Audiences
The Audiences page provides an easy way to store addresses for mailing and suppression. This is especially helpful if you want to suppress a list for an individual campaign, separate from the global Do Not Mail List. Upload a CSV file comprised of either mailing addresses, or email addresses if you opt to use the address enrichment feature.
When passing audience members to Poplar via the Audience API, be sure to manually create an Audience within the platform first, so you can successfully add members.
Audience files do not store extra columns or custom merge tags, only core recipient data. Additional columns will be automatically removed during upload to the Audiences page.
Audience File vs. Mail File
Audience Files should be uploaded and used only for cases that call for storing core recipient data. Additional columns and custom merge tags will be removed from the file upon upload. They should mainly be used for suppression lists, campaigns using static creative or creatives using only default merge tags, and lists containing emails for Address Enrichment.
Extended processing times may indicate an error in formatting. Column headers are case-sensitive. Blank columns may stall the rendering process.
Mail Files are the ideal choice for launching batched campaigns via One Time Send and are the only other option, aside from trigger setup, for supplying custom merge tag data.
File Templates
Address Enrichment
Typically, Poplar's address enrichment process sees a 50-70%+ match rate. Our internal tests have generally found that older demographics tend to yield a higher match rate than younger ones. Thanks to the strict accuracy filters we've put in place, there should be a high yield of accurately matched addresses.
If applicable, Enable Address Enrichment when your campaign is created, or Edit an existing campaign to adjust the setting.
When making an API request or prepping an audience file, leave the fields for the physical mailing address blank and include an email address; Poplar will initiate an address search. You will only be charged if an append is successful and will not be charged if a match can't be found.
The system will return append failed if it is unable to identify an address to match. If it's successful, it'll change the status to mailing_queued.
Rules and Limitations
You must agree to the Share Local Media Supplemental Terms of Use.
Emails submitted must be customer emails; you should NOT submit emails you have obtained in other ways.
The emails must belong to US residents only.
Recipient addresses for append will always be addressed to "Current Resident." Any personalization of the mail piece should not include any PII (personally identifiable information) for that specific customer.
The use of name merge tags is restricted for recipient privacy purposes.
Your account will be charged the full amount (100% match rate) and will be automatically refunded the remainder after the email appends process is complete. The refund will be credited to your Poplar account (or the original payment method upon request).
ExampleIf you have $100 in your account and push through three $50 One Time Sends quickly, Poplar will think there is enough money for all three. By the time the first two are done processing, the third mailing will be suppressed due to lack of funds.
Address Validation
Before launch, the platform will scan the validity of your address data (based on USPS flags) and return the number of mailable addresses, along with a CSV file listing all the invalid addresses. Common reasons an address may be labeled invalid include:
The address has been flagged as vacant or inactive by USPS
The address has an invalid primary number
The address has missing or invalid secondary information
The city/state/postal code combination is invalid
The address belongs to a commercial mail receiving agency
Address Strictness
After uploading your Audience or Mail File, Poplar performs a set of validations to ensure complete and deliverable addresses. Errors will be displayed in a downloadable file. You can decide whether to address the errors or skip those addresses and proceed with the send.
Address Strictness can be set on an account-wide level from your Account Settings and a campaign level when creating a new campaign. This setting controls the level of address validation required to mail. To assure the highest likelihood of deliverability to we recommend the Strict setting. When mailing to commercial addresses, you may want to try adjusting to Normal or Relaxed depending on the confidence in your data.
Strictness | Criteria |
Strict | Only mails to addresses deemed "in-service" by USPS. New construction may remain "inactive" for a few months after being occupied. |
Normal | Will check the existence of an address but ignore other data such as the USPS "in-service" flag. |
Relaxed | Skips most address validation checks and should only be used for thoroughly vetted data or transactional mailings, where there is a high degree of confidence in the dataset. |
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