Planning for Direct Mailer

You use Commerce Server Direct Mailer to manage user mailing lists and to coordinate the sending of direct e-mail to list members. You can personalize the e-mail you create by using Active Server Pages (ASP), or it can be a static file. You use the List Manager Module to import e-mail addresses from a flat file or from a Microsoft SQL Server database into a mailing database.

The following table lists some of the questions that you need to answer in planning for your direct mail campaigns.

Planning question Recommendation
Who will receive the direct mailings you create? What rules will you use to define the direct mail list? Use the Business Analytics System to identify the user segments you want to target, and then create corresponding lists.
How will users tell you they want to be removed from the direct mail list? Always include an opt-out list in your direct mailings.
How often will you send direct mail? Establish a schedule and develop a script to automate the process.
Will the direct mail be personalized? If so, what user profile information will you include in the personalization? Personalized mail is more effective. Design your user profiles to include the attributes you want to use for your direct mail targets.

See Also

About Direct Mailer

Direct Mailer Pipeline

Running Direct Mailer

Developing Direct Mail Content

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