Newsletter Function

[JamesBrown]

This is looking good I have a few forums all working well on vb3.8 I tried vb4 and just did not like it. I will be watching this closely.

On one forum I have 13000 members and to get a newsletter out to them and stay on top of the list additions and deletions is a pain with so many workarounds. Any chance we could get newsletter opt in/out right there in xF. Or even better get one of the email solution companies like Aweber or similar to work with it. Thanks.

 

[iGamer]

Customizing and setting an email template as well as setting it to send out at regular intervals (Monthly, Bi-Monthly, Weekly, etc) would be nice.

Yep, that is exactly what i had in mind. This would be such a neat feature.

 

[Peggy]

I used a newsletter add-on quite alot when I had my forum. I'd love this feature, for sure.

 

[Lisa]

Me too

 

[Floris]

That reminds me, I have to finalize the draft for the WTN.Newsletter for August :0

 

[Brandon Sheley]

I would love love LOVE to have an xenforo version of a 3.8 mod for vBulletin called GAZ..
(BTW the demo doesn't look at good as it did at one point, but it should help with ideas)
This was a great mod for me when I ran it. We always had members that had been gone for months, come back and complement our newsletter.

 

[Digital Doctor]

+ Like this idea.
I think it should be an addon.

 

[VLEPSC]

So, is anyone working on a newsletter system for XF. A lot of discussion, but it appears no takers. (and I wouldn't have any idea how to do it, so I can't help - sorry!)

 

[ChemicalKicks]

I wish XenForo would handle bounced emails, say after three strikes it would change the user state and stop sending mails to that account.

 

[Robbo]

So, is anyone working on a newsletter system for XF. A lot of discussion, but it appears no takers. (and I wouldn't have any idea how to do it, so I can't help - sorry!)

If only there was more time in the day. This is something I would like to do myself but there is also a hell of a lot of other things I want to do

 

[Deepmartini]

Is there a newsletter mod yet? Or aweber or mailchimp integration? Would be nice that when a user signs up and joins the forum, that are are automatically added to a newsletter list.

 

[Mouth]

I would recommend implementing this in conjunction with the Sendy.co newsletter system.

 

[Morgain]

Glad to see this thread waking up again. I do it manually using usergroups but that's only possible for me being a very small board.

Seems like a newsletter addon would need to deal with bounced emails - after a bounce, put that username + email in a holding file for admin consideration? then after 3 strikes the user is deleted from more newsletters.

I don't favour automatic monthly or any other interval newsletter. Those emails are just junk and go straight in most people's bins.
An irregular sendout is far more 'real' and 'human.' Things that are newsworthy don't occur constantly - better to do a newsletter when the board has peak activity, to demonstrate what detached members are missing OR in a quiert peroid announce a new spicy project.
No reason why admin shouldn't get an alert on it being a month since the last newsletter to open up choice on preparing one.

 

[Alpha1]

What I would really like to see in a newsletter is the function to send the X most popular threads from theusers favorite forums. (forums that the user posts in the most and has liked the most posts in)

This way the newsletter delivers interesting content. Many forum newsletter deliver standard content which is not particularly useful to all users.
Especially when your site has a lot of forums and members have different interests.

 

[craigiri]

The entire net has gotten much more "mature" about bulk email - and that's why (IMHO) I think many would be best served by systems like Mailchimp. Exporting email addys is certainly no hassle.

Mailchimp deals with bounces and stuff we could only dream about in an add-on.

It probably differs by forum, but I feel I am intruding on my members to send them emails - more than perhaps once a year for a very special reason (like when I changed to XF).

I would think there would be a lot of add-on's in line before this one - but who knows? A lot of the good ones have come from one person wanting them and hiring a developer!

 

[Alpha1]

Mind that a site sends out a very large amount of email anyway.
If you do a monthly newsletter then the amount of mail that your newsletter sends is likely less than half of your total email. Therefore letting mailchimp handle your bounce mail is ineffective and possibly even counterproductive.

 

[Mouth]

The entire net has gotten much more "mature" about bulk email - and that's why (IMHO) I think many would be best served by systems like Mailchimp.

Hence why I suggested Sendy.co - a very good and MUCH cheaper method for sending bulk email.

 

[Morgain]

What I would really like to see in a newsletter is the function to send the X most popular threads from theusers favorite forums. (forums that the user posts in the most and has liked the most posts in)

This way the newsletter delivers interesting content. Many forum newsletter deliver standard content which is not particularly useful to all users.
Especially when your site has a lot of forums and members have different interests.

I like the idea of a newsletter that sends stuff SELECTED based on user interests.
That could select based on a user's Watched list. That shows where their interests lie. (A note in the email could explain how to edit the Watched list)

This would work well with the Watch Forum addon.

However I find a simple way to do newsletters is to have a compulsory Watch Forum addon.
All my users belong to one of 3 top level usergroups.
I set a usergroup to Watch a forum for their group. That gets all the important general stuff for them in that group.
Then I just do a post on one or more of those 3 usergroup forums = newsletter.
But of course that can only do my editorial and any links to board content are manual by me.

It would be great to have a newsletter addon which:
- adds content for the user based on their Watched list
For anyone not visited last month they get their Watched list. -
For recent visitors who have visited last few days perhaps nothing,
Not sure about the middle group maybe admin sets these periods as it would be different on different boards.

PLUS includes an editorial at the top, written by the admin.
This also appears as a post on their main usergroup forum linked to their main usergroup where they get all posts notified anyway. Could be global for admin who just ticks all 3 usergroup forums.



Plus I want a compulsory Watch forum per usergoup at admin level.
This would all go together to make a newsletter. Users would get

 

[Mouth]

However I find a simple way to do newsletters is to have a compulsory Watch Forum addon.
[...]
I set a usergroup to Watch a forum for their group. That gets all the important general stuff for them in that group.

Interesting. Could you explain this a little further? Specifically, what is the add-on that forces usergroup members to watch a forum(s)? I presume this means they will get an Alert for new topics?

 

[Morgain]

Interesting. Could you explain this a little further? Specifically, what is the add-on that forces usergroup members to watch a forum(s)? I presume this means they will get an Alert for new topics?

It adds a bit to Forum Watch to make an admin required Watch which cannot opt out. Waindigo did it.
So you need both addons.

Obviously needs to be used only a little so as not to swamp users. For ordinary members I set it to one forum. For my Elders 3 - the welcomes, our main clan events forum, and the elders forum.
Any more would annoy too much.

 

[Mouth]

It adds a bit to Forum Watch to make an admin required Watch which cannot opt out. Waindigo did it.
So you need both addons.

Thanks, already have xfrocks's Forum Watch add-on. Look through Waindigo's add-ons list, but couldn't see it - I'll ask him via PC.