Welcome to Ubivox. After the sign up process has been completed your account is ready for use, but there are a few preliminary steps you need to take before you can send your first newsletter. We have, in the following, written some of the important steps you should follow in order to get the best start with our system.
Create your first newsletter
Below is a guide, which, step by step, elaborates how you create your first newsletter.
Start by logging in to your account in the system. Once you have logged in go to the menu in the top left corner and select New and chose Newsletter. You are now presented with our 3 templates.
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Designed default template – The layout in this template has already been designed. You can easily choose a color theme and design details that fulfill your needs.
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Default template – This template has also been designed. However, in this template you create your own layout and color design.
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HTML-template – This is a raw template, which enables you to create everything through HTML codes.
From the above templates choose the one that fulfill your needs. You can now give your newsletter a subject name and then select which mail list it is to be sent to. We have made your first list, select this list in this introduction. We will elaborate how you import your own subscribers later in this guide. You are now ready to edit and insert text and images as you please.
Once you have started editing, inserting text and images into your newsletter, we recommend that you send test e-mails to yourself. By doing this you will ensure that the design and content are as it should be. You can chose to send a test e-mail by going to the low right corner and select Send test e-mail. Further, you can also send test e-mails to others. This can be relevant to do if the newsletter is to be approved or proofread by someone else before it is send. Below you can see additional guides that inform you about the system:
Import subscribers
Once you have prepared your newsletter it is time to import your subscribers into the system. This is done by editing the list we made or by making a new list in the system. You can import subscribers through Excel, or you can enter them manually into the system. If you, for example, have a lot of contacts in your e-mail client, e.g. Gmail, Hotmail etc., you can export them with a few clicks to an Excel document.
Once you have your subscribers in an Excel document, you can easily organize them before you import them to Ubivox. At the same time you can create data fields wherein you divide subscribers according to the information you have about them.
For example:
- First name
- Last name
- Gender
Read more about it below:
- Organize data in Excel before import
- Import options
- Importing e-mail addresses
- Create data fields and divide subscribers
Set up a sign up form on your web site
As you have now imported your current subscribers into Ubivox, we recommend that you integrate your sign up forms with Ubivox. If you do not have a sign up from, we recommend that you create one. This ensures that future subscribers are automatically added into the system. Therefore, you do not have to use time doing this by yourself. At the same time, a sign up form on your web site will ensure that you receive continuous sign ups to your newsletter. This increases your reach.
There are two ways to integrate a sign up form on your web site:
Link to a Ubivox form
In this method a link is made to an Ubivox standard page. That is, you insert a picture with a text saying 'Sign up to our newsletter' and link this picture to us. When somebody clicks at the picture, they will be directed to a standard sign up form in the system.
HTML code on your web site
By using this method you get a HTML code that is to be inserted to your homepage. In this approach subscribers can sign up directly at the homepage and a therefore not redirected.
Once a subscriber has signed up they will be send to a 'landing page' A 'landing page' is, just as the name indicates, a page a subscriber is directed to once he/she have signed up. Read more about the set up process and other relevant guides below:
Set up your Sender ID
The set up of Sender ID is an important step because it helps to ensure that e-mail clients do not interpret your newsletter as spam. Please note that it only increases your validity and therefore cannot guarantee that a newsletter is not interpreted as spam.
SPR are, in short, a technical function that ensures that Ubivox is approved to send e-mails on the behalf of your domain. This means that through the SPF configuration Ubivox/the system is approved to send e-mails on the behalf of your domain, i.e. so called Sender ID.
Even though the above can be quite technical, you can set up your Sender ID relatively simple.
Send the following information in an e-mail to your domain supplier. (If you have access to your DNS settings then follow the link "Technical guide to the SPF format below).
Dear (Name)
I wish to include Ubivox in my SPF set up.
"v=spf1 include:spf.ubivox.com –all"
Best regards,
You have now set up SPF and Sender ID and you have thereby reduced the risk that e-mail clients interpret your newsletter as spam or junk. Read more about SPF below:
Send your newsletter and see its statistics
After you have completed the steps above you are ready to send your newsletter. By going to you Dashboard you will be able to see drafts of newsletter on the right side. Choose the newsletter you worked on before, or create a new. If there are further things you need to check before you send the newsletter, you can do this by selecting Edit. If no changes are to be made then choose Send. You are now presented with 5 steps you have to complete before the newsletter can be send.
Once you have sent your newsletter it is interesting to see when people are reading it and which links they open etc. Through the statistics you are able to decipher how your subscribers react to your newsletter. This is important information as you, henceforward, can use this data in your development of future newsletters, i.e. what time of day to send, design etc. Read more about statistics and sending below:
- How to interpret the statistics of a newsletter
- Schedule the delivery of a newsletter
- Send your newsletter to new subscribers
Guides and additional recommendations
Through this guide you have been presented with the essential features, which enables you to send a newsletter. Yet, our system contains many features and aspects that can optimize your newsletter as well as your results from it. You can see more relevant guides below. Additionally, we have a site called knowledge base where you will be able to find additional guides as well as publications about e-mail marketing.
- How to split test in Ubivox
- Add a logo to a list
- Google Analytics integration
- Create a course of automated e-mails
Contact us
If you need support you can always contact us on: support@ubivox.com or on our live-chat for quick answers.
