The Mailbeez Newsletter module represents a completely new approach to an integrated eCommerce newsletter module, offering store owners exciting Mailbeez enhancements, and the ability to create personalized, intelligent email campaigns right from the store admin area.

Sending an email newsletter from a vanilla install of any OScommerce variant system is a very unappetizing task, which is why there has, in recent years, been a proliferation of 3rd party email newsletter subscribers who have provided the tools most merchants wished their eCommerce store could provide. However, with the introduction of the Mailbeez Newsletter module, store owners finally have the tools to create email campaigns from their admin areas; campaigns that lack nothing in comparison to the offerings of feature rich 3rd party systems.

The Newsletter Module is currently in fully functional BETA stage with the following features:

• Campaigns: create, edit and delete
  A campaign is a grouping for Newsletters, and within it you can set up an unlimited number of newsletters per campaign
• Newsletters: create, edit, delete, preview, send a test
  A newsletter comprises the newsletter email (Subject, Body html, Body txt) and settings like a short name, description, and the start & end date for when the newsletter is active. The current version allows you to define html code for the newsletter body. Please note, there is no visual editor included for the moment, but this is in the development queue
• The module will send out active newsletters to your customers, by using Newsletter Subscribers only you can ensure that MailBeez in general and also the newsletter module is only mailing to customers with a newsletter subscription
• Since this is a bulk-mail module you need to throttle down the rate by using the Simple Throttling addon

The purpose of the start and end date

For each Newsletter you must define a start & end date. These dates define a time frame in which the newsletter is active, and correspondingly when it will be sent out. Because the newsletter runs inside MailBeez, you can trigger the module as often as you like, but each customer will receive each newsletter only once.

A good example of how the date functionality can come into play is if you were to define the active period to be 3 weeks with the module set to be triggered daily (by a daily cron job), in this instance, the newsletter would also be sent out to new customers who register or buy at your store.

Coming soon to the Newsletter module

• Finalized front end of current features set
• Editor with visual support to avoid html coding
• A handy “after sign-up delay”: which will allow stores to define the delay before a newsletter is sent to new customers
• Handling for overlapping active newsletters
• Support for external lists (please let us know if you have any particular external lists you would like the module to synchronize with)
• Professionally designed templates

Currently the Newsletter module is in beta stage – but early adopters can buy now and get 2 years of updates for free.

Keep your hosts happy

If you plan to send a large newsletter campaign, we do advise that you invest in a couple of extra Mailbeez Configbeez modules that will help to both manage server resources, and ensure that you only email subscribed customers.

• Newsletter Subscribers only – this module makes sure that you only email customers that have subscribed to your newsletter
• Simple Throttling – a handy module that, depending on your server plan, will make sure you keep below hourly email limits, or, for users on unrestricted plans, manages server resources to prevent visitor spikes that could slow your site down as newsletter recipients arrive to browse.