Building emails
In today’s email environment you have many more choices with regards to email setup, than just considering whether or not the email will have an attachment.
Firstly, there are many more document types being sent via email, not just Marketing messages.
The variety of document/message types make your building selections a little more complex. As a result, you need to consider the following:
- Batch or Real time – Does you message need to reach the recipient in the next 30 seconds (password reset email) or can it wait until tonight’s batch run (Statements) and still reach the recipient before the paper version?
- Type of message/document – Marketing, transactional message or secure document? Each message type has unique requirements
- Attachment – Attachments come in all sizes and shapes. Simple PDF’s, enhanced PDF with payment forms and even mini-websites that are interactive.
- Security – Not only can the attachment format differ, but the type of security required should also match the content. It is important to have a suite of security options to match the client needs and customer capabilities.
Tesing emails
Does the email look good and do the links work? Yes, send – done!
No, No! That is not how it works, there are several test that need to be performed to make sure you have created an email that will not only land up in the inbox, but also be valuable to your customers.
- There is a checklist for everything –
- Email design and usability
- Email template standards
- Secure coding best practises – you don’t want that email web form used to hack your database.
- Mobile
- Deliverability and authentication tests
- Content / spam checks
- AB tests – a combination of automated tests and manual tests are used.
Keep an eye on your inbox for Part 4 – Email Security. You can also follow Linda on her social profiles:
Improve the customer experience with secure document delivery today
Linda Misauer
Vice President, Global Solutions at Striata, a Doxim company.
Linda Misauer is the Head of Global Solutions at Striata and is responsible for technical Research and Development, Operations and Project Management for global initiatives.
Linda previously led the Product Management of the Striata Application Platform before moving across to Striata North America as Chief Technical Officer (CTO). As Product Manager, her responsibilities included internal project management of the product development team, market research & product feature design, as well as the product lifecycle management and quality control. As CTO, Linda was responsible for all technical operations for North, Central and South America, including the Project Management, Support, Production and Data Engineering.
Linda has over 10 years of experience in the IT industry, ranging from video streaming solutions and website application development to electronic billing and messaging. Prior to joining Striata in 2002, Linda held the positions of Chief Information Officer at AfriCam, and was IT project manager at Dimension Data.
Linda studied at the University of Natal – Pietermaritzburg and holds a degree in BSc, Majoring in Computer Science and Economics. Linda also has a Diploma in Project Management.
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