Bulk ing With gravitymail

Transcription

1 Bulk ing With gravitymail Preamble: Information & Technology Services blocks all outgoing with 40 or more recipients. This is being done so Humber does not get blacklisted as an Internet spammer. Users with a business need to an extremely large volume of recipients (500 0,000) are now being asked to use gravitymail, a third party delivery service contracted by Humber. This document details how to use gravitymail for mass ing. Creating a Mailing List: Step : Excel is probably the easiest place to create lists. The first row is reserved for field names. It does not matter what you call each field (provided it is unique). Populate the spreadsheet with data. There is no limit to the number of fields or records. Save the finished list. Step : Click on File in the menu bar and select the Save As. Click on Desktop in the resulting dialog box. Next, set the Save as Type dropdown to CSV (Comma Delimited). Assign a file name and click Save. 3 4

2 Step 3: Excel will issue two warnings. Neither warning is of consequence. Click the OK button to clear the first dialog box. Click on the Yes button to clear the second. Look for a CSV file on the Desktop. Accessing gravitymail: Step : Launch an instance of Internet Explorer and point it towards Step : Key in humbercollege as the Username. Contact the Technical Service Desk for the password. Key the Password and click Login. Note: Please do not share or change the gravitymail password. Page of 9

3 Importing a Mailing List: Step : Click on the Lists tab. Next, click the Create New List button. The button is in the upper, right-hand corner of the screen. Step : Type in a name for the Mailing List in the Name text box. Next, click the Browse button and select the appropriate Excel file. Continue by setting the Delimited dropdown box to Comma. Click the Next button. 3 4 Note: Use the Replace dropdown to overwrite an existing Mailing List. 3 Page 3 of 9

4 Step 3: Double-check if the Dynamic Variables imported correctly. If there is a problem, click the Delete button. Fix the Excel worksheet, generate a new CSV file, and try importing again. If everything looks correct, use the Field dropdown box to select the field with all the destination addresses in it. Click the Save button to import. Note: gravitymail deletes all duplicate entries based on the selected Unique Identifier field. And unless you uncheck the Remove Unsubscribes box (not recommended), gravitymail will also automatically delete all Unsubscribes. gravitymail will report on all removed entries after import. Dynamically Adding and Deleting Recipients: Step : Click on the Lists tab. Find the List to edit and click on it. 4 Page 4 of 9

5 Step : To delete a recipient, click his or her Delete button. To add a new recipient, key his or her information into the empty textboxes at the bottom of the table and click the Insert button. Be mindful of the fields! Search for Recipients Here (First Line) Delete Recipients Here Add Recipients Here (Last Line) Note: To edit an existing entry, you need to add a new entry with all the updated details and delete the old entry. There is no quicker way. Note: If you need to add, edit, and/or delete more than a few recipients, it is probably easier to fix the original Excel spreadsheet and re-import it. Creating a Campaign: Step : Click on the New Campaign tab. Specify the following information A) Use the List dropdown box to select a Mailing List. B) Select a Template to invoke an established look and feel. Leaving the field blank (recommended) will result in standardlooking s. Note: Templates only work on HTML s. C) Use the Format checkboxes to select an style. It is best to go with either Text or both HTML and Text together (not all e- mail clients can handle HTML). Also, if there are images in the HTML message, they will need to reside on a Web server. Unfortunately, images cannot be embedded in messages. 5 Page 5 of 9

6 D) Key in a From Name, From Address, and Subject. Best practices require legitimate Name and Address information. Also, the From Address should be checked frequently and the Subject line should be meaningful. Use book title capitalization for the Subject. E) To preview the campaign before sending it out, key your personal address into the Preview Address(es) field and put a check in the checkbox beside it. Note: Dynamic variables (e.g. recipient s first name) do not appear in preview or test s. F) If you would like to receive an with the campaign summary results, key your personal address into the Notification Address(es) field and put a check in the checkbox beside it. Click the Next button. A B C D D D E F 6 Page 6 of 9

7 Step : Key in the text as you want it to appear in the body of the e- mail. Use the upper text area for Text s. Use the lower text area for HTML s. Use both areas if both HTML and Text will be used. Dynamic Variables << Insert Text Message Here >> << Insert HTML Message Here >> Dynamic variables can help personalize/customize messages. They originate from the Mailing List and show to the right of the text areas. For example, if you had the recipients first names in the Mailing List, you might choose to personalize part of the message like this: Dear {FIRSTNAME}, Welcome to Humber! For each , gravitymail will automatically replace {FIRSTNAME} with a recipient s first name. You can use any dynamic variable in this way. Step 3: Without exception, Corporate policy requires ALL campaigns provide recipients with an unsubscribe option. To that end, the following code MUST be appended to the bottom of ALL campaigns: Append the following to Text Messages: Click to unsubscribe {UNSUBSCRIBE_URL} Append the following to HTML Messages: <a href="{unsubscribe_url}">click here to unsubscribe</a> Click the Next button. 7 Page 7 of 9

8 Step 4: At this point, users have six options: A) Click the Delete button to completely abandon a campaign. B) Click the Check Links button and gravitymail will check for broken hypertext links. All broken links will be flagged. C) Click the Modify button to edit campaign options. D) Click the Postpone button to save and exit the campaign. This option lets you pick-up where you left off at a later date. E) Click the Schedule button to program a specific release date and time for the campaign. Messages will be sent automatically. F) Click the Preview button to see what s will look like to recipients. Look for the test in the account specified in Step #. Recall: Dynamic variables do not work in test s. Alternatively, if you like what you have and the timing is right, click the Send button and gravitymail will immediately launch the campaign. CAUTION: Once a campaign is launched, it cannot be stopped and there is no way to recall mail. Do not launch a campaign unless you are completely sure everything is setup and working properly! Ask if you need assistance. 8 Page 8 of 9

9 Checking the Results of a Campaign: You can start analyzing a campaign shortly after it is launched. Click on the campaign name after login to reveal the following screen: Number of address - Found in the Mailing List (47) - Properly formatted ( were bad) - Unable to be found () - Asking to be unsubscribed () Number of recipients that - Clicked a link (counts all clicks) (8) - Are first-time respondents (4) - Are return respondents (0) - Clicked a link (unique users) (4) For more detailed information on who showed an interest in a campaign, click on the Click-throughs, Timeline, and Time Summary links. Note: Clicking on any of the underlined items in the grey box triggers a pop-up window with more detailed information. Data contained in pop-up windows can be downloaded and/or converted into other Mailing Lists. Developed by the Technical Service Desk Last Revised on Friday, March 5, Page 9 of 9