[UPHPU] Email Counter

[cole at colejoplin.com]

Hi,

Great comments on this so far. I find myself strangely, over-imformed  
on the subject. 1) I was the lead developer for ContentWatch's  
EmailProtect, a spam filter. 2) I have side work with  
AlwaysKeppInTouch.com, which is an email sending service that sends  
out real estate flyers to realtors.

First, someone responded, that's a good thing. But when you get an  
email, and you then don't know how to make an order, time to work on a  
better newsletter. Second, there's not really a php/database solution  
here that I can see.

What everyone said was true. Knowing that someone views an email,  
based on the email, is the safest when it's an image from your site.  
Then you can use server logs. Lots of people turn off images and  
preview, which kinda hurts. However, this is the best method for real  
views. But what really hurts is by using a web bug (tracks email/IP to  
the image view), which is way-super-badness! When Yahoo and AOL and  
the boys see that, you can quickly get your email server IP banned for  
all future mailings. So, I recommend you don't use tricks or play  
games. The wild west days of spam are over.

I would also recommend a landing page that you can relate to a  
particular email, so you can later see what emails are effective. In  
the email, you can have a GET, hopefully pushing something like a  
customer ID, and not the email address (which raises the spam filter's  
attention again). That again allows you to check the server logs on  
how many people, and who, actually went beyond the email.

I know of lots of businesses that send out email blasts. As long as  
the content doesn't look spammy, they get some kind of traffic as a  
result. If you don't notice some activity on your site, there may be  
something wrong. As one example, AOL will take emails, even if they  
aren't especially spammy. But when they get slammed with a few hundred  
of the same email in a hour, regardless of content, they will pull the  
plug on the rest of them.

Lastly, knowing the numbers on what got through and who clicked  
though, can get very depressing, depending on the listener. If you get  
a 1-3% response, you should jump for joy. Just giving a little  
perspective for the boss. ;)

-- Cole



Quoting Webot Graphics <graphics at westernbotanicals.com>:

> Is there a way to make an email counter using PHP (or anything else) to
> count (and possibly the ip address) when an email is viewed (without a
> database would be best)?
>
> Basically I work for a company that sends out a free email newsletter
> almost monthly to previous customers. 2 days ago we sent one out and we
> got back an email saying
>
> "Hi guys, it's nice to here from you. How do I place an order with you?"
>
> After reading  sitepoint's  "Do You Underestimate Your Users?" article,
> i feel i am not doing the greatest job with our newsletters, and I
> would like to be able to track views, button clicks, etc.
>
> Thank you
>
>
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