Difference between revisions of "Reasons emails don’t get to members"

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Trying to figure out why an email didn’t get to one (or a bunch!) of your members is usually confusing and frustrating. If you have ever asked one of the questions below… read on. While there are many reasons why email messages don’t make it to your members, there are several reasons that seem most common to our customers. The top three are listed below.
  <div style="text-align: left;">[[Emails_Letters_and_Mailing_Lists-TableOfContents|Table of Contents]] | [[Emails_Letters_and_Mailing_Lists-Storing_images_that_are_used_in_emails_or_other|Previous]] | [[Emails_Letters_and_Mailing_Lists-Ideas_for_Developing_Communication_Content|Next]] | [[Emails_Letters_and_Mailing_Lists-Index|Index]]</div>
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* "Why do some members say they don’t receive email messages that I send through ChamberMaster/MemberZone?"
  <div style="color: #999999; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: left;">Reasons emails don’t get to members</div>
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* "Why do some messages "bounce" when I know the email address is valid?"
  <hr />
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* "Why can some members receive messages from me when I send through Outlook but not when I send out of ChamberMaster/MemberZone?"
  <div style="color: #808080; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 22pt;"><span id="wwpID0E05K0HA">Reasons emails don’t get to members</span></div>
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* "What can I do to make sure my members get the email messages I am sending through ChamberMaster/MemberZone?"
  <div style="margin-left: 0pt;margin-bottom: 12pt;">
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==Your chamber’s Sender Policy Framework (SPF) Record may be incomplete or missing==
    <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="99%" summary="">
+
Because of Spam, many ISP's (Internet Service Providers - i.e. Charter, RoadRunner, AOL, Yahoo, etc…) have begun performing a type of SPAM check called a reverse domain lookup (also called an "SPF lookup") to verify that the sending IP address of a mail server is authorized to send email from your domain. In plain language – the member’s email provider is asking, "Is this email message coming from an authorized sender?" If the answer is "no" they will either reject it or filter it to your member’s SPAM folder.
      <tr valign="baseline">
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*This is important for ChamberMaster & GrowthZone users because when you send email to your members from within the software we list your email address as the sender but route the message through our bulk email servers. These servers are specifically designed to help ensure the highest possible email delivery rate, but if a member’s email provider performs an SPF lookup and your chamber’s record does not list the ChamberMaster & GrowthZone email server as an approved sender, the message will most likely not get to the member.
        <td style="width: 18pt"><div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">[[Image:Emails_Letters_and_Mailing_Lists-rd_bullet.jpg|9px]]</div></td>
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===Solution: Setup the SPF Record===
        <td><div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><span id="wwpID0E04K0HA">“Why do some members say they don’t receive email messages that I send through ChamberMaster?”</span></div></td>
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The good news is that there is a fix for this – have the company who manages your Domain Name Server (usually your web hosting company) add ChamberMaster's email servers to your SPF Record(s).
      </tr>
+
Free test to see if your SPF records are setup!
    </table>
+
You can easily check to see if your domain is already setup by following these 5-steps
  </div>
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#Click on this link - [http://mxtoolbox.com/spf.aspx?command=spf http://mxtoolbox.com/spf.aspx?command=spf]
  <div style="margin-left: 0pt;margin-bottom: 12pt;">
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#Type the domain of your email address in the box (the part after the "@") and click "SPF Record Lookup"
    <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="99%" summary="">
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#Compare the SPF record on file with the following example:
      <tr valign="baseline">
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#:If your SPF record is setup one of the records should look like this:
        <td style="width: 18pt"><div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">[[Image:Emails_Letters_and_Mailing_Lists-rd_bullet.jpg|9px]]</div></td>
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#:[[File:SPF_Included.png|framed|none]]  
        <td><div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><span id="wwpID0E03K0HA">“Why do some messages “bounce” when I know the email address is valid?”</span></div></td>
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#If your SPF record is missing or does not contain the spf.memberzone.com listing, contact your "web or IT person" and have them update the record to include the mail servers. They need to add to your existing SPF record '''include:spf.memberzone.com''' and make sure the strictness is set at Fail -all and '''NOT''' ~all
      </tr>
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#:*An example of a complete SPF record with the memberzone spf included would look like:
    </table>
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#:::v=spf1 mx include:spf.memberzone.com mx:yourdomain.com -all
  </div>
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#:*If you're using office 365 for email an example SPF record would look like:
  <div style="margin-left: 0pt;margin-bottom: 12pt;">
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#::: v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:spf.memberzone.com -all
    <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="99%" summary="">
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#:*'''Tip'''! You may wish to use https://www.spfwizard.net/ to help you create this entry.
      <tr valign="baseline">
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#Test that your email configuration is correct by sending a test email from each of your email sending domains to the address shown at https://www.mail-tester.com/ After sending the test email to the noted address, return to the webpage and view your spam score.  Check that the SPF record option has a green check mark.
        <td style="width: 18pt"><div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">[[Image:Emails_Letters_and_Mailing_Lists-rd_bullet.jpg|9px]]</div></td>
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#:[[File:SPF CP.jpg|600px|center]]
        <td><div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><span id="wwpID0E02K0HA">“Why can some members receive messages from me when I send through Outlook but not when I send out of ChamberMaster?”</span></div></td>
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#Complete Steps 2-5 for each email domain that you send from in your software. 
      </tr>
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#:*'''Tip'''! You can see email domains that you send from by viewing the email addresses of each of your staff under Setup>Association Employees/Reps.
    </table>
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#:*'''Note''': A standard, generic email domain such as gmail.com, Hotmail.com etc will not be an acceptable domain to send email from.  Your email domain must be a domain that allows you to modify the SPF record. Email sent from these standard domains will fail if used to send emails from ChamberMaster / MemberZone.
  </div>
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  <div style="margin-left: 0pt;margin-bottom: 12pt;">
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==Issues with the recipient’s mailbox==
    <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="99%" summary="">
+
Your member’s email message box may be full, the email address may be incorrect, or it may not even exist any more.
      <tr valign="baseline">
+
===Solution: Contact the recipient===
        <td style="width: 18pt"><div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">[[Image:Emails_Letters_and_Mailing_Lists-rd_bullet.jpg|9px]]</div></td>
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Contact the specific recipient to verify the email address or let them know that their email doesn’t seem to be working properly they may not be aware of it and you could be the "hero" who helped them not miss that important business deal because their inbox was full!
        <td><div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><span id="wwpID0E01K0HA">“What can I do to make sure my members get the email messages I am sending through ChamberMaster?”</span></div></td>
+
 
      </tr>
+
==Your domain may be "blacklisted"==
    </table>
+
To fight spam, many ISPs limit the number of emails coming from one sender in a given time period. If you exceed this limit your domain may be "blacklisted" and you will have a difficult time getting messages through to anybody.
  </div>
+
===Solution: Contact the organization that has you blacklisted===
  <div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span id="wwpID0E0ZK0HA">Trying to figure out why an email didn’t get to one (or a bunch!) of your members is usually confusing and frustrating. If you have ever asked one of the questions above… read on. While there are many reasons why email messages don’t make it to your members, there are several reasons that seem most common to our ChamberMaster customers. The top three are listed below. </span></div>
+
Contact any ISP’s which have "blacklisted" your domain and request that they add you to their list of safe senders or "white list". To see if your domain is "Blacklisted", Use the tool at the link below to determine if the domain you use for email is blacklisted by any of the major email servers. You may see some of them to return a "timed out message" – This response is normal. 
  <div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span id="wwpID0E0YK0HA">* Note: If you don’t do anything else, read Reason #1 – it may change your lifeOkay, maybe it won’t be </span><span style="font-style: italic;">that</span> exciting, but it could make a <span style="font-weight: bold;">big</span> difference in how many email messages get through to your members. </div>
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http://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx
  <div style="color: #5F497A; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 0pt;"><span id="wwpID0E0XK0HA">Reason #1:  Your chamber’s Sender Policy Framework (SPF) Record may be incomplete or missing</span></div>
+
 
  <div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span id="wwpID0E0WK0HA">Because of Spam, many ISP's (Internet Service Providers - i.e. Charter, RoadRunner, AOL, Yahoo, etc…) have begun performing a newer type of SPAM check called a reverse domain lookup (also called an “SPF lookup”) to verify that the sending IP address of a mail server is authorized to send email from your domain.  In plain language – the member’s email provider is asking, “Is this email message coming from the right place?”  If the answer is” no” they will either reject it or filter it to your member’s SPAM folder.</span></div>
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==Final thought:==
  <div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span id="wwpID0E0VK0HA">*</span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">This is important for ChamberMaster users</span> because when you send email to your members from within the software we list <span style="font-style: italic;">your</span> email address as the sender but route the message through <span style="font-style: italic;">our</span> Strongmail email servers.  These servers are specifically designed to help ensure the highest possible email delivery rate, but if a member’s email provider performs an SPF lookup and your chamber’s record does not list ChamberMaster as an approved sender, the message will most likely not get to the member. </div>
+
Unfortunately, even if you have everything setup properly, not every email you send will get through to every member. That’s why we recommend using all the tools at your disposal to get important information to your members – email messages, website updates & banner ads, RSS feeds, "snail mail", phone calls and personal visits are all part of an effective communication plan to make sure that your members know what is happening at the chamber. The good news is that many of those tools are already available to you as ChamberMaster/GrowthZone users!
  <div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span id="wwpID0E0UK0HA">Solution:</span></span> The good news is that there is a quick and easy fix for this – have the company who manages your Domain Name Servers (usually your web hosting company) add ChamberMaster's email servers to your SPF Record. </div>
 
  <div style="color: #5F497A; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span id="wwpID0E0TK0HA">Free test to see if your SPF records are setup! </span></span></div>
 
  <div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 18pt;"><span id="wwpID0E0SK0HA">You can easily check to see if your domain is already setup by following these 4 steps</span></div>
 
  <div style="margin-left: 18pt;">
 
    <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="99%" summary="">
 
      <tr valign="baseline">
 
        <td style="width: 18pt"><div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">1. </div></td>
 
        <td><div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><span id="wwpID0E0RK0HA">Click on this link - </span><span style="color: #003366; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: underline;">[[http://www.mxtoolbox.com/spf.aspx|http://www.mxtoolbox.com/spf.aspx]]</span>  </div></td>
 
      </tr>
 
    </table>
 
  </div>
 
  <div style="margin-left: 18pt;">
 
    <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="99%" summary="">
 
      <tr valign="baseline">
 
        <td style="width: 18pt"><div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">2. </div></td>
 
        <td><div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><span id="wwpID0E0QK0HA">Type the domain of your email address in the box (the part after the “@”) and  click “SPF Record Lookup” </span></div></td>
 
      </tr>
 
    </table>
 
  </div>
 
  <div style="margin-left: 18pt;">
 
    <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="99%" summary="">
 
      <tr valign="baseline">
 
        <td style="width: 18pt"><div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">3. </div></td>
 
        <td><div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><span id="wwpID0E0PK0HA">Compare the SPF record on file with the following example:</span></div></td>
 
      </tr>
 
    </table>
 
  </div>
 
  <div style="margin-left: 18pt;">
 
    <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="99%" summary="">
 
      <tr valign="baseline">
 
        <td style="width: 18pt"><div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">4. </div></td>
 
        <td><div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><span id="wwpID0E0OK0HA">"v=spf1 mx a:smtp01.chambermaster.com a:smtp02.chambermaster.com a:smtp03.chambermaster.com mx:yourdomain.com ~all"</span></div></td>
 
      </tr>
 
    </table>
 
  </div>
 
  <div style="margin-left: 18pt;">
 
    <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="99%" summary="">
 
      <tr valign="baseline">
 
        <td style="width: 18pt"><div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">5. </div></td>
 
        <td><div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><span id="wwpID0E0NK0HA">If your SPF record is missing or does not contain the chambermaster.com listings, contact your “web guy(or gal)” and have them update the record to include the ChamberMaster mail servers</span></div></td>
 
      </tr>
 
    </table>
 
  </div>
 
  <div style="color: #5F497A; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 0pt;"><span id="wwpID0E0MK0HA"> </span></div>
 
  <div style="color: #5F497A; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 0pt;"><span id="wwpID0E0LK0HA">Reason #2: Issues with the recipient’s mailbox</span></div>
 
  <div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span id="wwpID0E0KK0HA">Your member’s email message box may be full, the email address may be incorrect, or it may not even exist any more.</span></div>
 
  <div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span id="wwpID0E0JK0HA">Solution</span></span>:  Contact the specific recipient to verify the email address or let them know that their email doesn’t seem to be working properly – they may not be aware of it and you could be the “hero” who helped them not miss that important business deal because their inbox was full!</div>
 
  <div style="color: #5F497A; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 0pt;"><span id="wwpID0E0IK0HA">Reason #3: Your domain may be “blacklisted”</span></div>
 
  <div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span id="wwpID0E0HK0HA">To fight spam, many ISPs limit the number of emails coming from one sender in a given time period.  If you exceed this limit your domain may be “blacklisted” and you will have a difficult time getting messages through to anybody.</span></div>
 
  <div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span id="wwpID0E0GK0HA">Solution</span></span>: Contact any ISP’s which have “blacklisted” your domain and request that they add you to their list of safe senders or “white list”.  </div>
 
  <div style="color: #5F497A; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 18pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span id="wwpID0E0FK0HA">Free test to see if your domain is “Blacklisted” </span></span></div>
 
  <div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 18pt;"><span id="wwpID0E0EK0HA">Use the tool at the link below to determine if the domain you use for email is blacklisted by any of the major email servers (and don’t worry, it is normal for some of them to return a “timed out message” – it doesn’t mean anything bad) </span><span style="color: #003366; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: underline;">[[http://www.mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx|http://www.mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx]]</span> </div>
 
  <div style="color: #5F497A; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold; margin-left: 0pt;"><span id="wwpID0E0DK0HA">Final thought: </span></div>
 
  <div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span id="wwpID0E0CK0HA">Unfortunately, even if you have everything setup properly, not every email you send will get through to every member.  That’s why we recommend using all the tools at your disposal to get important information to your members – email messages, website updates &amp; banner ads, RSS feeds, “snail mail”, phone calls and personal visits are all part of an effective communication plan to make sure that your members know what is happening at the chamber.  The good news is that many of those tools are already available to you as ChamberMaster users!   </span></div>
 
</div>
 

Latest revision as of 19:34, 7 February 2019

Trying to figure out why an email didn’t get to one (or a bunch!) of your members is usually confusing and frustrating. If you have ever asked one of the questions below… read on. While there are many reasons why email messages don’t make it to your members, there are several reasons that seem most common to our customers. The top three are listed below.

  • "Why do some members say they don’t receive email messages that I send through ChamberMaster/MemberZone?"
  • "Why do some messages "bounce" when I know the email address is valid?"
  • "Why can some members receive messages from me when I send through Outlook but not when I send out of ChamberMaster/MemberZone?"
  • "What can I do to make sure my members get the email messages I am sending through ChamberMaster/MemberZone?"

Your chamber’s Sender Policy Framework (SPF) Record may be incomplete or missing

Because of Spam, many ISP's (Internet Service Providers - i.e. Charter, RoadRunner, AOL, Yahoo, etc…) have begun performing a type of SPAM check called a reverse domain lookup (also called an "SPF lookup") to verify that the sending IP address of a mail server is authorized to send email from your domain. In plain language – the member’s email provider is asking, "Is this email message coming from an authorized sender?" If the answer is "no" they will either reject it or filter it to your member’s SPAM folder.

  • This is important for ChamberMaster & GrowthZone users because when you send email to your members from within the software we list your email address as the sender but route the message through our bulk email servers. These servers are specifically designed to help ensure the highest possible email delivery rate, but if a member’s email provider performs an SPF lookup and your chamber’s record does not list the ChamberMaster & GrowthZone email server as an approved sender, the message will most likely not get to the member.

Solution: Setup the SPF Record

The good news is that there is a fix for this – have the company who manages your Domain Name Server (usually your web hosting company) add ChamberMaster's email servers to your SPF Record(s). Free test to see if your SPF records are setup! You can easily check to see if your domain is already setup by following these 5-steps

  1. Click on this link - http://mxtoolbox.com/spf.aspx?command=spf
  2. Type the domain of your email address in the box (the part after the "@") and click "SPF Record Lookup"
  3. Compare the SPF record on file with the following example:
    If your SPF record is setup one of the records should look like this:
    SPF Included.png
  4. If your SPF record is missing or does not contain the spf.memberzone.com listing, contact your "web or IT person" and have them update the record to include the mail servers. They need to add to your existing SPF record include:spf.memberzone.com and make sure the strictness is set at Fail -all and NOT ~all
    • An example of a complete SPF record with the memberzone spf included would look like:
    v=spf1 mx include:spf.memberzone.com mx:yourdomain.com -all
    • If you're using office 365 for email an example SPF record would look like:
    v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:spf.memberzone.com -all
  5. Test that your email configuration is correct by sending a test email from each of your email sending domains to the address shown at https://www.mail-tester.com/ . After sending the test email to the noted address, return to the webpage and view your spam score. Check that the SPF record option has a green check mark.
    SPF CP.jpg
  6. Complete Steps 2-5 for each email domain that you send from in your software.
    • Tip! You can see email domains that you send from by viewing the email addresses of each of your staff under Setup>Association Employees/Reps.
    • Note: A standard, generic email domain such as gmail.com, Hotmail.com etc will not be an acceptable domain to send email from. Your email domain must be a domain that allows you to modify the SPF record. Email sent from these standard domains will fail if used to send emails from ChamberMaster / MemberZone.

Issues with the recipient’s mailbox

Your member’s email message box may be full, the email address may be incorrect, or it may not even exist any more.

Solution: Contact the recipient

Contact the specific recipient to verify the email address or let them know that their email doesn’t seem to be working properly – they may not be aware of it and you could be the "hero" who helped them not miss that important business deal because their inbox was full!

Your domain may be "blacklisted"

To fight spam, many ISPs limit the number of emails coming from one sender in a given time period. If you exceed this limit your domain may be "blacklisted" and you will have a difficult time getting messages through to anybody.

Solution: Contact the organization that has you blacklisted

Contact any ISP’s which have "blacklisted" your domain and request that they add you to their list of safe senders or "white list". To see if your domain is "Blacklisted", Use the tool at the link below to determine if the domain you use for email is blacklisted by any of the major email servers. You may see some of them to return a "timed out message" – This response is normal. http://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx

Final thought:

Unfortunately, even if you have everything setup properly, not every email you send will get through to every member. That’s why we recommend using all the tools at your disposal to get important information to your members – email messages, website updates & banner ads, RSS feeds, "snail mail", phone calls and personal visits are all part of an effective communication plan to make sure that your members know what is happening at the chamber. The good news is that many of those tools are already available to you as ChamberMaster/GrowthZone users!