Any file you’d like to send to your clients or referral partners can be sent via an outbound email activity as an attachment or as a hyperlink inside the body of the email.
The hyperlink method is perfect for marketing content, for a variety of reasons:
- Many people are reluctant to open a file physically attached to an email due to concerns about accidently downloading a virus.
- Many email servers will block attached files causing your marketing piece to be deleted or the email itself to be treated as spam
- Hyperlinked content oftentimes looks more professional than an attached file
Any content such as a Word, Excel, or PDF file that is not personalized to a specific client but is designed to be reusable and read by multiple recipients is a great candidate for the hyperlink method.
For example, a PDF piece about Debt Consolidation could be turned into a template and used to market to your clients through a drip campaign, email blast, or as an one-off message to a specific client.
Here are the steps to create the Debt Consolidation PDF template:
- Import the file to the Public Web Site folder
- Open the File Explorer window from the Marketing menu group
- Navigate to the Public Web Site folder in the folder tree on the left-hand side of the screen
- Click the Import File icon. This will open a window allowing you to select the PDF (or other file type) file from your workstation or network.
- Type in a description if necessary and click OK
- Now the PDF file has been uploaded to your Cimmaron web server and is available for access to your email recipients via a hyperlink.
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Open the File Explorer window from the Marketing menu group
- Navigate to the Company Wide\Templates\Client\Email Templates folder in the folder tree on the left-hand side of the screen
- Create the new Debt Consolidation email template by copying the Blank Client Email template. This saves you time by using a template that already contains the layout for your company logo, address footer, and merge fields.
- Enter the name of for your new template and make sure you have a “.html” extension on the end of the template name and the proper Data Source selected at the bottom of the File Properties window. The Data Source selects which merge fields, will be available. The most common Data Sources are: Client Standard Merge, Vendor Standard Merge (for referral partners), and Client Loan Scenario One
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- Select the new Debt Consolidation template and click Edit to open the HTML editor
- Type in the email body text describing the content of the file and highlight a key phrase that you would like to use as the hyperlink to the Debt Consolidation PDF file.
- Click the Downloadable Files icon at the top of the screen to select the PDF file imported earlier. You will need to be using the Full Toolbar or Advanced Toolbar selection at the bottom of the screen to see this toolbar icon. Cimmaron will save your toolbar preference for the next time you open the HTML Editor.
- The Downloadable File window will display (this may take an extra few seconds to open the first time you click on the icon each day). Place a checkmark next to the file you’d like to open from the hyperlink and click the Insert button.
The body of your email will now contain a link to your Debt Consolidation PDF file. Click OK to save your new template. This template can be used in a variety of ways: email blasts (Broadcast Manager), drip campaigns (Campaign Manager) or simply select the template while creating an Outbound Email Activity to an individual Client.