I have about 1,000 emails from people I've met at shows and personal contacts. How do I send them an initial email announcing my new website without it being considered spam?

Send the email from your personal email account (like your Apple Mail or Gmail), not through a bulk email service. If you use a business email platform and people report your message as unsolicited, you can get in serious trouble. But a personal email is fine. Keep it simple and genuine: ‘Hey, it’s [your name]. We know each other from [context]. I just launched my new fine art website and would love for you to check it out and subscribe to stay in touch.’ For people who gave you their email at a show or event and gave verbal consent (like signing up on a list), you can subscribe them directly to your email platform without asking again—they already gave permission. For personal contacts who didn’t explicitly opt in, send a personal email and let them choose to subscribe via a link.

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Asked by an artist launching a new website · Answered by Juan · Office Hours · 2026-04-23