Bronto Blog

We’ve talked in the past about APIs, first in the academic sense and then a more detailed explanation, but we haven’t talked much about the doors they open. Today we’ll do just that; first let’s look at a few great uses for an API, then let’s take it to the next level.

The basic idea of an API is the ability to automate things that otherwise would be done by hand. The true power comes in when you extend this automation to include personalization and tie in other applications.

A tried and true application of an API is purchase confirmation receipts. Tie your eCommerce system into an email application in order to provide solid deliverability and best of breed reporting. You can take this to the next level by introducing related product recommendations or related coupons.

Another great idea is to provide an eCard application for your customers. You know the type, you select a card, provide some personalization details and before you know it your friend is greeted by an image of frolicking kittens. This again, can be implemented without much trouble via the API.

A little creativity, business need, and a web developer and you’ve got yourself some great new avenues to drive business.
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An API is a powerful tool that can open the door to high ROI email programs, but for the uninitiated it can be confusing trying to understand what they are really all about. Today we’re going to go over what an API is, and how you can leverage it to make your life easier, and your emails better.

What does API Mean?

API stands for Application Programming Interface, but I like to describe it as a language. It’s the language that is used to talk to a specific application. I’m not talking about an actual programming language, like C or Java. In the generic sense, this language allows you to provide commands or ask questions of the application at hand.

There’s some lingo that goes along with APIs that you should be familiar with as well. There are several different technologies that APIs are often based on, this includes SOAP, REST, and RPC. I’m not going to get into all those acronyms, that’s a whole other blog post, but you’ll probably see them thrown around when you talk API. Also, each time you talk to an application via an API it’s called a Making a Call, e.g. you would make a call to the api to upload a list.
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I’ve always said that relevancy is key - it’s a major factor in recipient satisfaction. You need to know who your recipients are and what they want - no small task. Understanding this on a macro scale is a necessity for your business, but understanding each individual is where you need to be for email marketing.

In order to do this you will need to have data for your customers - accurate data. Once you have data for your customers you can start to segment them into meaningful groups. With your customers broken down into groups, you can begin to market to them on their own terms, which makes perfect sense, right?

Although getting that data can be tough, it’s maintaining it that’s the trick. The data that is creating relevant emails today will be creating stale, out of touch messages in a few weeks. You don’t want to send a renewal notice to some one who renewed their contract last week. So you not only need to identify and import useful data, you need to keep updating it - but how? Read the rest of this entry »