ProDon:Sending the E-mail Blast

Introduction

The E-mail Blast module allows you to perform massive emailing and compile statistics for each mailing made (number of emails sent, opened, rejected, etc.), in order to evaluate the efficiency of the mailings. A reject management is also integrated to avoid problems with spam. To learn how to view the mailing statistics, see this document.

Moreover, Internet users can subscribe to distribution lists to receive the information emails that are of interest to them, from the organization's website. Following their subscription, they receive an automatic confirmation email, prepared for this purpose.

Sending an E-mail Blast can be explained in three steps: You must first prepare the master document, then prepare the distribution list and send the E-mail Blast.

The following document talks about the E-mail Blast. You must first prepare the master document and the distribution list prior to sending the E-mail Blast.

To learn how to prepare the master document, see this document. To learn how to prepare the distribution list, see this document.

It is possible to send an E-mail Blast in two different ways in ProDon :

Creating a Mailing from a Permanent Distribution List

To create an E-mail Blast from a permanent list, you must first create the master document and the distribution list.

Go to the "E-mail Blast management".

To do so, from ProDon's home page, click on the "Mailings" menu, then select "E-mail Blast - Mailings".

After clicking on "E-mail Blast - Mailings", this window opens.

A: The "Active" tab contains all the active mailings that have already been made or planned.	B: The "Archived" tab contains all the inactive mailings that were made.
C: The "All" tab contains all the mailings that have been made or planned, whether they are active or inactive.	D: The button allows you to create a new mailing to add to the list at G. After clicking on the button,this window opens.
E: The button allows you to modify a mailing of the list at G. To do so, select the mailing to modify at G, then click on the button. After clicking on the button,this window opens.	F: The button allows you to delete a mailing from the list at G. To do so, select the mailing to delete at G, then click on the button.
G: It is the list of the active mailings that have been made or planned.

Configuring the Mailing

After clicking on the or button, the following window opens.

A: The button allows you to duplicate an existing mailing in ProDon.	B: The button allows you to archive mailings. After clicking on that button, the mailing goes under the "Archived" tab of the "E-mail Blast mailing management".
C: Name the mailing. NOTE: This name remains for inernal use, it does not appear in the mailing.	D: Select the distribution list for which the E-mail Blast needs to be sent.
E: Enter the name of the recipient and the return email address. NOTE: This information is automatically entered when the mailing list is selected at C.	F: Enter the subject of the E-mail Blast.
G: If this option is checked, the statistics of clicks on the hyperlinks of the email will be compiled for this mailing.	H: If this option is checked, the statistics of email opening will be compiled for this mailing.
I: If this option is checked, an unsubscription link will be inserted in the E-mail Blast. NOTE: It is not recommended to use this option, it is advisable to use a more precise link. For more details about the unsubscription link, see the "Formatting Rules" section of the "Preparing the Master Document" document.	J: The "Message" tab allows you to choose which master document will be sent to the E-mail Blast.
K: The "Subscriptions to lists" tab allows you to view the list of the clients registered to the list.	L: The "Exclusions" tab allows you to exclude certain clients from the mailing in progress only. These clients will still be part of the distribution list.

"Message" Tab


A: The button allows you to choose the master document to send.	B: The button allows you to update the fields of the master document.
C: The "Edit message" button displays the message as it will be sent or allows you to modify it in HTML codes.	D: It is the message that will appear in the E-mail Blast.

"Subscriptions to list" Tab


A: These are all the addresses registered to the distribution list chosen earlier. Fields "X", "Email" and "Duplicates" are always visible, the other fields were checked in the distribution list.	B: The crossed out addresses are the ones that are excluded for this mailing. For more details concerning exclusions, see the "Exclusions" Tab" section.
C: The email addresses in yellow are the ones that are assigned to more than one client of the database.	D: The button allows you to open the file of the client selected at A.

"Exclusions" Tab


A: If this checkbox is checked, it is possible to enter the addresses to exclude from the mailing at B.	B: Enter the addresses to be excluded from the mailing.
C: After entering the addresses to exclude from the mailing, click on the " Confirm edit" button to save the addition or the modification.

Testing the Mailing

It is recommended to perform a test mailing prior to sending the E-mail Blast, in order to test all the hyperlinks and to see a preview of the E-mail Blast as it will be received.

It is suggested to perform many test mailings with different addresses (e.g. Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, Outlook, etc.) before sending the E-mail Blast, in order to be sure of the different interpretations of inboxes.

To test the email, first go to the "Mailing management".

To do so, from ProDon's home page, click on the "Mailings" menu, then select " E-mail Blast - Mailings".

After clicking on " E-mail Blast - Mailings", this window opens.

A: Select the E-mail Blast to test.	B: After selecting the E-mail Blast to test, click on the button.

After clicking on the button, this window opens.

A: Enter the email address to which the E-mail Blast should be sent. NOTE: The sender's address specified in the preparation of the distribution list is entered by default.	B: After entering the email address to which the test email must be sent, click on the " Confirm" button.

After clicking on the " Confirm"button, this window opens.

This window confirms that the test email has been sent successfully. To close the window, click on the " Ok" button.

Performing the Mailing

To send the email, go to the "Mailing management".

To do so, from ProDon's home page, click on the "Mailings" menu, then select " E-mail Blast - Mailings".

After clicking on " E-mail Blast - Mailings", this window opens.

A: Select the E-mail Blast you want to send.	B: After selecting the E-mail Blast to send, click on the button.

After clicking on the button, this window opens.

You must synchronize the subscriptions with the distribution list, prior to sending the email. To do so, click on the " Yes" button. NOTE: If you click on " No" button, ProDon will not send the E-mail Blast and will go back to the "Mailing management".

Sending the E-mail Blast Now

After clicking on the " Yes" button, this window opens.

A: To send the E-mail Blast, select this option, then follow points C and D.	B: This option allows you to plan the mailing of an E-mail Blast. To learn about the procedure, see this section.
C: This checkbox must be checked to send an E-mail Blast.	D: After selecting option A, checking the checkbox at C, click on the " Confirm" button.

After clicking on the " Confirm" button, this window opens.

This window allows you to confirm the number of recipients. To confirm the number indicated, click on the " Yes" button. NOTE: If you click on the " No" button, ProDon will not send the E-mail Blast and willl go back to the "Mailing management".

After clicking on the " Yes" button, this window opens.

This window confirms that the E-mail Blast has been sent successfully. Click on the " Ok" button to close the window.

After clicking on the " Ok" button, ProDon returns to the "E-mail Blast management".

A: The status of the mailing is green, which means that the mailing has been sent successfully.	B: The button allows you to view the mailing statistics. To learn about the procedure, see this document.

Planning the Mailing of the E-mail Blast

NOTE: When an E-mail Blast is planned, the information is immediately transmitted to the website of the E-mail Blast server, which means that ProDon and the computer do not need to be on for the E-mail Blast to be sent on the planned date and time.

After clicking on the " Yes" button, this window opens.

A: This option allows you to send the E-mail Blast now. To learn about the procedure, see this section.	B: To plan the mailing of an E-mail Blast for later, select this option, then follow points C and D.
C: This checkbox must be checked to send the E-mail Blast.	D: After selecting option B, and checking the checkbox at C, click on the " Confirm" button.

After clicking on the " Confirm" button, this window opens.

This window allows you to confirm the number of recipients. To confirm the indicated number, click on the " Yes" button. NOTE: By clicking on the " No" button, ProDon will not send the E-mail Blast and will go back to the "Mailing management".

After clicking on the " Yes" button, this window opens.

This window confirms that the mailing of the E-mail Blast has really been planned. To close the window, click on the " Ok" button.

After clicking on the " Ok" button, ProDon returns to the "E-mail Blast mailing management".<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" />

A: The status of the mailing is yellow, which means the mailing has really been planned.	B: The button allows you to synchronize the status and the date of the selected mailing. To learn about the procedure, see this document.
NOTE: The status of the mailing, at A, will not be updated automatically when the mailing is made. Therefore, you must click on the button at B to see if the mailing has really been made. If the status of the mailing at A turns to green, this means the E-mail Blast has been sent.

Synchronizing the Status and the Mailing Date

The status of the planned mailings is not updated automatically, this is why you must synchronize them, in order to view the mailing statistics.

To synchronize the status of a mailing, first go to the "E-mail Blast management".

To do so, click on the "Mailings" menu, from ProDon's home page, then select " E-mail Blast - Mailings".

After clicking on " E-mail Blast - Mailings", this window opens.

A: Select the mailing to synchronize.	B: After selecting the mailing to synchronize, click on the button.

After clicking on the button, the status is synchronized.

A: The status of the mailing turns to green, which means that the mailing has really been made.	B: Once the status of the mailing is green, it is possible to view the mailing statistics. To learn about the procedure, see this document.
NOTE: If the status of the mailing remains yellow, it means that the E-mail Blast has not yet been sent.

Creating a Mailing from a Provisional Distribution List

To create an E-mail Blast mailing from a provisional list, you must have previously created the master document. For a provisional mailing, the distribution list must be created at the moment of the mailing and cannot be used following the mailing.