A: With this benefit, ISSSP allows affiliate participants to market their products through email to ISSSP's database of Six Sigma professionals, practitioners, and leaders. View an example.
A: Direct email is a benefit available only to ISSSP's affiliate members. The number of of direct emails allowed varies depending on your level of sponsorship. Additional mailings can be purchased at a fee. Direct email distribution is a schedule and audience sensitive process. ISSSP limits the frequency in which our contacts receive information from ISSSP. Distribution dates will be determined in campaign planning or by submitting the direct email submission interest form.
A: ISSSP is first and foremost a membership society, and we treat our contact database with respect. When we send an affiliate member's direct emal, we require it to be informative and written with a high degree of ethics. In particular, these practices are prohibited
- Inaccurate or misrepresented data
- Bait-and-switch practices
- Links to pages that introduce spyware, computer viruses, or nefarious programs to ISSSP's members
- Links to pages with popup advertising
- Job postings
- Attack ads or negative statements involving ISSSP or its members
- Subliminal messages, sex in advertising, or promoting products regarded as harmful or immoral
- Other practices which irritate or disrupt the people in ISSSP's contact database, or which are contrary to the mission of ISSSP
Direct emails should be used to tie together the various aspects of a campaign marketing plan. Depending on your sponsorship level, direct emails are limited and therefore the message should be as inclusive and informative as possible. We have found that the most successful email (ones with the most views and click throughs) usually incorporate the following:
- Are informative, not sales oriented. Integrate your message to your company's focus and use of other ISSSP benefits.
- Are time smart. For example, send when you can promote a Focused Session and the release of a new product etc.
- Are sent to a specific targeted audience
- Incorporate a Call to Action. What behavior do you want them to do? Invite them to do something (read an article, attend a focused session educational program, come see you at an industry event)
A: ISSSP would prefer that affiliates link to their company portfolio page within our website. This consistency provides branding, recognition and ensures success to the content within iKnow. On a case by case basis, ISSSP will determine if linking to an outside website is appropriate. If it is absolutely necessary, the ISSSP Affiliate Member icon with a referral link back to your portfolio page on ISSSP.com must be appear on each page to which we link. We also will request that at least one link within the email return members to our site and that the content is still submitted to ISSSP for posting within the affiliate portfolio so it is accessible to those not in the targeted audience distribution email. The agreement to link to an affiliate webpage is given with the intent of linking to a public page. ISSSP discourages linking to pages that require registration to obtain information.
A: ISSSP does not require our members to fill out lots of forms to get information and believes our affiliates should provide information freely to ISSSP members. Therefore, as of May 1st, 2007, linking to registration pages will not be allowed. Past behaviors and feedback from members indicate they are unwilling and less likely to continue through. We suggest you link to content posted on your ISSSP portfolio page. Posting this content to your portfolio page will mean it is always searchable in iKnow. Based on keywords in which they can search, someone may find your company just because your content was posted on our site. Posting information to your portfolio page on ISSSP.com will also enable ISSSP to provide accurate tracking information. ISSSP will provide you with the name, title and company of those that clicked through within your email.
A: Through campaign planning with the affiliate benefits coordinator, the affiliate will determine a window of time that makes most sense for distribution within their marketing plan. We suggest that to appropriately promote and distribute your information you should send 3 to 4 weeks before the event you are promoting. This will ensure time for design, testing and final approval.
A: ISSSP requires all content be submitted to Edna Cribb at ednac@isssp.com at least four business days before distribution. If your email is especially complicated, or if it's your first time sending email through ISSSP, we may require additional time to ensure a timely distribution.
A: To minimize the load on our system, ISSSP distributes emails after 5 p.m. Arizona time. We stop sending at 4 a.m. Audience size determines the amount of time needed to send, therefore, adjustments may be made on a case by case basis.
A: Yes. Your test email will be identifical to the email that is actually sent, except the subject line begins with [TEST]. The email will come from Knowledge@ISSSP.com.
A: Forward your test with suggested changes to Edna Cribb at ednac@isssp.com. Don't hit reply, as replies are delivered to ISSSP's general mailbox and may not be seen in time for make suggested changes before distribution.
A: This is normal, expected behavior. Our email system prevents anyone from receiving the same email twice. Since you received your email as a test, you're blocked from receiving a second copy.
A: ISSSP has a database of approximately 30,0000 professionals. However based on our email solicitation guidelines, it is rare an affiliate be allowed to disseminate information to the entire audience. With each email and audience, the distribution number varies. The average audience size is anywhere from four to seven thousand.
A: ISSSP will work with you in campaign planning to define a target audience that's most likely to be interested in your message. You should think specifically about which professionals you would most want to read your message. Examples of ISSSP queries include by Six Sigma Role, Job Title, Physical Location, Industry, Special Interest, Participation in Specific Types of Activities, etc.) ISSSP will validate your audience and suggest changes as necessary.
A: You will receive tracking information in the first campaign planning call following the distribution of your direct email. Information will include audience number, number of views, number of click throughs, number of distinct click throughs, name, company and job title of distinct professionals.
A: Although ISSSP will provide you with the name and company of professionals who click through to items within your direct email, we discourage affiliate attempts to contact these professionals directly. ISSSP will track all behaviors related to your specific company through our website. During campaign planning and review of all tracking information, if it is determined that one or more individuals is participating or interested in several items from your company, upon request, ISSSP will contact the professional on the affiliates behalf.
A: Either way is fine. If you decide to host your own images, please remember to use absolute paths in your HTML code.
A: In accordance with state and federal law, ISSSP's email sender gives recipients the option to unsubscribe. When someone unsubscribes from one affiliate's emails, he or she unsubscribes from ALL affiliates' emails.
A: Yes-if approved by ISSSP. You must use the ISSSP Affiliate Member icon on any page we link to in a direct email. View the full-size icon.
A: We use a specialized system for tracking link click-throughs. In order for this system to work properly you should avoid inserting the target=_blank property in your links.
A: If you want a predefined look and feel, we require an HTML file. If your email is text-only or requires minimal formatting, ISSSP can write the HTML from your text. ISSSP will offer it's services free of charge for 1 hour. If you do not have a designer and require ISSSP to design the email in it's entirety, a fee of $100/hr for design will be charged after the first hour."
A: Absolutely. Not only are text-only emails easier to create and send; they're significantly better when the email is delivered to a handheld device such as a Blackberry.
A: ISSSP's direct email system works best with HTML 3.2. The W3C Markup Validation Service is a free tool for checking your HTML. (How to use this service.) ISSSP does not require your HTML to be validated, and this tool will identify "problems" that do not create errors in our email sender. However, the W3C Validation Service can identify the types of issues that can interfere with your email's formatting or delivery.
A: Certain types of code will cause errors. These include:
- CSS (Cascading style sheets) (more information in subsequent question)
- XML
- Non-ASCII characters (more information in subsequent question)
- Java script
- Active X
- Movies
- HTML forms
- Flash
A: ISSSP does not allow flash in affiliate emails. Flash emails require recipients to use Active X controls, and generally create a lot of unsubscriptions. In addition, many company firewalls and many email clients do not accept flash, and many anti-virus programs block the <embed> code used for Flash movies.
A: No. When you save as HTML, your software creates lots of XML and CSS code which is not usable by the email sender. For your email to appear as it does on your screen, you need to work in an HTML editor such as Dreamweaver, Hotdog, or Notepad. Realize that some formatting is not possible without XML; however, there is an HTML workaround for most situations.
A: The email sender is inconsistent in interpreting CSS. The result is that most of the CSS is stripped from the HTML before sending the email. In addition, many Web-based email services will strip the <head> from your email before it is displayed. In either case, the result is that your formatting is lost.
CSS is a wonderful technology - so wonderful that HTML editing software tries to use CSS at every opportunity. Every time CSS is inserted into your code, the recommended practice is to remove it and replace it with paragraph, font, or other case-specific formatting information.
A: Tables should be no more than 700 pixels wide.
A: ISSSP's email system does not accept Non-ASCII characters. The system doesn't know what to do with the non-ASCII character, so it prints a question mark. These special characters are introduced into the process by word processing software. A sample list of problem characters can be found in Microsoft Word's AutoCorrect Options.
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A: ISSSP cannot prevent people from behaving unethically or illegally. It has long been possible to spoof an email address, and email contents can be made to appear however the author wants, with or without an “original” from ISSSP.
In addition to being clearly labeled as an ISSSP direct email, ISSSP emails also include two significant safeguards:
1. All direct emails begin with a line similar to this:
- If you are unable to view HTML Emails, this message may be viewed at http://www.isssp.com/display.asp?page=FileName
- Since the link goes to ISSSP.com, it cannot be altered by a third party.
2. Every link within an ISSSP email is unique to the email’s original recipient, making it possible that nefarious acts can be tied to a particular person.If there is a particular safeguard you’d like for your email – such as removing an image from our Web server after a certain amount of time – we will always do whatever is possible to accommodate you. If you have a concern related to a particular person or company, please let us know so appropriate action can be taken.