# How to send emails

Before you send emails, ensure you have [configured your project](/product/first-steps/start-with-your-project/configure-platforms/email-verification/) and verified your email and domain, and added subscribers by [using the API](/developer/first-steps/subscribe-users#email) or [importing the mailing list](/product/messaging-channels/emails/get-email-subscribers).

<Aside type="caution" title="Legal provisions">
Commercial email messages must comply with [the CAN-SPAM Act](https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cases/2007/11/canspam.pdf). You need to comply if the primary purpose of your email is commercial. A primary purpose is commercial when your email contains primarily commercial content. Transactional or other non-commercial emails may not contain false or misleading information, but don't fall under the CAN-SPAM Act regulations.

[Learn more about how to comply with the CAN-SPAM Act](https://academized.com/blog/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business)

Pushwoosh requires the following in each email you send (normally in the footer): Company Address, City, State, Zip Code, Country.

If you operate in the EU, make sure you comply with GDPR regulations. [Learn more](https://blog.pushwoosh.com/blog/gdpr-compliant-emails/)
</Aside>

Pushwoosh offers two ways to send emails:

#### One-time emails

Send a single email to a segment, list of addresses, or all users. Schedule it for now or a specific date and time.

<LinkCard title="Send one-time emails" href="/product/messaging-channels/emails/sending-emails/send-one-time-emails/" />

#### Email element in Customer Journey

Add an email step to a journey and combine it with push, in-app, SMS, or WhatsApp. Trigger delivery by audience or events.

<LinkCard title="Send emails via Customer Journey" href="/product/messaging-channels/emails/sending-emails/send-emails-via-customer-journey/" />

<Aside type="tip">
Use **one-time emails** for single campaigns and **Customer Journey** for automated, multi-channel flows.
</Aside>

#### Submit transactional email over SMTP

If a service already speaks SMTP, send transactional email through the SMTP gateway instead of calling the API directly. The gateway forwards each message to [Messaging API v2 `Notify`](/developer/api-reference/messaging-api-v2/notify/).

<LinkCard title="SMTP gateway" href="/developer/api-reference/smtp-gateway/" />

## Delivery and compliance

### Bulk emails

Please note that each recipient email address should be valid. Even if one of recipient email addresses is invalid, it might result in the whole delivery rejection and an increase in hard bounce rate.

A recipient email address is the one specified in any destination field (To, Cc, Bcc).

To help you avoid a significant increase in hard bounce rate and spam filtering, Pushwoosh does not send out bulk emails. When you target an audience segment (or your entire audience), we send a separate message to each recipient in this segment. Still, each email address you are sending to must be valid. Otherwise, your email deliverability can be affected, and [sending suspension](#sending-suspension) may come as a result.

### List-Unsubscribe header

Pushwoosh adds a **List-Unsubscribe** header to each email so that mail clients (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) know where users can unsubscribe. Subscribers can opt out in one click from the mailbox interface. That keeps subscription status in order and reduces complaints and spam flags.

### Pre-send email audit

Before you send a one-time email, run an audit in the one-time email wizard. Pushwoosh sends a test message to a verified address and checks content quality and compliance, including link health, unsubscribe headers, and spam indicators. [Learn how to audit your email](/product/messaging-channels/emails/sending-emails/send-one-time-emails/#audit-your-email).

### Sending suspension

Pushwoosh always provides you with clean and trusted IP addresses, but in some cases, we can suspend your email delivery.

If the complaint rate exceeds the acceptable level, we will stop sending messages from your account and suggest that you check email content and template. Note: Complaint rate should always remain below 0.1% of emails sent.

If the hard bounce rate exceeds the acceptable level, we will stop sending messages from your account and check your email database manually. Note: Bounce rate should always remain below 5% of emails sent.