Using Your Documentation
The following documentation is included with Relatamail to help you effectively use the software.
User’s Manual
This manual offers information on how to use Relatamail. Please read this manual to understand how Relatamail works for registered users.
Contents of This Manual
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction |
2 |
Chapter 2 Using Relatamail |
3 |
2.1 Logging In |
3 |
2.2 Editing Your Profile |
4 |
2.3 Logging Out |
5 |
2.4 Creating Lists |
6 |
2.5 Editing List Attributes |
8 |
2.6 Adding Subscribers |
10 |
2.7 Uploading Subscriber Lists |
12 |
2.8 Searching for Subscribers |
14 |
2.9 Send Mail To |
16 |
2.9.1 Blast |
19 |
2.10 Viewing the Number of Click-Throughs |
20 |
2.11 List Statistics |
21 |
2.12 Undeliverable Subscribers |
22 |
Appendix |
|
Glossary |
23 |
Chapter 1
Introduction
Relatamail is the first component in a suite of open-source Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software tools, collectively known as Relata.
Relatamail is a complete industrial strength web-based email communications package with both user and administrative interfaces. Being web-based, the interface is a standard web browser.
The Relatamail source code is written in PHP (scripting language), HTML (hypertext markup language) and JavaScript (scripting language). JavaScript is used only for displaying pop-up windows and message boxes. The PHP is used for all Relatamail functionality and is embedded in the HTML. Why PHP? Stratabase.com believes in making their source code accessible to as broad an audience as possible. PHP has a rapidly growing developer base because of its ease of use and scalability. Relatamail is specifically built to function alongside some of the most widely used open-source applications such as MySQL, Apache, Linux, and Sendmail.
Relatamail allows distribution of mass customized email to thousands of recipients, supporting multiple lists, and offers automated web-based unsubscribe functionality and handling of undeliverable emails.
Relatamail includes a fully automated click-through tracking feature, and also provides AOL-friendly hyperlink formatting. The database integrated with Relatamail is MySQL, and the database structure provided is designed for enhanced scalability and data-capture.
Relatamail facilitates target marketing by allowing you to append marketing variables to destination URLs. This will allow for user-friendly communication using devices such as pre-filled forms that can ultimately strengthen relationships – all without the use of cookies.
Relatamail is free and released under the GNU General Public License.
We hope you enjoy Relatamail as much as we did creating it!
Chapter 2
Using Relatamail
This chapter of the manual explains how to use Relatamail and assumes that Relatamail has been successfully installed and configured. It is important that all registered users read this chapter to familiarize themselves with all that Relatamail has to offer.
2.1 Logging In
Upon accessing Relatamail, you will be presented with the above login screen.
Type in your login name and password and click ‘Submit’ to login. If you cannot log in, you have specified an incorrect login or password. If the problem persists, contact the Relatamail administrator who can reset your account. Should you wish to edit your profile, click ‘Edit Profile.’
2.2 Editing Your Profile
Should you want to edit your profile, you will be presented with the following pop-up window:
You can modify your first name, last name, email address, login name, and password from this window. Once you are done making changes click ‘Submit’ to save them.
Having successfully logged in, you will be presented with the following web page:
The above is the Main Relatamail Menu.
Note: If you are a newly registered Relatamail user, you will only see the ‘Create New List’ menu option. You must create at least one list before you can access the other menu options.
Pick one of the menu options by simply clicking on a link:
Each of these will be discussed in detail in the following sections of the manual.
2.3 Logging Out
Should you need to log out, simply click on the ‘logout’ link at the bottom of any web page. Should you need help, click on the ‘email admin’ link to contact the administrator.
Relatamail allows you to have only one open session. In the event that you login twice, without logging out after your first login, you will be presented with the above web page:
Simply click the ‘Force Logout’ button to logout and then login again.
2.4 Creating Lists
To create a new list, simply click on ‘Create New List’ from the main menu.
You will be presented with the following web page upon clicking ‘Create New List’:
A description of the fields on the form:
Form Field |
Description |
Name |
The name of the new list |
Description |
A brief description of what the list is for |
Source |
The original creator/provider of the list |
Once you are done filling out the form, click ‘Save.’ ‘Reset’ will clear the form and ‘Cancel’ will take you back to the Main Menu. Alternatively, click the ‘main menu’ link at the bottom of the web page to return to the Main Menu.
Here is a sample filled out form:
2.5 Editing List Attributes
Clicking on ‘Edit List Attributes’ on the Main Menu will bring you to the following web page:
Select the list that you would wish to edit the attributes for by clicking in the small circle to the right of the list you’d like to edit. Now click ‘Edit’ to edit the list attributes. You may edit the name, description, and source of the list.
You will be given an opportunity to edit the list attributes and then save the changes as shown in the following web page screenshot:
Once ‘Save Changes’ is clicked, it will return you to an updated listing of your lists under the ‘Edit List Attributes’ page. Click the ‘main menu’ link to return to the main menu once you are done editing lists.
2.6 Adding Subscribers
Upon clicking the ‘Add New Subscriber’ link from the Main Menu, you will be allowed to manually add new contacts and subscribe them to your existing lists. Just fill out the form shown below.
The following screenshot shows the top portion of the form:
The following web page screenshot displays the bottom portion of the form:
Ensure that the subscriber is subscribed to at least one list under: ‘Check to Subscribe’ and then click on ‘Add’ to add the subscriber to the selected list(s).
Click on the ‘main menu’ link, to return to the Main Menu.
2.7 Uploading Subscriber Lists
Upon clicking ‘Upload Subscriber List’ from the Main Menu, you will be given an opportunity to upload a text file of contacts or you may manually type in contacts you would like to add from a text file (copy/pasted to text area on form).
The following screenshot displays the ‘Upload Subscriber List’ web page:
Use the ‘Browse’ button to select a text file of new contacts and then click ‘Process File’ to add the contacts to the database. Alternatively, copy and paste the data into the ‘Contact Information’ text area and click ‘Process Contact Info’ to add the new contact to the database. The data fields must be comma delimited.
The following web page is generated after you click ‘Process File’ or ‘Process Contact Info’:
Based on the number and the type of data fields entered in the previous form (or uploaded via text file), you can choose from the list of column headings, a column name to correspond to each data field. You must also select one or more lists to subscribe the new contacts to.
Note: Please ensure that an email column heading/data field is included.
You may preview the table format of the uploaded data by clicking ‘Preview’.
Once you’re satisfied with the preview you can click ‘Upload’ to begin uploading.
Be sure to click the ‘email admin’ hyperlink if you run into any problems uploading your data.
2.8 Searching for Subscribers
The ‘Search Subscriber’ option on the Main Menu allows you to search for a particular subscriber using any combination of their email address, first name, and last name.
The following is a screenshot with fields on the form filled out:
Click ‘Search’ to begin searching for a particular subscriber. The email address is a unique identifier and should be used most often.
Below is the ‘Search Results’ screenshot:
Select a subscriber that you would like to edit by clicking in the small circle to the right of the shown subscriber. Then click ‘Edit’ to edit the subscriber’s particulars or alternatively, click ‘Subscribe’ or ‘Unsubscribe’ to subscribe or unsubscribe the selected subscriber to/from lists.
Click on the ‘main menu’ link to return to the Main Menu.
2.9 Send Mail To
The ‘Send Mail To’ menu option is used to send out an email message to multiple list recipients (also referred to as an email campaign, a bulk email send out or a blast).
Select the list you would like to send your email message to by selecting the list and then clicking ‘Proceed.’
Upon clicking ‘Proceed’ you will be presented with the following web page:
This is the form in which you will create your email message. Shown above is the top portion of the form.
Please read the following.
AOL Recipient Aware: Click this if any of the lists that you are sending to contain AOL recipients. Any embedded URLs for AOL email recipients must be specially formatted.
Additional Variable: Use this to append an additional marketing variable to the end of the destination URL. You can use this feature to pre-fill a form for the recipient. You can only select one of the marketing variables from the list provided.
<destination site> Use this tag in your email message instead of manually typing in the destination URL. It will be eventually replaced by an intermediate URL in the actual email message. The intermediate URL will intercept the recipient’s click, record the event in the database and then redirect the recipient to the actual destination site.
<unsubscribe url> Use this tag in your email message instead of manually typing in the unsubscribe prompt and the unsubscribe URL. It will be eventually replaced by the ‘unsubscribe prompt’ and an intermediate URL in the actual email message. The intermediate URL will intercept the recipient’s click and then redirect the recipient to the actual unsubscribe site.
Below is a screenshot of the bottom portion of the above form:
There are six options at the bottom of the form, namely: Preview, AOLPreview, Send Test Email, Blast, Reset, and Cancel.
Button |
Description |
Preview |
preview how the message will look before you send it |
AOL Preview |
preview how the message will look before you send it to AOL recipients |
Send Test Email |
send a sample email to a specified email recipient |
Blast |
send the message to the selected recipient lists |
Reset |
reset all form values |
Cancel |
return to the ‘Select List Recipient List’ form |
We will look at the ‘Blast’ option in detail.
2.9.1 Blast
Upon clicking ‘Blast’ you will be presented with the following web page:
Click ‘Send Out’ to begin the Email Campaign (blast) or click ‘Cancel’ to return to the previous page.
When ‘Send Out’ is clicked, all data is written to a database and a blast queue is updated. Your Relatamail administrator will authorize and execute the blast.
Although the administrator will know that you have a blast ready to be sent out, you can click the ‘email admin’ link to email the administrator and notify him/her that your blast is ready to be sent out. The Relatamail administrator will also be able to email you to let you know when your blast was started and when it finished.
The speed at which emails will be sent will depend on the server hardware and also on the mail server. Relatamail has been developed using Sendmail 8.8.x and can currently send out approximately 3000 emails per hour. Future updates of Relatamail, will of course, strive to send out emails much faster.
2.10 Viewing the Number of Click Throughs
The ‘Report Click-Throughs’ menu option will allow you to view the number of subscribers that have clicked on the intermediate URL hyperlink, embedded in your email message, to view the actual destination site.
The above email message was sent to one user, as per the previous screenshot shows. The email has been sent to the recipient, however the recipient has not clicked on the embedded URL hyperlink in the message.
Click on the ‘main menu’ link to return to the Main Menu or click the ‘logout’ link to logout.
2.11 List Statistics
The ‘Report List Statistics’ menu option allows you to view the number of subscribers and unsubscribers for each one of your lists.
The above screenshot shows that the first list has only one subscriber.
Click the ‘main menu’ link to return to the ‘Main Menu’ and click the ‘logout’ link to logout.
2.12 Undeliverable Subscribers
The ‘Report Undeliverable Subscribers’ menu option on the Main Menu allows you to see the name and the email of a subscriber that could not be reached by email server. Typical reasons that the subscriber could not be contacted include: the subscriber registered with a different ISP, the ISP’s email server was dysfunctional at the time of the blast, or there was a spelling error in the email address. The undeliverable count shows the number of times the particular subscriber was marked as ‘undeliverable’.
You may edit the subscriber’s email address in an effort to correct any spelling mistakes. If any email address editing is done, the ‘Undeliverable Count’ will be reset to zero.
Click the ‘main menu’ link to return to the ‘Main Menu’.
The Relatamail user tour ends here. Don’t forget to logout once you’re done using Relatamail.
Thank you
APPENDIX
Glossary
Term |
Definition |
AOL |
America Online. A national internet service provider (ISP) who offers their customers a special interface that must be used in order to use their services which include email |
Blast |
See email campaign |
Click-Through |
Term used to describe the event in which a user clicks on an email message URL embedded in the email as a hyperlink |
Database |
A logical entity that stores vast amounts of data on a physical device such as a hard drive |
Email campaign |
Term used to describe the mechanism used to send email messages to all subscribers of a list |
ISP |
An acronym for Internet Service Provider. Provides Internet service to residents of a municipality at a fixed or variable monthly cost |
Open-source |
Term used to refer to projects released under the General Public License (GPL) that come with source code. They are freely available and may be modifiable in respect to the terms laid out in the GPL. |
Redirect |
Term used to refer to the process involving an automatic transfer to another web page. |
Sendmail |
An open-source email server that is used by Relatamail. You may download it from |
|
|
Server |
A logical entity running on a computer that serves or stores data and/or application software for users |
Variable |
A logical entity that stores data, usually temporarily |