Content authors can create email broadcasts which combine:-

• Template (optional)
• Content
• Recipients

The broadcast can also optionally include:-

• Campaign
• Personalisation
• Scheduling

The advantage to integrated email broadcasting is:-

• Ease of re-use of content for newsletters and campaigns – no copy & paste of content
• Ease of applying recipient lists to broadcasts  - no need to export / import
• Subscribe and un-subscribe process is integrated with original recipient data – no need to sync with original source
• Single campaign reporting report – see conversion of campaign integrated with email broadcasting metrics – no need to extract reports from two locations (email tool and analytics)
• Sophisticated personalisation capabilities – map any fields from customer data to email personalisation
• Sophisticated recipient targeting – based on profile data, buying history, interests etc

1.1 Operation

• Create a broadcast
• Add recipients
• Add content and/or apply a template
• Send the broadcast
  • Option to schedule
  • Optional email merge personalisation
    • Select fields
• The broadcast is scheduled for broadcasting
• Reports will be available for viewing as the emails are sent and responded to
  • Broadcast Report – Summary
    • Pie Chart
    • Detail Grid
  • Response Report – Summary
    • By Status
      • Viewed
      • Viewed and Clicked
      • No Response
      • Unsubscribed
      • Soft-bounce
      • Hard-bounce
    • Pie Chart
    • Detail Grid
  • Conversion over time
    • Line plot
      • Viewed
      • Clicked
      • Conversion
  • Audit Trail
    • Recipient
      • Status. Date/time sent / viewed / click / conversion

1.2 Technical

The email broadcasting application consists of several modules:-

1.2.1 Broadcast Editor

Send Broadcast – sets Date/Time of Schedule to Now and Status to ‘Sending’

All fields are read only if the Broadcast status is <> ‘Pending’ (except Title)

• Title
• Subject
• From
• Campaign – a select list of Aurora Campaigns
• Template – a select list of Aurora Templates
• Scheduled – date/time
• Text Message

Also display

• Status – defaults to Pending
  • Sending
  • Sent
• Date/time sent

1.2.2 Recipient Manager

(Use the JSON powered select control as in the Field Editor)

• Select Source Table
• Select Email Field
• Select Merge Fields 1-6
• Select criteria
  • Field X (contains/equals/greater than/less than)
  • Value (true/false/string/number)
• Add

 

 

1.2.3 Broadcast Reports

1.2.4 Broadcast Audit Trail

This is a list of all the recipients, their status and date/time.

1.2.5 Broadcast Processing

This script is executed by the server every 15 minutes. It checks to see if a broadcast scheduled time has passed and Status <> ‘Sent’ or ‘Sending’. If so, it then processes the recipient list as follows:-

• Broadcast content and/or template is fetched
• Content is processed to
  • Include style sheet
  • Remove/modify any non-conforming code
  • Add http://root to all image reference
  • Add http://root to all links without already
  • Add click tracking to each URL
• For each recipient
  • Recipient detail is fetched
  • If personalisation is true detail is merged with broadcast content
  • Email is sent to EasyMail queue
  • Recipient date/time stamp and status is updated
• Broadcast status changed to ‘Sent’/ date-time is updated        

We also need to do bounce processing. There should be a bounce account for in-bound emails. We need open each email, process it, then delete it or forward it – if it’s a reply.

Broadcasting will be queued and process by EasyMail SMTP Express Pro

http://www.quiksoftcorp.com/smtpexpress/pro/

We already have a single server license. This server will be dedicated to processing and sending emails, to ensure CPU load never impacts on other operations.

We also have a Single Server Express license which could be used for Gadget Guy.

 

1.2.6 Broadcast Service Installation

1. extract all files in a folder

2. run from cmd following code: "C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\InstallUtil.exe" "C:\your_extract_folder\Infomaxim.Services.Broadcasting.exe"

3. setup XML config file correctly

4. go to windows services and start up "Infomaxim Broadcasting Service"

           

1.2.7 Click Tracking