I am in the process of having a website developed that will allow users (sellers) to list property (think real estate but it’s not that) for sale, and then another user (buyers) can come in and view listings, submit offers, etc. This is my first true website so I’m confused on how e-mail works through the website. I need the following:
For Sellers:
When they create a listing an automatic e-mail will be sent to them
Automatic updates about their listings
General monthly newsletter type e-mail for sellers
For buyers:
E-mails to individuals buyers who have set up an “alert” about certain listing types being available
General monthly newsletter type e-mails for buyers
I would also like the ability to set up custom “Groups” and e-mail those groups with specific messages.
My question is this: Is this all something done outside of the website? Is part of this automated through the website back end? Would services like campaigner, icontact, etc be something that would be useful for me?
[FONT=verdana]In general, it is the back end process that it is responsible for sending the email. The actual method will depend on which platform you are using to develop the site, as different back-end languages take different approaches.
For example, in PHP, there is mail() function that sends a message to one or more recipient. If you search for something like “PHP email script”, you will probably find some examples of how to use it.
Once you know how to send a message, it should be relatively easy to manage the process. You would need to maintain lists of buyers and sellers, with a note of what alerts each one has set up, plus a way of organising them into groups. Again, those are all tasks that the back end process should handle.
Regarding third-party services likke Campaigner and Icontac, I would think they would be overkill. Given that you are going to trouble of having a website developed for you, it is not mucn extra effort to add the mail functions you have described.
Usually the e-mail management is done as a back end process. You could sign up with any of the e-mail marketing services such as getresponse or active campaign which can help manage all the email response activities. e-campaigner is also a similar service which manages the email marketing part. hope this helps you!