Update: As of OS X 10.11 Public Beta 2, the compatibility issues described in this blog post have been resolved.
Today marks the beginning of Apple’s public beta for the next version of OS X: 10.11 “El Capitan”. In addition to the usual disclaimers that accompany beta-quality software, we want to point out to eager Direct Mail users that the current version of Direct Mail (4.1) is not compatible with the public beta of El Capitan (as of this writing). For our technically-inclined readers, beta 2 introduced a WebKit-related bug that is responsible for the crash. We have notified Apple of the issue (rdar://21690765) and hope they will have it resolved in an upcoming seed. In the unlikely case that the bug survives until the release of OS X 10.11, we have identified a workaround that will be ready in time.
Our recommendation is to not install the public beta of El Capitan on any Mac that you plan to use Direct Mail on—at least until we’ve confirmed that Apple has fixed the bug. As always, please contact our support team with any questions.
Alongside the Direct Mail 4.1 update, we are happy to announce today the release of our brand new API. For those who are asking themselves right now “what in the world is an API?”, a good answer is: a way for computer programs to talk to each other. An even better answer is: a powerful new way to integrate Direct Mail with many of the websites and services you use every day. The new API allows apps and websites full access to your Direct Mail project (with your permission, of course), including messages, mailing lists, campaign reports, and more. If you are a developer, you can get started right away building custom integrations with Direct Mail. If you are not a developer, we have an exciting announcement for you, too…
Integrate With Over 400 Apps and Websites
Included in our new API is support for the popular service Zapier. With Zapier, you can connect the apps you use to easily move data between them. It makes integrating and automating your workflow a snap. For example, you can automatically:
Add Salesforce contacts to your Direct Mail mailing list
Use Wufoo entries to create Direct Mail subscribers
Add PayPal customers to your Direct Mail mailing list
Add SurveyMonkey respondents to your Direct Mail mailing list
Post sent email campaigns to your LinkedIn feed
…and much more
To get started with Zapier, you’ll need to visit their website to create an account. Our integration with Zapier is still in beta, but if you want to get an early start, click this link to use our app with their service. Update: Our Zapier integration is now live and ready to go. We think you’ll love it!
Developer Details
You can find a complete API developer’s guide posted in the support section of our website. In short, though, the API is a web-based REST API that you can access from any programming language (or even just good old curl). We support several webhooks, as well. If you have been using our version 1 API, don’t worry, we will continue to support it going forward. It is, however, officially deprecated.
Direct Mail projects that have been moved to the cloud are fully accessible, including read and write support for messages, address groups, addresses, and reports. Changes made via the API are synced to the user’s Mac the next time they open Direct Mail.
We are excited to see kinds of integrations you build! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions or requests for features or integrations you’d like to see. For a long time, Direct Mail has supported integrations with top-notch OS X apps. We’re happy now to open the door to integrating with an entire universe of great web-based applications, too.
The latest update to Direct Mail is now available to all of our users, including App Store users. Normally we wouldn’t announce a “point release” with a blog post, but there are some really great performance and bug fixes included in this one that we’d love everyone to enjoy! If you haven’t already, here’s how to update:
Open Direct Mail
Choose Direct Mail > Check for Software Update from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
If you downloaded Direct Mail from the Mac App Store, just use the App Store app to grab the update. You can also just use the Download Now button in the top-right corner of this page.
As always, please contact our support team with any questions or concerns.
We’ve just published an important update to Direct Mail that addresses some critical bugs and brings welcome performance improvements, especially for users with larger mailing lists or extensive campaign report histories. Version 4.0.3 is available now for direct download users. If you already have Direct Mail installed on your Mac, here’s how to update:
Open Direct Mail
Choose Direct Mail > Check for Software Update from the menu bar at the top of your screen
If your copy of Direct Mail came from the Mac App Store, please be patient with us as we wait for Apple to approve the update you can update from inside the App Store app.
Thanks for all the wonderful feedback on Direct Mail 4 over the past month! If you have any comments or questions, please connect with our support team.
We are very pleased today to announce the launch of Direct Mail 4, a major upgrade to the best email campaign software for OS X. Powerful new cloud and collaboration features in Direct Mail 4 enable teams of all sizes (including teams of one!) to work together on email marketing campaigns, even offline. Time-saving automation features allow you to create email campaigns that run themselves based on flexible rules that you define. And an all-new user interface looks and feels great on OS X Yosemite. We couldn’t fit all the new goodness into just one blog post, so watch this space over the coming days and weeks as we highlight new features of Direct Mail 4 you might not have discovered yet!
Cloud Collaboration
Starting in Direct Mail 4, you can now store your email campaign projects in the cloud. This means that all your project data (like messages, mailing lists, campaign reports, etc.) is available from all your devices, even when you’re offline. Changes you make on your laptop at home sync instantly to your Mac at work. In addition, we make sure your data is always safe and backed up. For more information about how cloud syncing works, take a look at this feature page or help guide.
“Open from Cloud” allows you to open projects that you’ve saved in the cloud, or projects that have been shared with you.
For many of our users, planning an email campaign is a team effort. Direct Mail 4 makes it incredibly easy to share your project with other Direct Mail users. Project owners can easily control who has permission to view, edit or send their email campaigns.
Easily share your projects with other Direct Mail users. All you need to know is their email address.
Automation
Direct Mail 4 includes a powerful new automation feature called Autoresponders. Autoresponders allow you to design email campaigns that send themselves automatically in response to various events. For example, you can automatically send a welcome email to new subscribers, or create a drip campaign that sends a series of emails to your subscribers over a period of time. Send customers a Happy Birthday email once a year, or a special promotional offer when it’s time to renew. You can even trigger follow-up emails based on which links your subscribers click on. Keep your campaigns working, even when you’re not!
Create automated campaigns that send based on rules you set.
For more information about how autoresponders work, take a look at this feature page or help guide.
Fresh New Look
Direct Mail 4 takes advantage of great new visual effects in OS X Yosemite.
Direct Mail 4 looks fantastic on OS X Yosemite (and great on older versions, too). The beauty is not just skin deep, either. We’ve given careful thought to how best present the wealth of campaign report data that Direct Mail makes available. We hope you’ll find that every aspect of Direct Mail 4’s user interface is cleaner, more helpful, and easier to use.
Redesigned campaign report summaries show you the numbers that matter most.
That’s Not All, Folks!
If you’re in to the nitty gritty, feel free to read through the release notes. Other notable new features include a more powerful web-based API, a super useful subscriber activity window that shows the complete history of each person on your list, and Handoff integration with Stamps (our app for iOS). Watch this blog over the coming weeks as we highlight new and improved features in Direct Mail 4.
Direct Mail 4 is a free upgrade for current users, and a free download for anyone new to the app. We’re very happy to deliver great new features like cloud integration and automation, and look forward to hearing your feedback!
A note to Mac App Store customers: We appreciate your patience as we wait for Apple to finish reviewing the update. If you’d rather not wait, feel free to download Direct Mail directly from our website. You won’t lose access to any services or email credits previously purchased in the Mac App Store.
Update: Direct Mail 4 is now available in the Mac App Store!
