How broadcast email works
A broadcast is a one-time email you compose and send to a group of members. This page explains what happens from the moment you click Send now to the moment each member (or not) receives the email.
The short version
Section titled “The short version”When you send a broadcast, MapleGather resolves the audience, removes opted-out members, passes the message to its sending infrastructure, and records a per-recipient delivery outcome. You see the results on the send-detail page.
How it works
Section titled “How it works”Audience resolution
Section titled “Audience resolution”When you send a broadcast, MapleGather resolves the segment criteria at that exact moment. Any member who joined after you built the segment but before you sent — and who matches the criteria — is included. This means segments stay accurate even if member records change between when you saved the segment and when you send.
Consent enforcement
Section titled “Consent enforcement”Before dispatching to any member, MapleGather checks whether they’ve opted out of the relevant email category. Members who have opted out are excluded from the send. This check happens automatically at dispatch time — you can’t override it per send, and it can’t be turned off.
When members are excluded because they’ve opted out, the composer shows a count — for example, “N recipients excluded — opted out.” These members appear with a Suppressed status in the per-recipient log.
Your postal address in every marketing email
Section titled “Your postal address in every marketing email”US law (CAN-SPAM) requires a physical postal address in every marketing email. MapleGather adds your organization’s postal address to the footer of each marketing email, along with the unsubscribe link. You can’t edit it out.
Until your organization’s postal address is saved, MapleGather won’t send a marketing broadcast: the composer shows a message with an Add postal address link, and nothing is sent. The address is checked again when sending starts, so a broadcast that starts after the address was removed ends as Failed and reaches nobody. A broadcast that uses a transactional template is not affected. See Add your organization’s postal address.
Dispatch and delivery
Section titled “Dispatch and delivery”Once the audience is resolved and opted-out members are removed, MapleGather hands the messages to its email sending infrastructure. The send-detail page shows a progress bar and a “N of M dispatched” counter while sending is in progress.
Delivery status — whether a message reached the recipient’s mail server — is reported back and recorded per recipient. Open and click tracking aren’t available in this version.
Terminal states
Section titled “Terminal states”A broadcast reaches one of four terminal states:
- Sent — all messages dispatched.
- Partial — sending stopped before all messages dispatched (for example, due to a cancellation while sending, or a send that failed part-way — it never stays on Sending).
- Cancelled — an admin cancelled before or during sending.
- Failed — a system error prevented sending, or sending started while your organization had no postal address on file (nobody was emailed).
Once a broadcast reaches a terminal state, it can’t be sent again as it was. For a Sent or Partial broadcast that missed some members, Resend to missed recipients only creates a new send to just those members. “Missed” is worked out from the audience as it was when the original send started — the resend doesn’t look up the segment again, so members who joined later aren’t added. Members whose email bounced or who marked it as spam aren’t sent it again, anyone who opted out since is dropped, and members an earlier resend dropped or still has queued aren’t counted as missed. Members a failed send never got to are counted as missed. See Broadcast shows as Partial or Cancelled.
Why it works this way
Section titled “Why it works this way”The fresh audience resolution and consent enforcement at dispatch time are intentional. Resolving at send time means your list is always current — you don’t need to refresh a snapshot. Enforcing consent at dispatch time means opted-out members are protected regardless of when they opted out, even if they opt out between when you composed the email and when it dispatches.
Edge cases and boundaries
Section titled “Edge cases and boundaries”- 0 recipients: If all eligible members have opted out (or the segment is empty), the broadcast can’t be sent. A “0 recipients” notice appears in the composer.
- Large audiences: Very large sends are dispatched in batches. The progress bar reflects the overall dispatch progress.
- Draft state: A broadcast in Draft status has no scheduled audience resolution — it only resolves when you actually send.