Sending attachments in Emails

There are many times where attachments in emails are considered a first point of call. There are numerous options available.

Contents

1 Background

Email is not a guaranteed delivery format, i.e. there is no way of being sure the email is going to get there. This is a global challenge.

There is a big difference between plain text and HTML emails. Plain text have higher delivery rates than HTML emails but don't look as well. Attachments also pose numerous problems. We strongly recommend you don't send attachments.

There are some companies who go into a lot of detail about this subject:

• http://blogs.boomerang.com/blog/2010/05/12/file-attachments-in-email-marketing/
• http://blog.mailchimp.com/adding-file-attachments-to-mailchimp-email-campaigns/
• http://www.whatcounts.com/2012/08/attachments-in-email-marketing/
• http://www.benchmarkemail.com/help-FAQ/answer/Can-I-attach-files-to-my-email-messages

So what are the alternatives?

• Put a link in the email to get the document from a server
• Put a link to a dynamic public web page that generates from the details
• Put the body of what you were going to attach into the email itself

2 Put a link in the email to get the document from a server

Please note that you're going to need to ensure that the person receiving the document also has a document reader appropriate to reading the material.

1. Load the document into the Custom folder Custom_File_Uploader
2. Get the URL of the document, which will begin with https://ww3.allnone.ie/client/client_demo/custom/yourFileNameHere.txt
3. Put the URL into your email or email template

3 Put a link to a dynamic public web page that generates from the details

This is a lot more complicated to set up but can provide two key advantages. Firstly it can provide click through reporting and secondly, it can dynamically change as required.

1. Build the template as a public page.
2. Link the page into bxp via the bxp_API. bxp_API
3. Add a unique reference URL value into the data fields
4. Put the link in the email using the unique reference

4 Put the body of what you were going to attach into the email itself

This option sees you building the entire body of the document template straight into the email being sent. This removes the need for document readers or separate links.