Why TYPO3 Is Well Suited for Sending Newsletters

In TYPO3, newsletters can be created and sent via the extension luxletter. In principle, a newsletter is nothing more than a normal TYPO3 page that gets sent out via the extension – with all the benefits that brings:

  • Like all TYPO3 extensions, this functionality is licensed under the GPL v2 and is therefore free.
  • All data stays on your own web server, so it's processed in a legally compliant way under data protection law.
  • Newsletter and website presentation are consistent, since the same templates are used.
  • There are no technical limitations when designing the newsletter.
  • Editors create newsletter content the same way as page content – no need to learn another system.
  • Website content (e.g. news) can be automatically pulled into the newsletter – no duplicate maintenance.
  • Conversely, newsletter content can be published as its own page, improving content quality for search engines too.
  • The newsletter is also well suited for reaching users of a login-protected area.
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The Luxletter extension is available for free in the TYPO3 Extension Repository (TER). After installation and setup, actually sending a newsletter is very simple.

A Newsletter Is Just a Normal TYPO3 Page

To create a newsletter, you create a page of type Newsletter in the page tree. This page is later sent out as the newsletter and can be maintained like any regular individual page. Depending on setup, mostly simple text and image elements are available, since complex design structures cause problems in many mail clients. Different newsletter designs can be stored and selected at send time.

Managing Recipients

In Luxletter, recipients are just normal frontend users (system extension feuser). This means extensive data can be stored by default (address, salutation, gender, etc.), groups can be defined as recipient lists – a newsletter always goes to exactly one group, but a recipient can belong to multiple groups – and recipients can optionally be given protected login access. Mail recipients can also be manually deactivated or deleted here.

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Tip: Always create your own test group with your own email address (and anyone else who should also test). Luxletter does offer a preview and a test send to individual addresses – but the safest test is a full send to a test group.

Three Steps to Sending Your Mailing

For sending, Luxletter offers its own backend module that guides you through the process in three steps:

  1. Basic data: title, an optional category, an optional send time, and a description – all for internal purposes only.
  2. Details: sender (different senders can be stored), layout, recipient group, and the page to be sent as the newsletter.
  3. Preview & test mail: the newsletter is checked in preview and sent as a test to an email address. Saving here queues the newsletter for sending.

To avoid spam problems, newsletters are always sent in batches (e.g. 50 at a time) with a delay in between. This is handled by an appropriately configured luxletter:queue task in the TYPO3 scheduler.

Legal Aspects

  • Double opt-in: only send to recipients who have explicitly consented via double opt-in. The necessary functionality can be implemented, for example, using the extension feuserregistration, developed by WACON and freely available on GitHub.
  • Data minimization: only collect data you actually need.
  • Easy unsubscribe: offer a simple way to unsubscribe in every newsletter, e.g. via a link in the footer.
  • Provider identification: include your legal provider identification in every newsletter, matching your imprint.

Gender-Sensitive Salutations

Whether collecting gender, first name and last name is actually necessary for sending a newsletter, or conflicts with the principle of data minimization, is debatable – but from a marketing perspective, personalization is usually beneficial. If you do decide to collect gender, options beyond male and female should also be considered. Three alternative approaches have proven effective:

  1. Neutral salutation: e.g. "Hello Max Mustermann" – no gender information is required, but the first name is needed.
  2. Combination: if gender is (partially) known, address female and male recipients as Ms. or Mr., and use a neutral form as in option 1 for diverse gender or missing data.
  3. The "*-solution": e.g. "Dear [title] [first name] [last name]" using a gender-neutral form of address.

All three approaches can be implemented with the TYPO3 newsletter, for example in combination with the extension tt_address.

Tips for Successful Newsletter Delivery

  • The subject line often decides whether a newsletter gets opened or deleted – get straight to the point in 20–40 characters.
  • The preheader is shown as a preview by many mobile devices. Don't repeat the subject line here – instead, complement it, using no more than 100 characters.
  • Use alt text for images, since many mail clients don't display images by default.
  • Keep text short and link to your website instead.
  • Keep the layout simple and professional so as many mail clients as possible render it correctly.
  • Choose a sufficiently large font size – especially important on smartphones.
  • Pay attention to correct spelling and the right send time for your audience.
  • Test how it renders in common webmail clients and mail programs, and check your newsletter's spam risk, e.g. with mail-tester.com.
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