Email Service Providers (ESPs) Overview of features and solutions Cheryl Slowik Publishing Services Bureau October 15, 2009
Does an ESP make sense for you? Are you communicating to an audience inside or outside of MIT? Data privacy concerns should a third party have access to these email addresses? What are your requirements for measurement, analysis, and list management? Spam Cheryl Slowik, 10/15/09 Page 1
Features common to most ESPs Content creation tools Templates that you can customize with your branding WYSIWYG editors Varying levels of customization ability to add HTML code to a template or cut and paste an entire HTML page Ability to preview your email Auto creation of text version Always preview your text version. For better viewing on a mobile device, shorten web addresses http://tinyurl.com/. Cheryl Slowik, 10/15/09 Page 2
Features common to most ESPs Contact management Import email contacts or cut and paste your list Ability to segment your list and target messages Ease of removing contacts & creating do not mail lists Auto removal of people who choose to unsubscribe Auto-response email confirming when someone subscribes Ability to schedule messages in advance Image hosting Most allow you to host a small number of images; some charge small fee for additional storage Email archiving Turn your emails into web pages Cheryl Slowik, 10/15/09 Page 4
Features common to most ESPs Reporting tools Statistics on sent, bounced mail, spam, opt-outs, opens, click-throughs, and forwards Some provide more sophisticated reporting tools and the ability to view data in graphical representation Cheryl Slowik, 10/15/09 Page 5
Features common to most ESPs Customer support Training, live chat, and webinars to teach you how to use the tool and improve the effectiveness of your email communications (www.constantcontact.com/learning-center/) Tools to help grow your list Code provided to add a sign-up form to your website Automatic insertion of a forward to a friend link on your email Cheryl Slowik, 10/15/09 Page 6
Advanced features Integration with Google Analytics Integration with customer relationship management tools like Salesforce and Raiser s Edge Survey creation tools Advanced list targeting Create customer segments based on demographics, transactional history, subscriber preferences, and more Test messages and responses Personalization Generate unique content (copy, images, offers) for individuals based on criteria that you define Cheryl Slowik, 10/15/09 Page 7
Basic service providers These are solutions targeted to smaller organizations Easy to use interface Offer basic reporting Fee structure based on number of emails in your list, not the number of emails sent per month Examples Constant Contact - Center for Real Estate, Deshpande Center, Gordon Leadership Program, Lemelson, Sloan Management Review www.constantcontact.com Emma - OpenCourseWare www.myemma.com Vertical Response - Legatum Center www.verticalresponse.com Cheryl Slowik, 10/15/09 Page 8
More advanced service providers Designed for larger organizations and volume of emails More advanced reporting tools Often integrate with customer relationship management tools Fee structure: based on number or emails sent per month Examples Kintera, now Blackbaud - Alumni Association, Resource Development www.blackbaud.com/ ExactTarget - Technology Review, News Office http://email.exacttarget.com/ Cheryl Slowik, 10/15/09 Page 9
Summary Decide if you should use an internal mail list or outside provider based on your email list, privacy concerns, and requirements for measuring results ESPs offer tools for creating emails and measuring the effectiveness of your email communications Relationship with ISPs to reduce spam score Content creation tools Contact management tools Image hosting Reporting tools Tools to help grow a permission-based list Ability to personalize email messages Customer support Cheryl Slowik, 10/15/09 Page 10
Contact Cheryl Slowik Publishing Services Bureau 617.253.5710 cslowik@mit.edu http://web.mit.edu/psb/ Cheryl Slowik, 10/15/09 Page 11