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
Genie Template Editor offers fully customizable drag & drop, open face, live editing with unlimited multimedia hosting & storage, banner customization, stock backgrounds, social network sharing tools, and much more. This editor is ideal for both new and experienced users.
[+] Advanced HTML Editor
Advanced HTML Editor gives you the ability to use your own HTML to create your newsletter. Please keep in mind while using this editor that HTML should be streamlined for email use, and images should be hosted elsewhere. If you are not comfortable editing HTML code directly, this option is not recommended.
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
You can opt to create a new template with a clean, simple layout; or you can copy and edit an existing newsletter. Once you have selected your existing template or created a newsletter and identified both the layout and design you want, follow these steps:
- On the "Newsletter Details" page, provide a name and subject for your RSS-feed newsletter
- Click on "Enable RSS" under the "RSS Enabled Newsletter" section
- Once you have clicked this, the "RSS Feed URL" section will appear. Input your RSS feed URL here"
- Click "Next" and continue through the editing/creating process as normal
The next step will be giving your newsletter a layout and design that looks good with the RSS feed capabilities.
[+] Step 2. Designing your layout and theme
The most important thing to understand about how our RSS feed newsletter works is this: you are creating a structure by using snippets that represent how you want your RSS feed content to generally look in your newsletter. MNB implements content using your layout. You only need to set up the framework once, no matter how many articles you may have on your blog. MNB will pull the new content and use the format from the template/framework. Adding more than one RSS Article will create duplicate content.
Here's how to set up your RSS-feed format:
- By default, any RSS-enabled newsletter will have the required RSS-Article type
- If you do not have the RSS-Article present, you must Add it from the Genie article options
- To add or change RSS snippets to the article, use the "Predefined Content" feature on your toolbar to insert the correct snippets - these snippets must be inside the RSS-Article or they won't function
- You can add other articles or images around the RSS-Article - please realize that all content will be inserted and formatted to match where the existing RSS-Article is
- When you are satisfied that everything is formatted properly, click on "Save & Review"
- Click Finished
[+] Step 3. Schedule & test the RSS-feed newsletter
To schedule the RSS feed newsletter, click on “Newsletters” in the main menu and locate your newsletter in the “Drafts” section. Click the "Send" link for that newsletter.If you are currently editing a newsletter, hit the "Back" button until you reach the "Newsletter Details" page.
On the newsletter scheduling page, type your desired schedule interval (in English, please). Try phrases like every day, every Monday, every Tuesday and Thursday, monthly on the 1st and 15th, etc. Once you stop typing and the system translates what you typed, a mini-schedule showing the days you selected will be displayed so you can validate the input. It's pretty swanky. Now, simply select the group or groups that will receive the newsletter and click "Schedule".
Similar to our Auto-Series feature, the RSS feed newsletter will automatically send at intervals you pre-determine. If you select daily, then the newsletter will retrieve one day’s content from your website. If you select weekly, then the newsletter will acquire the previous week’s content, and so forth.
NOTE: a scheduled RSS feed newsletter will remain in your drafts and create a copy each time it is sent. The copy is what is sent; please do not delete the original template as it will cancel your RSS feed newsletter schedule.
MNB generates and sends all RSS-feed newsletters at 12 noon EST, on the scheduled date(s). It will only use content that has been added to your website/blog before that time.
You can see a copy of newsletters that have been sent in your sent folder, and see a copy of the original, editable template in the drafts folder of the "Newsletters" page. View your reports as normal to view the opens and clicks for each send.
Testing the feed
The built-in preview function will not generate content from your RSS feed, so you won't see what you produced by using the preview function. The best way to test your content is to create a subscriber group with a few test email addresses and schedule your RSS feed newsletter to send to those addresses.
One other thing you want to test is the validity of the RSS XML itself. We recommend using the W3C site. As long as there are no major flaws in the structure of the XML, the test and subsequent live versions will work fine.
[+] Cancelling the RSS-feed newsletter
To cancel an RSS-feed newsletter that is currently active, go to your Newsletter Drafts and select "Send" next to the newsletter you are using. In the scheduling section, click "Clear," located at the bottom of the screen. You'll receive confirmation that you've cleared the upcoming scheduled sends for that newsletter. You can reschedule it at any time.
[+] Making changes to RSS feed newsletters
You can edit or reschedule your RSS Feed newsletter anytime. The template will always remain in "drafts" under "newsletters," so you can open it and create the changes you want. When you edit the newsletter and change the schedule, MNB will reset the content tags and will treat all of your content as new material.
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
To change the contact website or contact photo associated with your account, simply click on any of the contact snippets (#contact_data#, #contact_photo#, or #contact_photo_html#) in the "Manage Snippets" field. At the top of the page, you will see a single sentence description of the data associated with each of the contact tokens. The fields below will allow you to edit or replace the information that auto-populates each token when the newsletter is live.
Contact Photo. To remove the image associated with the #contact_photo_html# token, “delete photo.” To upload a new photo, click the “browse” button in the “Add New Photo” section on the right, select a new contact image and click add to complete the upload. This will overwrite your current contact photo. You can also change the photo while updating #custom_contact_data# by following the same steps.
Custom Contact Snippet. To edit the contact link in #contact_data# token, delete any data in the Custom Contact Snippet field, and replace it with the desired website URL. It’s important to ensure that all HTML formatting is removed from the link.To do this, first copy any material into a no-format editor like Microsoft’s Notepad or Apple’s Textedit.
Once you have entered the desired URL, click “Save.” After saving, you will see an updated version of your contact link in the Custom Contact HTML Preview field at the bottom of the page.
[+] Add or Edit Snippet
To add snippets, click on “Add” in the left hand “Actions” menu and follow steps 1-4 below.
To edit snippets, click on the name of the desired item in the “Manage Snippets" field and follow steps 1-4 below.
Step 1 – Token. In the first field that appears below the drop down menu, you’ll see the item token in blue lettering (Ex. #my_firstname#). Using snippets is as simple as inserting this text in any newsletter template. It will auto-populate the account holder’s first name in its place.
Step 2 – Description. The second field on the “Edit Snippet” page is a short description of the information that will populate in place of a token (Ex. Your first name). When creating multiple snippets, make sure to add a description that will help you identify each one later. Descriptions are for you, they are not seen by the end users.
Step 3 – Content. The “Content” field displays the exact information that will be inserted where the snippet is placed in the newsletter. Use this field to create the text and images you want to populate in your newsletter, using the toolbar. Remove all formatting prior to inputting information into the Rich Text Editor. To do this, first copy any material into a no-format editor like Microsoft’s Notepad or Apple’s Textedit.
You can insert predefined content, such as the reader’s first name, using the white paper icon on the far left of the toolbar. This will select content from a list of existing information in your account, such as your subscriber information. There you’ll find a lengthy list of links and tools that can be added to any Library Item.
Step 4 – Share Snippet. The final step allows you to set the Item as a shared or not shared item. Shared items will be available to any sub-accounts linked to your enterprise account. Do not worry about this field if you do not have an enterprise account.
[+] RSS Feed Snippets
Created for our
RSS feed newsletters, RSS feed snippets make it possible for MNB to grab various bits of content and data from a website or blog and automatically plug it in to your newsletter.
These are the RSS feed snippets we currently offer:
- Blog Title (#- channel_title -#) - this is the name or title of the blog
- Blog Link (#- channel_link -#) - this is the link/URL for the blog
- Blog Description (#-& channel_description -#) - this is the description (if provided) of the blog; note the use of the "&" which actually allows our system to display the HTML that can be included in the description
- Item Title (#-& item_title -#) - the title of an individual article from the feed
- Item Body (#-& item_content -#) - the body content of an article (html rendered - note the "&")
- Item Description (#-& item_description -#) - the brief description/summary of an article
- Item Date (#- item_date -#) - the date the article was published or last edited
You can access these, along with other snippets, through the pre-defined content icon on your toolbar.
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
Active Auto-Series lists auto-series newsletter campaigns that are currently being sent on their intended schedules.
Inactive Auto-Series are campaigns that have been placed in an “inactive” status by you. The series is ready to be fully operational. You can re-activate them any time and they will pick up where they left off - without sending someone the same thing twice. It’s just that smart.
To edit an existing auto-series, click the title of the series from either the “Active or “Inactive” list. This will take you to the Auto-Series editor.
[+] Create New
In the left column menu, underneath “Actions,” you can create a new auto-series. When you click “Create New” you will go to a new page with five easy steps to follow.
Step 1: Give your auto-series a name.
Step 2: Choose whether your auto-series is active or inactive. By default, all new series are selected as "Active," and will begin sending on the intended day once the series is saved with an "Active" status. To end any particular auto-series, set this option as "Inactive," and click "Save." If you decide to reactivate a series, it will resume exactly where it left off.
Step 3: Select which newsletters are to be included in this series using a drop-down box for each slot. This series will be sent in the numerical order listed in this section. Use the preview icon to double-check newsletters in this section.
Step 4: Select which subscriber groups this particular series will be sent to.
Step 5: Select the frequency for which your series will be sent. Choose from the drop-down menu next to select monthly, weekly, and every odd or even week. If you select monthly, select the day of the month you want to send your newsletter on.
After saving and activating this auto-series, any subscribers added to the selected group will automatically begin receiving this auto-series, from the beginning, on the intended day(s).
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
Draft: an unsent newsletter still in edit mode. You can reopen drafts to make changes at any time.
Scheduled: once you have completed the sending process, your newsletter will register as scheduled; you cannot edit a scheduled newsletter. To edit, cancel the scheduled send, amend your newsletter and reschedule.
Processing: the system is preparing your newsletter for each email address in your campaign.
Processed: the individual emails have been prepared but not yet sent; in most circumstances, you can still make last minute edits to a newsletter that has been processed without delaying its scheduled send.
Sending: the newsletter remains in this state until all emails have either been delivered or have bounced. Reporting begins within 15 minutes of the start of sending.
Sent: every individual email has been accounted for; this could take several hours depending on bounces.
To the right of each newsletter is a row of icons. These allow the following actions: Information, Preview, Delete, and Copy.
To edit existing newsletters, click on the newsletter title. Only drafts should be edited. To create a similar newsletter, select copy and edit the new copy.
[+] Viewing Options
On the right side of the page is a list of Actions you can take. Under “Display”, the following options are listed: All, Draft, Sent, Scheduled, Archived, Autosaved. Clicking on any of these tabs will show you all newsletters in that category.
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!)