Section 3
Using LISTSERV^® Maestro to Define an E-mail Job

Creating and sending customized e-mail messages with LISTSERV Maestro is a multi-step procedure. Some of the steps can be done at any time during the process of defining an e-mail job, and other steps are dependent on the completion of previous steps.

• A new job is started and assigned a title and ID number.

• The message is created and recipients are defined.

• Tracking is set up if desired.

• The sender of the message is defined.

• Testing takes place.

• The message is scheduled for delivery.

• Final approval is recorded, and when scheduled time arrives, the message is delivered.

• Tracking data, if requested, can then be retrieved as each message is received and opened by recipients.

3.1 Starting a Job

To begin creating a new e-mail job, click the icon Start New Job. The individual who initiates a new e-mail job becomes the "owner" of that job and has the rights to all of the different functions of the job from assigning a job title to final approval for delivering the message.

The first step to creating a new job is to assign it a "Job Title" and a "Job ID Prefix." A Job Title is the way individual users identify specific jobs by name. The Job Title can be composed of letters and numbers, and contain spaces. The Job ID is generated by the system to ensure each ID is unique and is used by the system to identify each individual job.

Users can enter a Job ID Prefix, which appears at the beginning of the system generated Job ID and is separated from it by a hyphen. Depending on the settings of the user’s account, the Job ID Prefix may already be set or limited to pre-set options. If a choice of job IDs has been pre-set by the system administrator, a pull down menu will be available instead of the "Job ID Prefix:" text box. Use the prefix to further identify jobs or perhaps group jobs for reporting or billing. For more on Job Titles and Job IDs, see LISTSERV Maestro’s online help or LISTSERV Maestro’s Administrators Guide.

Once a Job Title and Job ID have been assigned, they will appear in the upper left side of the screen on every screen that is associated with that particular job.

Figure 3 Start New Job Screen



A new job can be created in one of two ways, by selecting the option button "choose all new settings," which means starting from scratch, or, by selecting the option button "copy contents, recipients, and sender settings from job:" which takes the settings from a previous job as the basis for the new job.

A new empty job needs to have the e-mail message defined as well as the sender and recipient information determined. A job based on a copy of an existing job can reuse a previously composed message, sender information, testing information and recipient information. Press OK to continue or Cancel to return to the previous screen.

Copying an existing job can save time and effort by reusing messages and recipients lists. For example, a monthly newsletter would change its message each month but would be sent to the same recipient list. A new product announcement would contain the same message but could be sent to different recipient lists.

3.2 Defining a New Job

Once a new job has been created, the next steps are to define the recipients of the message and create the e-mail message itself (unless these components are being based on an existing job). Both of these operations must take place before defining the tracking data to be collected. Defining the sender and scheduling the delivery can take place at any time. The "Job Details" screen displays either a "Workflow" or a "Summary" diagram. These diagrams serve to guide users through the proper sequence of events for defining an e-mail job. Both of these displays chart the process of creating an e-mail job and contain links that allow each procedure to be edited.

The Workflow diagram is a visual representation of the process of creating an e-mail job. Clickable icons represent each of the steps, the order in which they must occur, and the status of each step. By clicking an icon on the Workflow diagram, the user opens up the area in LISTSERV Maestro that defines and edits that step of the e-mail job. After the definition or editing has occurred, the user will be returned to the Workflow diagram to select the next step.

The Summary diagram is a textual listing of the process of creating an e-mail job. To reach the Summary diagram, click on the Summary tab from the Workflow diagram. Each area of LISTSERV Maestro is listed in the left column, the status of the step is listed in the middle column and an Edit link is listed in the right column. Access to each function is obtained by clicking the Edit link. After the definition or editing has occurred, the user will be returned to the Summary diagram to select the next step.

Individual account holders can set their preference for the Job Details screen to open as either the Workflow diagram or the Summary diagram. See Section 11.4 Setting User Preferences for more information.

The third tab at the top of the "Job Details" screen is called "Test Reports" and will only become active once an e-mail job had been completed through the delivery test phase. At that point, it becomes possible to run quick reports on the test messages containing tracked links for open-up and click-though events. For information on using the Test Reports functions, see Section 7.3 Delivery Testing for a Job.