creating standards-based electronic communications • html e-mail • online newsletters
DESCRIPTION
Creating Standards-based Electronic Communications • HTML e-mail • Online newsletters. University Publishing Web Services February 20, 2009. What I hope you will take away from this session today. You will understand the services offered by UP to help you create electronic communications. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Creating Standards-based Electronic Communications
• HTML e-mail• Online newsletters
University Publishing Web Services
February 20, 2009
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What I hope you will take away from this session today
• You will understand the services offered by UP to help you create electronic communications.
• You will understand the options, costs and timeframes associated with HTML e-mail creation and delivery.
• You will understand the options, costs and timeframes associated with creating an online newsletter.
• Template resources.
• Inspiration.
University Publishing Web Services
• Build a standards-compliant HTML e-mail message.
• Develop interactive components as needed.
• Test your message in a wide variety of e-mail clients.
• Deliver your message to an address list.
• Measure the effectiveness of your message.
• Choose from several online newsletter options.
We offer a full service HTML e-mail and online newsletter development program in support of WSU’s internal e-communications policy.
Standards-compliant e-mail
If your e-mail is not standards-compliant it will end up as junk or get tagged as SPAM.
• Use tables to control the layout of your e-mail.
• Insert descriptive HTML text above the first image.
• Provide an unsubscribe link.
• Provide Alt text for all images.
• Provide a street address and phone number in the footer.
Here are the basic rules we follow to avoid this problem:
Wikipedia is a good source for info on CAN-SPAM
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Program an interactive component
• RSVP component
• Add to Calendar component
• Notify Me component
• Send to a Friend component
Interactive features make the experience richer.
A good example of interactivity is in the CUB Grand Reopening e-mail
These features are only available on the Web as you can’t embed executable code into an e-mail.
Test, test and test some more...
• Test groups view emails in both machine-side and web-side mail clients.
• Machine-side clients include Outlook, Entourage, Mac Mail, Eudora, AOL.
• Web-side clients include hotmail, gmail, yahoomail, Outlook Web Access.
E-mail client testing ensures a quality presentation of your message.
HTML e-mails require special delivery
• We use an open-source e-mail/newsletter fulfillment manager called phplist.
• phplist provides metrics, manages subscriptions, and stores e-mail lists.
• We are working closely with IT to help streamline the delivery of internal e-mail via the Mailman system.
• We also provide a link to your e-mail on the Web so people who wish to view it in their browser may do so.
Copying and pasting complex HTML into a blank e-mail in Outlook and sending it will not produce consistent results.
Preparing to measure your success
•Setting Goals
•Open rates
•Click-throughs
•Google Analytics
•Examine ROI
You’re going to get results almost immediately so right away you can start seeing what people are doing once they receive your e-mail.
Online newsletters
At UP we offer several online newsletter program options. They are all created in our content manager. There are several different scenarios. Here are some examples:
•The Chronicle
•Play magazine
•MOA NOW
•EdNews
Other examples of HTML e-mails
• President’s State of the University Address
• Memo from President Floyd
• Holiday Message from VP Michael Tate
• WSU Foundation appeal
Estimated Costs
• Scrub your email list: $15
• Original e-mail design & testing: $200-$500 turn time 2-4 days
• Existing e-mail updates: $65-$130turn time 1-3 days
• UP CMS Newsletter templates: $500-$1000 turn time 7-21 days depending on specs
• Template updates $130-$500turn time 5-7 days
• Non-UP CMS newsletter templatescosts determined only after consultation
Support for e-Communications
• Communications plan consultation. Contact your current print publications coordinator to set up a meeting to discuss your needs.
• Assistance in choosing the right media mix for your message - e-mail, Web, video, print.
• Cross-training UP print design staff in order to keep up with demand.
• Offering templates as a way to save money and time.
• All of our Web applications and Web sites are hosted on servers maintained by UP and IT technical staff.
“All Electronic” Internal Communications Policy
• Executive Communications
• WSU Today – Daily Updates
• WSU Announcements
• Text Only or HTML Emails to various Mailman lists
• Electronic Tools Web Page
For more info
• Visit our Web site and you’ll see a headline with a link pointing you to a page with an in-depth look at our operation and more examples of our work.
• Visit Our Story to learn more bit about how we arrived at this point and what gives us strength as a service center.
• Follow our Twitter account for updates on products and services.
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OK. So, how did I do?
• Do you understand the services offered by UP to help you create electronic communications?
• Do you understand the options, costs and timeframes associated with HTML e-mail creation and delivery?
• Do you understand the options, costs and timeframes associated with creating an online newsletter?
• Do you know where to go to get template resources?
• Did you find some Inspiration?
Questions?