Your DirectLync stocking is full this holiday season! We decided to give you a few gifts of ways you can use DirectLync. Below we have pulled out some of our favorite DirectLync marketing tips and tricks!
Gift #1 – How to Customize Your Preheader
Your subject line and preheader are very important to get your audiences’ attention and convince them to open your email. A preheader is a short line of text that is displayed under the subject line. While your subject line tends to draw their attention, the preheader is a snippet that usually gives more information on what will be portrayed in the email.
The example above from the clothing store, Old Navy, adds exclusive information in the preheader to encourage the recipient to open the email. You can add and customize your preheader text in an email created in DirectLync! To add a preheader, you must be in the Content Stage of the email building process.
1. Drag and drop a single Row to the top of the email
2. Select the HTML Content Box and drag and drop it in the row
3. Click the HTML Block and in the Content Properties, delete the content that is already there.
4. Copy and paste the HTML code below into the Properties center.
<div style="display:none;font-size:1px;color:rgb(204, 204, 204);line-height:1px;max-height:0px;max-width:0px;opacity:0;overflow:hidden;">
Insert preview text here.
</div>
5. Where it says, “Insert preview text here,” delete that and write in your preheader.
6. Click Save, and your preheader is ready to go!
Gift #2 – How to Hide on Mobile and Desktop
With more people on their phones than ever before, you want to make sure the content you send them is attractive on their mobile device too. And that’s the trick, the transferring of content from your desktop email to mobile email. You know, the image that looks great on desktop, but takes up too much space on mobile. We hear you! We understand that some content in your email works on desktop but isn’t right for viewing on a mobile phone. And the experience your customers have on both is important for your brand.
In DirectLync, we provide our users with the option to hide a content block for desktop or mobile viewers. With this feature, you can customize your email based on your recipient’s device.
To do this, select the content on the email that you wish to hide. In the menu option on the right side, the Content Properties will show options to which you can edit that specific content. If you scroll to the bottom, you will see an option to Hide on: Desktop or Mobile. Select the one you want hidden and Save.
Gift #3 – Add Custom Fields
In DirectLync, you can manage fields that display in a contact record. The CRM/Contacts module allows you to add fields and sections that are important to your business, remove the areas that aren’t, and require fields based on the information your business needs to collect.
Creating your fields is easy. Once you’ve determined the fields that you need, head to settings in the CRM/Contacts Module to start customizing. Check out our detailed FAQ or video tutorial on how to use custom fields before you get started.
Gift #4 – Creating Contact Types
Organizing your contacts is very easy in DirectLync. Contact types allow you to choose a type for each contact specifically. For instance, if you run a boutique, you can create contact types like a new customer, employee, loyalty member, VIP member, referral, etc.
Contact types are important and beneficial. By adding contact types to your contacts, you can filter when viewing contacts based on the type, as well as seeing your contact by type in reports. Keep track of who your contacts are easily within DirectLync.
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You can create contact types in the Contact/CRM settings. Under Contact Fields, there is an option for Contact Type. Click the pencil button and edit your contact types.
Gift #5 – Sending Test Emails
What’s worse than sending out an email that has spelling errors, poorly size images, padding errors, a subject line that’s too long, or missing links? We've all made those mistakes, but sending a test email gives you a better chance of catching them.
In DirectLync’s email builder, it’s easy to send a test email to yourself or your colleagues before you schedule or send an email.
To send the test email, there are 5 icons above the email on the left side of the Content section of your email. The third one, the mail icon, is the send test button.
1. Select the test email icon
2. Once selected, a pop up will show up where you can enter emails of who you would like to send the test email. Just don’t forget to put a comma in between the emails if you choose to send to multiple people. Before you send the test email out, you can also include a message to the recipient. The example below shows how to enter multiple emails, as well as what kind of message is usually included.
3. Select Send.
Gift #6 – Drag and Drop Opportunities on the Pipeline
This is one of our favorite features! If you are using CRM in DirectLync, then you are most likely tracking sales opportunities across your pipeline stages.
Instead of opening up an opportunity and editing the stage, you can update it right from the pipeline view. All you have to do is drag and drop it in the next stage of the pipeline. To do so, hover over the opportunity, and the mouse will turn into a grabber allowing you to move the opportunity.
Gift #7 – Sharing RSS Feed News
You’re not scrolling on Twitter; you're in DirectLync!
RSS Feed stands for "Really Simple Syndication" and is a way to easily distribute a list of headlines, update notices, and sometimes content to a vast number of people. In DirectLync, our RSS Feed is for news.
When you sign up with DirectLync, you get to select which news accounts you want to see on your RSS Feed. To edit the accounts you see, start in your Social Media module.
1. Under Feeds, select RSS Feeds.
2. Then, select Manage
3. In Manage, you can search and follow the accounts you want.
4. Then select the category you want that feed to go in.
Once selected, on the bottom of your Dashboard, you have your own personalized RSS Feed, which continually updates with current news. You can use this news to your advantage to create engagement. On each news blip, there is an option to Read More or to Share. If you select Read More, it will open the article. If you select Share, it will open a draft to a new social post. You must select your account first for the article to appear, and then you can edit the content for your post.
Gift #8 – Get Marketing Tips in DirectLync
We love to help out our customers, hint this blog :)
Within your Dashboard in DirectLync, you have access to a Tips section on the bottom right. These are quick tips and guides that give you insights into features of DirectLync as well as ways to step up your digital marketing game. For instance, you get tips in categories like, email, website content, metadata, social media, CRM, reports, and so much more. These tips are updated continuously, so make sure you are checking them regularly!
Gift #9 – Run our Pre-Generated Reports
One thing that many DirectLync users appreciate is our robust reporting!
Our Reports module allows users to get quick insights into recent marketing activity. From website, social, email, and contact, you’ll never miss activity. In every report you run, you can choose the date range that you would like to run the report. The top report is the marketing snapshot, a current overview of marketing activities, and related metrics.
Gift #10 – Default Your Email Sender Details
Do you always use the same sender name and email address when creating an email in DirectLync? Are you tired of writing and rewriting it? Well, we understand your pain and came up with an easy fix.
While in your Email Marketing module, if you select Settings, there is a section for Email Defaults. This option allows you to customize various settings to help speed up your workflow. Here you can put sender name and sender email address, which then will pre-populate in the general info form when creating a new email campaign.
One step forward
Don’t take any steps backward and start the New Year with new marketing tips up your sleeve. I always say we are here to help, and I hope I proved that with this blog. We want you as a marketer, owner, entrepreneur, or whoever you are, to achieve great things; and we hope that DirectLync can help you with that.
To learn more marketing tips, and how to beat the marketing game, sign up for our newsletter to receive new and trending tips.
