Newsletters and socialengine

    • 28 posts
    March 29, 2018 9:50 AM EDT

    Perhaps I'm just too thick to notice. I want to send a regular newsletter to my members. I cannot find any method, nor any add-on, for creating a newsletter. The only thing I see is the "Mail All Members" function built in. But this does not have the ability to easily format the email.

    I read somewhere about using a third party service like MailChimp. Does anyone know how to integrate an external service like Mailchimp with a socialengine website? I would hope there is a way to set them up so that MailChimp can access the membership list automatically when sending. Rather than downloading, then uploading the membership database each time I want to send an email newsletter.

    Any other suggestions for creating, formatting and emailing a member newsletter?

     

  • gs
    • 857 posts
    March 29, 2018 10:46 AM EDT
    https://www.hire-experts.com/social-engine-plugins

    Maybe that would work for you. I haven't tried it yet, but I have 2 Plugins from HE that work great, and their support is very quick to respond and to resolve issues (not that I've had many). Great 3PD.

    You may want to consider Sendgrid (or similar) if you're not using somethg already.
    • 378 posts
    March 29, 2018 11:20 AM EDT

    Interesting plugin - it doesn't look like it has been updated for some time though. I wonder if they would be able to tie it into a CRM and also allow for CASL rules with opt-ins and unsubscribes on email

  • gs
    • 857 posts
    March 29, 2018 11:53 AM EDT
    Can't hurt to ask them.

    There was another post here not too long ago asking about Mailchimp integration too. I believe it was Eugene from Webhive who said they've done that for a client, but not released a Plugin. They might be able to help in this regard too. I have 5 of their excellent Plugins - great 3PD.
    • 28 posts
    March 29, 2018 12:02 PM EDT

    Hire-Experts "Newsletter Updates" plugin looks great, if it does what they claim. Now I just have to convince the Board to spend the little bit of cash.

    • 28 posts
    March 29, 2018 12:12 PM EDT

    On the Hire-Experts site where they describe the Newsletter Updates plugin, they had this to say about third-party integration:

     

    • new Email Services Supported. Now you can send emails using special email services which provides detailed statistics(opens, clicks, bounces, spam filtered), white label servers, etc. It allows you to minimize your server loading and avoid getting emails to SPAM-box. The following email services supported:
      MailChimp is a popular mass email service, which also provides free plan. Check details here - MailChimp.com
      SendGrid - is a popular and reliable mass email service, which also provides free plan. Please read more here - SendGrid.com
    • 378 posts
    March 29, 2018 12:54 PM EDT

    Yes - SendGrid has been amazing for me, been with them for years and send tonnes of emails with them.

    It would be an amazing plugin if it also tied into a few CRM API's such as AgileCRM (the one I use) so that you can really do some in depth marketing

    • Moderator
    • 6923 posts
    March 29, 2018 2:49 PM EDT

    I use Sendgrid for transactional and Mailchimp for newsletters. With that, I don't use an integration. I copy/paste the code from Mailchimp into a block (widget) and that lets users sign up for it themselves. This way, there is no question about whether they want newsletters or not.

    • 28 posts
    March 29, 2018 8:43 PM EDT

    I am sending to members. They pay money to be a part of the society and being part of the society involves receiving periodic emails to keep them up-to-date on what's happening in our discipline in Ontario.

    Not wanting the newsletter is sort of like subscribing to a newspaper but not wanting it delivered to you.

    • 378 posts
    March 29, 2018 8:50 PM EDT

    That's great Donna but if there was a plugin out there that did that, tied into your CRM and kept track of mailing preferences from the site (marketing and updates not transactional) you would be able to really dig deep into internal marketing within your community.

    @Opas - I am in Vancouver! Just make sure you are following CASL with proper opt-in for those that sign up. In the US the requirement is to be able to opt out in Canada you need to Verify opt in - most crm and mail services can handle this for ya.

    • Moderator
    • 6923 posts
    March 30, 2018 4:21 AM EDT
    ITLJames said:

    That's great Donna but if there was a plugin out there that did that, tied into your CRM and kept track of mailing preferences from the site (marketing and updates not transactional) you would be able to really dig deep into internal marketing within your community.

    @Opas - I am in Vancouver! Just make sure you are following CASL with proper opt-in for those that sign up. In the US the requirement is to be able to opt out in Canada you need to Verify opt in - most crm and mail services can handle this for ya.

    For my personal sites, the less integrations the better. Each integration can introduce holes in security. That's always my main concern.

    Hope it works out for you guys with yours though.

  • gs
    • 857 posts
    April 4, 2018 2:16 PM EDT

    I specifically asked Hire-Experts about compatibility with the Newsletter Plugin with SE 4.09.04p4 (which I will remain on for a while) and SE 4.10.*, and they replied,'yes, our plugins are compatible with all SE versions.'

     

    The Plugin allows importing of .csv files which is helpful.  When sending a newsletter, you may optionally include these addresses (along with whatever filtered SE Users you wish).  In addition, you may send to only the imported addresses, so it's very flexible on who to send to.

    • 378 posts
    April 4, 2018 4:38 PM EDT

    https://www.socialengine.com/marketplace/app/newsletter-updates-plugin

    Just read the reviews and I am going to hold off until I see an update

  • gs
    • 857 posts
    April 4, 2018 5:40 PM EDT

    Yikes - some negative reviews last year (2 by the same person) which is interesting because many prior were good.  But it seems the primary issue is the outdated look, which has nothing to do with the functionality of the Plugin. 

     

    I can live with an outdated look (Users won't see it) and inability to include many 3PD content (my primary use is Newletters without SE content).  I may risk it since I need something like this (I don't want to export/import into MailChimp (or similar) and don't want to get nailed extra fees for 'contacts').  I simply need a better way than what's available to send email/newsletter to Users and/or separate list from .csv file.  The other 2 Plugins I have work well and support (what little I've needed) has been quick.  And yes, those Plugins look a little outdated as well, but I can live with it for now.  I'll update here after purchase/testing.

    • 378 posts
    April 4, 2018 10:11 PM EDT

    Thanks for taking it for a spin and reporting back!

    An outdated look scares me though as it leads me to believe it will have outdated tech backing it up as well. And is the look only admin viewed or is that in the final product sent to clients...