When it comes to sending emails to your library’s users, it’s easy to paint every single patron with a broad brush – send everyone emails about everything. The problem is, if your patrons keep getting emails from your library that do not pertain to them, then they will stop opening and reading your messages. Dynamic lists help solve this problem.
Static Lists
When you think of an email list, you are probably thinking of a static list. A standard database or excel file that could contain any number of identifying criteria, like names, addresses, phone numbers, or they could be as simple a list of email addresses. Static lists are uploaded or entered manually into MessageBee, where they can be stored for future communications. Static lists are best for communicating en masse with your patron base for general, system-wide messaging. Examples of communications to use with static lists are holiday hours, policy updates,
Dynamic Lists
Dynamic lists offer a much higher degree of specification for your library’s messages. Unique’s expertise in linking MessageBee to your library’s ILS gives you access to all parameters from your patron database, which means you can filter your entire patron database. Want to target readers of a specific book or genre? People that have checked a book out in the last 14 days at a particular branch? It can all be done using dynamic lists. Other examples of messages that would be best used with dynamic lists might be: technology classes, new releases, and branch-specific messages.
By syncing your headers in your dynamic list tab on the MessageBee dashboard with the headers from your ILS database, you can create lists that make sure the right content gets to the right patrons. Want to read more on the powerful tools included in MessageBee? Check out our latest article here.