When you are sending emails to accounts on the gmail system there is a chance that the FROM line of the email will say:
From: Chris via YourSendingService
Gmail checks whether emails are correctly authenticated. If your messages are sent by a bulk mailing vendor or by third-party affiliates, publish an SPF record that includes the IPs of the vendor or affiliates which send your messages and sign your messages with a DKIM signature that is associated with your domain.
"Why would I use your software instead of a service like Constant Contact?"
There are definite conditions when a email service provider (ESP) would work better for you than having your own email marketing software in-house. Here are some situations you might want to consider when determining the best path for your company:
List size - If your list size is relatively small, in the thousands or ten-of-thousands, and you don't mind giving out your list to an outside company, an ESP is a good solution. You will be able to upload these email addresses and/or set up code on your page to ask for new email addresses. Once your list starts exceeding 100,000 then you may want consider bringing things in-house.
List availability - Does your list change? Is the list actively worked on in real-time? If so, you may find it hard to manage these situations using an outside solution. You will have to create some way of getting new list entries to this provider to be included email projects. It may take creating output files from your CRM or other source and uploading them at a regular basis.
Cost - An ESP is simple and easy to get started with. They usually charge per month based on the number emails you typically send in a month. It is sort of like a Cell Phone bill though where you buy a certain plan and if you don't use the minutes, you lose them. If you go over, you pay for the extras usually at a higher rate.
Privacy - If your email list does not have privacy issues than an ESP will work. If you believe your ESP has good protection and a good reputation you can sleep better, but it could be possible for your account to be compromised or, worst, they ESP could be compromised. Could this happen to you if you have an email system of your own? Sure, but at least you have the ability to add all the security you require.
Having your own emailing system in-house will be more effort to maintain than using an ESP. ESPs can get quite expensive every month if you send large emails. So there is a lot to consider when making your choice.
Dynamic content is one of the key features of Campaign Enterprise. Pulling information out of, and putting information into your database helps you target your email marketing in order to make the most of your contact list. In prior versions of Campaign, dynamic content could get somewhat confusing. Campaign Enterprise version 12 allows for more functionality of the dynamic content features.
Built-In Merge Field
The built-in merge field is similar to that in the past, but adds % signs inside the curly braces { } that were used in the past. The number of percentage signs surrounding the field name differentiate the type of merge being used. Built-in merge fields are those that are provided by the Campaign system to be used in various places in your message, subject line, or write back strings. The basic construct is {%Unique_ID%}.
Examples:
{%UNSUBSCRIBE_URL%}
{%UNIQUE_ID%}
{%CAMPAIGN_NAME%}
{%CAMPAIGN_ID%}
{%VIEW_AS_WEBPAGE_URL%}
Basic Merge Field
The basic merge field, that pulls information from the database to which your campaign is connected, uses two percentage signs inside the curly braces. Using the basic merge field, you can personalize your message to each individual record in your list. For example, you can include the {%%FirstName%%} field in your subject line, or salutation line in the message body, it will pull that data from the table and insert it where the merge field is located. The basic construct for the basic merge is {%%FieldName%%}. Please note that the field name comes from your table, and will need to be changed and modified accordingly.
Merge Functions
The newest merge functions can also be considered message content programming. Using these functions you can modify the message, based on individual data stored in your table, as the message is generated. The delimiters for merge functions contain three percentage signs inside the curly braces. A basic example shows a replacement for a blank first name field, to a default value.
Dear {%%%=NZ(Firstname,"Valued Customer")%%%}. In this instance, if the Firstname field specified happens to be blank, the term Valued Customer will be used in its place.
There are a number of basic functions available, and great flexibility to modify and create more.
NZ <column name>,<defalut text>
FormatNumber <column name>,<format string>
FormatDateTime(<ColumnName> or SYSTEM_TIME,<FormatString>)
FormatCurrency(<ColumnName>)
Select(<ColumnName>,<MatchValue1>,<ReplaceValue1>,<MatchValue2>,<ReplaceValue2>,...)
If(<ColumnName>{conditional}<Constant>,<TrueValue>,<FalseValue>)
IncludeTextFromURL(<URL>)
IncludeTextFromFile(<FilePath>)
More information on the available string can be found in the Campaign Enterprise 12 documentation, starting at page 54.
Start making the most out of the information you collect, to create highly targeted and desirable emails that get responses.
