AOAC INTERNATIONAL Informz User Guide. Updated June 19, 2013

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1 AOAC INTERNATIONAL Informz User Guide Updated June 19, 2013

2 Table of Contents (Sections are electronically hyperlinked.control>click to follow) SECTION Contents Page # INFORMZ SUPPORT Informz/AOAC Contacts 3 GETTING STARTED SUBSCRIBER LISTS FOLDERS TEMPLATES OPT-OUTS VS. UN- SUBSCRIBES CREATING YOUR MAILING AOAC Informz Module URL System Requirements Accessing/Using Subscriber Lists Requirements for Pre-Approved Uploads Using Folders Naming Your Mailing Master Template List Components of All Templates Understanding Opt-Outs vs. Unsubscribes AOAC Opt-Out Categories Link to Informz Mailings Manual Explanation of Informz Mailings Module Components SET-UP TAB REQUIREMENTS AOAC-Specific Setup Tab Procedures 10 ENSURING DELIVERABILITY CHECKLIST Elements/Best Practices for Communications Reporting and Follow-Up Checklist for AOAC Staff Before Sending an Informz INFORMZ RESOURCES Links to Articles, Demos, Webinars, Whitepapers 13 AOAC INTERNATIONAL Informz User Guide

3 INFORMZ SUPPORT Informz emarketing Advisor Hours and Informz Support Your dedicated emarketing Advisor and primary point of contact for assistance in using Informz is Angie Berghela When you log-in to Informz, you will see if Angie is online (in the office) or offline (out of the office). If you see that she is out of the office, click on her picture to find contact information for another Advisor. Dialing x6 will put you through directly to any other advisor in the event that Angie is unavailable. Outside of business hours, you may contact the general support line (x6) or you may AOAC Staff Team for Informz Support You may contact one of the staff members below for Informz Support as listed below: Contact For assistance with. Extension Wendy Wheeler Approving Messages Templates Subscriber Lists (Back-up to Chris) x 124 Chris Bradley Subscriber Lists x 146 AOAC INTERNATIONAL Informz User Guide

4 GETTING STARTED Informz Module User Access Your dedicated URL is You will use this to access your account from anywhere you have an internet connection, from any browser. Your user log-in is either 1) your AOAC address; or 2) first initial last name (all lowercase). If you did not change your password during training, your password would be or aoac-481. The first thing you should do when you log into Informz, is to go to your user preferences to change your password and check to make sure your time zone is accurate. YOUR NAME Java Requirements Java or better is required. The latest version of the Java Runtime Environment can be found at Browser In order to use the Java Editor, there are some minimal web browser requirements: Internet Explorer 8 or better, Firefox 3.0 or better, Chrome version 24 or better, or Safari 3.0 or better. It is recommended that the latest version of any web browser be used for the best experience. Pop-up windows Informz uses pop-up windows. In order to use Informz effectively, you must allow pop-ups. If you think you ve enabled pop-ups, but you re still not able to see them, check with your emarketing Advisor. AOAC INTERNATIONAL Informz User Guide

5 SUBSCRIBER LISTS Accessing and Using Subscriber Lists Below are some important points to remember when planning your mailings: If your group resides in imis, it can be accessed by Informz, provided none of your members has unsubscribed and their information is current. If you need to send a mailing to a new group that does not currently reside in imis, then it will need to be added to imis. As soon as you begin planning your mailing, you should contact appropriate member of the AOAC Staff Team (see page 3) at least 1-2 days prior to your mailing for assistance in selecting or creating a new list to Informz. To View Current Subscriber Lists You can see the list of current AOAC Compound Target Groups by clicking: Subscribers > Groups > Target Groups > Compounds Each compound target group listed is named by category with a date, if appropriate. Under the name of the list, the imis criteria used to pull the list is shown. Example: PROMO - General Promo Activity AND Status A EXCLUDING (PT Enrollees OR PT Parents OR RI Contributing Members OR Promo - No Promo & No Opt Outs) Requirements for Uploading Lists In certain cases it may be necessary or recommended to send an to a group whose data does not yet reside in imis, In these cases, contact the AOAC Staff team (see page 3) as soon as possible to have your list uploaded to Informz. For these pre-approved cases, there are minimum requirements for uploading your list to Informz: Every list uploaded to Informz must contain at least an address. address is the unique identifier within Informz, and will be used to track your subscriber records. Please make sure that the Excel file you are uploading is saved in the Text [Tab Delimited] format, and that for each field you wish to bring into Informz (other than address) there exists a corresponding personal info field, and a data format matching the fields in your Excel file. AOAC INTERNATIONAL Informz User Guide

6 FOLDERS Using Folders All mailings should be organized using folders. Below is a list of Current Informz folders: 1. Annual Meeting 2. BookdealerS 3. ILM 4. Job Postings 5. LPTP 6. Membership 7. Methods News 8. OMA 9. Opt-Outs 10. Product Info and Announcements 11. Research Institute 12. Sections 13. SPADA 14. Spectrum 15. SPIFAN 16. SPSFAM 17. Stakeholder Activities All Groups 18. Wire Transfer Customer Naming your Mailing Each mailing needs a unique name that will only be seen by your Informz users, not your subscribers. It is recommended to follow a specific naming convention such as the one below: Mailing Type (e.g. AM for an Annual Meeting blast) +Name of Mailing (e.g. Website ) +Date (month-date-year) By consistently using folders and naming conventions for your mailings, you will be able to more easily run reports on all the mailings in your folder at once in order to compare trends. AOAC INTERNATIONAL Informz User Guide

7 TEMPLATES No changes are to be made to the *Master* templates within the AOAC Informz module. Below is the list of AOAC Master Templates. If you need an additional template or modify and exisisting template for your mailing, please contact the appropriate member of the AOAC Staff Team (see page 3) for assistance. In Every Master Template If you are having trouble viewing this , view it online. Live Link to View Online Social Networking Links Date Content Here. February 8, 2013 Opt-Out Link If you would prefer not to receive s about AOAC membership information, click here. 481 N FREDERICK AVE STE 500 GAITHERSBURG, MD AOAC Contact Information P: F: AOAC Website Copyright AOAC INTERNATIONAL. All rights reserved. If you would prefer not to receive any s from AOAC INTERNATIONAL, click here. Please send any comments about this to customerservice@aoac.org. UNSUBSCRIBE Link AOAC INTERNATIONAL Informz User Guide

8 OPT-OUT VS. UNSUBSCRIBES Understanding Opt-Outs vs. Unsubscribes Opt-Out links allow recipients to opt out from receiving the type of mailing that is being sent. Those opting out of a particular type of mailing write back to imis, and do not receive future mailings of the same type. The Unsubscribe link allows recipients to universally unsubscribe from all mailings sent by AOAC through Informz. Including an unsubscribe link this is mandatory for CAN-SPAM compliance. Opt-Outs and Unsubscribe links are embedded in each of the AOAC templates. See the Templates section of this Guide for examples of each. AOAC Opt-Out Categories in Informz Below is a listing of current Opt Out categories in the AOAC Informz module: More on the CAN-SPAM Law: Regardless of the method of gaining subscribers, it is supremely important that each and every subscriber who receives a message has agreed to receive that message. Sending Mailings to people who have not agreed to receive those Mailings is not just bad business practice, but it may also be illegal. Part of Informz s role in an organization s marketing campaign is to help maintain compliance with existing laws, including the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. 7701). AOAC INTERNATIONAL Informz User Guide

9 CREATING YOUR MAILING For complete steps on how to create a mailing, go to and select All About Mailings from the Informz Help Menu bar. When creating your mailing, you will first go to Mailings Create Mailing. This will bring you to our editor, which is set up in tabs, to help with the process. The Set Up tab is where you will name the mailing, pick the target group, template, and subject line. Picking the template will auto-populate the friendly from and reply to, based on the properties of the template. The Design tab is where you edit and add stories, and from here you can send the mailing to yourself to see how it will render. The Test Tab offers a variety of tests you can run to make sure that all of the information needed to send out your mailing is valid, And the Send tab gives you the option to send immediately, or to schedule your mailing either for a later date, or to be triggered by other actions by your subscribers. AOAC INTERNATIONAL Informz User Guide

10 SET UP TAB REQUIREMENTS PROPERTIES NAME: Send to yourself during set up and testing. Change to the appropriate target group when testing is complete. FOLDER: Use the appropriate folder. Add an additional category if needed. TEMPLATE: Use appropriate template. You may not add or change templates. A/B TESTING: We do not currently utilize A/B Testing. ENVELOPE TO: Send to yourself during set up and testing. Change to the appropriate target group when testing is complete. FROM: This is the from information your recipient will see in SUBJECT: their inbox. Make any changes necessary. SUBJECT: REPLY This is the TO: subject line the recipient will see in their inbox. REPLY TO: All replies should be directed to your department or your own address as applicable. ADVANCED CC: You may cc to yourself, or to select staff as applicable. DO NOT SEND TO : In some cases you may not want to send this to select recipients in your list. For instance, the Meetings department does not send registration reminders to those who have already registered for a meeting. OPT OUT LINK: REQUIRED!! Choose the opt-out field based on the type of mailing being sent. Select as shown to the left. CONTENT ENTRY: Use the default HTML editor. ACCOUNTING CODE: Required. Select from the dropdown list. ACTIVITY TRANSFER: Set for 5-7 days, which is enough time for action to transfer to imis. AOAC INTERNATIONAL Informz User Guide

11 ENSURING DELIVERABILITY Recommendations for Ensuring the Highest Deliverability 1. Required elements for your Ensure that your message is clear, concise and poses the call to action in a prominent place in the message. Keep these questions in mind as you compose: *WHO/WHY*: Audience Who is this going to? Why? *WHAT*: Action What do you want them to take? *WHEN*: Schedule When should they receive this? Are there other s scheduled to the same audience around your target date (see calendar). 2. Things to avoid in your s Too many images without enough quality copy many spammers use lots of images in their s and this is the tip off for the spam filters to block. Common spam words, excessive capitalization, and punctuation in copy or subject line Written out URLS For example: Wrong: Visit for more information. Right: Visit the Informz Website for more information. 3. Deal with your inactive subscribers The Informz marketing team suggests employing the following strategy after analyzing your mailing deliverability reports: Routinely identify inactive subscribers. Try and win them back. Remove them if they don t respond. 4. Monitor reports and remove repeated bouncers AOAC removes addresses marked ibad by Informz from imis every two months. AOAC INTERNATIONAL Informz User Guide

12 INFORMZ RESOURCES Below is an Informz-generated list of additional resources available as you use and learn more about the Informz module: Informz Resources (Informz-Selected Webinars, Case Studies, Assorted Articles, White Papers) How to Create Great Content Relevancy Rules How to Create More Effective s & Newsletters (webinar) Subscriber Engagement Case Study AOAC INTERNATIONAL Informz User Guide

13 AOAC INFORMZ CHECKLIST This checklist has been developed to help users formulate their messages and campaigns in Informz. It is recommended that you use it, but optional. CHECKLIST FOR AOAC STAFF BEFORE SENDING AN INFORMZ Calendar List Set Up Style Guidelines Create Message Look at the Informz calendar and see what mailings are scheduled. Please allow 5 business days in-between mailings to the same target group. 3 days is the minimum for time sensitive mailings. Schedule your mailing in the calendar. You can either a) Wendy to put it in the calendar for you or b) you may put it in the calendar. Chris/Wendy as needed to locate or create the correct subscriber list in Informz. Note: please no mailings to the full imis database less is better, targeted groups = better response Use your From and Subject Line strategically. Do not repeat the audience will see both. Need a change in the template? Wendy. Follow the AOAC Style Guidelines in Section 7. Marketing: Guidlines/StyleGuideMain.aspx Ensure that your message is clear, concise and poses the call to action in a prominent place in the message. Keep these questions in mind as you compose: o *WHO/WHY*: Audience Who is this going to? Why? o o *WHAT*: Action What do you want them to take? *WHEN*: Schedule When should they receive this? Are there other s scheduled to the same audience around your target date (see calendar). Opt-Outs Use the appropriate opt-out that is specific to your mailing. Web Updates Test Review/Approval Make sure any related web pages contain new information you may have just expressed in your message. Send tests to yourself. Manually click all links to ensure they go to the right place. Run all tests in Informz. Send test to your department s test group and the appropriate AOAC staff team member (see page 3) for approval at least one day before your target send date. Collect feedback and Send follow-up test if needed. the AOAC staff team to let them know you are ready to send your message. They will review your message based on their final checklist AOAC INTERNATIONAL Informz User Guide

14 Follow Up Review and analyze Informz data to determine impact of your mailing. Note any successes or improvements to make next time. AOAC INTERNATIONAL Informz User Guide