What is Emma?
Emma, part of the Campaign Monitor brand, is a cloud based software service that specializes in facilitating mass mailings. Emma allows units at NC State with large mailing needs to customize, target and monitor their communications. Emma helps campus clients control the cost of email marketing and reduces vulnerabilities associated with spam and phishing attacks.
NC State currently has an agreement with Emma that allows departments and units to save money joining together under one “parent” umbrella while still retaining autonomy in managing their communications via sub-accounts.
Emma is one of several solutions for mass mailings at NC State, including Acoustic, offered by University Communications.
NC State’s Agreement with Emma
In April 2022, OIT moved to Emma HQ which provides mailings for customers on campus based on their mail volume. There is no additional sub-account fee. To join or inquire about joining this agreement, contact OIT at oit_emma@help.ncsu.edu.
Help & Support
Support from Emma
To access Emma you should go to https://go.ncsu.edu/emma (this allows you to authenticate using Shibboleth and Duo to your Emma sub-account).
Emma support can be accessed from your user account drop-down menu by selecting Help.. You should also be able to submit a support ticket. Emma’s support team may ask that you work through your primary account holder, in which case you can reach out to OIT (see below). When OIT moved to Emma in April 2022, we recorded two introductory training sessions for sub-account holders:
- Part 1 Training – Video & Part 1 Training – Transcript
- Home screen, Profile/Admin settings, Audience
- Part 2 Training – Video & Part 2 Training – Transcript
- Campaigns: the editor & differentiating Campaigns & Templates; Automation – high level review, and Response & Analytics
Support from OIT
If you have an issue with your Emma sub-account (e.g., password changes), or have questions about email accessibility best practices, contact OIT at oit_emma@help.ncsu.edu.
Support from other Emma users
If you have questions about email marketing best practices or university branding requirements, we recommend you consult the broader community of Emma users at NC State. OIT maintains the group-emma-users@ncsu.edu Google Group to facilitate these discussions. If you would like to be added to that group, contact oit_emma@help.ncsu.edu.
NC State-Branded Email Generator
University Communications offers an Email Generator to assist users in creating on-brand emails. They have worked with OIT to make sure that the appropriate footer formatting is available for their free tier templates.
OIT has provided the following NC State branded templates to Emma sub-accounts:
- Memo-style template
- Letter-style template
If you have other ideas for templates that might be widely used, send them to OIT_emma@help.ncsu.edu for consideration.
Best practices for using Emma at NC State
To avoid suspicious or “spammy” behavior, it is important to establish a regular cadence for large mailings originating at the ncsu.edu domain. University Communications has compiled recommended NC State Email Marketing Best Practices. Please review these as you develop your mailings.
Federal CAN-SPAM Act Requirements
The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 establishes certain standards for sending mass email. The Federal Trade Commission maintains CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business to help ensure compliance with this act. Emma automatically scans the campaign you have for elements, which may trigger the spam filter response. When you finish your campaign, you’ll have to enter a live address in compliance with the Act of CAN-SPAM.