SMTP-based email sending can be implemented in several ways, whether it’s a basic or advanced approach. Below, we present both simpler and more complex options, along with an example PHP code.
Simple Solution: Rent Hosting and a Domain
The simplest way to use SMTP-based emailing is by renting hosting and a domain.
Most hosting services support PHP execution and have pre-configured SMTP, allowing you to send emails directly using the PHP mail() function, as follows:
<?php
function sendEmail($emailAddresses, $subjects, $sentences) {
foreach ($emailAddresses as $email) {
// Select a random subject
$subject = $subjects[array_rand($subjects)];
// Generate the email body
$message = '';
foreach ($sentences as $sentenceOptions) {
$message .= $sentenceOptions[array_rand($sentenceOptions)] . " ";
}
// Send the email
$headers = "From: no-reply@domain.com\r\n";
if (mail($email, $subject, $message, $headers)) {
echo "Email successfully sent to: $email\n";
} else {
echo "Failed to send email to: $email\n";
}
}
}
// Define email addresses
$emailAddresses = [
"example1@domain.com",
"example2@domain.com",
"example3@domain.com",
];
// Define possible subjects
$subjects = [
"Important Notification",
"New Offer Available",
"Discover Our Latest Services",
];
// Define possible sentences (with variations)
$sentences = [
["Welcome!", "Hello!", "Dear customer,"],
["We are excited to share our latest promotion.", "Our newest updates might interest you.", "Don't miss out on our latest opportunities!"],
["Please visit our website for more information.", "Details can be found on our website.", "Find additional information on our homepage."],
];
// Send emails
sendEmail($emailAddresses, $subjects, $sentences);
?>
Important Tip: Randomized Content to Avoid SPAM
In our article about avoiding SPAM filters, we already emphasized that it’s worth randomizing the content of emails. The above PHP code also does this by randomly selecting subjects and sentences.
Advanced Solution: Using a Local Web Server and Database
If you need a more complex solution, running a local web server (e.g., Apache or Nginx) is also possible. The following code fetches recipients from a MySQL database while sending emails with randomized content.
<?php
//exit;
set_time_limit(999999999);
ini_set("max_execution_time", 30000); //sec
ini_set("display_errors", 1);
ini_set("display_startup_errors", 1);
error_reporting(E_ALL);
header("Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8");
header("Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8");
mb_internal_encoding("UTF-8");
mb_http_output("UTF-8");
mb_http_input("UTF-8");
mb_regex_encoding("UTF-8");
//---------sanitize incoming parameters start
if (!empty($_POST)) {
foreach ($_POST as $post => $value) {
$_POST[$post] = addslashes($_POST[$post]);
}
}
if (!empty($_PUT)) {
foreach ($_PUT as $put => $value) {
$_PUT[$put] = addslashes($_PUT[$put]);
}
}
if (!empty($_GET)) {
foreach ($_GET as $get => $value) {
$_GET[$get] = addslashes($_GET[$get]);
}
}
if (!empty($_REQUEST)) {
foreach ($_REQUEST as $key => $value) {
$_REQUEST[$key] = addslashes($_REQUEST[$key]);
}
}
//---------sanitize incoming parameters end
require_once dirname(__FILE__) . "/phpmailer-6.1.1/Exception.php";
require_once dirname(__FILE__) . "/phpmailer-6.1.1/OAuth.php";
require_once dirname(__FILE__) . "/phpmailer-6.1.1/PHPMailer.php";
require_once dirname(__FILE__) . "/phpmailer-6.1.1/POP3.php";
require_once dirname(__FILE__) . "/phpmailer-6.1.1/SMTP.php";
/*CONFIG*/
/*CONFIG*/
/*CONFIG*/
/*CONFIG*/
echo memory_get_usage() . "<br>";
$host = "localhost";
$user = "root";
$pswd = "";
$database = "multikuldo";
$connect = mysqli_connect($host, $user, $pswd, $database);
mysqli_query($connect, "set names utf8");
mysqli_select_db($connect, $database);
$sleeptime = 3; // 3 is optimal
$runtime = 0;
$testcount = 50; // Send test email every 50th email
$testemail = "yourtest@gmail.com";
$table_name = "emails";
function getRandElementFromArray($array)
{
return $array[array_rand($array, 1)];
}
/*SENTENCE VARIATIONS*/
/*SENTENCE VARIATIONS*/
/*SENTENCE VARIATIONS*/
/*SENTENCE VARIATIONS*/
/*SENTENCE VARIATIONS*/
/*SENTENCE VARIATIONS*/
$fromemail[0][] = "sender@gmail.com";
$sender[0][] = "sender name1";
$sender[0][] = "sender name2";
$sender[0][] = "sender name3";
$subject[0][] = "subject1";
$subject[0][] = "subject2";
$subject[0][] = "subject3";
$body[0][] = "Welcome!";
$body[0][] = "Dear Editor!";
$body[1][] = "body1";
$body[1][] = "body2";
$body[1][] = "body3";
$body[2][] = "body1";
$body[2][] = "body2";
$body[2][] = "body3";
$body[3][] = "body1";
$body[3][] = "body2";
$body[3][] = "body3";
/*SENTENCE VARIATIONS*/
/*SENTENCE VARIATIONS*/
/*SENTENCE VARIATIONS*/
/*SENTENCE VARIATIONS*/
/*SENTENCE VARIATIONS*/
/*SENTENCE VARIATIONS*/
do {
// Start the loop if not redirected via JavaScript
sleep($sleeptime);
// Create a PHPMailer instance
$phpmailer = new PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer();
set_time_limit(9999999);
$isz = file_get_contents("isz.txt"); // previous email id
echo "<br>isz: " . $isz . "<br>";
// Fetch the data to be sent
$query =
"
SELECT *
FROM " .
$table_name .
"
WHERE
sended = '0'
LIMIT 1
";
echo $query . "<hr>";
$sql_result = mysqli_query($connect, $query);
$result = [];
while ($row = mysqli_fetch_array($sql_result)) {
$result[] = $row;
}
//print_r($result);
if (empty($result)) {
die("the end");
}
//exit;
file_put_contents("isz.txt", $result[0]["id"]); // one more than what was written
$log = file_get_contents("log.txt");
try {
// Debugging settings
$phpmailer->SMTPDebug = 1;
// Set character encoding
$phpmailer->CharSet = "UTF-8";
// Set email format to HTML
$phpmailer->isHTML(true);
// Sender details
$phpmailer->setFrom(
$fromemail[0][rand(0, count($fromemail[0]) - 1)],
$sender[0][rand(0, count($sender[0]) - 1)]
);
$phpmailer->AddReplyTo(
$fromemail[0][rand(0, count($fromemail[0]) - 1)],
$sender[0][rand(0, count($sender[0]) - 1)]
);
$phpmailer->Sender = $phpmailer->From;
// Recipient details
$cimzettnev = explode("@", $result[0]["email"]);
$phpmailer->addAddress($result[0]["email"], $cimzettnev[1]);
// SMTP connection settings for sending the email
$phpmailer->isSMTP();
$phpmailer->Host = "ssl://smtp.gmail.com";
$phpmailer->Port = 465;
$phpmailer->SMTPAuth = true;
$phpmailer->AuthType = "LOGIN"; // 'CRAM-MD5', 'PLAIN', 'LOGIN
//$phpmailer->SMTPSecure = false;
$phpmailer->SMTPSecure = "ssl";
//$phpmailer->SMTPAutoTLS = false;
$phpmailer->Username = "your@gmail.com";
$phpmailer->Password = "12345";
// Message content
$phpmailer->Subject = "" . $subject[0][rand(0, count($subject[0]) - 1)];
// HTML body
$phpmailer->Body =
'<html> ... </html>'; // Truncated for brevity
// Send the email
$phpmailer->Send();
// Mark the sent data
$query =
"
UPDATE " .
$table_name .
"
SET sended = 1
WHERE id = '" .
$result[0]["id"] .
"'
";
mysqli_query($connect, $query);
} catch (phpmailerException $err) {
// Log mailer error
} catch (Exception $err) {
// Log general error
}
} while (!empty($result));
echo memory_get_usage() . "<br>";
echo "ready";
?>
Related Links:
Both simple and advanced methods provide flexible options for mass email sending. Choose the solution that suits your needs and start your campaign!