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Newsletters

On this page

  1. What is the Newsletter Module?
  2. Entering default newsletter settings
  3. Creating a subscriber list
  4. Adding subscribers
  5. Creating a newsletter campaign
  6. Copying a newsletter
  7. Reports Summary

FAQs

  1. How can I unsubscribe a contact?
  2. How many people opened my newsletter?
  3. How many people clicked from my newsletter to my website?
  4. My newsletters have a high click rate, why haven't my online sales increased?

What is the Newsletter Module?

The Newsletter Module helps you to create email-marketing campaigns from your Site Builder. You can choose from a selection of pre-made templates or have a customised template built especially for you.

From your Site Builder you can manage subscribers as they subscribe to your newsletter, create a newsletter campaign and send it out to an unlimited number of recipients.

A great advantage of the module is its reporting feature.  You can view statistics for every sent newsletter including which recipients viewed the newsletter and clicked through to your website.

 

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Entering default newsletter settings

Tip: Enter settings first

Enter default newsletter settings before you create your first newsletter to have a smooth newsletter creation process.

The newsletter settings tab helps you to speed up the process of creating a newsletter by saving default values for the newsletter details fields. It is a good idea to complete this tab first so that when you create a newsletter draft most of the newsletter details will be filled. If required, you can easily overwrite the settings by typing over them in your draft.

  1. Choose Modules > Newsletters > Settings.
  2. Enter the Email Subject: This will appear in the recipient's inbox as the 'subject' of the email newsletter. Enter a subject title that will entice the recipient to view the newsletter. If your newsletter holds a special offer or discount it is a good idea to write this in the email subject field. E.g. Autumn discounts on frangipanis and petunias. Enter in the email subject that you will use most frequently when creating newsletters.
  3. Enter the From Name: Mask the email address that appears in the recipient's inbox by entering a name into this field. It can be a good idea to enter your company name. E.g. Fantastic Flowers Australasia.
  4. Enter a From Email Address: Enter an email address that you want your newsletter to appear to be from. It does not need to be a real email address. E.g. newsletter@fantasticflowers.com.au.
  5. Enter a Reply-to Email Address: Enter a valid email address that your recipients can reply to. E.g.enquiries@fantasticflowers.com. If you would not like to receive any replies, leave this field blank.
  6. Enter Default newsletter footer content: This information will appear at the bottom of your newsletter. It should contain your company name, copyright information and important contact details like your phone number, website and email address.  E.g. Copyright 2009 Fantastic Flowers | Ph: 000 000 000 | Website: http://www.fantasticflowers.com.au | Email: contactus@fantasticflowers.com.au. You can format the text if you choose and also add in some small pictures.
  7. Click Save.

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Creating a subscriber list

Tip: Work fast

Work efficiently by creating your subscriber lists before you create your first newsletter.

To e-market efficiently it is necessary to set up subscriber lists.  Subscriber lists enable you to group subscribers into categories so that you can send separate marketing communications to different segments of your target market quickly and easily. You can use them repeatedly and edit them at any time.

  1. Choose Modules > Newsletters > Subscribers.
  2. Click Create New List.
  3. Enter a name for the Subscriber List. This name is only for your reference. You should create a name that clearly describes the type of addresses you have in the list. Good names are Blue-chip Corporations or Past Buyers . Avoid names like List A or List 1.
  4. Enter a Description for the list. Type any further details about the subscribers contained in the list.
  5. Click Save. Your list is saved. You can now start Adding subscribers manually.

 

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Adding subscribers manually

Tip: Work efficiently

Work efficiently by creating your subscriber lists before you create your first newsletter.

Once a subscriber list is created add subscribers to the list so that newsletters can be sent to many contacts at once.

  1. Choose Modules > Newsletters > Subscribers.
  2. Click on the name of the subscriber list. Click Create New Subscriber.
  3. Enter details into the following fields:
    • Email (required): Enter the subscriber's email address.  Check that you have entered a valid email address into this field (e.g., Make sure that there aren't any commas or spaces within the email address).
    • First Name: Enter the subscriber's first name.
    • Last name: Enter the subscriber's last name.
    • Subscriber List: Place a tick in the box next to each subscriber list that you wish to add this subscriber to. You must choose at least one list.
  4. Click Save.

 

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Creating a newsletter campaign

Tip: Collate your content

Have all of your content ready to insert into your newsletter so that you can do it quickly. Don't forget to run it through a spell check first!

Create a newsletter draft to be sent to a list of subscribers.

  1. Choose Modules > Newsletters.
  2. Click the Newsletters tab then click Create New Draft.

 

Step 1: Newsletter Details

Enter in all of the email details that will be associated with this newsletter.  These details control how the newsletter will appear in the recipient's email inbox.

  1. Enter the name of the Campaign Name for your reference (required). This name will not be displayed on the newsletter or be visible to any recipients at any time. Choose a name that will help you to identify one newsletter campaign from another. E.g. Autumn Specials 230309.
  2. Enter the Email Subject: This will appear in the recipient's inbox as the 'subject' of the email newsletter. Create a subject that will entice the recipient to view the newsletter. If your newsletter holds a special offer or discount it is a good idea to write this in the email subject field. E.g. Autumn discounts on petunias and roses.
  3. Enter the From Name: Mask the email address that appears in recipients' inbox by entering a name into this field. It can be a good idea to enter your company name. E.g. Fantastic Flowers Australasia.
  4. Enter the email address that you want your newsletter to appear to be from. It does not need to be a real email address. E.g. newsletter@fantasticflowers.com
  5. Enter a Reply-to Email Address: Enter a real email address that you would like recipients to be able to reply to from the newsletter communication. E.g. enquiries@fantasticflowers.com. If you would not like to receive any replies, leave this field blank.
  6. Click Next Step.

 

Step 2: Design

You can choose to use your own custom-built newsletter design or you can choose to use one of the standard newsletter templates. The standard templates automatically include your company name and website URL as part of the header so ensure your Site Builder preferences are correct.

  1. Click the Preview button to view a large version of each design. Decide which layout will best suit your content.
  2. Click Select to choose that layout for your newsletter.

 

Step 3: Content

Tip:  Grammar Check

Perform spelling and grammar checks on your content in a word processor before you copy your content into your newsletter.

A large newsletter with a number of editable content boxes appears. Use the content boxes to fill the layout with your content.

  1. Click on the Pencil icon in the top right corner of the first content box. An editing window will appear.
  2. Enter a Title for the content item. Make this short and snappy to catch readers' attention quickly.
  3. Click Make link if you need to create a link to a web page that contains the full story and more images of the content item (optional).  You could also add in a direct link to the product details page of a product that you are promoting. You must enter the absolute URL of the web page you link to. The easiest way to find this link is to open a separate browser window, navigate to the web page that you want to link to, copy and paste the URL (the website address) from the URL bar. E.g. http://www.fantasticflowers.com/newsletteritems.html#1.
  4. Enter a Story Summary. A good summary introduces the content item in a way that entices the reader to find out more information. It is very common to use the first one or two paragraphs of the full article for the story summary. You can apply some basic formatting to the story summary if necessary, see the article on Content Editor Tools for more information.
  5. Some content boxes allow you to add an Image to represent the news item (optional). Click the Browse button next to the Image field. Select an image from those already in your Image Manager and click Use Image.
    To use an image that has not been uploaded to your Image Manager yet, click Browse. Locate the image file on your computer and click Open. The name of the image file will populate the Upload field. Click the Upload button. The image will appear in the list of available images. Select the image and click Use Image.
  6. Click Save when you are satisfied with your content box. Your content box is saved and appears in the preview of your newsletter.
  7. Repeat steps 2-6 for all of the content boxes that you require. Click Add Item to insert another content box. Click on the Trash can icon to delete a content box.
  8. When you have added all of the necessary content, click Next Step.

 

Step 4: Recipients

Tip:  Invalid Email Addresses

Your newsletter will not be sent to invalid email addresses.  Invalid email addresses are addresses with a mistake in them, for example, they contain a comma instead of a full stop or they have a space at the end. 

To ensure that your newsletter reports are accurate, check that subscriber email addresses are valid before sending your newsletter.

Select or add the subscribers that you would like to receive your newsletter.

  1. Place a tick in the box next to the list name to send your newsletter to that list of subscribers. You can choose to send to multiple lists.
  2. Manually enter subscribers to send your newsletter to some email addresses that you will not use again for another newsletter.  Enter the addresses into the blank recipient box. This box can only take a maximum of 20 email addresses. If you have more than 20 addresses to add, consider creating another subscriber list. Please note that addresses entered into this field will not become subscribers.
  3. Separate manually entered email addresses with a comma, space or new line. Check that all of the email addresses are valid (E.g. admin.fantasticflowers.com.au not admin,fantasticflowers,com.au.)
  4. Click Next Step.

 

Step 5: Check and Test Newsletter

Tip: Spot mistakes

Have a break for at least 15 minutes before you proofread your newsletter so that you can spot any mistakes you may have made.

This step is important. Check all of the details, content and recipients of your newsletter before you send it out. If you see any spelling, layout or recipient errors, now is the time to ensure that they are fixed. Click edit next to each section to make any necessary changes.

Newsletter Details

  1. Check that the newsletter name, email subject, from name, from email address and reply-to email address were entered correctly.

Content

  1. Click view a preview to review the design template you chose at Step 2: Design. You will also be able to preview the content boxes of your newsletter and edit those if necessary.
  2. Tip: What is a 'Plain text version'?

    A 'plain text version' of your newsletter is created for recipients who do not have an email program that reads HTML (HyperText Markup Language) or CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

    HTML and CSS are coding languages that are used to create and embed design elements in a newsletter (such as colours, pictures or different font sizes). Therefore a plain text version ONLY contains the text content you have entered. It does not contain hyperlinks, images or image descriptions.

    The benefit of a plain text version is that recipients who use a non-HTML email program will see your content as legible text rather than illegible code.

  3. The newsletter module automatically creates a plain text version of your newsletter (see the tip box opposite for a full explanation).

    Click view an editable preview to see how this will appear for non-HTML email inboxes. You might like to change any headings to capitals and separate sections with lines of dashes so that recipients can scan the content easily. Any changes that you make to this version will not affect the HTML version of your newsletter.

Recipients

  1. Check that the subscriber groups listed are correct. If you have entered any Manual Addition email addresses, click Edit to make sure that they are all valid.

Test your Newsletter

It is strongly advised that you always test a newsletter before you send it. This gives you the opportunity to view the newsletter at your inbox in exactly the same way as your recipients will view it.

  1. Enter your email address into the Email Address field.
  2. Click Send Test Email.
  3. Wait for your newsletter to be received into your inbox. This could take a few minutes depending on the current newsletter server queue.
  4. Review your newsletter. If there is anything to be changed, click edit next to the appropriate section as instructed above.
  5. When you are satisfied with the review of your newsletter draft click Next Step.

Step 6: Send It!

Once your newsletter is complete, you can either choose to send the newsletter immediately, schedule a time that you would like it to be sent or leave the newsletter in your drafts folder to be sent at a different time.

SAVE - Do not send, save this for later

Choose this option if you still need to add content or make alterations to your newsletter before you send it out.

  1. Select the radio button SAVE - Do not send, save this for later.
  2. Click Save and Exit.
  3. Your newsletter is listed under the Drafts tab and can be edited and sent at any time.

SEND - Send the newsletter out now

Choose this option to send out your newsletter as soon as the newsletter server is available.

  1. Select the radio button SEND - Send the newsletter out now.
  2. Click Finish - Send It Now!
  3. Your newsletter is listed under the Scheduled tab. If you would like to stop your newsletter from being sent, click Edit and then go to Step 6: Send it! to save it to your drafts folder.

SCHEDULE - Schedule the newsletter to be sent at a later time

Choose this option to send your completed newsletter at a specific time (E.g. This could be beneficial if your newsletter content coincides with other marketing or promotions that you are running).

  1. Select the radio button SCHEDULE - Schedule the newsletter to be sent at a later time.
  2. Click on the calendar icon to select the date that you would like the newsletter to be sent. You can also type the date in yourself. Make sure that you use the correct date format YYYY-MM-DD, E.g. Enter 2009-10-07 to send the newsletter on the seventh of October 2009.
  3. Click Save Scheduled Date.
  4. Your newsletter is listed under the Scheduled tab to be sent when the date arrives.

 

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Copying a newsletter

Newsletters that you send regularly are often very similar to each other.  The copy function helps you to work efficiently by copying the settings, design, content and recipients from one newsletter into a new newsletter. 

Within the new newsletter you can quickly make edits to the parts of the newsletter campaign that need to be updated before you send it.

  1. Choose Modules > Newsletters.
  2. Click the Newsletters tab.  Locate the newsletter you need to copy in the Drafts, Scheduled or Sent tab.
  3. Click the Copy button.
  4. Enter a new Campaign Name for the new newsletter. Adjust the Email Subject or any other details as necessary.
  5. Make any other alterations to the newsletter then save, schedule or send the newsletter.

 

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Reports Summary

The reporting feature of the newsletter module gives you information about how your subscribers have interacted with your newsletter. 

It is a good idea to check the reports at least a week after your newsletter was sent so that you can see how effective it was in reaching your goals.  You might also gain ideas for improving the next newsletter. 

  1. Choose Modules > Newsletters > Reports.
  2. Click on the relevant campaign name. The reports summary results are displayed.
  3. Review the results. Below is an explanation of the terms you'll find on the reporting page.
  • Opened: An estimate of users that have opened this newsletter.  When images are downloaded from your newsletter or a user clicks on a link from your newsletter our server registers that the newsletter has been 'opened'.  Of course, there are no guarantees that the subscriber actually read the newsletter.  There might also be some cases when a user did open/view the newsletter but didn't do any of the above so our server does not know.  Click Who to see the email addresses that registered interactivity on our server for your newsletter.
  • Unopened: Users that may or may not have opened this newsletter.  The number is calculated by the difference between the number of newsletters that have been registered as opened or bounced and those that have had no interactivity registered at all. For example, this category may contain newsletters that have actually been opened although a user didn't download any images or click on any links. Click Who to see email addresses that have not registered any activity with your newsletter on our server.
  • Bounced: Users that most likely did not receive the newsletter. The number represents the amount of bounce responses our server received from external servers when it mailed out the newsletter.  External servers will send a bounce response when they are unable to deliver email to an email address.  Reasons for this might be that the email address has been deleted, is no longer valid, or there is a spelling error in the address.  Once our server receives a bounce response it automatically unsubscribes the recipient.  Click Who to see which recipients have been unsubscribed.
  • Tip: Click rates are important

    Click rates help you to see what the most popular content of your newsletter is so that you can create more effective newsletters in future.

  • Click Rate: The number of clicks that were traced from your newsletter to the website links contained within it.  Check the list of Most popular links (URL) at the bottom of the page to see which links received the most clicks.  Click Who to see a list of email addresses that registered clicks on one or more links in your newsletter.
  • Most Popular Links:  The number of clicks that have been registered for the links in your newsletter.  Unique clicks refer to the amount of different subscribers that clicked on the link.  Click Who to view a list of the subscribers that clicked on the link in your newsletter.  Total clicks refer to the total number of times that the link has been clicked.  E.g. 20 Unique clicks and 50 Total clicks tells you that some subscribers clicked on the link more than once.
  • Total recipients in mailout: The total amount of subscribers that your newsletter was mailed to.  This number is inclusive of opened, unopened and bounced newsletters.
  • Total recipients (including forwards): The total amount of newsletters that were sent to valid email addresses and arrived at an email inbox.  This number includes newsletters forwarded via the Forward link in the newsletter but excludes bounced newsletters.
  • Times forwarded: The total number of times that recipients clicked the Forward link in the newsletter, filled out the forward form and sent the newsletter to an extra email address.  Forwarded emails do not count toward the 'successful deliveries' tally.
  • Forwarded opens: The number of newsletters forwarded via the Forward link in the newsletter that have registered as opened on our server. Of course, there are no guarantees that the newsletter was read.
  • Recipients who opened: The number of recipients who clicked on the newsletter email in their inbox.  It is most likely that they viewed the newsletter (this number is the same as the Opened tally).
  • Total times opened: The number of times a newsletter was opened.  This number may be larger than the Recipients who opened tally as one recipient may open and view a newsletter more than once.
  • Recipients who clicked: The number of recipients who clicked links contained within your newsletter.
  • Total clicks:  The total number of times links contained within your newsletter were clicked.  This number may be larger than the Recipients who clicked tally as one recipient may click more than one link, and may also click one link multiple times.
  • Tip: Improve with time

    Note the tone and style of your newsletter content when evaluating the amount of unsubscribe requests received from each newsletter.

  • Total unsubscribes:  The total number of unsubscribe requests that were received from this newsletter.    Compare which newsletters resulted in the most unsubcriptions over time to gain insight into the best content tone and format.  For example, you might notice that newsletters containing pictures, links and informative content have a high opened and click rate whereas newsletters containing 'hard sell' text and marketing jargon result in a high unsubscribe rate.

 


How can I unsubscribe a contact?

You can unsubscribe a subscriber in your database at any time.

  1. Choose Modules > Newsletters > Subscribers.
  2. Click on the Subscriber List name that the subscriber belongs to.
  3. Enter the name or email address of the subscriber you wish to unsubscribe into the search box. Click Search.
  4. Place a tick in the box to the right of the subscribers name.
  5. Select Unsubscribed from the Select drop down menu. This will take affect for every subscriber list that the subscriber belongs to.
  6. Click Move. The subscriber is moved to the Unsubscribed tab of the subscriber lists. You can change them back to being subscribed at any time.

 

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How do I know how many people opened my newsletter?

The newsletter module's reporting tab shows you lots of statistics about your newsletter campaigns including the ratio of opened to unopened newsletters.

  1. Choose Modules > Newsletters > Reports.
  2. Click on the relevant campaign name. The reports summary results are displayed.
  3. The Messages Sent graph depicts the ratio of opened newsletters to unopened newsletters in a pie chart. This is useful so that you can quickly gain an idea into the effectiveness of each campaign (and compare the effectiveness between all the campaigns you have run). 
  4. A numbered tally of recipients that opened the newsletter appears on the right side of the pie chart.  Click on the word Who to display a list of all the email addresses that opened your newsletter.  See the Reports Summary article for more information.

 

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How do I know how many people clicked from my newsletter to my website?

The newsletters reporting module traces links from your newsletter to your website and informs you of the click-rate of each campaign.

  1. Choose Modules > Newsletters > Reports.
  2. Click on the relevant campaign name. The reports summary results are displayed.
  3. Note the number appearing next to Click Rate.  This is the amount of clicks that have been generated as a result of your newsletter.
  4. Check the Most Popular Links at the bottom of the page.  Each link that you made in your newsletter appears here with a tally of how many recipients clicked on the link. 
  5. Click Who to find out the specific email addresses that clicked on this link.  This may help you to glean some demographic information by seeing which recipients took an interest in your content.

See the Reports Summary article for more information.

 

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There are a lot of clicks through to my website but my sales have not increased. Why not?

There are a lot of reasons why clicks through to your website are not resulting in sales. The list below contains a few suggestions that might help you to isolate some reasons that could be affecting click-through sales.

  1. Your newsletter does not contain effective links to your website: If you have a special price on a particular product, make sure that the link included in your newsletter takes the user straight to the product details page of that product. If you merely link to the front page of your store, you are relying on a user to sift through your products and find the special - busy people are very unlikely to do this.
  2. You have not indicated a time frame for a special price: Bear in mind that if you don't have timeframe for a special or discount, users do not feel any urgency to buy immediately. Consider putting a fortnightly or one-month timeframe on the special.
  3. When users reach the product page there is not enough information: Make sure that your product details page contains specific information about the product. It should have the kind of information you would give a person if they visited your shop front and enquired about a product.
  4. The image of the product is not very good (or there is no image at all): Most users purchasing on the Internet like to see a picture of what they are purchasing. If you have very poor quality images that do not entice a user to buy the product you should consider updating them.

 

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