You can personalise the bulk emailing feature so your customers names appear at the top of the email as well as inserting any details from the Customers table.
There are a number of quirks that depend on what mail server client you are using. For example you need to ensure some HTML tags are in CAPS for them to work properly.
Step 1/.
Create a new template to send out. Insert the HTML code you would like displayed. For example:
<p>Dear [firstname] [lastname],</p>
<p>We are happy to inform you that we have just launched a new collection of items that you can review at our store.</p>
<p>Simply visit our site www.yourvpaspstore.com<br>
<br>
Thank you.<br>
</p>
Note : <p></p> and <br> are the HTML code.
<p></p> = For a new paragraph
<br> = For a new line break
Save the above as"tmp_newsletter.htm"and upload to your server.
Step 2/.
Now you need to go to your administration section and go to Everyday Tasks > Customers > Email Customers
Troubleshooting
Problem: No emails are being sent!
Solution: Check if xcheckmaillist is set to Yes in your Config. If it is, only customers with the maillist flag set to True (or 1) in your customers table, will receive emails.