Open Source Friday: Mautic – Marketing Automation for Everyone

Key Concepts

• Marketing Automation Platform: Software that automates marketing tasks and workflows.
• Open Source: Software with publicly accessible source code that can be used, modified, and distributed.
• Mortk: An open-source marketing automation platform built on PHP and the Symfony framework.
• Lead/Contact: A known individual or entity within Mortk's system.
• Anonymous Contact: An unidentified visitor tracked by Mortk through IP addresses and website activity.
• Engagement Points: Points assigned to contacts based on their interactions with a website or marketing materials.
• Campaigns: Automated sequences of actions triggered by specific events or conditions within Mortk.
• Segments: Lists of contacts grouped based on shared characteristics or behaviors.
• Double Opt-in: A process where users confirm their subscription to a newsletter or marketing list.
• Chron Jobs: Scheduled tasks that run automatically in the background to execute campaigns and other processes.
• DDEV: An open-source tool for local web development environments.
• Mailpit: A tool for capturing and inspecting emails sent from a local development environment.
• GDPR/CCPA: Data privacy regulations (General Data Protection Regulation and California Consumer Privacy Act).
• Digital Sovereignty: The concept of organizations controlling their own data and infrastructure.
• Big Mac Index: An economic indicator used to adjust membership fees based on local purchasing power.
• NLNET: A funding organization that supports open-source projects.

What is Mortk?

Mortk is an open-source marketing automation platform written in PHP using the Symfony framework. It allows organizations to learn about and personalize communications with their audience through various channels like email, SMS, WhatsApp, and website content.

• Founded in 2014 by DB Hurley, who wanted an open-source alternative to expensive proprietary tools.
• Released under GPL version 3.
• Initially funded by a SAS company providing enterprise hosting alongside the open-source project.
• Acquired by Aquia in 2019 and spun out as an independent open-source project two years later.
• Ruth Chesley, the current project lead, was a user of Mortk before becoming involved in its development.

Transition to Independence

The transition from corporate ownership to independence involved creating a new governance model without corporate control.

• In 2019, when incubated with Aquia, a governance model was established with Aquia's input.
• Drew Bhutart and Web Chick from the Drupal community provided support during this phase.
• After spinning out, a new governance model was created through a consultative process to remove corporate ownership.

Community and Conference

Mortk has a strong community, which is fostered through various initiatives, including a community conference.

• The first in-person conference was planned for 2020 but was moved online due to COVID-19.
• Currently, there is one in-person conference and one online conference per year.
• This year, a one-day conference will be held in London on November 3rd, followed by a community day and an online conference.
• The online conference will feature tracks in English, German, and Portuguese.
• A discount code, github-opensourceorf, is available for the conference.

Open Source Friday Initiative

The Open Source Friday initiative encourages contributions to the project by dedicating Friday afternoons to tasks like testing PRs, writing content, and fixing bugs.

• Every feature request, enhancement, and bug fix requires two manual reviews.
• The initiative aims to centralize review efforts and encourage organizations to contribute.
• A GitHub project board and a low/no-code project board are used to organize tasks.
• The initiative provides a focus for contributors and organizations.
• The link mau.tri.tc/contribute provides information on how to contribute.

Mortk 7 Beta Demo

The demo showcases Mortk 7 beta, which includes new features and improvements.

• The dashboard displays key metrics like the number of contacts, page visits, and form submissions.
• Mortk tracks both known contacts (leads) and anonymous contacts.
• Tracking code can be added to websites to monitor user activity.
• Engagement points can be assigned to contacts based on their actions.
• Landing pages can be created using a drag-and-drop builder with customizable templates.
• Campaigns automate actions based on user behavior, such as sending emails and adding contacts to segments.
• A double opt-in campaign example was shown, including sending confirmation emails and reminders.
• Chron jobs run in the background to execute campaigns.
• DDEV and Mailpit are used for local development and email testing.

Use Cases

Mortk can be used in various scenarios, including:

• Alerting sales teams when a contact reaches a certain level of engagement.
• Nurturing leads with targeted content based on their interests.
• Sending re-engagement campaigns to users who haven't interacted with specific content.
• Personalized communications to farmers based on their interests (case study with ro and Drop solid).
• Cart abandonment recovery for e-commerce businesses (case study with a German e-commerce company).
• Recruitment and HR processes (case study with an HR company).

Compliance

Mortk is designed to be compliant with data privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA.

• Cron jobs can be set up to clean out data and remove irrelevant information.
• Lookup lists can be used to manage "do not contact" requests.
• Users are responsible for implementing compliant marketing practices, such as obtaining consent and cleaning lists.
• The international community can provide guidance on compliance in specific countries.

Membership

Becoming a member of Mortk provides various benefits and supports the project.

• Individual membership costs $100 per year, adjusted based on the Big Mac Index for different countries (mau.t/ PC/BI).
• Members get a vote in elections, the community choice award, and a shiny badge.
• Company membership starts at $1,200 per year.
• Partners are members who actively contribute to the project.
• Honorary membership is awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions.

Future Plans

Future plans for Mortk include:

• Improving the user experience and accessibility.
• Developing the ability to import and export campaigns (funded by NLNET).
• Creating a campaign library with pre-built campaign templates (pending funding).

Conclusion

Mortk is a powerful and flexible open-source marketing automation platform with a strong community and a commitment to compliance. It offers a wide range of features and use cases, making it a valuable tool for organizations of all sizes. The project is continuously evolving, with exciting new features planned for future releases.