Digital Messages Were Not Sent on Time
Recipients with Yodel accounts are able to change how they receive messages. Postcards in the mail are default, but a user can select digital delivery through email or SMS text.
Because nearly all mailings have a mix of printed and digitally delivered messages, the printing process still plays a part for the timing of digital messages.
Your Selected Target Date
The selection you make for the target date when creating your message is key to when other processes and actions are triggered in our system.
Keep in mind that the target date is not a guaranteed delivery date (see our legal disclaimers). Yodel will do all we can to try and make sure all printed and digital message deliveries happen on or near this date, but there are areas outside of our control which can affect the final delivery date.
You use a calendar control to select from available dates that, even for digital delivery, exclude Sundays and U.S. holidays observed by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). These dates are not selectable because postal mail is not delivered on those days. This is still a factor for the portion of your delivery that is digital messages.
Yodel also ensures that there is enough lead time for the remainder of the message processing which includes approvals, pricing confirmation, printing and mailing.
All this must be good at the time you "Finish & Schedule" your message which will kick off the remainder of the steps listed below.
If any step of the process takes longer than expected, the target date may be in jeopardy and need to be adjusted before continuing.
Yodel Review & Approval
In order to maintain quality, to ensure safety and security guidelines are met, and to abide by state and federal legal requirements, Yodel reviews messages before sending.
After your message has been scheduled, the Yodel system will key off your selected target date. Intentionally, we hold off on the review, approval, and pricing confirmation until your target date is approaching.
With regard to planned lead times, Yodel will review your message a little over a week ahead of your target date. Review the approvals for senders and messages documentation for more details on the process.
There should be time for a couple of business days to make any changes if your message is not approved. Once the message passes approval, you'll be notified per your notification preferences.
Final Price Confirmation
Following the approval of your message, Yodel will evaluate your selected audiences against the latest address data, along with your selected print style, and based on current pricing for mailings, we will generate your final price.
You will be notified that the pricing is ready for your confirmation, per your notification preferences.
It is important to review and confirm the pricing as soon as possible so that your target date does not become unavailable. If there is a delay up to this point, your target date may need to be shifted later to the next available date.
Allowances for Printed Messages
Your message send will almost certainly include printed postcards in addition to any digitally sent emails or SMS texts. For that reason, the timing of digital sends have to allow for the extra steps required for printing and mailing.
Our aim is to get all printed and digital messages delivered on or near your target date. This will never be perfect, but we try to ensure that all delivery channels are close.
Digital Delivery Considerations
When your message is being delivered digitally, there are additional considerations to keep in mind.
Emails have the potential for errors in delivery or outages from both the sending and receiving email servers. Users may have strict junk mail or spam blocking filters. Recipients may have full inboxes which prevent delivery. Or the user may have email rules that make the message less noticeable.
Similarly, SMS text delivery has its own set of potential delivery issues. Errors in delivery or network outages can cause problems here too. The user's device can have bandwidth limits, storage limits, or software that prevents or de-emphasizes received messages.
Still Have Concerns
Aspects of digital delivery timing are affected by the printed mailing counterparts due to attempts to aim for your selected target date for both printed and digital delivery. The troubleshooting article for postal mailing delivery may have additional helpful information.
If you are still unhappy with delivery of your digital messages, please reach out to our support team through our online contact form.