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. The e-mail you create can be personalized using Active Server Pages (ASP), or it can be a static file. You can use the List Manager module to import e-mail addresses from a flat file or 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 choice 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. |