UOmail: Managing Promotional and Bulk Email in Outlook

Overview

This article explains how to reduce promotional, newsletter, and other bulk email in UOmail using Outlook on the web. It also gives guidance for people who send bulk email, so their messages reach the right people and are not treated as junk.

It covers the following topics:

• Promotional and Bulk Email: What It Is
• Quick Reference: Which Option Should I Use?
• For Recipients: Reducing Promotional Email
• For Senders of Bulk Email
• Troubleshooting
• More Information

Promotional and bulk email: What it is

Promotional email includes newsletters, marketing messages, sales announcements, and mailing list messages. Bulk email is the broader category of mail sent to many people at once. It is not always spam, and some of it is mail you asked for.

Microsoft automatically filters some bulk email before it reaches you, and bulk messages that look unwanted are often delivered to the Junk Email folder. The tools in this article let you add your own controls on top of that. If you send bulk email, the sender section explains how filtering decides whether your messages reach people.

Quick reference: Which option should I use?

For recipients: Reducing promotional email

These options are available to every UOmail user in Outlook on the web (log in at UOmail with your full UO email address and Duck ID password). Most also work in new Outlook for Windows. Try them in the order listed, from least to most aggressive.

1. Unsubscribe

Unsubscribing is the best first step for mail from a legitimate sender, because it stops the mail at the source.

Option A: Subscriptions page

1. In Outlook on the web, select the Settings gear icon.
2. Go to Mail > Subscriptions.
3. Find the sender you no longer want and select Unsubscribe.

Option B: Unsubscribe banner or link in the message

Outlook may show an unsubscribe suggestion on newsletters, and with Focused Inbox turned on these suggestions appear for messages in the Other tab. You can also use the unsubscribe link in the footer of the message.

2. Use Focused Inbox to separate promotional mail

Focused Inbox is on by default in UOmail. It splits your inbox into two tabs. Your most important mail is on Focused and most promotional mail ends up on Other, where it is out of the way but still easy to find. If you turned it off and want it back:

1. In Outlook on the web, select the gear icon.
2. Select the Focused Inbox option so it is turned on.

If an important message lands in Other, open it and move it to Focused. Outlook learns from this.

3. Sweep a sender

Sweep cleans up mail from one sender in bulk, and can keep doing it going forward.

1. Select a message from the sender you want to clear out.
2. Select Sweep in the top toolbar.
3. Choose what you want to do, such as delete all messages from the sender, keep only the latest message, or delete messages older than 10 days. You can also choose to move messages to a folder.
4. Choose whether to apply this once or keep applying it to new messages.

To review or edit Sweep rules later, go to Settings > Mail > Sweep.

4. Block a sender

Blocking is for senders you did not sign up for. Messages from blocked senders are sent to your Junk Email folder.

1. Select the message, then choose Junk > Block sender (or right-click the message and choose Block > Block sender).
2. Confirm in the window that appears.

To review or edit your list, go to Settings > Mail > Junk email. You can also add a whole domain there. The sender is not notified that they were blocked.

5. Add a safe sender

If wanted mail keeps going to Junk, add the sender to your safe list.

1. Go to Settings > Mail > Junk email.
2. Under Safe senders and domains, add the email address or domain.
3. Save your changes.

6. Create an inbox rule

Use a rule when you want to keep promotional mail but not in your inbox, for example moving it to a folder called "Promotions" that you check once a week.

1. Create a folder for the mail (right-click Folders in the left pane and choose Create new folder).
2. Select the gear icon > View all Outlook settings > Rules.
3. Select + Add new rule and give it a name.
4. Add a condition. For example, From a specific sender, or Subject or body includes a word such as "unsubscribe".
5. Add an action, such as Move to your Promotions folder. You can also add Mark as read.
6. Optionally add an exception for senders you always want in your inbox.
7. Select Stop processing more rules if you only want one rule applied per message.
8. Select Save.

Which tool should I choose?

Report suspicious messages

If a message looks like a scam or an attempt to steal your login, do not unsubscribe or reply. Report it using the Report option on the toolbar and choose phishing or junk, then delete it. If you already clicked a link or entered your password, contact the IT help desk right away.

For senders of bulk email

This section is for anyone who sends newsletters, announcements, or promotional messages to many people from a UOmail account. Following these steps helps your messages reach the people who want them, and keeps your account in good standing.

Decide whether email is the right tool

Microsoft does not recommend sending bulk messages from Microsoft 365 mailboxes. Organizations can be blocked for exceeding sending limits, and large mailings from a regular mailbox are more likely to be treated as junk. Before sending, consider these options:

• Small, targeted messages. If you are writing to a small group who all expect to hear from you, a normal email from your mailbox is usually fine.
• UOmail lists and groups. For a defined audience such as a department or team, use a UOmail distribution list or group instead of building your own list from addresses you collected.
• Mailman. Mailman is the UO bulk email service. It uses curated lists to communicate with large groups, so use it for newsletters and large announcements instead of sending from your own mailbox.

Articles on both options are in the Email Lists and Groups category of the knowledge base (see More Information). Some articles in that category require you to log in with your Duck ID.

Send messages people want

• Send only to people who expect it. Recipients should have signed up, or have a clear reason to hear from you. Do not add people to a list just because you have their address.
• Use a clear sender name and a truthful subject line. People should know who the message is from and what it is about before they open it. Misleading subject lines lead to complaints.
• Keep messages focused. One clear purpose per message. Put the key information near the top.
• Keep your list current. Remove addresses that bounce, and people who have left or asked to be removed.
• Avoid sending the same message repeatedly. Frequent, repeated messages are one of the main reasons people mark mail as junk.
• Do not buy or borrow lists. People on those lists have not agreed to hear from you.

Make it easy to unsubscribe

Every promotional message should give people a simple way to stop receiving it. This also protects you, because a recipient who cannot unsubscribe will often mark the message as junk or block you instead, which hurts delivery for everyone you send to.

1. Include a working unsubscribe link or clear instructions in every message.
2. Process unsubscribe requests promptly. Marketing email laws such as CAN-SPAM commonly require honoring requests within 10 business days, and sooner is better.
3. Do not require people to log in, pay, or give extra information to unsubscribe.
4. Do not send further promotional messages to anyone who has unsubscribed.

Why bulk messages land in Junk

Microsoft rates messages from bulk senders based on how many recipients complain about that sender. Senders who get a lot of complaints are more likely to have their messages delivered to Junk Email or caught by filtering. These things raise the chance of complaints:

• People marking your messages as junk, blocking you, or reporting them
• Sending to people who did not ask for the mail, or to old lists
• Misleading subject lines or sender names
• No clear way to unsubscribe
• Very frequent or repeated mailings

Recipient actions such as Block, Sweep, and Junk are described in the recipient section above, and they are exactly what your readers will use if your messages are unwanted.

Help your readers find your messages

If you send mail that people have asked for, you can include a short note asking them to add your address to their safe senders so it does not end up in Junk or the Other tab. You can point them to this article, or give these steps:

1. Go to Settings > Mail > Junk email.
2. Under Safe senders and domains, add your email address or domain.
3. Save your changes.

You can also tell readers to check the Other tab if they use Focused Inbox, and to move your message to Focused if it was placed there.

Quick checklist before you select Send

Troubleshooting

If you receive bulk email

If you send bulk email

More Information

• Email Lists and Groups (UO Knowledge Base: Mailman and UOmail Lists and Groups)
• How to manage email subscriptions in Outlook (Microsoft)
• What's the difference between junk email and bulk email? (Microsoft)