Frequently Asked Questions concerning Email Newsletters
Email Newsletters provide some distinct advantages over typical published print newsletters, not the least of which is they are extremely more time sensitive. Rather than waiting printing, proofing and snail mail, imagine almost instantaneous creation and delivery, coast to coast. Another important advantage of email newsletters over print is the reduced cost. BizActions electronic Newsletters cost about 1/16th the amount of a traditional print-based newsletter.How often can the newsletter be sent?
Can the delivery date be changed or suspended?
Do you have live customer support?
How many fields of data can I have on my lists?
Can readers update their contact information?
Do you have calculators available?
Do you have log-ins for various people using the system?
Do you have reporting?
What is the Dashboard?
Who gets the Dashboards?
Is there an extra charge for the Dashboards?
What are Alerts?
What is the Reminder System?
Is there any extra cost for the Alert and Reminder systems?
What are Welcome letters?
Can I send emails with audio, video, or attachments?
How do you handle bounced emails?
Can readers automatically unsubscribe from the newsletter?
What is the best way a salesperson or partner should use the system?
What are some other best practices our firm should consider using?
Are you Can-Spam compliant?
How often can the newsletter be sent?
The newsletter can be sent weekly, bi-weekly, every third week or every fourth week. When you set your account up, you choose what day and time to deliver your newsletter. Top
Can the delivery date be changed or suspended?
Yes - one button to press will accomplish either task. Top
Do you have live customer support?
Yes - you will be assigned a customer support representative (CSR) that will work with you to get the most out of the platform. All CSRs have been become BizActions Certified Consultants by passing a rigorous test. All CSRs are US based. Top
How many fields of data can I have on my lists?
You can have all the normal member database fields plus 10 user defined custom fields. These custom fields will shortly be expanded to 20. Top
Can readers update their contact information?
Yes - each newsletter has an update button that can be used for this purpose. Top
Do you have calculators available?
Yes - each newsletter has a series of online calculators that are included free with the newsletter. You can turn them off, if desired. Top
Do you have log-ins for various people using the system?
Yes - there is an administrator log-in as well as individual Point of Contact (POC) Logins. The POC is able to see only their members and related activity. Top
Do you have reporting?
Yes - we have extensive reporting on click activity as well as reports on articles clicked and Sponsor content clicked. We also have a Dashboard which summarizes many reports. Top
What is the Dashboard?
A Dashboard is a summary of your reports. It is resident on your computer in the system tray. You can click through any item and see the details. The system will log you into the Sponsor Center automatically. You also can add members to the system directly from the Dashboard. Top
Who gets the Dashboards?
Anyone in your firm that you want to give access to the Sponsor Center can download and install a Dashboard. The Dashboard can be used to monitor a single account within the system for a Point Of Contact or multiple master account accounts based on demographics the firm establishes.Top
Is there an extra charge for the Dashboards?
No - our desire is to make system very easy to use. No computer skills are necessary to use the Dashboard. Top
What are Alerts?
Alerts can be set for any Sponsor Content or any reader of the system. As an example, if you set an Alert for an important prospect, as soon as they click on anything in the newsletter, you are notified. You can choose how to be notified and how often. Top
What is the Reminder System?
For each Member in the system, you can add notes and set Reminders by time and date. You have the choice of being reminded by email, by Dashboard or both. Using the Reminder system builds in a powerful follow-up system. Top
Is there any extra cost for the Alert and Reminder systems?
No, it's included free with BizActions. Top
What are Welcome letters?
The system has four different types of Welcome letters - clients, prospects, referral sources and team members. You can use our default welcome letters or create your own. The first time a reader receives the newsletter, the appropriate Welcome letter is attached. Top
Can I send emails with audio, video or attachments?
We do not allow sending files because of potential virus issues, but you can create a link to the data on your server and include that link in your email message. Top
How do you handle bounced emails?
Emails can bounce for a number of reasons. If it is a hard bounce, which means the coding indicates the email address does not exist, the email is immediately put into the Bounced folder. If it's a soft bounce which occurs when a server is down, we try to deliver three times. If each fails, the email is then put into the Bounced folder. Once in the bounced folder, the intended recipient will no longer receive emails, however, you can review the emails and possibly fix the email address and resend them. Top
Can readers automatically unsubscribe from the newsletter?
Yes - it's a simple button click process. When they unsubscribe, you can see a special report of those members. The database is automatically updated and they will no longer receive emails from the BizActions system. Top
What is the best way a salesperson or partner should use the system?
Install the Dashboard on your computer and follow-up on click-activity by either sending an Email Radar message or calling people when they click articles related to your product or service. Top
What are some other best practices our firm should consider using?
Assuming you are using the system to grow your business, there are a few recommendations:
Yes - we comply with all Federal laws. Download our CAN-SPAM Compliance Letter in PDF format here.Top
Can the delivery date be changed or suspended?
Do you have live customer support?
How many fields of data can I have on my lists?
Can readers update their contact information?
Do you have calculators available?
Do you have log-ins for various people using the system?
Do you have reporting?
What is the Dashboard?
Who gets the Dashboards?
Is there an extra charge for the Dashboards?
What are Alerts?
What is the Reminder System?
Is there any extra cost for the Alert and Reminder systems?
What are Welcome letters?
Can I send emails with audio, video, or attachments?
How do you handle bounced emails?
Can readers automatically unsubscribe from the newsletter?
What is the best way a salesperson or partner should use the system?
What are some other best practices our firm should consider using?
Are you Can-Spam compliant?
How often can the newsletter be sent?
The newsletter can be sent weekly, bi-weekly, every third week or every fourth week. When you set your account up, you choose what day and time to deliver your newsletter. Top
Can the delivery date be changed or suspended?
Yes - one button to press will accomplish either task. Top
Do you have live customer support?
Yes - you will be assigned a customer support representative (CSR) that will work with you to get the most out of the platform. All CSRs have been become BizActions Certified Consultants by passing a rigorous test. All CSRs are US based. Top
How many fields of data can I have on my lists?
You can have all the normal member database fields plus 10 user defined custom fields. These custom fields will shortly be expanded to 20. Top
Can readers update their contact information?
Yes - each newsletter has an update button that can be used for this purpose. Top
Do you have calculators available?
Yes - each newsletter has a series of online calculators that are included free with the newsletter. You can turn them off, if desired. Top
Do you have log-ins for various people using the system?
Yes - there is an administrator log-in as well as individual Point of Contact (POC) Logins. The POC is able to see only their members and related activity. Top
Do you have reporting?
Yes - we have extensive reporting on click activity as well as reports on articles clicked and Sponsor content clicked. We also have a Dashboard which summarizes many reports. Top
What is the Dashboard?
A Dashboard is a summary of your reports. It is resident on your computer in the system tray. You can click through any item and see the details. The system will log you into the Sponsor Center automatically. You also can add members to the system directly from the Dashboard. Top
Who gets the Dashboards?
Anyone in your firm that you want to give access to the Sponsor Center can download and install a Dashboard. The Dashboard can be used to monitor a single account within the system for a Point Of Contact or multiple master account accounts based on demographics the firm establishes.Top
Is there an extra charge for the Dashboards?
No - our desire is to make system very easy to use. No computer skills are necessary to use the Dashboard. Top
What are Alerts?
Alerts can be set for any Sponsor Content or any reader of the system. As an example, if you set an Alert for an important prospect, as soon as they click on anything in the newsletter, you are notified. You can choose how to be notified and how often. Top
What is the Reminder System?
For each Member in the system, you can add notes and set Reminders by time and date. You have the choice of being reminded by email, by Dashboard or both. Using the Reminder system builds in a powerful follow-up system. Top
Is there any extra cost for the Alert and Reminder systems?
No, it's included free with BizActions. Top
What are Welcome letters?
The system has four different types of Welcome letters - clients, prospects, referral sources and team members. You can use our default welcome letters or create your own. The first time a reader receives the newsletter, the appropriate Welcome letter is attached. Top
Can I send emails with audio, video or attachments?
We do not allow sending files because of potential virus issues, but you can create a link to the data on your server and include that link in your email message. Top
How do you handle bounced emails?
Emails can bounce for a number of reasons. If it is a hard bounce, which means the coding indicates the email address does not exist, the email is immediately put into the Bounced folder. If it's a soft bounce which occurs when a server is down, we try to deliver three times. If each fails, the email is then put into the Bounced folder. Once in the bounced folder, the intended recipient will no longer receive emails, however, you can review the emails and possibly fix the email address and resend them. Top
Can readers automatically unsubscribe from the newsletter?
Yes - it's a simple button click process. When they unsubscribe, you can see a special report of those members. The database is automatically updated and they will no longer receive emails from the BizActions system. Top
What is the best way a salesperson or partner should use the system?
Install the Dashboard on your computer and follow-up on click-activity by either sending an Email Radar message or calling people when they click articles related to your product or service. Top
What are some other best practices our firm should consider using?
Assuming you are using the system to grow your business, there are a few recommendations:
- Get buy-in from the top of the organization to use the system.
- Add as many email addresses as possible - especially prospects and referral sources.
- Require that everybody gets involved. Have goals for email addresses.
- Write Sponsor Content about your firm, your people, clients and services.
- Install the Dashboard on everybody's computer.
- Be proactive in talking to clients. This will help expand services and save clients from leaving the firm. Be proactive in contacting prospects when you know they need your type of product or service based on what they are reading.
- Market your newsletter in everything and include sign-up forms on your Web site. This is available free from BizActions. Top
Yes - we comply with all Federal laws. Download our CAN-SPAM Compliance Letter in PDF format here.Top