6 things to consider for API integration with an ESP
You can make your email marketing more relevant and therefore effective by enabling your applications and your ESP to “talk” to each other in real time. This is done through Application Programming Interface (API) integration.
API integration allows data transfer and task execution between an ESP and an application such as CRM, ERP, BI or Web analytics. This exchange of data is crucial for successful email marketing because it allows the marketing efforts to easily leverage data from disparate systems and create a more meaningful, relevant and timely email. That in turn increases open rates, click throughs, conversions and timely deliverability.
API integration isn’t necessarily plug-and-play, however. Below we offer 6 important considerations for you to use when building an API that you want to integrate, or evaluating an API for a given ESP.
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Speed and stability: Can the integration handle the amount of data you want to push or pull as quickly as you want? Also look behind the scenes to evaluate the ESP’s infrastructure to support the API calls. The best API isn’t going to help if the redundant, scalable infrastructure isn’t there to serve it. |
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Does the ESP support your data types? This will also affect the structure of the data: relational vs. non relational. Does the ESP have pre-configured integrations with the platforms you want to integrate to? What is the breadth of the API functionality? For pre-configured integrations, make sure the integration does everything you need it to do as not all ESP integrations are created equal. For custom integration, consider the security and robustness of the API calls. |
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Once the API is built, who monitors it and how? Your existing IT staff or a hired firm? An ESP will not support your custom APIs. What happens if an error is encountered and who is alerted?
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How frequently will the ESP allow you to connect via the API? How many times per minute, hour, day? Does the ESP charge you to utilize their API? |
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The SLA: When integrating an API with your ESP, SLAs (Service Level Agreements) are crucial for mission-critical email communications. See what the SLA promises: How many API calls are served and how many are served without error? |
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When evaluating an API, keep in mind the information you need to receive back from the ESP and what is going to be done with it. You want to make sure the data you’re querying for is the data you want, such as bounces, unsubscribe, update of email address and preferences (if the ESP is managing this portion of the record). |
Once you’ve decided on an ESP or built your API taking into consideration these 6 factors, make sure to test and retest: clean, accurate data is a must. After completion, make it a habit to check log files and record data to ensure the system is working correctly.
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