Many email marketers want to encourage their subscribers to reach out to people that they know and encourage them to either subscribe to the newsletter or go to the website. This can be accomplished two ways--the recipient uses the forward feature of their email software to send a copy of the email to others or they click on a link in the email which sends another email to the address(es) that the original recipient enters.

The first method is certainly the easiest for both the marketer and the recipient, but it has several shortcomings:

• No tracking
  Every click on the forwarded email looks like a click from the original recipient
  
  
• Lack of control over the offer
  If you are segmenting your list, recipients may be receiving content or offers that are not matched to their preferences or for which they are not eligible
  
  
• Unintentional unsubscribes
  When a recipient forwards their email to another person, the links for the original recipient remain in the email, which could lead to the unintentional removal (or profile change if there is a subscription management link in the email) of the original recipient if one of the forwardees accidentally or intentionally clicks on the unsubscribe link
  
  
• Broken templates
  While using the forward function of an email application is fine for sending primarily text correspondence, it can wreak havoc with the design and layout of commercial HTML email, which doesn't present your message or your brand in the best light

What marketers want is the second option--an easy way for their recipients to initiate a new message to be sent to people they know that will increase the opportunity that the new recipient will either sign up to receive future communications or make a purchase on a website. This is commonly referred to as Forward to a Friend (FTAF). The StrongMail Transactional Server can be used to facilitate FTAF capabilities in concert with a standard mailing sent via either StrongMail Server or Message Studio. Here's a high level view of how it would work:

1. Set up a standard mailing in Message Studio or StrongMail Server
2. Set up a mailing on the StrongMail Transactional Server with the same template/header (or a different one if you want to send a separate mail to FTAF recipients) 
3. Create the following web pages and host them on a web server:
   1. FTAF landing page with form elements to collect information on who to forward the email to
   2. Confirmation page to notify the sender that their FTAF email was successfully sent
   3. Error page to notify the sender that there was a problem with sending the FTAF email 
4. Configure the form on FTAF landing page to send an API call to the Transactional Server to send the transactional mailing to the recipient(s) indicated in the form
5. Place a link in the standard mailing template that takes recipients to the FTAF landing page
   

In addition to the standard setup described above, there are a number of variables that you could modify to enhance how the FTAF works:

• Control the number of FTAF recipients permitted from a single FTAF request to reduce abuse and spam complaints
  
• Determine whether the same FTAF landing page could be used for multiple mailings (reduces the effort required to execute FTAF mailings)
  
• Design the FTAF landing page and the forwarded email to permit the original recipient to include a comment to the FTAF recipient
  
• Decide whether the FTAF recipient receives an identical or modified version of the email
  

There are many ways to configure FTAF using the StrongMail Transactional Server. Identify what you want to accomplish with your FTAF program and then choose the option that best suits your needs.

StrongMail has two sets of APIs for managing mailings--the Web Services SOAP API, which controls batch mailings and the Transactional Mailings API, which controls transactional mailings. The Web Services API is included with all EAS installations, but the Transactional Mailings API is only available for those users who have purchased either the Transactional Server or Transactional Mailings module for EAS.

Today, we will be looking at just the Web Services API, which incidentally has two main components of its own. The first is the ClientInfo API, which provides detailed information on a specific mailing or can provide summary-level status information. The other type of Web Services API is the mailing API, which actually handles the creation/modification of mailings. We'll discuss how this information can be used in a bit.

Now if you are a business user, you may be saying to yourself, "That's great, but what do I need to know about APIs? I'm not an engineer...I need a UI." Well, that depends. StrongMail already provides Message Studio a full-featured campaign management and reporting system for business users and for most email marketers, that probably meets 90-100% of your needs with regard to email marketing.

But if you have unique business requirements that may take a while to make it into Message Studio, you can utilize the APIs to control the StrongMail Server and build a solution that is 100% focused on what you need. In fact, several StrongMail customers have done exactly that. They recognized the power and flexibility provided by the StrongMail infrastructure, but needed something that would address a specific business requirement. You can read about some of their stories here and here.

Now, let's take a closer look at each of the StrongMail Web Services APIs. The ClientInfo API is useful for determining and reporting on the current or historical status of a mailing. It provides information such as a complete list of mailings by type (e.g., all completed mailings) or information about any specific mailing specified by either mailing id or config file. (NOTE to business users: the next section gets a bit technical, but hang in there, you'll like the ending.)

Here's an example of how to use the ClientInfo API:

A request is made to the StrongMail Server which asks the server to provide a list of all of the active mailings--

The StrongMail server responds with the following information--

Now for you business users, this looks like a bunch of gobbledygook, but the example above is what your application development team could use to build a UI that displays what mailings are currently active and their status. And there are a variety of other options for collecting other mailing-related information. Using a combination of this example and other API parameters, they could easily build a dashboard that lets you monitor the mailings on the StrongMail Server in whatever way you like.

Similarly, using the Mailings API, your application development team could build a campaign management system, similar to Message Studio, but tailored specifically to your business and user requirements. And the good news is that in the coming months, we are enhancing the APIs to include even more features, as well as making them more robust and simple to use.

For as long as most email marketers can remember, the mantra of a successful email marketing program has been "The right message for the right recipient at the right time." The challenge with executing such a program is that it takes a great deal of effort and time to do correctly, and those are commodities in short supply for most email marketers. Additionally, email marketers typically have to go outside of their area of expertise in order to accomplish. This raises the barrier for getting the program off the ground, as well as making changes to modify it over time.

Instead of abandoning the opportunity because it is too big or too difficult or too time-consuming, try breaking it up into phases. Not only can this provide an incremental improvement to your marketing program, but by dividing the larger goal into manageable pieces, you can focus on the key aspects of that phase and insure that you have sufficient time to plan and execute effectively.

For now, I am going to discuss the first part of the triad, the right message (stay tuned for articles on the other two parts in the future). Static email content that is sent to your entire email list will certainly resonate with some recipients, but in order to maximize the effectiveness of your mailing, the content HAS to be tailored to the recipient in some fashion. It could be based on past behavior (clicking on a link in a previous email or making a purchase on a website), profile data (demographic, subscription settings or status), or profile analysis (Nearest Neighbor or Market Basket).

Historically, creating this type of content required managing multiple email templates with advanced database queries and scripting or building complex, inflexible and expensive dynamic content engines. However, with the new Rules capabilities in Message Studio 4.0, the cost and complexity of building out such a program disappear.

Business users can create rules that govern what content is inserted into the template or if the content is displayed at all. There's no need to go to a DBA to write a SQL query or to ask your application development team to script up some code that addresses only your current content requirements. You can create sophisticated rules right in the Message Studio 4.0 UI that give you both direct control over the rules and access to modify them (or create new ones) on the fly.

Here's all you have to do start using rules:

1. Go to the CONTENT LIBRARY module in the left-side navigation bar
2. Click on the RULES link
3. On the RULES screen, click the CREATE button at the top of the screen
4. On the CREATE RULE screen, first, select which data sources you want the rule to consider.
5. Then configure the criteria for your rule using the pull down menus (add as many criteria as you need)
6. Next, select what you would like to happen when the rule criteria is met. You can insert a text string, a value from a data source, or a content from a content block.
7. If desired, you can select an action to occur if the criteria is NOT met. This part is optional. If you want nothing to be inserted if the criteria is not met, then do not select this option. If you want an alternative action to occur, check the box for ELSE, USE ALTERNATIVE VALUE OR RULE. In addition to the three actions available in the positive case, the negative case lets you run another rule in addition to inserting values. The rule applied in the negative case must be created before you can assign it, so it's a good idea to map out all of the rules you want to use and create the negative case rules first.
8. Now you are done with creating the rule(s). Click the TEMPLATE link in the left-side navigation bar and open up the template that you want to use the rule in.
9. Use either the WYSIWYG or Source editor to edit the template.
10. Place your cursor in the area of the template that you want the rule to execute.
11. Click the PERSONALIZE button and select the RULES tab in the Personalization pop-up wizard.
12. Select the rule you want to use and click the INSERT button. Repeat as necessary to add all of the elements to the template that you want.
13. Voila! Dynamic content created specifically for individual recipients.

The steps described above illustrate how to implement rules to easily insert dynamic content into a template, but there are many ways that you can use rules to make your messages more relevant. Start off simple and see what works (or doesn't). With the Rules editor, it's easy for business users to add and modify how the dynamic content is inserted. The only limit is your own imagination.

Greetings, fellow travelers. You may not know it, but you have embarked on a journey—one that will teach you the inner workings of each of StrongMail's products. Within the pages of this blog, you will learn about the big features and the tiny configuration tweaks. You'll hear how other customers are using StrongMail products to solve common and unique business challenges. Plus, you'll have the opportunity to join the dialog. Join me as we make the journey together.

Not sure if you trust the tour guide? I don't blame you. Let me tell you a bit about myself—

• Senior Product Manager at StrongMail Systems
• 8 years in the email marketing industry
• 11 years in technology marketing
• Founding member of the Silicon Valley Product Management Association (SVPMA.org)
• Aquarius

If that's not enough, I also have StrongMail's world-class Support, Engineering and Professional Services teams to back me up.

I've already got a laundry list of great topics to tell you about, but if there is something specific you would like me to address, feel free to send me a note at ichalif @ strongmail dot com.

Let's get started!