Send Email using Manifold as a Visual Email Organizer

It's pretty obvious how to use Manifold's new Send Email solver package to send geo-targeted email using geographic maps.   That's not in this Case Study.  For an example of sending email from geographic maps, see the Customer Care Caravan Case Study.

This Case Study is an advanced study showing a really cool usage of Manifold outside of simple GIS work.  It shows use of Morph to reshape and move groups of points.

Manifold is such a strong database manipulator that many people are using Manifold to organize their email campaigns using abstract maps.   Here's how.  This case study is intended for users already comfortable using Manifold, so we will skip a few elementary points.  The example is derived from the actual Manifold Net media contacts workspace, but the data has been changed to protect people's privacy.   The thumbnail at right shows the workspace as it will look.

This Case Study may seem like it involves a lot of steps, but that's simply because you are not familiar with Manifold.  If we showed all the steps involved in creating a simple Access database plus a form to use it, that process would seem like it contained a lot of steps as well; however, it's a snap to do very quickly for anyone who knows Access.  In the steps that follow, we tried to include almost everything and we also included optional procedures that an experienced Manifold user might wish to exploit.  Most of the work is creating the initial database of email addresses.  The Manifold stuff goes very rapidly.

Abstract Maps

Manifold creates fine geographic maps, but it can also organize data in abstract contexts as well.   "Abstract" just means ordinary X/Y coordinates like those used in a CAD system.  Think of Manifold in such cases as an object-oriented CAD or drawing editor that can associate data with the diagrams being drawn.   In such cases, Manifold can be used to organize data visually.  This Case Study shows how to prepare an abstract map, bring email addresses in from your database and then use send email to communicate with those people.

Step 1:  Create a database of email addresses. We assume you use Access 97.   Our database contains information on the organization, title, name, Email, and reporting beat for media contacts. 

Step 2: Create a Manifold map to host the data.   Our main email workspace is a Manifold map as pictured in the beginning of this Case Study.  Since this Case Study is about email and not about using Manifold as a CAD or diagram drawing editor, we won't go into great detail.   How did we create the map?  Here's how:

a) Create a blank map.  Use abstract coordinates and make the X value from 0 to 3200 and Y from 0 to 2000.  That's about twice the default ranges.  This makes plenty of room for lots of points.  Of course, you could always make the map "larger" or "smaller" if desired.

b) Create some areas.   Use the create shapes Create Rectangle tool to draw some areas free-hand.  We are in the habit of creating just the area, without boundary lines or points.  If you want areas to be aligned with each other, pop open a grid first (adjusting grid spacing until it is visible and a convenient grid size to use), and draw the areas using the grid as a guide.  Note: we tend to use rectangles, but if you want to be creative and use circles or triangles for your shapes, please feel free to do so!

c) Organize using different layers.   In the sample workspace illustrated at the top of the map, we've created a number of layers and used them to organize our areas and, ultimately, our contact points.   One layer has the areas that are the major classes of media, while another layer has the sub-classes (areas representing specific magazines, etc).   Set the default format for each layer so that the objects in each layer stand out from each other.

d) Add some data fields.  Use Table View to add a few data fields such as Class and SubClass that will help keep the different areas organized.  Double-click into each area to pop-open an instant form view and then double-click into the field to add an individual name for each area.  Add labels for each area using the Format Labels command.  Drag the labels around as desired so the whole arrangement looks cool.

e) Save the workspace.  When we are happy, let's save the workspace.

Step 3: Move Data from Access into a Manifold Map. We will now import data from our press contacts database into our Manifold map with the help of a new solver, read random coords, that has recently been published on the Manifold FTP sites for free download by Manifold 4.50 users.  If you do not yet have the read random solver, see the read random text file for information, and then download the read_random.mxz solver package.

a) Click on Utility - Export/Import - Read Random Coords and open the database of press contacts.  The solver will import the contents of our press contacts database and will create new data attribute fields as necessary within the map.

b) The result is a rectangular "cloud" of new points that fill the entire map.   In the illustration, we've colored them in blue so they look pretty. Our first task is to organize the mass of press contacts into reasonable categories.  Let's start by picking out all of the reporters for the Associated Press in our database.

c) We will do this by opening Table View, clicking on the column head for whatever field contains the name of the organization to sort it, highlighting all the Associated Press records (click on the first one, then shift-click on the last and all the ones in between will be highlighted as well), and then clicking the Replace Selection button to make the AP reporters our new selection.

This highlights the AP reporters with the selection color.  

d) Use Morph - Scale to rescale the "cloud" to a more dense shape (our illustration now shows only the selected points, since Web pages are not as clear as Manifold's Map View for showing such things...).

e) Use Morph - Move to move the points over into the Associated Press area. 

f) Repeat this process to select and move all the other different classes of press contacts to different regions in our Manifold map.

Note that importing the points/records from the database using the read random coords solver also imported all the data attributes with them.  If we have address, telephone, fax and other information for these records, those data fields will be brought in as well. 

Step 4: Select Targets for Email Campaign  We want to mail all of the News Editors in certain publications.  We begin by selecting the publications that interest us using Open Box selection.  We won't mail to Mac people or to the editors of Cable Guy News.

Next, setting solver selection mode to Intersect Selection we run the SQL Toolbar looking for all people whose Title is News Editor. 

We can then animate the points thus selected if we wish to see clearly where they are.  The points highlighted in red are all the News Editors in the four organizations we selected earlier.  It looks like PC Universe and PC Era don't have any News Editors...

Step 5: Launch the Send Email Solver - Click on the Solvers - Business - Send Email menu choice to launch the solver.  We use this solver so much that we've added it to our Launch toolbar so we can fire it up with a single click.

The solver starts by asking what object set you want to use.  In this case, we'll use the selection.  If desired, we could use a particular layer, all layers, etc, in the usual Manifold way.

Load up the main Send Email dialog as desired.  We will be using the contents of the Email field for the To: email address.  Note that the Cc: and Bcc: fields are rarely used when conducting mass mailings, since these send a copy of each email to the Cc: or Bcc: addresses.  Use these if you must have an archival duplicate of all mail sent out, perhaps to later verify that mail was sent to a particular recipient.

We can type in the body of the message free-hand or load it from a text file.

Push Send, and your emails are on their way!

Discussion

We've used an example of sending email to the press, but the possibilities of exploiting targeted, well organized email communications are endless.   We've used a very simple selection methodology, but any Manifold selection capability can be used.  Imagine, all those solvers, any database combination, any SQL query, or even any solver you might care to write: all of these capabilities can be used to organize and refine your email communications.  It's a moderate hassle getting the data into the map initially, but once it is there you will have your data in a form that no database or PIM can possibly match in terms of analytic richness.

A few words about press campaigns using email:

It's not likely you'll make friends with News Editors by spamming them as we have done with the example screen at right.   We're engaging in a little sophomoric humor here but in real life there are few surer ways of damaging your business interests than spamming the press.

A better way of using Manifold is to take the time to record the interests of each contact so that you only email them with news items in which they have an interest.  Sending a journalist a short note that exactly fits his or her interests and editorial calendar requirements is considered good press relations, not spam.  Send somebody junk to eat up some of their already short time budget and you've poisoned the well.  It is very hard to keep track of everyone's interests, but Manifold can help you do it.

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