You’ve spent all day perfecting your latest holiday email marketing campaign. The copy is perfect, the subject line irresistible. Now all that’s left is waking up at 4 AM to send it so that your subscribers across the country see it first thing in the morning. Wait, what?
Of course you don’t want to wake up early just to send an email. With Direct Mail, you don’t have to!
Scheduling your campaigns
You can schedule your campaign to send at any date and time, even if Direct Mail is closed or your computer is turned off when that time arrives. Here’s how:
Click the send button in the toolbar
Click the “Schedule” popup menu and select “Schedule for Later”
Choose the date and time you want your campaign sent
Click the Send button
After you click Send, Direct Mail will queue up your campaign to send at the time you specified. If you switch over to the Report tab, you’ll see your campaign waiting to send.
FAQ
What if I change my mind and want to cancel or reschedule?
No problem. In the Reports tab, just click the “Cancel Delivery” or “Reschedule Delivery” buttons.
What if someone subscribes to or unsubscribes from my mailing list before the campaign is sent?
If someone unsubscribes in between the time that you queue up the campaign and the delivery date, Direct Mail will automatically skip them when the campaign is sent.
If someone new subscribes to your list in between the time that you queue up the campaign and the delivery date, they will not receive the campaign (but will still be added to your list for the next campaign). For this reason, it’s best to not schedule campaigns too far in advance, especially if you are expecting a bunch of new subscribers.
Our latest update to Direct Mail includes expanded authentication options for customers sending email via their own company servers, as well as a number of bug fixes for all users, especially those running the latest version of macOS.
Expanded authentication options
Some of our customers use Direct Mail to send internal communications, or other email that needs to be sent via their company servers (as opposed to being sent via our built-in e3 Delivery Service). In the past, these customers would input their server and authentication details (including usernames and passwords) directly into Direct Mail. However, some companies are now opting for newer, more secure, forms of authentication that do not require the user to enter their password into a third-party application. This latest update to Direct Mail supports these modern authentication methods for Google G Suite, Microsoft Exchange, and Microsoft Office 365 accounts.
Bug fixes and additional improvements
This latest update also includes a number of fixes for user interface issues that were affecting users running macOS 10.15 Catalina, as well as more general improvements.
If you use Direct Mail alongside the Daylite app (a popular customer relationship management app for the Mac), you may be interested in trying out our preliminary support for syncing bounce information back to Daylite. Please contact our customer support for details.
How to update
If you downloaded Direct Mail from our website, then your copy of Direct Mail is most likely already up-to-date (you can choose “Direct Mail > Check for Software Update” from the menu bar at the top of your screen to be sure). If you downloaded Direct Mail from the Mac App Store, then your copy of Direct Mail should update automatically update within a few days.
Our latest update to Direct Mail, version 5.7, is now available, and it includes some great new improvements that we’re excited to share with you. This release features several new template designs, full support for Apple’s forthcoming macOS 10.15 Catalina, faster cloud performance, improved undo and redo support, and new enterprise options.
New template designs
Direct Mail 5.7 introduces several new templates designs that work great for a variety of occasions. As we approach the holiday season, you may want to take a look the “Glimmer”, “Merry Pines”, and “Slopes” templates for inspiration. The new “Quattro” and “Silicon” templates are great for showing off new products and services to your fan base. You can find these new templates by opening Direct Mail and clicking the “Choose Template” button (in the Messages tab).
Ready for macOS 10.15 Catalina
Direct Mail is fully compatible with the new version of macOS coming out later this month. We recommend updating Direct Mail (and making sure you have a good backup of all your files) before you begin the macOS update process.
Faster cloud syncing
Direct Mail’s built-in cloud sync feature lets you access your data from any device, as well as collaboratively edit your messages, mailing lists, and more. In this month’s update, we are taking advantage of some network routing improvements to bring you even faster uploads and downloads, especially for our customers located outside of the United States. You should notice that changes sync across your devices a bit faster now. Of course, results may vary depending on your connection to the internet.
Improved undo and redo
You may have noticed that, in the past, it was possible to find yourself in a state where Direct Mail was no longer able to correctly undo or redo some edits you had made to your message—which could be a very frustrating experience. In this update, we have improved our undo and redo support so that you will always be able to edit with confidence, knowing the changes you make can be undone or re-done at any time.
Enterprise-level features
Direct Mail 5.7 introduces a number of new features designed to meet the needs of our customers in larger companies, including:
Support for single sign-on (SSO). Sign in to your Direct Mail account using your company’s existing SSO provider, instead of using a separate email and password.
Microsoft Exchange and Office 365 integration. Send emails using your company’s existing Exchange or Office 365 infrastructure. Import contacts from your company’s distribution groups.
G Suite integration. Send email using your company’s existing G Suite account.
Template sharing. Create and share templates via the cloud with everyone in your organization.
Policy enforcement. Manage settings that apply to all users in your organization (e.g. disabling unsubscribe links).
Please get in touch with our support team if you are interested in more information or a demo.
How to update
Direct Mail 5.7 is a free update for all users. For most users, the update will be downloaded and installed automatically the next time you open Direct Mail. If you want, you can update immediately by choosing “Direct Mail > Check for Software Update” from the menu bar at the top of your screen.
Customers who downloaded Direct Mail from the Mac App Store will need just a bit more patience, as we wait for Apple to approve and distribute the update.
Apple recently released their latest and greatest updates for the iPhone and iPad. Stamps, our mobile companion app to Direct Mail, is fully compatible and ready to take advantage of some of the great new features introduced in iOS 13 and iPadOS. Here’s a quick look at what’s new…
Dark Mode
One of the most striking new features is Dark Mode. Stamps looks great in this new dark theme, which has been integrated throughout the app. To use dark mode, you’ll need to turn it on system-wide in the Settings app. Tip: Did you know that you can set your device to automatically switch to Dark Mode in the evenings? Check out Settings > Display & Brightness > Automatic.
Context Menus
This power-user feature used to be available only on devices with 3D Touch, but iOS 13 and iPadOS bring it to everyone. Simply long-press on any row of data or message thumbnail to bring up a menu of shortcuts.
Multi-window on iPadOS
Starting this year, the version of iOS that runs on iPad has been re-branded “iPadOS” and enhanced with extra features exclusive to iPad. One of those new features is the ability for one app to have multiple windows of information on the screen at the same time. Stamps fully supports this feature, letting you do things like compare two campaign reports side-by-side. We’re looking forward to the increased productivity that this feature will unlock.
Drag and Drop
Drag and drop is another iPadOS feature that we have integrated throughout our app. You can drag items like email addresses, URLs, subscribe forms and more. These items can be dropped into email messages, the Notes app, new Safari windows, and other apps that support this technology.
We hope you enjoy the enhancements we have made to Stamps to make it a top-notch experience on iOS 13 and iPadOS. We look forward to sharing with you more Stamps updates in the future!
Here’s a quick update on what’s new, plus a sneak peek at some exciting improvements coming soon to a screen near you…
Direct Mail 5.6.2
Today we released Direct Mail version 5.6.2, and are encouraging all of our users to update. This release focuses primarily on bug fixes and under-the-hood improvements, but we made sure to sneak in a couple new features, as well.
We’ve added an easy way to share your great email content across popular social media platforms. You can now post your campaigns to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest via the “Share” menu in the toolbar.
Our Google Sheets integration has been updated to be more secure and easier to use. Direct Mail will now sign you in to your Google account via your web browser (e.g. Safari, Chrome, Firefox, etc.) instead of asking you for your password.
This update will automatically roll out to your Mac over the next few days. If you want it right away, just choose “Direct Mail > Check for Software Update” from the menu bar at the top of your screen. Customers who downloaded Direct Mail from the Mac App Store will need just a tad more patience as we wait for Apple to approve the update.
A sneak peek at what’s next
We wanted to share with you a glimpse of some of the improvements in the pipeline for both Direct Mail and Stamps.
Direct Mail’s built-in template gallery is expanding! You will soon get access to several new custom designs, perfect for the holidays, events, promotions, and more. We can’t wait to share these with you.
Stamps, our companion app for iOS, is gaining support for new iOS 13 features announced earlier this month at Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference. Stamps look great in Dark Mode, and support for new iPadOS features like multi-window, drag and drop, and context menus will enhance your productivity.
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