E-mail Campaigns Looking Up for HauteLook

Growing one’s database to 2 million opt-in subscribers in just two years is a dream of many a marketer. That dream came true for HauteLook, a private-sale Website. One aspect became a bit nightmarish, however: having to send e-mails to those 2 million members every day within a five-minute timeframe.

The private-sale model offers those who opt in access to limited-time-only sales events. Because the sales last no more than 72 hours, it’s important that all subscribers receive their e-mail notifications of the day’s offers as close to simultaneously as possible. 

Until several months ago, HauteLook relied on an e-mail service provider’s shared network, complete with queueing systems. “There was no way for them to really dedicate resources to your initiative,” says Kevin Diamond, HauteLook’s chief technology officer. In addition. HauteLook had to send its e-mails from a large number of IP addresses to help circumvent the rate limits, or throttling restrictions, set by the recipient ISPs.

The desire to have more control over deployment was a primary reason that HauteLook decided to bring its e-mail services in-house. It opted for a StrongMail solution in large part because of its ability to transmit messages to all 2 million subscribers at once, in near real-time.

In fact, Diamond says, with its new system, “if you jump on and unsubscribe today, you’re not going to be getting an e-mail today, even if it’s going out in five minutes.” Because the StrongMail software links directly with HauteLook’s customer database, the marketer no longer has to conduct myriad back-and-forth data transfers as it did when working with an ESP.

The direct connection to the HauteLook database also helps the merchant improve the personalization of its messages. The e-mails currently feature just minimal targeting— depending on their purchase history, recipients are served different versions of the promotional box that appears just below the logo. But by the end of this quarter, Diamond says, HauteLook will be able to “give recipients views of the sales they’re most interested in,” again based primarily on what they’ve clicked on and purchased in the past. This will influence not only which events they see listed within their e-mails but also the order in which they’re listed. Prospects will get a default version with “editorialized options” based on what HauteLook projects will be the most popular items and events.

Also by the end of this quarter, Diamond expects to be integrating HauteLook’s social media efforts more closely into its e-mail campaigns using StrongMail’s Influencer plug-in. HauteLook’s referral program, in which customers can receive $20 in credit when someone they referred makes a first purchase, is already a key source of new members. Many of those referrals come via e-mail. Soon, though, customers will be able to share not just e-mails with friends but particular sales events and even items, via Facebook and Twitter as well as via e-mail, Diamond says.

Of course, transitioning from a third-party ESP to handling e-mail in-house required investments of money and man-hours. “Obviously during the transition period and the warming up of IP addresses there was additional work,” Diamond says. “But even with the expense of buying our own servers for the infrastructure and bringing in some additional bandwidth to support it and getting the software from StrongMail and their professional services going, we’re realizing savings already. It’s working out to be cheaper than an ESP.” All of which no doubt enables the parties concerned to sleep easier at night.