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Help!...Dynamic insertion from email to webpage?

by pfrofmi
12 replies
Here's the dilemma.

I am creating an auto-responder series were an email link directs a subscriber to a savings coupon hosted on my website. The coupon is the incentive for signing up to my email list and would be valid for only 30 days from initial sign-up.

1) Since each person's opt-in is from a different start point, is there a way of capturing the date of the email and dynamically posting a date reflecting 30 days later into the expiration field within the coupon on my website?

There are actually two things I wish to accomplish: 1) dynamically set expiration date of coupons; 2) keep coupon from being used more than once by a single individual.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Douglas
#email #helpdynamic #insertion #webpage
  • Profile picture of the author lisag
    You probably want to capture the date of the opt-in rather than the date of the email I would think. But either is possible. The question is, "dynamically set expiration date of coupons" how will you enforce the expiration date?
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    • Profile picture of the author pfrofmi
      This is not a conventional email capture in terms of IM. I am setting up a computer terminal at a brick and mortar business--displaying only an optin webpage--where customers can enter their email in exchange for exclusive savings & offers via auto-responder.

      Expiration date is enforced at point of redemption, as the coupons will be printed out by the patron and handed directly to a clerk at time of purchase. Ten times cheaper and much more effective than direct mail that is sent out to canvas a random area.
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      • Profile picture of the author lisag
        Originally Posted by pfrofmi View Post

        This is not a conventional email capture in terms of IM. I am setting up a computer terminal at a brick and mortar business--displaying only an optin webpage--where customers can enter their email in exchange for exclusive savings & offers via auto-responder.

        Expiration date is enforced at point of redemption, as the coupons will be printed out by the patron and handed directly to a clerk at time of purchase. Ten times cheaper and much more effective than direct mail that is sent out to canvas a random area.
        If I understand correctly, you just need to capture the current system date, add 10 days, and then pass that value to whatever routine is creating your coupons. If they are images, then the value gets passed to the drawing routine.
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        • Profile picture of the author pfrofmi
          Originally Posted by lisag View Post

          If I understand correctly, you just need to capture the current system date, add 10 days, and then pass that value to whatever routine is creating your coupons. If they are images, then the value gets passed to the drawing routine.
          The coupon is an image which I create using Paint.net, so there is no passing value to the drawing routine.

          What I am looking for is something that will capture the current system date, add days to that date, then dynamically insert the revised date into a field over the coupon image within a webpage--much the same as dynamic keyword insertion works with PPC ads.

          If there is a better, easier way to accomplish this, please share your thoughts.
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  • Profile picture of the author lisag
    What's the platform this is running on? Is that PC connecting to a web server? Tell me the setup.
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  • Profile picture of the author lisag
    What's the platform this is running on? Is that PC connecting to a web server? Tell me the setup.
    Signature

    -- Lisa G

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    • Profile picture of the author pfrofmi
      Originally Posted by lisag View Post

      What's the platform this is running on? Is that PC connecting to a web server? Tell me the setup.
      MailChimp is the auto-responder service, coupons will be hosted with bluehost.

      The only thing on a coupon page will be the coupon image itself. Customers are directed here for the sole purpose of printing a coupon so they can redeem it in person.

      No other pages to navigate to, no other purpose for this domain other than to increase "return customers" through coupon distribution. Only current customers can arrive at this site through a link they click within their email by opting in for "special" savings.

      I appreciate your interest in brainstorming my dilemma.

      On a side note, I could insert the coupon image within the email itself without a link redirecting to a "coupon page," but I would still need to dynamically insert the expiration date onto the image, just within the email itself rather than on a separate webpage.
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  • Profile picture of the author lisag
    What I am trying to figure out is what that that coupon page is, technology-wise. Is it sitting on a web server being served by a PHP or ASP page, or something.

    Just list out the technology:

    1. PC in store is connected to the internet (or whatever)
    2. The coupon page is a PHP page that sits there waiting for someone to opt-in
    3. Once they optin, blah blah.

    Somebody built this, just tell me what they did.

    If I know HOW this is being done, I can tell you what you need to do.

    Thanks,

    Lisa
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    • Profile picture of the author pfrofmi
      Originally Posted by lisag View Post

      What I am trying to figure out is what that that coupon page is, technology-wise. Is it sitting on a web server being served by a PHP or ASP page, or something.

      Just list out the technology:

      1. PC in store is connected to the internet (or whatever)
      2. The coupon page is a PHP page that sits there waiting for someone to opt-in
      3. Once they optin, blah blah.

      Somebody built this, just tell me what they did.

      If I know HOW this is being done, I can tell you what you need to do.

      Thanks,

      Lisa

      This hasn't been built yet. I am putting it together, but I am not a coder by any stretch of the imagination. I can manipulate html, so everything--including coupon pages--will be in html format. I am hoping I can just insert a bit of code to accomplish the dynamic insertion.

      1) PC in store is connected to the internet displaying an optin form
      2) Email sent, requiring double-optin verification
      3) 1st of series email sent, containing a link to an html webpage.
      4) Upon clicking the email link, person is sent to an html coded image of a coupon. (Print)

      However is best for achieving expiration date insertion, I guess I need to know what type of code needs to be generated so I can go about the process of finding the right person for the job.
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      • Profile picture of the author pfrofmi
        Thanks for the PM, but with under 50 posts the forum will not allow me to PM you back. Can you please PM another contact method so I can better discuss your solution with you?
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  • Profile picture of the author goliathseo
    For the php code to set the current date in a variable use the below code.
    <? = date("m-d-Y", time());
    Below are two ways you can get the same result:

    = strtotime(date("Y-m-d", strtotime()) . " +1 month");
    = strtotime(date("Y-m-d", strtotime()) . " +30 days");?>
    then all you have to do is set up a css based DIV statemen in html to position the date where you want it. Then inside the DIV echo the $date variable

    <DIV class"expires">
    <? echo ; ?>
    </DIV>
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    • Profile picture of the author pfrofmi
      TY goliathseo, I "think" I can figure it out from there.
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