Build a Newsletter

About This Feature
The Genie Template Editor and the Advanced HTML Editor are the two options you have for building your newsletters. The Genie Template Editor lets you select from a number of fully customizable templates, drag and drop articles, and easily insert pictures and media. The Advanced HTML Editor is for people who are fluent enough in HTML to design their own newsletters from scratch.

How to Use this Feature
Under "Newsletters" in the main menu, click "Build". You are given two options: Genie Template Editor and HTML Editor.

[+] Genie Template Editor

[+] Advanced HTML Editor

Best Uses
Creating a visually interesting newsletter that draws the reader’s eye can one of the most fun parts of email marketing - if you know what you’re doing. Viewing the tutorial videos is a great step in the right direction if you’re just getting started. One helpful hint for ensuring that your newsletters look as great to others as they do to you is to always check rendering in multiple email clients.

How to convert your RSS feed to a newsletter

About This Feature
The RSS-to-Newsletter feature allows you to automatically (and magically) convert any RSS XML Feed into newsletter content and send it out at a predetermined interval . This means you create content once and can distribute it via multiple channels automatically. Once you've correctly created an RSS-feed newsletter, our system will intelligently deploy your newsletter daily, weekly, or monthly as directed by you. The RSS feed-to-newsletter is simple to set up, deploy and track. New content from your RSS feed will be merged into the template you built and sent to your selected subscriber groups.

How it Works
When you set up a newsletter with the RSS-feed, MNB will automatically grab content from the source of your RSS URL, plug it into your template, and send it out at the interval you specified (daily, weekly, etc). The first time your newsletter sends, MNB will grab content from as far back as your preset interval. If you set the interval at one month, we'll grab all content from the last month and plug it into your newsletter then send it. For subsequent sends, we retrieve content in the same fashion, but we also tag items that have already been used to avoid duplication. If there is no new content, MNB will not send any newsletters. MNB obtains content and sends all RSS-feed newsletters at 12 noon EST on the scheduled date(s). Any posts added to your RSS XML feed prior to noon will be included in the newsletter. Posts made after noon will be added to the next scheduled send. After the sending begins, you can view reports from sent newsletters and check the sending status in your newsletter drafts folder, just like other newsletters.

[+] Step 1. Create your RSS-feed newsletter template via Genie
[+] Step 2. Designing your layout and theme
[+] Step 3. Schedule & test the RSS-feed newsletter
[+] Cancelling the RSS-feed newsletter
[+] Making changes to RSS feed newsletters

Please note: this feature only works with newsletters created in the Genie template editor.

You can see a copy of that newsletter in your sent section on the newsletters page or check out the opens and clicks from the reports page.

Best Uses
If you have a blog and wish to capture more than one channel of communications (marketing, sales, etc) then you also likely only want to input your content once and distribute it magically. MNB's RSS to Newsletter feature achieves just that. When you pair this utility with our sign-up form on your blog, you get to focus on content generation and let our systems do the rest.

Newsletter Snippets

About This Feature
Snippets are short lines of text that instruct our system to populate user-defined content into anywhere there is a snippet. This tool is particularly helpful for repetitive information or for newsletters that will be shared among multiple accounts.

How to Use This Feature
From the top menu in your MyNewsletterBuilder account, mouse over "Newsletters" and select "Snippets" in the drop down menu. You will be taken to the Newsletter Snippets page. There you’ll see the “Manage Snippets field, as well as a left side “Actions” menu that includes the option to create a new snippet.

If you have not created any snippets in your account, you will find three default items already installed. The stock snippets are customizable contact information fields, including #contact_data# (snippet that contains your photo and website), #contact_photo# (just your photo), and #contact_photo_HTML# (an HTML link to your contact photo).

Each snippet has already been linked to the information you used to set up your account, and will populate that information if inserted into a newsletter template.

[+] Edit Contact Info

[+] Add or Edit Snippet


[+] RSS Feed Snippets

Best Uses
Personalizing a newsletter by addressing the subscriber directly is a great use case. But, sometimes the information in a snippet can be blank. There is a really cool way to replace blank content with some default text - this works with all our snippets, for example: #first_name|"Friend"#.

This is an example using the snippet for the subscribers first name. IF that first name field is actually blank, the word "Friend" is displayed.

When creating content to be shared with multiple accounts, using snippets allows you to create a consistent look and format for the presentation of essential information, products, brand information and more. Including snippets for Name, Contact Information, and other important information will ensure that each of your sub-accounts presents their personal details in a uniform manner. You can also create product snippets to automatically populate product photos, prices, and links into your newsletters without having to recreate the presentation.

Editing Images with Picmonkey

About This Feature
Picmonkey is one of the photo-editing services built into MNB's Genie Editor to allow you to edit images during newsletter creation. You can use PicMonkey to do everything from adjusting saturation and hue to adding textures, frames, overlays and effects. If you’re using pictures of people, Picmonkey also has a very easy-to-use re-touch feature which will keep everybody looking their best.

How to Use this Feature
You can access Picmonkey from the newsletter you are actively editing. To do this, click on the picture icon in the toolbar, or click an existing picture and then click on the picture icon in the toolbar to edit that specific picture. In the image options box, click on the “Edit Image” dropdown menu and select Picmonkey. The Picmonkey image editor will open up in a new window.

If need help using Picmonkey you can visit their rockin’ help center.

Best Uses
Images can brighten up an email marketing newsletter and help to draw the reader’s eye down the page. Every image you choose should represent you and your content well. Using photo-editing enables you to focus and enhance your pictures. You may find that images need to be altered to fit with your template theme. Using a photo-editor that plugs directly into your newsletter creation process is the most effective way to make and measure these alterations.

Picmonkey shines in editing pictures of people - use this feature to add special effects, textures and frames and to retouch faces and bodies - we’re talking blemishes, shadows and awkward posture, not glamour photography. We do not recommend photo-botoxing and liposuctioning your images.

Editing Images with Pixlr

About This Feature
Pixlr is one of the photo-editing services built into MNB's Genie Editor to allow you to edit images during newsletter creation. You can use Pixlr to make simple adjustments to your images, add filters, or use the toolbar to edit your image hands-on. Note: Pixlr functions a lot like Photoshop, so if you are looking for those types of tools, Pixlr would be the appropriate choice.

How to Use This Feature
You can access Pixlr from the newsletter you are actively editing. To do this, click on the picture icon in the tool bar, or click an existing picture and then click on the picture icon in the toolbar to edit that specific picture. In the image options box, click on the “Edit Image” dropdown menu and select Pixlr. The Pixlr image editor will open up in a new window.

If need help using Pixlr, we highly recommend Pixlr’s community-driven support page with Q&As and tutorials.

Best Uses
Images can brighten up an email marketing newsletter and help to draw the reader’s eye down the page. Every image you choose should represent you and your content well. Using photo editing tools enables you to focus and enhance your images. You can also create backgrounds and banners for your newsletter. You may find that images need to be altered to fit with your template theme. Using a photo-editor that plugs directly into your newsletter creation process is the most effective way to make and measure these alterations.

Pixlr has amazing filters which allow you to quickly and dramatically alter images. You can also do all of your basic adjustments, as well as take advantage of the toolbar to add text, change colors and draw on or erase parts of images. We recommend that only those with a very steady hand pick up the pencil or eraser - or someone could lose an eye.

Auto Series

About This Feature
Auto-series is a feature that allows you to create a series of newsletters to be sent out automatically on a schedule that you set. This page lets you can view, edit, and create new auto-series. You can view reports on auto-series sends on the reports page.

How To Use This Feature
To get to the auto-series page, click on “Newsletters” in the Main Menu, then select “Auto-Series” from the drop-down. On the Auto-Series page, use the left-hand column to navigate through the auto-series options.

[+] Display

[+] Create New

Best Uses
When it comes to convenience, there isn’t much better than auto-series sending. You write the newsletters, line them up, then relax with a nice cup of tea. Some of the reasons a person might want to do such a thing (other than sheer pleasure, of course) include offering content that needs to be read from the beginning, having an ordered series of newsletters that you would like people to be able to start at any time, or having an introductory series of newsletters that starts after a specific purchase or interaction. You can also use auto-series to set up seasonal newsletters in advance and rest easy knowing you part is done and MNB will do the rest.

View Newsletters

About This Feature
Here you can view all of your newsletters, sort them by sending status, and access information about each one. From this page you can also access other tools, such as building and importing newsletters.

How To Use This Feature
Under "Newsletters" in the main menu, click "View". You'll see each of your newsletters displayed with their current status:

[+] Newsletter Status

[+] Viewing Options

Best Uses
“View Newsletters” is a pretty handy section where you’ll be able to check on the status of email marketing newsletters you’re sending, determine whether they’ve sent or not, and make changes to newsletters that are still available for editing. You can also use this section to review your email marketing choices and strategies. For example, you might go through your past emails to compare subject links to open rates in the reports. Oh - and since it’s technology we’re working with here - be sure to note the “Autosaved” tab at the bottom - if your computer freezes in the middle of a masterpiece, check here before bemoaning your loss. (And next time, hit the save button anytime you like what you’ve got!)