How to Create Direct Mail

  • Article

You use the Create New Direct Mail Wizard to create direct mail.

Note

The Marketing database uses Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). If you are not aware of this, you may receive unexpected results in scheduling direct mail items. For example, you are in a time zone that is two hours behind UTC, and your server is in a time zone that is two hours ahead of UTC. You create a direct mail item and set the start date to be 11:00 p.m., January 1, 2007 (Client Local Time). You specify that you want the mail to go out every Monday. The server will save this start time in the database as UTC (2AM Jan 2, 2007). When creating a direct mail schedule, the server will load the time in Server Local Time (4AM Jan 2, 2007). The mailing will then be sent out at 4AM Server Local Time every Monday (starting from January 2, 2007). This may not be what you expect since you may have wanted the mail to actually be sent at 11:00 p.m. on Monday.

To start the Create New Direct Mail Wizard

  1. Click Start, point to Microsoft Commerce Server 2009 , and then click Marketing Manager.

  2. In Marketing Manager, in the Views pane, click Campaigns.

  3. In the Tree View pane, click All Direct Mails.

    Note

    If you cannot see the Tree View pane, click Tree View on the toolbar.

  4. In the Tasks pane, click Create new direct mail.

  5. On the Welcome to the New Direct Mail Wizard page, click Next.

To select the customer

  1. On the Select Customer page, in the Customer box, from the drop-down list, select the customer for whom you want to create the direct mail.

  2. Click Next.

To select the campaign

  1. On the Select Campaign page, in the Campaign box, from the drop-down list, select the campaign for this direct mail.

  2. Click Next.

To select the mailing lists

  1. On the Select Mailing Lists page, do the following:

    Use this

    To do this

    Mailing List

    Select a mailing list from the drop-down list or click Create New List to open the New List Wizard.

    For information about how to use the New List Wizard, see How to Create a New Direct Mail List.

    Exclude List

    Select the exclude list from the drop-down list. An exclude list contains a list of customers who have indicated they do not want to receive e-mail from you, or those to whom you do not want to send e-mail.

    Dd328660.alert_note(en-US,CS.90).gifNote:
    Commerce Server 2009 uses this list in addition to the global opt out list. Users on both lists will not receive direct mail items.

    Ignore global Opt-Out list

    Select this check box to ignore the global opt-out list. If you select this check box, the direct mail will potentially be delivered to recipients who do not want the e-mail.

    Test List

    Select a list of test subjects to whom to send the direct mail from the drop-down list.

    The default number of test subjects is 10.

    You can only test static lists.

  2. Click Next.

To specify the direct mail properties

  1. On the Direct Mail Properties page, do the following:

    Use this

    To do this

    Direct Mail Name

    Type a name for the direct mail.

    Description

    Type a description for the direct mail.

    From E-mail Address

    Type the e-mail address from which you want the e-mail to originate.

    Reply to E-mail Address

    Type the e-mail address to which you want any replies sent.

    Default Character Set

    Select the character set to use from the drop-down list or type the character set name that you want to use.

    Default Language

    Keep the default language, or click the ellipsis button […] to select another language from the Choose a Language dialog box.

    In the Choose a Language dialog box, in the Languages box, select the language you want, and then click OK.

    Message Subject

    Select a language from the Language drop-down list to specify the language of the message subject. Type a subject in the Subject box. You can select multiple languages and have multiple subjects, which enables you to create multilingual subjects.

    Message Body Source

    Type the absolute file path or URL for the direct mail.

    Mail Format

    Select the format in which to send this e-mail message from the drop-down list.

    Personalize Per User

    Select this check box to personalize the e-mail per user. Selecting this check box lets you use the profile information of the user to personalize the e-mail message.

  2. Click Next.

To specify the start and end dates/times and mailing interval

  1. On the Direct Mail Intervals page, do the following:

    Use this

    To do this

    Start Date

    Type the start date for the direct mail or select the date from the drop-down calendar.

    End Date

    Type the end date for the direct mail or select the date from the drop-down calendar.

    Start Time

    Select the start time.

    Mailing Interval

    Select the mailing interval from the drop-down list. The available intervals are as follows:

    • One time only. The mail is sent only one time on the Start Date.

    • Daily. You can specify on what days to send the direct mail in the Mailing Interval section by selecting Every and then typing a number for how frequently (by day) you want to send the direct mail item. For example, if you want to send the direct mail item once every five days, type 5. If you want to send the direct mail item every weekday, select Every weekday.

    • Weekly. The mail is sent on a weekly interval between the Start Date and the End Date specified. If you select Weekly, on the Direct Mail Intervals page, in the Mailing Interval section, in the Recur every box, type a number for how frequently (by week) you want to send the direct mail item. For example, if you want to send the direct mail item once every three weeks, type 3 in the Recur every box. Select the boxes for the weekday(s) that you want to send the direct mail item. For example, if you want to send the direct mail item on Friday, select Friday.

    • Monthly. The mail is sent on a monthly interval between the Start Date and End Date specified. If you select Monthly, on the Direct Mail Intervals page, in the Mailing Interval section, select Day and then type a number to indicate the date on which you want to send the direct mail item. If you want to send it every month, select Every Month. If you want to send it only during specific months, select the check boxes for those month(s). If you want to send it on a specific day of the week during a specific month or months, select First, Second, Third, Fourth, or Last from the drop-down list, select the day of the week from the next drop-down list, and then select a month(s).

  2. Click Next.

To add attachments to the direct mail

  1. On the Direct Mail Attachments page, in the Attachments box, type the absolute file path or URL for the attachment, and then click Add. To remove an attachment, select the attachment, and then click Remove.

  2. Click Next.

To review the direct mail properties and complete the wizard

  1. On the Direct Mail Summary page, review the direct mail properties in the Summary box. To make changes, click Back. To accept these property values and create the direct mail, click Create.

  2. On the Completing the New Direct Mail Wizard page, click Finish.

See Also

Other Resources

What is Direct Mail?

How to Schedule Direct Mail

How to Copy Direct Mail

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