System and Method Related to Generating and Tracking an Email Campaign

• US 20080244027A1
• Filed: 06/09/2008
• Published: 10/02/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Advanced Transactions, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Archeron Ltd LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Foulger, Michael G., Cooper, Jeremy S., Storms, Andrew C., Chipperfield, Thomas R.
• Granted Patent: US 7,693,950 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A method and system for generating and tracking an email campaign is described. An email campaign generator generates an email campaign template from an email target database. The email target database comprises at least one email target. An email campaign engine generates a custom email corresponding to each of the at least one email target. The custom email is formed from the email campaign template. The email campaign engine sends to each of the at least one email target the corresponding custom email. A campaign tracker receives at least one response corresponding to the sent custom email. The campaign tracker creates a campaign tracking list that includes the received at least one response.

Claims

1. A method for tracking email messages sent to target recipients, comprising:

receiving, at a processor, data associated with the email messages sent to the target recipients, wherein in the data is received other than from the target recipients;

receiving, at the processor, responses that indicate receipt of the email messages sent to the target recipients, wherein each of the email messages is a custom email message; and

forming, at the processor, a tracking list that includes information about the email messages sent to the target recipients, wherein the information incorporates the data and the responses.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each response is at least one of an email message sent by a recipient and a uniform resource locator.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each response is produced by executing a customized uniform resource locator embedded in the email messages sent to the target recipients.

4. An apparatus for tracking email messages sent to target recipients, comprising:

a first input configured to receive, other than from the target recipients, data associated with the email messages sent to the target recipients;

a second input configured to receive responses that indicate receipt of the email messages sent to the target recipients, wherein each of the email messages is a custom email message;

a processor configured to form a tracking list that includes information about the email messages sent to the target recipients, wherein the information incorporates the data and the responses; and

an output configured to produce the tracking list.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a device configured to generate the email messages sent to the target recipients.

6. A computer program product for tracking email messages sent to target recipients, the computer program product having a computer program code embodied in a computer-readable storage medium, the computer program code comprising:

first program code configured to cause a processor to receive data associated with the email messages sent to the target recipients, wherein in the data is received other than from the target recipients;

second program code configured to cause the processor to receive responses that indicate receipt of the email messages sent to the target recipients, wherein each of the email messages is a custom email message; and

third program code configured to cause the processor to form a tracking list that includes information about the email messages sent to the target recipients, wherein the information incorporates the data and the responses.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, further comprising fourth program code configured to cause the processor to present the tracking list.

8. A computer program product for conducting an email campaign, the computer program product having a computer program code embodied in a computer-readable storage medium, the computer program code comprising:

first program code configured to cause a processor to receive information from an email target database;

second program code configured to cause the processor to generate a message template of an email campaign template;

third program code configured to cause the processor to generate a configuration file of the email campaign template to contain data related to each of at least one email target, wherein the data is insertable in the message template; and

fourth program code configured to cause the processor to send to each of the at least one email target a corresponding custom email, wherein the custom email is formed from the email campaign template.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, further comprising fifth program code configured to cause the processor to track the custom email sent to each of the at least one email target.

10. The computer program product of claim 8, further comprising:

fifth program code configured to cause the processor to collect at least one document;

sixth program code configured to cause the processor to parse the at least one document;

seventh program code configured to cause the processor to categorize the at least one document into at least one category; and

eighth program code configured to insert data derived from the at least one document into the email target database.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, further comprising:

ninth program code configured to remove, from the email target database, at least some of the data derived from the at least one document if the some of the data derived from the at least one document corresponds to a duplicate email address.

12. A computer program product for generating an email campaign, the computer program product having a computer program code embodied in a computer-readable storage medium, the computer program code comprising:

first program code configured to cause a processor to generate an email campaign template from an email target database, wherein the email target database comprises a plurality of email targets and the email campaign template comprises a text message and a configuration file that includes data from the email target database corresponding to each of the plurality of email targets;

second program code configured to cause the processor to generate a custom email corresponding to each of the plurality of email targets, wherein the custom email is formed at least in part from the email campaign template; and

third program code configured to cause the processor to send the custom email to each of the plurality of email targets.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, further comprising:

fourth program code configured to cause the processor to receive a response corresponding to the custom email; and

fifth program code configured to cause the processor to produce a campaign tracking list that includes the response.

14. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the second computer program code is configured to cause the processor to make a copy of the text message and to replace a custom tag in the copy of the text message with data derived from a corresponding portion of the data of the configuration file.

15. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the second computer program code is configured to cause the processor to produce a custom uniform resource locator address for each of the plurality of email targets and wherein the data of the configuration file includes the custom uniform resource locator address.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the second computer program code is configured to cause the processor to generate, for each of the plurality of email targets, a hash from a campaign identifier, a message template version identifier, a user reference identifier, and a private key and to append at least a portion of the hash to a host web address to form the custom uniform resource locator address.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the host web address comprises a first part, a second part, and a third part, the first part comprises an email campaign host Internet address, the second part comprises an identifier for fourth program code located at an email campaign host and configured to cause the processor to process the custom uniform resource locator address for an email target after the email target has been selected, and the third part comprises an identifier for information related to the custom uniform resource locator address for the email target.

18. A method for producing an email template, comprising:

receiving, at a processor, email addresses for target recipients of custom email messages; and

producing, at the processor, a configuration file and a message file, wherein the configuration file includes data related to each of the target recipients, the message file includes a textual message for the custom email messages, and the message file is configured to receive the data related to the each of the target recipients.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising inserting, at the processor, the data related to the each of the target recipients into the email template.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising conveying, from the processor, the configuration file and the message file.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the message file further comprises custom tags configured to include data specific to an email recipient and a custom uniform resource locator.

22. An email template producer, comprising:

an input configured to receive, from a database, email addresses for target recipients of custom email messages;

a processor configured to produce a configuration file and a message file, wherein the configuration file includes data related to each of the target recipients, the message file includes a textual message for the custom email messages, and the message file is configured to receive the data related to the each of the target recipients; and

an output configured to convey the configuration file and the message file.

23. The email template producer of claim 22, wherein the processor is further configured to insert the data related to the each of the target recipients into the email template.

24. The email template producer of claim 22, wherein the message file further comprises custom tags configured to include data specific to an email recipient and a custom uniform resource locator.

25. A computer program product for producing an email template, the computer program product having a computer program code embodied in a computer-readable storage medium, the computer program code comprising:

first program code configured to cause a processor to receive email addresses for target recipients of custom email messages; and

second program code configured to cause the processor to produce a configuration file and a message file, wherein the configuration file includes data related to each of the target recipients, the message file includes a textual message for the custom email messages, and the message file is configured to receive the data related to the each of the target recipients.

26. The computer program product of claim 25, further comprising third program code configured to cause the processor to insert the data related to the each of the target recipients into the email template.

27. The computer program product of claim 25, further comprising third program code configured to cause the processor to convey the configuration file and the message file.

28. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the message file further comprises custom tags configured to include data specific to an email recipient and a custom uniform resource locator.