A quick guide to... Creating Newsletter Messages In this guide... Learn how to create attractive and well-designed plain or HTML messages that will engage your contacts and meet their expectations and their preferences.
Contents 1. Create Newsletter Messages 1.1 Create a new newsletter 1.2 Choose a format 1.3 Select a template 1.4 Select the from field 1.5 Enter a subject line 1.6 Personalize the message 1.7 HTML editor toolbar 1.8 Edit the message contents 1.9 Check your spelling 1.10 Create hyperlinks 1.11 Add an image, video or document 1.12 Resize multimedia 1.13 Plain text version 1.14 Message actions 1.15 Message options 2. Choose Recipients 2.1 Include Recipients 2.2 Exclude Recipients 3. Set Delivery Time 4. Manage Newsletters 4.1 View the newsletter history 4.2 Edit and test newsletters 4.3 Disable and delete newsletters 4.4 Web archive messages 5. Help and Information Page 2
1. Create Newsletter Messages GetResponse lets you create two types of messages - follow-up emails and newsletters. Newsletters are one time emails which you can send to the list of recipients according to your choice. You can also schedule them to be sent on a particular date. This is for letting your customers know about your new offers, updates and promotions. 1.1 Create a new newsletter From the current campaign menu at the top right of the page select the campaign you wish to add the new newsletter to. Next, go to the messages menu and click create newsletter. 1.2 Choose a format You can choose from PLAIN TEXT and HTML. While plain text will increase the deliverability of your message, HTML is more likely to increase your CTR. We analyzed over 1.1 billion emails sent between July and December 2009. The results clearly showed that HTML emails averaged 59% higher CTR than plain text! 1.3 Select a template If you choose an HTML format message, you can select from hundreds of templates to help get you started and give your messages a more professional appearance. The templates are organized into industry based categories. Page 3
1.4 Select the from field Select the name and email address this follow-up will appear to be coming from. 1.5 Enter a subject line Type a subject line for this message that will appeal to the subscribers on this list. 1.6 Personalize the message Click personalize next to the subject line or above the editing area to choose custom fields and contact data fields such as displaying the contact s [[firstname]]. 1.7 HTML editor toolbar The toolbar provides buttons to change the appearance of your text. To see more options, click the show more options button and a second row will appear. 1.8 Edit the message contents The template is filled with random placeholder text. To change any section, just highlight the existing text and type or paste your own content. Highlight and delete any sections that are not needed. 1.9 Check your spelling Spell check is available in several languages. Misspelled words are underlined in the editor. Page 4
1.10 Create hyperlinks 1.11 Add an image, video or document To link to a web site, highlight some text or select an image and click the insert/edit link button. Type the URL in the box that appears and click update. Click the multimedia button to access images, video, audio and documents stored in your multimedia space. Select the type of media then mouse-over a thumbnail and click the add button. 1.12 Resize multimedia After an image or a video has been added to your message, it may be too large to fit within your contents. To resize, simply select the image and drag the anchor points in the corner until it is the appropriate size. 1.13 Plain text version HTML messages must also include a plain text version to ensure compatibility. Click the plain text tab above the editing area. The plain text can differ from the HTML version text but to save time you can simply click import from HTML and then wrap long lines. Page 5
1.14 Message actions Below the editing area, you can perform the following actions: Attach a file up to 400KB in size. Test the message by sending it to your own email address. SpamScore check will rate the message and offer suggestions. Save a draft so you can return and work on the message later. Click save as template to store a copy of the message. To later open the template just click the load saved template button in the editor toolbar. 1.15 Message options At the bottom of the page, you can select the following message options: Track the open rate of this message to see how many contacts have opened the message to view the HTML version. Add a subscription reminder to display a box at the top of the message to remind contacts they have requested to join your list. Track click-throughs of your links to see how many times the links in your message have been clicked. You can add google analytics tracking, and add email-to-speech capability if your account is equipped with that feature. When you re finished editing, click next step at the bottom to proceed. Page 6
2. Choose Recipients 2.1 Include recipients First, choose the recipients you would like to include when this message is sent. Check one or more campaign contact lists. If you have segmented your contacts into groups you can select which ones you would like to include. Note: To segment contacts go to the contacts menu and click search. From there you can select the parameters such as geography or custom fields. 2.2 Exclude recipients Next, choose the recipients you would like to exclude when this message is sent. You can exclude contacts who belong to one or more campaigns and contacts who belong to one or more segments. You can also exclude any suppression lists you have created. Suppression lists differ from segments in that you can exclude variables such as all contacts from a specific domain. Note: To create suppression lists go to the contacts menu and suppression lists. When you have finished choosing recipients, click next step. Page 7
3. Set Delivery Time Choose whether to send the newsletter immediately, or to schedule a future delivery date/ time using the drop-down calendar. A specific time-zone can be selected for the send time. When the newsletter is sent, you can also choose to publish to your twitter or facebook pages. This will provide a link to your campaign web archive page. Check the publish in RSS option if you would like to have this newsletter appear in your campaign web archive and RSS feed. Click publish and your message will be scheduled for delivery. Page 8
4. Manage Newsletters 4.1 View the newsletter history From the current campaign menu at the top right of the page select the campaign from which you wish to view newsletters. Next, go to the messages menu and click newsletter history. Tabs allow you to view the already delivered newsletters, those scheduled for later delivery, any draft messages you have saved and also deleted newsletters. 4.2 Edit and test newsletters To the right of the subject lines you will find the options to edit a message by opening it into the editor, and also to test it by sending to your own email. 4.3 Disable and delete newsletters To the right of the subject lines you will find the options to disable a message temporarily or to delete it permanently. 4.4 Web archive messages To the right of the subject lines you can click view online to see the message as it appears in your campaign web archive page. Click RSS to enable or disable the message from the RSS feed and web archive page. Page 9
5. Help and information Start by clicking the Support link at the top of the page. Free Phone, Email and Live Chat support We re on hand 6 days a week to help you maximize GetResponse so you can maximize your profits. Get in touch via phone, email, or live chat. It s always friendly and always free! Call us now at: 1-877-EMAIL-GR (362-4547) On demand step-by-step Video Tutorials We know that everyone is busy and needs to learn at their own pace. That's why we offer so many types and levels of on-demand tutorials! In addition to easy-to-follow instructions, they provide FAQs, definitions, case studies, and more. And if you still have questions, we re just a phone call away! Learning Center and Knowledge Base Our online Learning Center and huge Knowledge base is available 24/7 to give you all the information you need to turn your ideas into profitable campaigns! Find articles, white papers, case studies, definitions, tips and techniques! Visit often to stay on the cutting edge of email marketing! Online Forum Join the GetResponse online community and learn while you meet interesting people! Have a question about planning your campaign? List segmentation? Autoresponder drip campaigns? Share your experiences and best practices and grow your business "with a little help from your GetResponse friends". GetResponse Blog Email Marketing Tips GetResponse blog focuses on the email marketing and autoresponder industry. It provides advice, marketing tips, email marketing research, and random on-topic rants. Page 10