Web Design Forums

Quinn · 17-11-2007, 15:36

One of my clients' first priority is to get a newsletter going. I'm still fairly new at web design, hence I have NO idea how to the coding for that. Can anyone give me hints, resources, tutorials, etc. that can help me out?

Anxious · 17-11-2007, 15:38

Try Email Newsletter Software for Web Designers - Campaign Monitor, they're great.

Quinn · 17-11-2007, 18:28

Is there a way I can design a template and have my client be able to type plaintext content into different assigned fields?

longisland6 · 21-11-2007, 16:44

you can absolutely make a template for your client to type in content and send it out to their mailing list... but it does take some skill to do it nice and professionally. aside from the html front end coding, you'll need the backend skills to get this "newsletter" to be sent out, one at a time, to everyone on your clients list. basically, you loop through a recordset of email addresses and create a mail instance (cdo for example...), send the newsletter and then move on to the next person on the list.

but... if your client has a large number of people to send their newsletter to, more than a few hundred, i would really suggest using a newsletter service, such as emma or constant contact for your need. the issue is the isp. many of them now limit the amount of emails that can go out in a certain period of time to combat spam, and i applaud them for their efforts.

these services give you the ability to send out some very nice emails and have some great administrative functions. a user can easily opt out of receiving any more emails, they can select to get either html or plain text emails, you can track how many people actually read the emails, what they cliak on, etc... if you really want to get the best bang for your buck, use them. it's a great marketing tool, you can see whats working and whats not. check them out; i'm sure there are others out there as well.

newsletters can be absolutely fantastic marketing, but you have to do them right.

Quinn · 30-11-2007, 22:36

thank you.

pgo · 30-11-2007, 22:50

Constant Contact is a known spammer. As a result, their servers are on the blocked list on our corporate network. Avoid them.

Your best bet for newsletter service is Campaign Monitor - it blows everything out of the water. There really is no competition. Free signup, list management, etc.

The only thing you have to pay for is each message you send: $5 + $0.01 per recipient (so, to send it to 500 people costs $10) - all you have to do is upload an HTML file and whatever images/external files are needed (should never be anything but images). They also have lots of resources for learning about HTML email - good resources, too (not crap from marketing swine).

Also, make sure you check out the ethical issues surrounding spam. You are obliged to get users' permission to send them emails. They have to voluntarily receive the email and have a clear method to unsubscribe if they wish.

A bad example is FontShop's newsletter. I unsubscribe every single time it comes to my inbox and I'm still getting it 6 months later. I don't care enough to do anything about it.

Not only are these ethical issues, but legal issues as well.

longisland6 · 01-12-2007, 10:53

interesting info about cc... have to look into that. cm looks pretty good from the light investigation i've done so far.

17-11-2007, 15:36	#1 (permalink)
Quinn Registered User Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: New York Posts: 6	Help with CMS content/email newsletter coding One of my clients' first priority is to get a newsletter going. I'm still fairly new at web design, hence I have NO idea how to the coding for that. Can anyone give me hints, resources, tutorials, etc. that can help me out?

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17-11-2007, 15:38	#2 (permalink)
Anxious On the Naughty Step Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Glasgow Posts: 1,758	Try Email Newsletter Software for Web Designers - Campaign Monitor, they're great.

17-11-2007, 18:28	#3 (permalink)
Quinn Registered User Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: New York Posts: 6	Is there a way I can design a template and have my client be able to type plaintext content into different assigned fields?

21-11-2007, 16:44	#4 (permalink)
longisland6 stephen eighmey Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: earth Posts: 152	you can absolutely make a template for your client to type in content and send it out to their mailing list... but it does take some skill to do it nice and professionally. aside from the html front end coding, you'll need the backend skills to get this "newsletter" to be sent out, one at a time, to everyone on your clients list. basically, you loop through a recordset of email addresses and create a mail instance (cdo for example...), send the newsletter and then move on to the next person on the list. but... if your client has a large number of people to send their newsletter to, more than a few hundred, i would really suggest using a newsletter service, such as emma or constant contact for your need. the issue is the isp. many of them now limit the amount of emails that can go out in a certain period of time to combat spam, and i applaud them for their efforts. these services give you the ability to send out some very nice emails and have some great administrative functions. a user can easily opt out of receiving any more emails, they can select to get either html or plain text emails, you can track how many people actually read the emails, what they cliak on, etc... if you really want to get the best bang for your buck, use them. it's a great marketing tool, you can see whats working and whats not. check them out; i'm sure there are others out there as well. newsletters can be absolutely fantastic marketing, but you have to do them right.

30-11-2007, 22:36	#5 (permalink)
Quinn Registered User Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: New York Posts: 6	thank you.

30-11-2007, 22:50	#6 (permalink)
pgo Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 12,340	Constant Contact is a known spammer. As a result, their servers are on the blocked list on our corporate network. Avoid them. Your best bet for newsletter service is Campaign Monitor - it blows everything out of the water. There really is no competition. Free signup, list management, etc. The only thing you have to pay for is each message you send: $5 + $0.01 per recipient (so, to send it to 500 people costs $10) - all you have to do is upload an HTML file and whatever images/external files are needed (should never be anything but images). They also have lots of resources for learning about HTML email - good resources, too (not crap from marketing swine). Also, make sure you check out the ethical issues surrounding spam. You are obliged to get users' permission to send them emails. They have to voluntarily receive the email and have a clear method to unsubscribe if they wish. A bad example is FontShop's newsletter. I unsubscribe every single time it comes to my inbox and I'm still getting it 6 months later. I don't care enough to do anything about it. Not only are these ethical issues, but legal issues as well.

01-12-2007, 10:53	#7 (permalink)
longisland6 stephen eighmey Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: earth Posts: 152	interesting info about cc... have to look into that. cm looks pretty good from the light investigation i've done so far.

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