About AndrewP04

Please read my previous posts... you are asking for the impossible... anti-virus software and SMPT Gateways can easily (and regularly do) block automatic responses... give it up. I know that I expect my security software to block any info sent without my permission! ... View more

Just as a follow-up: I had 461 bounced-mails (out of over 5,000) on my last mailing that were listed as 'non-existent addresses'. Since I did not believe that all 461 were 'non-existent', I downloaded those addresses and sent them out via my business e-mail account and asked them to reply or I'd take them off my list. Well, I got quick returns from 7 people requesting that they stay on my list. I know that this thread is primarily about tracking people that never open emails (and to that I say 'Good Luck')... but I think it is a much more serious issue when you cannot depend upon the system identifying 'non-existent' addresses!!! Sure 7 people out of 461 is a low percentage... but it really should be ZERO for this category! Jonathon, any comment? ... View more

Well, I had similar questions about tracking open e-mails (my list is just over 5,000) and have now read all the posts on this thread. I am very encouraged by the reasonable answers recently post by Jonathan. I have over 35 years experience in IT and his responses sound like they come from a true professional (I cannot say the same for the prior posts from other CC staff in this thread... they sounded like 'B' team responses to me... good but not great!). Good luck Jonathan... I look forward to your improvements in 2012... BTW, can you also fix the KLUDGY  editing features for e-mail marketing, it's a PITA.   So, until improvements are made, here's my take on managing e-mail lists:   1. Do not trust the 'open' statistics... they are not accurate and can only be used as a relative guide  to your previous mailings. 2. Do not believe the 'Bounce' statistics... I do not think they are 100% based upon limited testing on my part... Jonathan, I would appreciate your comments on this item. 3. Trust your customers to delete themselves from the lists until the above two items get addressed. 4. In terms of cost: That is dependent upon the individual business model and their expectations. For my business (a restaurant), a penny or two for a monthly mailing is a very good deal... sure beats snail mail... and I have no plans to change vendors given that all services are not fully mature from a technical viewpoint and Jonathan's posts give me hope that CC might now have a solid technical leader with common business sense.   So, that's my 2 cents.  ... View more