Apple recently released the first public beta of macOS Sequoia. Like all beta software, it has some bugs in it that can affect the apps you rely on. In this case, we have found (and reported) a critical bug in macOS Sequoia that affects Direct Mail, causing emails to be formatted incorrectly. Our advice is to not install the public beta until we have confirmed that Apple has fixed the bug. Please watch this blog and/or our social media feeds for that news.
If you have access to Apple’s Feedback Assistant app, please help us draw more attention to the issue by filing additional bug reports. The relevant information is as follows:
Title: [Regression] -[DOMDocument getMatchedCSSRules:…] is broken when pseudoElement is null/empty
Platform: macOS
Technology: WebKit
Type: Incorrect/Unexpected Behavior
Build: macOS 15 Seed 4 (24A5289h)
Occurs: On Device
Involves: WebKit API
Description: Please see bug ID FB14343249 for full details.
We look forward to the next public beta of macOS Sequoia and the final release in the Fall. Direct Mail will be ready and fully compatible!
We recently notified our customers by email of upcoming policy changes from Google and Yahoo that may impact their email campaigns. This blog post is an adaptation of that email.
Google and Yahoo recently announced new email security requirements that go into effect next month. Because they are two of the largest mailbox providers, their new requirements affect all email service providers, including Direct Mail. Here is what is changing:
Sending campaigns from a “free” email address (like @gmail.com) is no longer allowed. Starting in February, if you send using one of these free email addresses, Direct Mail will automatically change the From Email address for you (to an email address ending in “@via.directmailapp.com”). Don’t worry, replies to your campaign will still go to your email address, and the From Name will not change, so your recipients will know it’s you.
You may wish to consider purchasing your own, branded domain name instead of continuing to use a free email address.
Sending campaigns from your own, branded email address (like @mybusiness.com) now requires that you enable email authentication. You can learn how to enable email authentication here. Starting in February, if you send without email authentication turned on, Direct Mail will automatically change the From Email address for you (to an email address ending in “@via.directmailapp.com”). Don’t worry, replies to your campaign will still go to your email address, and the From Name will not change, so your recipients will know it’s you.
If you have questions about these new requirements, would like help setting up email authentication, or would like us to do it for you, please contact our support team. We are happy to help.
Are there other requirements?
Yes. Emails to your list must include an unsubscribe link and spam complaint rates must be below a strict threshold. For users of Direct Mail, these are not new requirements, but it is a good reminder to double-check that your unsubscribe link is easy to find and that your mailing list meets our opt-in requirements. There are additional technical requirements that Direct Mail already takes care of for you.
It’s that time of year again! The latest upgrade to macOS is out today: macOS 14 Sonoma. If you plan to upgrade, rest assured that Direct Mail is fully compatible. For the best experience, make sure that you are running the latest version of Direct Mail (6.1). If needed, you can upgrade by choosing “Direct Mail > Check for Software Update” from the menu bar. If you downloaded Direct Mail from the Mac App Store, you can check the “Updates” tab in the App Store app.
If you have any questions, or run into any issues, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our customer support team!
Microsoft recently released an update to Outlook for iOS that changes how some emails are rendered. Unfortunately, that change broke many of the “responsive” layouts that you are able to build with Direct Mail. If you’ve noticed that your emails are looking strange in Outlook for iOS, now you know why.
The good news is that we just released a software update to work around the Outlook issue. If you update to Direct Mail version 6.0.9, any new emails you send will look as they should.
You can update right away by opening Direct Mail and choosing “Direct Mail > Check for Software Update” from the menu bar at the top of your screen. If you downloaded Direct Mail from the Mac App Store, you can obtain the update from the App Store. Alternately, you can wait for Direct Mail to update itself, which should happen automatically the next time you launch the app.
If you have any questions, concerns, or feedback, we’d love to hear from you!
Color plays a crucial role in marketing. It’s often the first thing people think of when your brand comes to mind, and is the first thing they see when interacting with your brand. Your email marketing should work to reinforce your brand’s colors—and Direct Mail makes doing so super easy.
Our template library features a wide variety of color schemes. But did you know that Direct Mail can automatically generate a color scheme for your email that matches and emphasizes your brand’s colors? Here’s how to give it a try:
Select your message
Click the “Colors & Fonts” button
Click the “Colors” pop-up menu at the top
Choose “Create Color Scheme from Image…”
Choose an image file that contains your brand’s logo and click “Open”. Direct Mail will instantly analyze the image and generate a color scheme using the colors found in your logo. You can tweak the results in the “Colors and Fonts” panel or, if you don’t like it, choose “Edit > Undo Change Color Scheme” from the menu bar.
Colors are a great brand identifier and can help you cultivate emotional connections with your customers. Use Direct Mail’s color scheme generator to quickly and easily turn a generic looking email into a powerful tool for brand awareness.
