Setting Up a Mailing List
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Setting Up a Mailing List
Use the Mailing List System if you want to set up a mailing list to send news and promotional offers to your customers.
Customers choose whether to join your mailing list by clicking a check box in the checkout.
You can also add a separate check box to the checkout for customers who are prepared to receive information from third party companies. This is useful if you want to share your customer list with other companies for marketing purposes. The details of customers who choose to join the mailing lists are then stored in the Shopcreator Administration System (assuming they don’t leave the checkout without placing an order).
To add a mailing list option to the checkout
1
In the Shopcreator Administration System, on the Ordering System menu, click Enable Mailing List.3
If you want customers to be added to the mailing list by default, in the Checked By Default? row, click Yes. Otherwise, customers have to choose to join the mailing list.4
In the Mailing List Text box, type some text that will encourage customers to join your mailing list.The text you type here displays next to the mailing list check box in the Card Holder Details section of the checkout.
5
In the Mailing List Summary Text box, type a more concise version of the mailing list text.The text you type here displays in the Confirm Your Order page in the checkout. Customers use this page to review their order details.
6
Click the Amend button.2
In the Amend Mailing List Settings page, in the Checkout Mailing List row, click the Enabled option.Ordering System menu, click Access Mailing List.
To remove the mailing list option from the checkout, in the Amend Mailing List Settings page, in the Checkout Mailing List row, click Disabled and then click the Amend button.
To add a third party mailing list option to the checkout
1
In the Shopcreator Administration System, on the Ordering System menu, click Enable Mailing List.3
If you want customers to be added to the mailing list by default, in the Checked By Default? row, click Yes. Otherwise, customers have to choose to join the mailing list.4
In the Mailing List Text box, type some text that will encourage customers to join the third party mailing list.The text you type here displays next to the mailing list check box in the Card Holder Details section of the checkout.
5
In the Mailing List Summary Text box, type a more concise version of the mailing list text.The text you type here displays in the Confirm Your Order page in the checkout. Customers use this page to review their order details.
6
Click the Amend button.Accessing the Mailing List
Use the Access Mailing List command to access the details of customers who subscribe to the mailing lists. Because the details contain confidential information such as the customer’s postal and e-mail address, they are encrypted using your Store’s encryption key. If you have not already done so, you’ll need to generate this key before you can decrypt the mailing list.
To access the list of customers, use the Access Mailing List command to export the encrypted mailing list and then decrypt this file on your computer.
The mailing list is a comma-delimited file and so is suitable for importing into programs such as Excel an Access. The Marketing Type column in the file shows you whether the customer wants to join your mailing list, the third party mailing list, or both.
Marketing type Description
Direct Marketing The customer wants to join your mailing list.
Indirect Marketing The customer wants to join the third party mailing list. Both The customer wants to join both mailing lists.
2
In the Amend Mailing List Settings page, in the Checkout 3rdParty Mailing List row, click the Enabled option.
▄ See Also
For more information about generating an encryption key, see “Processing Orders Offline,” in Chapter 3 “Orders and Shipping” in the Shopcreator Apex Store User’s Guide.
To export the mailing list file
1
In the Shopcreator Administration System, on the Ordering System menu, click Access Mailing List.2
In the Export Mailing List page, use the Start and End date lists to choose a date range. The Mailing List System will only generate the details of customers who’ve subscribed in the date range that you choose.3
In the Zip Filename box, type a name for the encrypted .zip file that the Mailing List System generates. For example, July_Subscribers. Don’t include the .zip extension or spaces in the file name.If you don’t type a file name, the Mailing List System chooses a name for you.
4
If you want the Mailing List System to send you the encrypted .zip file in an e-mail message, click Yes in the Email Export File section. Otherwise, you’ll need to access the file using an FTP program.5
Click the Confirm button.6
In the Export Mailing List page, check that the settings are correct. If you want to change any of the settings, click the Back button in your Web browser.The Export Mailing List page displays your Store’s encryption key. You’ll need to type this key to decrypt the mailing list file.
7
Click the Export button.8
If you chose to receive the encrypted file in an e-mail message, check your e-mail. When you receive the message, save the file attachment in a folder on your PC. Otherwise, use an FTP program to copy the encrypted file from your Store’s exportdir folder to a folder on your computer.The following steps show you how to download the Shopcreator Decryption program to your computer.
To download the Shopcreator Decryption program
1
In the Shopcreator Administration System, on the Ordering System menu, click Access Mailing List.2
In the Export Mailing List page, click Download Decryption Program.3
Save the file Decrypt.exe in a folder on your computer.The following steps show you how to decrypt the mailing list file.
To decrypt the mailing list file
1
On your computer, browse to the folder where you downloaded the Shopcreator Decryption program and then start the program by double-clicking the file Decrypt.exe.2
In the Shopcreator Decryption program, click the Browse button, and then use the Open dialog box to browse for the encrypted .zip file.4
In the Save Decrypted File As box, type a name for the decrypted file. The file name must contain the .zip extension. For example, C:\My Documents\July_Subscribers.zip. If you don’t include a folder name in the file name, the Decryption progam saves the file in the same folder as the encrypted file.5
Click the Decrypt button.The Shopcreator Decryption program creates a decrypted .zip file in the folder that you specify. You need WinZip to open this file. WinZip is available for download at:
http://www.winzip.com
The .zip file contains two files. storename.mls (where storename is the name of your Store) is a comma separated text file that contains the name, address, and e-mail address of customers who want to join the e-mailing lists. Mailinglistlog.txt contains log information about the comma separated text file.
▄ See Also
For more information about using an FTP program to access your Store’s files and folders, see “Copying Files to Your Store Using FTP” in Chapter 4, “Changing the Look and Feel of Your Store” in the Shopcreator Apex Store User’s Guide.
