x-cart ~ send a newsletter to your mailing list

When you send out a newsletter, please make sure you complete BOTH the 'Plain Text' and 'HTML' sections, otherwise those who opt for Plain Text messages only will see nothing. BEFORE YOU START, TURN OFF ANY POP UP BLOCKERS you may have, like those stupid Yahoo & Google toolbar pop up blockers.

1. Under the Administration section of your stores admin, click on Marketing Manager Add Ons
2. Click on the Newsletter Tools (or if it's not an option - choose Extra Tools) icon located near the top right of the screen. A new window will now pop up. If you have those annoying pop-up blockers on, turn them off.
3. Click on Send an HTML/Plain Newsletter.
4. In the box 'Send email to all subscribers on the following list(s):', click the name of the mailing list you want to send the message to. Choose the Plain Text template and HTML template from the drop down boxes then click the CHANGE TEMPLATES button.
5. You will now see the pre-defined information in the Send Email section below.
6. SUBJECT - please type in the subject of your newsletter
7. In the Enter the plain text version of your e-mail below box, type your message in. Please don't delete the unsubscribe information unless you want to open yourself up to spamming fines.
8. In the Enter the HTML version of your e-mail below box, type your text in the space provided, leaving the rest of the template untouched (your banner, footer information with unsubscribe features etc.
9. SEE BELOW FOR TIPS FOR USING THE HTML VERSION EFFECTIVELY
10. Put a tick in the If you are sending an HTML version click here: box
11. Click the Send test email button. (If a new window doesn't pop up, click on the yellow bar at the top of the browser and allow pop-ups from this site and do it again.)
12. Enter your email address in the box provided and click OK.
13. Close the pop-up window and go check your email to make sure you're happy with the message.
14. Click the SEND EMAILS TO CUSTOMERS button.
15. Read the warning message and click OK.

handy hints for using the html version section

1. When copying & pasting information from a Word Document - sometimes the formatting doesn't come over very well. Remove all the formatting first by copying and pasting it in to the plain text version first, then copying and pasting from the plain text in to the html section. Alternatively, copy & paste in to a blank Notepad first (Start > Programs > Accessories > Notepad in Windows XP).
2. When formatting the text inside the HTML section - use the bottoms provided like you do in Microsoft Word. Be aware that you should keep things as simple as possible. HTML emails render differently in different programs, if you get too tricky, the end user may just see a garbled mess, which is a bad image for your business. Try to stick to the colours and formatting in the pre-defined template we have already set up for you.
3. When inserting images - the images have to already live on the internet somewhere. If they're images that are already on your website, to get the URL (web address) of the image, go to your website, right click on the image, select Properties from the menu and copy the Address (URL). If they're not already on the internet, you need to upload them (tutorial here).
4. Step by Step for inserting images
   a) Place the mouse where you want to insert the image, and click once so the cursor is there (like you would in Word)
   b) Click on the INSERT IMAGE button (looks like a little picture frame - 3rd from the right)
   c) In the Image URL box, paste the URL of your images (see step 3 above). Adjust layout and spacing if you wish. Click OK.
   d) Once the image is inside your newsletter, if you want to center it, make sure the cursor is just to the right of the image (don't click on the image and have it selected) then click the center button like you would if you were centering text in Word.
5. Linking a picture or text to a website
   a) In a web browser, visit the website you want to link to - copy & paste the URL from the address bar (http://www.website.com.au)
   b) Click on the image (or hightlight the text) you want to link to
   c) Click the insert web link button (looks like 3 chain links - 4th from the right)
   d) Paste the URL in the box provided
   e) Click OK
   

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