There are four kinds of URLs you can insert:
1. Tracking URLs (clickable text or image, URL)
2. Unsubscribe, Profile, Survey, and Referral URLs
3. URL to web page to insert into message (web fetch)
4. Rich Media (audio or video)
You can see how successful your mailing has been by seeing how many recipients clicked on URLs in the message. To keep track of those clicks, you must first make a clickthrough tracking URL, and insert it in your content. You'll then be able to view the clicks in Reports: Tracking Statistics.
You may also insert an unsubscribe URL that allows members to unsubscribe quickly and easily from your list.
Insert URL also allows you to insert a web page into your content. The web page may be fetched when creating the content, for each mailing or for each individual recipient.
For every clickthrough tracking URL, you may specify a URL Report Description (its Name in Reports) and URL Report Group. You may then later sort by these names when you view Reports: Mailing Reports: View Clickthrough Tracking. Note: The URL Report Description given to a URL the first time it is used will be its Name in reports in the future, even if you give it a different name.
Although ListManager may record URLs up to 4000 characters in length, we recommend you limit URLs to 2000 characters. As of this writing, Microsoft Internet Explorer only supports URI 2,083 characters in length. See this article for more information: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/208427/
Tracking URLs
It's simple to make clicks on text or images in your message trackable.
All URLs
You can choose to track all URLs while creating a mailing.
Clickable Text
1. Select Content: New Content: HTML.
2. Click insert url.
3. Enter the text you'd like recipients to see in Clickable Text.
4. Enter the Destination URL you'd like recipients to be directed to when they click on your clickable text.
5. Optionally enter a URL Name and URL Report Group to help you identify this URL later on in Reports: Mailing Reports: View Clickthrough Tracking.
6. Click Insert.
NOTE You can also include a link recipients can click to see the HTML message in a web browser. The tag %%url.mailing%% will merge a unique link for each recipient, which, when clicked, will take the recipient to a fully merged version of the message. To insert this link, click Link to Mailing.
Clickable Image
1. Select Content: New Content: HTML.
2. Click insert url.
3. Select the Imagetab.
4. Enter the URL to Clickable Image. This URL must be the full path to an image on your web server. Example: http://example.com/anvil.gif
5. Enter the Destination URL you'd like recipients to be directed to when they click on your clickable image.
6. Optionally enter a URL Name and URL Report Group to help you identify this URL later on in Reports: Mailing Reports: View Clickthrough Tracking.
7. Click Insert.
Undisguised URL
Note: you cannot disguise tracking URLs in text messages.
1. Select the HTMLor Text tab in Content: New Content.
2. Click insert url.
3. Select the URLtab (HTML only; by default, you'll be taken to this page for a text message).
4. Enter the Destination URL you'd like recipients to be directed
5. Optionally enter a URL Name and URL Report Group to help you identify this URL later on in Reports: Mailing Reports: View Clickthrough Tracking.
6. Click Insert.
All URLs
To make all URLs clickable in a message:
1. Select the HTMLor Text tab in Content: New Content.
2. Enter your content, including any HTML links.
3. Click Track All URLs.
4. Click Save.
If you will be tracking a large number of URLs, or using other ListManager tracking features, you may need to ask your server administrator to set up additional ListManager Web servers to take the load.
Unsubscribe
Members can leave your list easily if you insert an Unsubscribe URL in your mailing. Giving members an easy way to unsubscribe cuts down on your administrative time.
1. Select Content: New Content: HTML or Text.
2. Click insert url.
3. Select the Unsubscribetab.
4. Specify whether you'd like a plain URL, linked text or a linked graphic (HTML only) for Insert What.
5. Specify Email Notification, or whether or not verification that the member has unsubscribed should be sent via email.
6. Specify From All Lists, or whether or not the member is unsubscribing from the current lists, or from all lists on your server.
7. Specify Confirm, or whether or not the member must confirm unsubscribing on a web page.
8. Optionally specify the Destination URL of a web page members are taken to after unsubscribing.
9. Click Insert.
Profile
Members can edit their member profiles if you insert a profile form URL in your mailing. The member profile forms must first be created in Utilities: Web Forms: Member Profile Forms, in order to appear in the drop-down menu on this page.
1. Select Content: New Content: HTML or Text.
2. Click insert url.
3. Select the Profiletab.
4. Select the desired HTML profile from the drop-down menu. In order to appear here, these must first be created in Utilities: Web Forms: Member Profile Forms.
5. Enter the clickable text that the recipient will see in order to edit their member profile, for instance "Click here to edit your member profile".
6. Click Insert.
Survey
Members can take surveys if you insert a survey form URL in your mailing. The survey forms must first be created in Utilities: Web Forms: Surveys, in order to appear in the drop-down menu on this page.
1. Select Content: New Content: HTML or Text.
2. Click insert url.
3. Select the Surveytab.
4. Select the desired HTML survey from the drop-down menu. In order to appear here, these must first be created in Utilities: Web Forms: Surveys: New Survey.
5. Enter the clickable text that the recipient will see in order to fill out the survey, for instance "Click here to edit take our survey".
6. Click Insert.
Referral
Members can send referral forms if you insert a referral form URL in your mailing. The invitation content must be created in Content: New Content: New Content from Template, and the referral forms themselves must first be created in Utilities: Web Forms: Referral Forms, in order to appear in the drop-down menu on this page.
1. Select Content: New Content: HTML or Text.
2. Click insert url.
3. Select the Referraltab.
4. Enter the clickable text that the recipient will see in order to send a referral form, for instance "Click here to refer us to a friend".
5. Select the desired invitation content from the drop-down menu. In order to appear here, these must first be created in Content: New Content: New Content from Template, where an invitation template is selected.
6. Select yes or no to Track opens and Detect HTML capability for the referral form.
7. Select the HTML referral form from the drop-down menu. In order to appear here, these must first be created in Utilities: Web Forms: Referral Forms. This form will be used to list the names and email addresses of friends to whom they would like to recommend your list.
8. Enter the destination URL for the user to go to after filling out the referral form. If left blank, a default page will appear, thanking them for referring other members.
9. Click Insert.
Web Page
You may insert the contents of a web page into your content. This is sometimes known as webfetch.
1. Select Content: New Content: HTML or Text.
2. Click insert url.
3. Select the Web Page tab.
4. Enter the URL to Fetch, which is the URL of the web page you'd like to fetch into your content.
5. For Fetch Page, specify whether you'd like to fetch the contents of the page right now (as you create your content), once per mailing (the content is the same for each member), or for each member (CAUTION: can be VERY slow, depending on your web server).
6. Click Insert.
Media
You may have rich media—music or video—play from your message. Keep in mind that some ISPs will strip out rich media. Also, some recipients' computers may not be set up to display embedded media set to auto play properly.
1. Select Content: New Content: HTML.
2. Click insert url.
3. Select the Rich Media tab.
4. Enter the URL to Media that you'd like to insert into your message.
5. Enter the Clickable Text that users should click on to activate the media (if applicable).
6. Enter the Media Type: Video or Audio.
7. Enter the Action Type: Link, to have a link to the media, Embed (Autoplay) to have the media embedded in the message and play automatically when the message is opened, or Embed (Click to Start), to embed the media in the message but require the recipient start it playing.
8. Select whether or not you want to Track when people view or listen to this media.
9. Click Insert.
More
1. Content: Insert URL
1. Content: Insert URL: Clickable Text
2. Content: Insert URL: Clickable Image
4. Content: Insert URL: Unsubscribe
5. Content: Insert URL: Profile
6. Content: Insert URL: Survey
7. Content: Insert URL: Referral
8. Content: Insert URL: Web Page