‘Tips’ Articles

When using your Admail Email Builder Templates with Images – IE 8′s default security setting will ask you “Do you want to view only the webpage content that was delivered securely” and the answer is “No”. If you say yes the unsecured Images in your Template  (photos, logos, etc) will not load and you will find yourself stuck!  See sample screen shot below.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 just say No to security warning!

1. Does my subject line entice readers to open?
   They are the most important 8-10 words in your campaign. Make sure yours is a clear, concise introduction that entices your readers to take a look inside.
2. Am I making the most of the preview pane?
   At first glance, many of your recipients will just see the first few inches of your campaign, so make your point and your brand standout, also assume they may not see your graphics USE TEXT!
3. Is my email easy on the eyes?
   With simple, intentional font and style choices, you’ll help grab and keep your readers’ attention.
4. Does the message come through, even if the images don’t?
   Since many email clients don’t automatically display images, balancing yours with text will help you make your point in any display possibility.
5. Does this email have a personal touch?
   Whether it’s with a personalized greeting, warm tone, or specialized content, make sure your email feels like a conversation with people who know you, not a blinding “blast”.
6. Does my email need to be gender specific?
   Fact: Women read, men scan bullets & images – the List Builder “Signup Form” lets you ask and Email Builder “Target Filters” help you target your audience – it only takes a few seconds to ask. For help contact Customer Service.

One question I often hear from clients is “Does text email work?” and invariably I tell them “Text is King.” Why do I say this? Text emails are less likely to be BLOCKED and if the content of the email is important to the recipient it can be just as effective–sometimes even more!

The following is a well thought-out example of a text email newsletter and its layout can be used as guide for non-technical applications as well. The top section summarizes the information covered in the email newsletter. Then the  body offers excerpts and highlights with a link to a more in depth story posted on a website.  There are advantages to leting your website do the heavy lifting, especially with rich media and critical placement of content. In addition to having  more control, articles on your website can prove to be valuable for increasing search engine traffic.

MySQL Newsletter
February 2008
newsletter@mysql.com

Articles in this newsletter:

Highlights:
- Letter from Mårten Mickos, SVP, Database Group, and Rich Green, EVP, Software, Sun Microsystems
- Letter from Jonathan Schwartz, CEO & President, Sun Microsystems
- Press Release: Sun Microsystems Announces Completion of MySQL Acquisition
- MySQL and Sun World Tour
- MySQL and Sun Community Townhall
- Gartner News: Analysis on MySQL Acquisition
- MySQL Conference and Expo 2008 – Register Now
- White Paper: MySQL Enterprise for Managed Hosting & SaaS Providers
- Case Study: Alstom Selects MySQL as a Database Standard for Power Plant Monitoring
- MySQL Jobs

New Product Releases:
- New Release of MySQL Community Server 5.1.23 (Release Candidate)
- New Release of MySQL Community Server 5.0.51a (GA)
- New Release of MySQL Workbench 5.0.14 (Beta)

Hints & Tips:
- Article: A Q&A Session with Mårten Mickos about the Sun Acquisition
- Article: MySQL Information Schema Plugins: the best kept secret of MySQL 5.1
- Article: Reporting MySQL Internals with Information Schema plug-ins
- PlanetMySQL Blog Posts
- PlanetMySQL Blog: Using Events to Manage Table Partitioning by Date: Wrap-up
- PlanetMySQL Blog: PlanetMySQL Blog: Spring cleaning in MySQL supported platforms
- PlanetMySQL Blog: MySQL Cluster Features – What They Are, What They Do
- PlanetMySQL Blog: Analyze This

Events:
- Live Webinar: MySQL Guide to Choosing an Embedded Relational Database (EMEA)
- Live Webinar: MySQL Crazy Data Formats and Multiple Data Sources? Taming Your Messy Mashups

Training, Consulting & Certification:
- Consulting: MySQL Architecture & Design (2+ Days)
- Training: MySQL Performance Tuning (4 Days)

Sun & MySQL Privacy Policy Notice

Highlights

Letter from Mårten Mickos, SVP, Database Group, and Rich Green, EVP, Software, Sun Microsystems

Today, MySQL proudly joins forces with Sun Microsystems, the leading provider of platforms for the Web economy and the largest commercial open source contributor. We thank you – our customers, developers and community members – for your trust and continued support. Our commitment to you is that MySQL will continue to be a leader in the open source community and now, as a part of Sun, we will provide a new level of innovation, service and support.

Read the Letter:

http://mysql.com/news-and-events/sun/marten_mickos.html

Letter from Jonathan Schwartz, CEO & President, Sun Microsystems

Today is a big day for Sun and the MySQL community. We have closed our acquisition of MySQL AB and proudly join forces with this open source icon and the company behind the world’s most popular open source database. Sun already is the leading provider of platforms for the Web economy and the largest commercial open source contributor. As of today, Sun also is a formidable player in the $15 billion database market. We thank you – our joint customers, developers and community members – for making this possible.

Read the Letter:

http://mysql.com/news-and-events/sun/jonathan_schwartz.html

Press Release: Sun Microsystems Announces Completion of MySQL Acquisition

Sun Microsystems, Inc. today announced it has completed the acquisition of MySQL AB, developer of the world’s most popular open source database, for approximately $1 billion in total consideration. Sun also unveiled the immediate availability of MySQL’s complete portfolio of products and enterprise services backed by its 17,000-strong global sales and services organization and its extensive international network of authorized distribution channels. Sun now provides a single, secure choice for customers and developers seeking to put MySQL into deployment on a global basis.

Read the Press Release:

http://mysql.com/news-and-events/sun/

MySQL and Sun World Tour
February – April

We see more and more clients using text again. Since many email programs block images, this is not surprising! If you do not have the time and resources to develop a well planned HTML layout so your email looks professional, both with and without images, it can make you look bad. Text emails are a simple alternative that allow you to focus on your content and what you have to offer.

Did you notice? We launched the final two features of our new Interest Groups page! While they’re much more subtle than the sweeping revisions we made earlier, these updates will please all of our power users. Without further ado, let me introduce them to you:

Segmentation

Ever wanted to mail a portion of your list before a final launch? The idea of sending a sample mailing to a portion of your list comes from Direct Mail and it can be useful in the world of email marketing. Now you can create a random segment of any of your Interest Groups at any time.

You create a segment just like you create a regular Interest Group: click the Create Interest Group link in the yellow action box and provide a name. Now, click advanced options then select the checkbox labeled “From a segment of another Interest Group.” You should now see something like this–

Select the Interest Group you want a segment of and what percentage the segment should consist of. Click ok and you’re done.

Segments will always be displayed below their ‘parent’ Interest Group, but they do take up one of your available Interest Groups. You can create multiple segments of one Interest Group, and there will be no overlap of list members. You can delete segments individually, but when you delete a parent, all segments will also be deleted. You can keep creating more until you run out of members in the group, or available Interest Groups! (more…)

Don’t be intimidated by Search Engine Optimization (SEO); there are a lot of tools to guide you through the process.

Search engines organize and prioritize over 5.5 billion web pages that compete for the internet users’ attention. The focus is certainly on providing a much richer end searcher experience. The site with unique content, that’s easy to use, with good navigational elements will get high quality links. If users can complete the desired task; add to cart, enroll in class, subscribe to newsletter, etc., they will be satisfied and come back.

Companies need a website that is rich in keywords and phrases. These keywords and phrases get people to your site, by means of search engines that find your keywords. SEO leverages Search Engines’ desire to display most relevant pages that match users’ target keywords. Research also shows 26% of searchers use two word searches, followed by 23% using one word and 21% three word search. The following sites can help you determine your industries keywords and phrases, with up to date research. (more…)