contacts from Company and Custom Object records. See Send Bulk Email to Associated Contacts for how to do this.