To do email marketing successfully, you must use various tools such as SMTP relays, CRM software, email marketing platforms, and domain registrars. But using and managing these different tools all at once alone can be confusing and even challenging. Errors are also likely to happen because of confusion.
That’s why you should use an API for a smoother and easier email marketing experience. According to Ongage, through an email API, you’ll be able to integrate different email marketing tools together into one platform to manage everything. Let’s discuss more what this means and the other things you need to understand about it.
What Is Email API?
An email API or application program interface is a type of tool that allows 3rd party programs to use the functions present in an email marketing platform and vice versa. Simply put, it is a connector that bridges two separate email marketing tools and combines them into one single and powerful instrument.
For example, if you use an email marketing platform and SMTP relay service to create campaigns, analyze metrics, and handle large volume deliveries, the email API will allow your marketing platform to manage campaign sending while the SMTP relay gains the function of tracking email deliverability and engagement rates.
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What You Should Know About Email API
Using an email API provides a lot of benefits for seasoned and rookie email marketers alike. If there’s a specific pet peeve you have as you do email marketing, reading more below might convince you to use an email API.
1. APIs allow you to send notifications from your website
As a general rule of marketing, it is essential that you’re able to grab your customers’ attention by notifying them of what’s new in your business. By using an email API, you can set a function of automatically sending an email whenever there is new content or when a transaction is initiated.
You can set the API to send a promotional email, newsletter, or simply a transactional message using the SMTP relay from the format uploaded on your marketing platform.
2. APIs ensure maximum email deliverability
Email deliverability is often affected by the subject lines you use or who you email to. These factors can easily be fixed and avoided. However, there are also problems that are out of your control which could cause your emails to not end up in your customers’ inboxes.
These factors can easily be fixed and avoided. However, there are also problems that are out of your control which could cause your emails to not end up in your customers’ inboxes.
Make sure to configure your DMARC, DKIM and SPF properly in your DNS settings to make sure your emails are delivered to the inbox at a high rate.
Internet outages, a downed server, or distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks are some of these uncontrollable problems. Fortunately, email APIs have every fix to these issues. Is your SMTP relay facing problems? Don’t worry – the API will automatically redirect you to another email delivery service that works.
Or are your customers facing WiFi issues? The email API will just find another connection such as mobile data to deliver your message.
By relying on email APIs, you can ensure not only the deliverability but also the reliability of your email communications, fostering better connections with your audience.
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3. APIs let you track important email marketing metrics
Going back to the explanation above, email APIs create a connection between two email marketing tools. Manually, to check your deliverability and engagement rates, you need to input some formulae in your SMTP relay interface or send an email to a key performance indicator checker.
These methods take a lot of time and are tedious. Whereas by using an API, you can have all the results in arranged form and ready for viewing at your email marketing platform. An email API is also very useful for A/B testing because you don’t have to manually count the engagement among your two distinct campaigns through the SMTP relay interface to see which performs better.
Everything is automatically tallied and presented through statistics which the results are seen in real-time.
4. APIs take your segmentation efforts to the next level
List segmentation is key when it comes to delivering relevant content to all your customers. One user may be different from another in terms of location, interests, and demographics. Sending the same campaign to all your customers would end up with a high ignore count in your metrics.
The problem is, you need to read everything about your customers’ data so you can classify them and have them placed in their rightful segment. Through an email API, you can set various list segments that would automatically analyze all the user data in your mailing list. Once all the data has been analyzed, you execute a command that will put all the users into segments that best fit their attributes.
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5. APIs make personalization and automation easier
Personalization and automation are what drives sales and engagement after identifying your customers’ attributes. Sending highly personalized campaigns to each list segment may not be particularly difficult but it takes a lot of time to be done.
Email APIs can be configured to automatically send a specific type of campaign to a given list segment at a given time. They can also be modified to analyze user data and change campaign contents that match the analyzed user data.
For example, if you want your campaigns to address your customers through their names, your API will identify the customer that would receive the campaigns and quickly write their name in the greetings.
6. APIs make email authentication setup and management simple
Another important factor when it comes to ensuring maximum deliverability is the use of authentication protocols. To set your email authentications, you need to do some backend tinkering on your domain. Some even have complicated interfaces that would cause a lot of errors when applying changes.
Once you use an email API for your domain and email marketing software, all the instructions to set your authentication protocols are easily understood. You can also choose to set your authentication protocols through your email marketing software.
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7. Email API providers are ready to help you anytime
Most API providers have 24/7 tech support ready to give you instructions on how to connect an email marketing platform to the tool of your choice. They are also eager to provide you with a manual on how to properly operate your integrated tools. This is a huge benefit for rookie email marketers who want to get the best out of their investment in a smooth way.
Conclusion
Email API saves a lot of time for email marketers because it doesn’t only make most processes automatic but also makes an email marketing platform the primary control hub. This eliminates the need for you to open multiple browser tabs and desktop applications. All you have to do is open your email marketing platform and do all the necessary work there.
