Sending out bulk attachments via email (newsletters ect)

[zag]

I'd like to ask other Edugeekers how their schools send out documents to parents via email?

 

I've always tried to recommend uploading and linking the documents to our website but our Office staff have started attaching PDF and Word documents to our weekly bulk emails.

 

This email goes out to thousands of parents and my feeling is they don't really want 1mb or 2mb attachments each week filling up their inbox's. A couple of weeks ago the school office accidentaly sent out a 23mb attachment to all parents.

 

Am I living in the dark ages when email box size was important? or are schools doing this in another way?

Edited September 15, 2014 by zag

[unixman_again]

We upload the document to the website and email a link to parents. We send emails to parents using https://www.ymlp.com/login.html I think is costs us £3 a month. Since only we in IT have access to this, we make sure that only links are emailed out, that is to say, anyone who wants to email parents comes to us.

[zag]

Hmm not sure I want to be responsible for that

 

Our office staff actually make the point that it is a lot easier to just attach the documents.

 

We havent got any complaints from parents as far as I know so maybe the technology has moved on. Certainly our Office 365 system has no problem sending them out.

[MatthewL]

If there are no complaints leave it at that. As long as its PDF I don't see it been to much of an issue as its a universal document.

 

I'd rather receive an email with attachments than have to go to a website and I can pick them up on my phone with ease.

[zag]

If there are no complaints leave it at that. As long as its PDF I don't see it been to much of an issue as its a universal document.

 

I'd rather receive an email with attachments than have to go to a website and I can pick them up on my phone with ease.

 

Yes this is my thinking as well, its just the 20mb attachment incident has slightly dented my confidence in that method.

 

I think i'm probably worrying about nothing, it used to matter in the old days when people had 500mb email boxes but now most people have 10gb+ inboxes I don't think it matters as much.

[TechMonkey]

My view would be that there is nothing wrong with sending attachments but it is a bit archaic. Accidents like the 23Mb are more likely to happen and you will get the odd parent that is fed up of their inbox filling with flyers and the like. You also have no control over the attachment once it is out. If the date of an event suddenly has to change you would have to send out a whole new attachment asking people to ignore the old one, whereas with a link you can update the central copy and just inform parents the event has been updated.

 

Finally if you ever want to get any kind of reading or analysis on your newsletters, attachments will cause problems. With links you can run the full extent of analysis and prove it's use or find ways to improve.

 

Hope that helps