Now that you've created content and segments, the next step is to put it all together in a mailing.
A mailing is a message you send to your entire list, or to segments you've created previously. You can create your mailing on the fly, or import content you've created previously.
Before sending out your mailing, you can test it to see what it will look like, and schedule when you'd like it to be sent. You may also purge recipients who have received or are scheduled to receive other messages, or send to a sampling of your list or segment.
You can also use tracking to see if recipients open your mailing, and if they can see mailings in HTML. Later, you can see the success of your mailing in Reports.
The Main Mailings Page
The main Mailings page allows you to create a new mailing, review mailings that require your approval, and see what mailings are scheduled for the future. You may also view currently active and completed mailings.
Creating a New Mailing to be Sent to Your Entire List
To create a simple mailing to your entire list, follow these instructions:
1. In the left Navigation bar, click Mailings, and then click New Mailing.
2. Click Import Content in the lower right corner to insert it into your message if you have already created content which you'd like to send. You may then skip steps 3-6 below. If not, create your message on the Message tab.
3. Edit the Mailing Name field. This name is not seen by message recipients, so label the mailing in a way that will help you to identify it later.
4. Edit the From: field. By default, your email address will appear there. Here are some examples of valid entries for the From: field:
bob@example.com
Bob Smith <bob@example.com>
bob@example.com (Bob Smith)
"Bob Smith" <bob@example.com>
5. Edit the To: field. By default, the To: field is set to %%nameemail%%, which will merge the name and email address of the recipient.
The To: field does not actually select the message's recipients.
6. Enter the Subject: of the message. Recipients will see this line as the subject of the message they receive.
7. Enter the Text Message and/or HTML Message you'd like to send.
You may create just a text or HTML body, and that is what will be sent to your recipients. Or, you can create both, and send a mailing that has both text and HTML. This format is called multipart-alternative, and ListManager will create the correct headers and boundaries automatically. Recipients who can see HTML will only see your HTML message; those who can't, will see the text.
8. Click Save and Test to see what your mailing will look like. Or, click Save. You'll be taken to Mailings: Need Approval, where you can send, test, copy, or delete the content you just created.
Sending to Different Lists or to Segments
1. Follow the steps above to create a new mailing, but before saving your message, click on the RecipientsTab.
2. Click Choose Segments.
3. Select the lists and segments that should receive this mailing. Only the segments and lists available to you will be displayed here.
4. Click on OK, and continue composing your message. When you're done, click Save or Saveand test.
Purging Recipients of Previous or Scheduled Mailings
1. Follow the steps to create a new mailing, but before saving your message, click on the RecipientsTab.
2. In the Available Sent Mailings to Purge From and/or Available Scheduled Mailings to Purge From list, select the message you want.
TIP: To select multiple messages, hold down the CTRL key while selecting each message.
3. Click >>.
TIP: To deselect a message, select it in the Chosen Sent Mailings to Purge From or Chosen Scheduled Mailings to Purge From list, then click <<.
4. Click OK, and continue composing your message. When you're done, click Save or Save and Test.
Note that your list must be set to allow recipient purging. In ListManager 7.8, the merging/purging logic was changed in order to make the process faster, more efficient, and more robust. When upgrading to version 7.8, you will not be able to purge against mailings older than the date set in your outmail. You will not be able to purge against records that weren't in the outmail queue before the upgrade.
Tracking Opens or HTML Capability
1. Follow the steps to create a new mailing, but before saving your message, click on the Trackingtab.
2. Select Yes for Track Opens to track how many people open your message.
3. Select Yes for Detect HTML Capability to track whether recipients can receive HTML.
4. Select Yes for Track all URLs if it is not already selected. This enables clickthrough tracking.
5. Click on OK, and continue composing your message. When you're done, click Save or Save and Test.
Scheduling a Message
1. Follow the steps to create a new mailing, but before saving your message, click on the Schedule Tab.
2. Type in the date and time you'd like the message to be sent in Send When. Use one of the following formats:
YYYY-MM-DD HH-MM-SS
MM/DD/YY
YYYY-MM-DD
3. By default, the date and time shown in your message showing when it was sent will be rewritten to be the time you schedule it to be sent. If you'd like it to be the date when it was created, change Rewrite Date When Sent to No.
4. Click on OK, and continue composing your message. When you're done, click Save or Save and Test. You may also schedule your message in Mailings: Need Approval.
Creating a Recurring Message
It may be convenient to have the same mailing be resent every day, week or month if you are using conditional content to change the contents of the message sent, or if the message is sent to a segment such as all new members who joined on a certain date. A list FAQ can also be resent regularly, reminding list members of the list's rules.
1. Follow the steps to create a new mailing, but before saving your message, click on the Schedule Tab.
2. Type in the date and time in Send When. Use one of the following formats:
YYYY-MM-DD HH-MM-SS
MM/DD/YY
YYYY-MM-DD
3. Enter the number of days ListManager should wait before resending this message in Resend After This Many Days. If you enter 1, it will be sent every day; if you enter 7, every week.
4. Continue composing your message. When you're done, click Save or Save and Test. You may also schedule your message in Mailings: Need Approval.
Sending to Your List Via Email
To send to your list via email, send an email message to yourlistname@yourservername.com (e.g., newsletter@example.com). You will need to approvethe message in Mailings: Need Approval before it is sent to your list.
Sending to a Segment Via Email
Generally, users use the ListManager web interface to send to a segment. However, you may send an email message to a segment as well. The address is:
listname.segmentname@servername.com
Test Message Checklist
Examine your test message and make sure it contains everything you wanted, especially if you specified
any header or footer text.
If your list is a discussion list, ask your other testers to respond to the test message and observe the
results. Or, respond to it yourself using another account.
Check and make sure that you've added unsubscribe information to your message. Be sure that it includes the %%email.unsub%% mail merge code. This code creates a unique unsubscribe email address for each member, containing a code which identifies the member to Lyris ListManager. You can test it by sending a message to the unsubscribe address indicated. If you're an administrator it won't work (you really don't want to unsubscribe, you're the boss). Use one of your other test addresses to unsubscribe just to see how it works.