Archive

Author Archive

Public subscription page

May 5th, 2012 Comments off

If you have a DataBack newsletter list and you accept public subscriptions, did you know that there is a pre-built subscription page for your list? For example, if your list ID is "Trees", the DBMailer subscription page would be:

http://lists.databack.com/sub/Trees

For a CCtoMany list (named Coffeeshop), the format is:

http://www.cctomany.com/sub/Coffeeshop

Just replace "Trees" or "Coffeeshop" with your own list ID (first letter capitalized). This is only a simple default  page for you to use. You can easily add signup forms to your existing web site.

Dropbox

April 5th, 2012 Comments off

Don’t have Dropbox yet? It’s an extremely useful (free) tool. Get it here:

http://db.tt/VTCT65na

Don’t complain when spam filters work

March 28th, 2012 Comments off

Laura Atkins is a founding partner of the anti-spam consultancy and software firm Word to the Wise. We follow her blog; as usual, this post about spam filters is spot-on.

Leaving Godaddy

February 17th, 2012 Comments off

This decision doesn’t affect any of our customer lists, websites, or services. We simply want to announce that we have made the decision to move all DataBack Systems’ domains  from  Godaddy.com to another registrar. If you’re curious why, simply drop us an email to request the details.

Do you create web forms?

January 26th, 2012 Comments off

I recently discovered www.jotform.com. If you need to create even one web form, you should use JotForm. It's that good. I'm not easily impressed, but this service is awesome! I am now using JotForm to quickly deploy some pretty complex form-driven apps. Check them out.

Google Apps For Your Domain

June 15th, 2011 Comments off

Over the last couple of years I have recommended GAFYD many times. In fact, I use GAFYD for databack.com email because the features I get free exceed what I can offer on my own servers! Check it out here.

Be careful about changing your from-address

January 22nd, 2011 Comments off

FYI, here’s an interesting article about the from address you use when sending a mailing. Bottom line: changing your from-address can have significant impact. Don’t do it without being aware of the consequences.

 

DataBack News

January 1st, 2011 Comments off

Check this page for information about new services, internet issues, recommended software, or just some occasional bloviating. Better yet, subscribe to this page by using the RSS link on this page or on our home page.

News re. DKIM-signed email

September 16th, 2010 Comments off

The current state-of-the-art for email authentication is DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM)-signed mail. We have begun adding DKIM signatures for some customers upon request. Please contact us if you are interested in this for your messages.

Online bookmark service – recommended!

August 18th, 2010 Comments off

I had used del.icio.us as my online bookmark service for years. But a new service has impressed me enough that I’ve switched. Keeping your bookmarks “in the cloud” has many advantages – check out http://www.diigo.com – they even have versions for your Android phone, iPhone, etc.

phishing messages NOT from databack.com

May 13th, 2010 Comments off

If you receive a message from databack.com saying “your POP and SMTP settings have changed”, that message is NOT from us and didn’t come from our servers. It’s a phishing email attempting to install malware on your computer. DO NOT open the attachment.

8 things I wish everyone knew about email

May 1st, 2010 Comments off

Google Apps Status Dashboard

March 28th, 2010 Comments off

“Is Gmail down for just me or for everyone?”  http://goo.gl/zvmW

Great advice for creating HTML emails

December 19th, 2009 Comments off

We still recommend plain-text newsletters. But if you are sending HTML newsletters, you will find a ton of useful advice for creating "rock solid" HTML email in this article:

http://24ways.org/2009/rock-solid-html-emails

Some quotes from the article (be sure to read the comments as well):

"Building an email is not like building for the web. "

"You need to test your designs regularly. Just because a template looks nice in Hotmail now, doesn’t mean it will next week."

"Just remember that pixel perfection in all email clients is a pipe dream."

CCtoMany scheduled mailings

November 11th, 2009 Comments off

Our CCtoMany service is focused on ease-of-use. Thus, the recommended method for posting messages to a CCtoMany list is to simply prepare and send an email to your list’s private posting address for immediate distribution.

Effective immediately however, CCtoMany accounts also include the ability to enter a message via a web-based editor, for scheduled delivery at some future date. Multiple messages can be scheduled, and any one can be saved as a template for future new mailings (to retain the same look for future messages).

Newsletter Unsub Link

October 19th, 2009 Comments off

Every message you send to your newsletter list should offer an unsubscribe option. It’s easy to include such a link – please see http://wiki.databack.com/OneClickUnsubscribe/

This page also provides an easy way for subscribers to CHANGE their address.

NOTE: This is only for newsletter lists, NOT discussion lists.