Part 2 · Clients, sales and relationships

Email Marketing and Link Tracker

Compose and send mass mailings to mailing lists, measure what they bring back, and track every shared link through a shortened address.

Symbifox 18.0 (September 2026 catalogue) · Modules: Inscription publique à une liste d'envoi · Base applications: Email Marketing, UTM Trackers, Link Tracker · Revised 2026-09-12

The Email Marketing application composes mass mailings, sends them to a mailing list or to a selection of contacts, then measures what comes back: deliveries, opens, clicks, replies and unsubscribes. It is for the people who run a newsletter, announce an offer or follow up with customers. Link Tracker, its immediate neighbour, shortens a web address and counts the visits it brings, whether the link goes out in a mailing, on a job posting or in a message written by hand. Together they answer a single question: was what you sent read, and what was opened next?

Overview#

A mailing (one line of Mailings) is a single message: a subject, a laid-out body, a choice of recipients, and a state that runs from Draft to Sent. A mailing list groups addresses, and each address has its own subscription on it, so a person can unsubscribe from one list without leaving the others. A campaign groups several mailings under one goal and adds up their results. A tracked link is a short address that redirects to a page and counts the visits.

Three tags travel with every link and every mailing: the Campaign, the Medium (the channel, for example Website or Email) and the Source (the origin, for example LinkedIn). This trio is what later tells you where visits come from, and it appears unchanged in the CRM, on opportunities created from the website.

The most telling view of the two applications is the list of tracked links. It shows plainly what the measurement collects, and it holds data on the demo, whereas mailings have never yet been sent at Boréal.

The application connects with several neighbours. The contacts of a mailing list are separate from the records in Contacts: an address can live in a list without being a customer. The blacklist is shared across the whole platform, so an address refused here is also refused for mailings sent from the CRM and from Email. Website, blog and eLearning produces its own tracked links, visible in the same list. Finally, measuring consent and keeping the evidence belong to Privacy (Law 25 and other frameworks). Law 25 is Québec's Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector.

Configuration#

Access and permissions#

Access is set in a user's permissions, Marketing section. User opens both applications, and lets the person compose and send mailings, maintain the lists and create tracked links. Without this permission, the application does not appear in the main menu. Configuration, and deleting a mailing that has already been sent, remain reserved for the administrators of the settings. Lists, mailings and campaigns are separated by company.

Settings#

The settings fit on one screen, in Email Marketing › Configuration › Settings.

• Mailing Campaigns adds Campaigns to the menu and lets you attach several mailings to the same goal.
• Split First and Last Name splits the name of list contacts in two, useful when your messages address people by their first name.
• Blacklist Option when Unsubscribing adds, on the unsubscribe page, the choice of never receiving anything again rather than leaving a single list.
• 24H Stat Mailing Reports sends the person responsible a summary the day after a mailing goes out.
• Dedicated Server sends mass mailings through an outgoing mail server separate from the one used for ordinary messages, so that the reputation of one does not drag down the other.

Base data#

• At least one mailing list. The demo has one, “Newsletter”, with a single contact.
• The opt-out reasons offered to people who unsubscribe. Five are supplied, from the most factual (“I receive too many emails from this list”) to the most open (“Other”), and only the last accepts a free comment.
• The campaign stages and the campaign tags, if you follow your campaigns in kanban.
• The Mediums and Sources you want to see in your statistics. Ten mediums and eleven sources are supplied. Add your own rather than reuse one value for two different meanings.

Getting started#

This walkthrough composes a first mailing to the demo list and tests it before anything is sent.

1. Open Email Marketing › Mailings. The list is empty and the screen offers “Create a Mailing”.
2. Select New.
3. Enter the Subject, for example “Our fall availability”.
4. In Recipients, keep Mailing List and choose “Newsletter”.
5. Choose a layout from the gallery offered, then write the body by dragging content blocks.
6. Select Test, enter your own address and send the test copy.
7. Select Save.

Result: the mailing appears in Mailings with the Draft status, with the “Newsletter” list as its recipient. The Sent, Delivered (%), Opened (%) and Clicked (%) columns stay empty until the mailing goes out. Reread the copy you received, then go back to the mailing to send it.

Common tasks#

Create a mailing list#

One list per purpose: a general newsletter and a customer list are not unsubscribed from together.

1. Open Email Marketing › Mailing Lists › Mailing Lists.
2. Select New and enter the name.
3. Check Show In Preferences if you want the list to appear on the subscription management page, where each person chooses what to keep.
4. Save.

Result: the list appears in kanban with its counters at zero: total number of contacts, bounces, opt-outs and blacklisted share.

Add or import contacts into a list#

Addresses rarely arrive one at a time, and importing takes them in bulk from a spreadsheet.

1. Open the list and select Import Contacts, or open Email Marketing › Mailing Lists › Mailing List Contacts and select Import.
2. Upload the file, or paste the addresses into the quick import window.
3. Match the file's columns to the contact fields (name, address, company).
4. Verify the destination list, then import.

Result: the contacts appear in the list, each with their subscription. An address already present is not duplicated, and a blacklisted address is imported but will receive nothing.

Compose and send a mass mailing#

A mailing is composed like a page: you choose a layout, then fill in blocks.

1. Open Email Marketing › Mailings and select New.
2. Enter the Subject and, if needed, the Preview Text shown next to the subject in the inbox.
3. Choose the Recipients: a mailing list, or another type of record that you then filter.
4. Choose a layout, then write the body.
5. On the settings tab, verify the Responsible, the Campaign and the reply-to address.
6. Select Test and reread the copy you receive.
7. Select Send, or Schedule to set the departure date and time.

Result: the status changes to In Queue, then Sending, and finally Sent. The shortcut buttons at the top of the form open the details of deliveries, opens, clicks, bounces and unsubscribes.

Compare two versions of the same mailing#

An A/B test sends two variants to a fraction of the list, then sends the winner to the rest.

1. Open the mailing and check Allow A/B Testing.
2. Set the percentage of the list that receives each variant.
3. Choose the criterion that picks the winner (open, click or reply rate).
4. Select Create an Alternative Version and write the second version.
5. Send the variants, then, when the time comes, send the winner to the rest of the list.

Result: the A/B Test column of the mailing list flags the variants, which stay grouped and are compared on the same screen.

Group mailings in a campaign#

A campaign links several mailings, and sometimes several channels, under one measurable goal.

1. Open Email Marketing › Campaigns.
2. Select New, then enter the name, the Responsible and the tags.
3. Save, then attach your mailings to the campaign from their settings tab.
4. Drag the card from one stage to the next as the campaign progresses.

Result: the campaign card adds up the number of mailings, the clicks and the expected revenue of the opportunities it produced.

Track a mailing's results#

Rates are calculated continuously, and nothing is compiled by hand.

1. Open Email Marketing › Mailings in list view.
2. Read the Sent, Delivered (%), Opened (%), Clicked (%), Replied (%) and Status columns.
3. Open a mailing and select a shortcut button at the top of the form to see the details, recipient by recipient.
4. To break the results down by period, by campaign or by list, open Email Marketing › Reporting › Mass Mailing Analysis as a graph or a pivot table.

Result: a figure for every send, and a trace of what each recipient did with the message.

Shorten and track a link#

A tracked link works anywhere, not only in a mailing: on a job posting, in a signature, in a message written by hand.

1. Open Link Tracker › Link Tracker and select New.
2. Enter the Target URL, the page the link redirects to.
3. Choose the Campaign, the Medium and the Source that describe how you use this link.
4. Optional: enter the Page Title and the Button label to find your way later.
5. Save, then copy the Tracked URL offered.

Result: a short address, made of a three-character code after the domain name, which redirects to the target page and counts every visit.

Read a link's statistics#

The number of clicks is in the list, and the details over time open in one step.

1. Open Link Tracker › Link Tracker.
2. Find the link in the list and read the click count column.
3. Select Statistics at the end of the row to open the click curve.
4. Select Visit Page to verify that the redirect still leads to the right place.

Result: the curve shows when the link was working. On the demo, the busiest link has 47 clicks and points to a business analyst job posting.

Handle an unsubscribe and the blacklist#

These are two different actions: leaving a list, or refusing every mailing. The second applies to the whole platform.

1. To understand departures, open Email Marketing › Reporting › Opt-Out Report and group by Reason.
2. To remove an address from a list, open Email Marketing › Mailing Lists › Mailing List Contacts, open the record and clear the subscription to the list concerned.
3. To block an address everywhere, open Email Marketing › Configuration › Blacklisted Email Addresses and select New.
4. Enter the address and save.

Result: a blacklisted address is never again the recipient of a mass mailing, whatever the list. The opt-out report breaks departures down by reason and by mailing.

Collect sign-ups from a public website#

A website that Symbifox does not host can still feed a mailing list, provided each address is confirmed.

Prerequisites: the public sign-up module installed, the destination list chosen in the settings, and two return pages planned on the calling site.

1. Add an ordinary form to your page, with an address field, a language field and a hidden field that serves as a bot trap.
2. In the settings, designate the mailing list that will receive the sign-ups.
3. Enter the website address, the reply-to address for each language, the brand name and, if needed, the images for the email header and footer.
4. Enter the address to notify when a sign-up arrives, or leave the field empty to notify no one.
5. Make a test request from the public page, then follow the link you receive.

Result: the person receives a single email, the one that carries the confirmation link. Until they follow it, their sign-up stays inactive and receives nothing. Once the link is followed, the sign-up becomes active and the consent date is recorded in the contact's chatter, the message thread at the bottom of the record.

The menus, one by one#

Email Marketing › Mailings: the list of mailings, filtered on My Mailings, with the columns Date, Subject, Responsible, A/B Test, Sent, Delivered (%), Opened (%), Clicked (%), Replied (%) and Status. Kanban and calendar views as well, the second based on the sending date. Empty on the demo: the screen shows “Create a Mailing”.

Email Marketing › Mailing Lists: grouping menu.

Email Marketing › Mailing Lists › Mailing Lists: the kanban of lists, one card per list with its number of contacts, its bounce, opt-out and blacklist rates, and the Import Contacts and Send Mailing buttons. One list on the demo.

Email Marketing › Mailing Lists › Mailing List Contacts: the list of addresses, prefiltered on Exclude Blacklisted Emails, with the columns Created on, Name, Company Name, Email, blacklist status and number of bounces. Kanban, graph and pivot views as well. A single contact on the demo.

Email Marketing › Campaigns: the kanban of campaigns, one column per stage, one card per campaign with its number of mailings, its clicks and its expected revenue. One campaign on the demo, “Campagne d'offres”, at the New stage.

Email Marketing › Reporting: grouping menu.

Email Marketing › Reporting › Mass Mailing Analysis: the graph of mailing statistics, with pivot table and list. It breaks deliveries, opens, clicks, bounces and replies down by mailing, by campaign and by period. Empty on the demo, since nothing has been sent.

Email Marketing › Reporting › Opt-Out Report: the pie chart of departures, grouped on Reason. Empty on the demo, with a direct link to the settings for the reasons.

Email Marketing › Configuration: grouping menu.

Email Marketing › Configuration › Settings: the settings screen described in Settings.

Email Marketing › Configuration › Campaign Stages: the list of stages of the campaign kanban, reordered by dragging. One stage on the demo, New.

Email Marketing › Configuration › Campaign Tags: the list of tags that qualify a campaign, with their colour. One tag on the demo.

Email Marketing › Configuration › Link Tracker: the same screen as the Link Tracker application, opened here because a mailing produces tracked links. Twelve links on the demo.

Email Marketing › Configuration › Blacklisted Email Addresses: the list of addresses that will receive nothing more, with the date and the reason for the block. Empty on the demo.

Email Marketing › Configuration › Optout Reasons: the list of reasons offered to people who unsubscribe, with the Allow Feedback column. Five reasons on the demo, and only Other accepts a comment.

Email Marketing › Configuration › Favorite Filters: the saved recipient filters, reusable from one mailing to the next. Empty on the demo.

Link Tracker › Link Tracker: the list of all tracked links, with the columns Created on, Page Title, Button label, Target URL and number of clicks, and Visit Page and Statistics at the end of each row. Graph view as well. Twelve links on the demo.

Link Tracker › UTMs: grouping menu.

Link Tracker › UTMs › Campaigns: the same campaigns as under Email Marketing, as a list this time, so you can maintain them without going through the kanban.

Link Tracker › UTMs › Mediums: the list of available channels, ten on the demo, including Email and Website.

Link Tracker › UTMs › Sources: the list of origins, eleven on the demo, including LinkedIn.

Reference#

Fields of the Mailing form#

Fields of the Tracked link form#

Reports and exports#

Mass Mailing Analysis breaks sending statistics down as a graph, a pivot table and a list. Opt-Out Report does the same for departures, by reason and by mailing. The list of tracked links offers a graph view, and each link opens its own click curve through Statistics. Any list exports to a spreadsheet with Action › Export. If the corresponding setting is on, the person responsible for a mailing receives a summary by email the day after it goes out.

Automations#

A scheduled mailing goes out on its own at the set date: a background task picks up the queue at regular intervals and sends in batches, so as not to overload the outgoing server. Opens, clicks and bounces are recorded as they happen, with no intervention. An address that bounces permanently stops being contacted. The public sign-up form has nothing to clean up: the confirmation link stops being valid after seven days, without any task having to purge it.

Public pages and portal#

The unsubscribe page, attached to the bottom of every mailing, lets a person leave a list, manage their subscriptions to the public lists, give a reason and, if the setting is on, blacklist themselves. Tracked links serve their redirects from a public short address. The public sign-up module adds two addresses open to everyone: /infolettre, which receives the form and always gives the same answer, and /infolettre/confirmer, which activates the sign-up if the link is still valid. The thank-you and confirmation pages remain those of your own site.

Modules that extend this application#

Double opt-in is not a refinement here, it is the main safeguard. A static page opens no session, so the route necessarily opens with no security token; with no other protection, anyone could sign up someone else's address. The sign-up starts out inactive and receives a single message, the one with the confirmation link, which only the person who reads that mailbox can follow. The confirmation leaves dated evidence, and an address that has already unsubscribed is not reactivated by submitting the form again.

Three details are worth knowing. The form gives the same answer whatever happens, known address or not, bot trap filled in or not: an answer that varied would tell whoever tests it whether an address is on the list. The brand images have no default value, so that a module installed elsewhere never routes your subscribers' opens through its author's server. Finally, the internal notice of a new sign-up goes out only once, at confirmation: reloading the link does not notify twice.

Understanding#

Why two applications rather than one. Link tracking serves far more than the newsletter: a job posting published on a social network, a link in a signature, a business card with a code to scan. It therefore has its own entry in the main menu, and the same list reappears under the configuration of Email Marketing because every mailing produces its own links.

Why the campaign, medium and source trio. A link on its own says how many visits it received. The trio says where those visits came from. It is the same vocabulary as the tracking parameters recognized by web analytics tools, which lets you reconcile the two readings without a mapping table.

What the uniqueness of a link implies. A link is unique for a combination of target address, campaign, medium and source. Asking for the same link again with the same tags returns the one that already exists. Change a single tag and you get a second link, so two separate counters: that is intended when the uses differ, and a mistake when they do not.

The blacklist is global, the subscription is local. Unsubscribing from one list does not affect the others. Going on the blacklist blocks everything, everywhere, including mailings sent from other applications. Two actions, two scopes: do not mix them up in your internal procedures.

The limits of measurement. The open counter depends on an invisible image loading, which email programs block more and more, or preload, which inflates the figure in the other direction. The click counter of a tracked link counts real visits, search engine crawlers included. Treat the first as an order of magnitude and the second as a measurement, and never add them together.

Troubleshooting#

See also#

• Contacts
• CRM
• Email
• Website, blog and eLearning
• Editorial Workshop
• Privacy (Law 25 and other frameworks)