GLOBAL FOLLOWUPS are what is really needed... here's how...

[BGSWebDesign]

Hi DW,

I provided it to my other client along with some custom SQL queries to create a field and a table. First you'd need to update to v1.85 then I can send you the updated files. Drop me an email if you want it.

I'll let you know when I'm ready... read below for what I think a BETTER way to do this is... you'll see why...

Currently the feature simply REPLACES all followups on a given list with the ones from the saved set. (Yes, of course there's a pop-up confirmation) You make an interesting point, though. I could fairly easily provide an additional dropdown to choose * (replace all) or an existing seq # to insert after (what do we do with those followups equal to or ABOVE the inserted #? Move them up or delete them?)

Insert after, or before is Ok with other followups moving down, BUT, here's something you should REALLY be thinking about....  You should come up with a way to have a GLOBAL Followup page, that page includes Followups that are "NAMED", the "NAMED" followups would also include Delay and Cron schedule settings...  the "NAMED" Followups are insterted by "NAME", choosing from a drop down box on All of the Followup Screens,

For example when you choose to add a Followup, the current Followup Screen appears, but at the top is a pulldown for selecting a "NAMED" followup, if selected ALL of the "NAMED" Followup information (subject, text, html and attachment info, as well as scheduling info Delay, Cron settings) are copied from the GLOBAL "NAMED" followup....  Here is where things become different than you have them working now - AFTER you select your "NAMED" followup - which is the same followup that appears on the GLOBAL FOLLOWUP page, if you ever return to the GLOBAL FOLLOWUP page and make a change to that FOLLOWUP to the Text, HTML, attachments, or scheduling Delay or Cron info, THE CHANGED INFORMATION applies to ALL of the FOLLOWUPS that have been assigned this "NAMED" FOLLOWUP....  

Why you ask?  I'll tell you, I have about 30-50 lists, in each of those,  I need to duplicate the exact SAME FOLLOWUP, and setup the Delay/Cron scheduling, and I have about 25 Followups I need to setup that way, you can see the problem - I"M POSITIVE OTHERS WOULD HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM- if, I setup these 25 followups, and then later decide I need to change ONE SENTENCE in a followup, I have to return to ALL 30 or so lists and change each and every FOLLOWUP - and re-save it, can you see how time-consuming this is?

Really, the best way to do it, is not that you COPY the entire info over into the table, but that you just hold a pointer to the GLOBAL FOLLOWUP in your FOLLOWUP list for each Mailing List, that way, you just pont to the GLOBAL FOLLOWUP, and if I change one sentence in the GLOBAL FOLLOWUP, then that followup text will change in EVERY SINGLE place I have set the FOLLOWUP to be that "NAMED" followup...

Can you see how different this is, and how helpful it is to how you're doing it now?   This is generally how other Autoersponders work, you setup your Followups (or Series of Followups) in one place, and then you go into the list and select which Followups (or series) you want to use for that list... then if you change one of the Followups - they change every place that they are used - you are doing it a different way, you are saving each followup uniquely for each list - this is inefficient, and creates more hand entering of changes/text every time a change needs to be made...

I hope you can see how beneficial this would be, over the way you have things working now, and that you can think about adding this important ability in the future?  

Let me know if you have questions about how it would work... but I think I've laid it out above?

[DW]

Brett,

Great suggestion.  Looking at it from reverse, editing a single list's followups that might be 'global' followups would inherently update the global followup.  Therefore, to provide for slight variations across lists the entire set would need to be copied to the list, as the current implementation does.  We need to have both, I think.  A list could be set to use either a set of global followups or it's own editable followups.

So how is this best implemented?  A "Global" button could be implemented on the followup listing page leading to a listing, or dropdown, of named saved message sets which can be edited.

Should Global and Save Set be separate or work together seamlessly (appearing the same under Load and in Global editing)?  t might be nice to differentiate between the two, such as by showing which lists a set is applied to or alternate dropdown Global/Saved..  Should saved sets simply be considered Global and be able to be applied as such?

Thinking out loud... When creating global named sequences, you should be able to load other saved and global sequences (but not set a global on a global).  When creating regular sequences you should be able to "Load" a saved OR global set, but define whether or not to set the list as 'global' or insert new, normal (unlinked) followups for individual editing.

Informative messages could be output to help the user not to edit the wrong data.  ie. "You are editing a global followup! Changes made will affect all lists using this set of messages!".  A button could be added 'personalize list' for lists using a global followup set which could 'detach' the global followups so they can be edited individually.

This all sounds really cool.  Does it sound like I'm on the right track?  Great suggestion again.

In addition to all of the above I hope to eventually provide the means to run two followup sequences on a list at the same time and/or in succession. (Fully modularized followups)

Regards

[BGSWebDesign]

Hi DW,

. A list could be set to use either a set of global followups or it's own editable followups.

No, a list needs to be able to provide BOTH normal followups that are individually edited, AND global followups... OR, you could do this simply by COPYING the global followup every time, and then if the user EDITs, too bad, they are editing the LOCAL followup...  you may be thinking on this too hard... or providing too many options so try to get it under control...

Ask your users, I know for me, if you just copy the GLOBAL followups into my list, that is fine, if I edit that followup, from then on, it's a LOCAL followup, and I should be aware of that, your idea of allowing editing of a GLOBAL followup within a list and then forcing that to be GLOBAL is going to be harder for you to program, and may be too many options for the normal user - but, then again, maybe some users will expect that if they copy a GLOBAL followup and edit it - inside of a local list, that they are affecting the GLOBAL followup - but I doubt it....

So, what you do is provide a GLOBAL FOLLOWUP section, and then when FOLLOWUPs are added, they can be selected from the GLOBAL followups with a pull-down, the same way you have it shown for your local Saved Sets, etc.... also they can create GLOBAL SETS...  BUT, after the followup is copied to the list, it then becomes LOCAL, that's the way I would do it...

You'll have to ask your users and decide, but providing the GLOBAL AND LOCAL options with GLOBAL Editing inside of a list may be way too much work for you - and I'd rather see you working on something like the Split Testing features that I fully laid out, including Split Tested Mailings... that would be way more beneficial then providing GLOBAL editing of a LOCAL Followup - got it?

ON SECOND THOUGHT
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Ok, I've given this some further thought, the GLOBAL followup holds more value for me, as I'll most likely use GLOBAL followups for most of my mailing lists, so here's one thing you could do, you allow insertion of the followups (and just store a pointer to the global followup as I laid out in my first message about this (about 3 messages back), BUT you label the Followup on the Followup screen as GLOBAL (in red text).... that way, it's pretty obvious that is a Global followup - you LOCKOUT the user from editing the GLOBAL followup on the Followup page, if they want to edit that followup - the user needs to go to the GLOBAL Followup page to make the edits - there will be no way to EDIT any of the options or text of the GLOBAL followup on the lists Followup page, if a LOCAL followup is inserted - fine, let the user Edit it... so basically all you need to track is the followup type (Global or Local) and if it's Global you just keep a pointer to the Global followup and do not allow editing - just remove the Edit button for that Followup after it is inserted... make sense?  I believe that should solve any problems - and allow for a good balance between Global and Local followups - THIS WOULD ALSO APPLY TO SERIES of Followups - in other words on the Global Followup page you allow for the creation of Global Series of Messages which can also be inserted - as before you do NOT allow editing of any of the messages in the Global Series...

after you've completed that....

I WOULD LOVE IT IF YOU WOULD GET THE SPLIT TESTED MAILINGS/SPLIT TESTED LINK TRACKING WORKING!!!  Here's the link where we discussed it (read the last 2 messages I posted at):
http://listmailpro.com/forum/index.php?topic=455.0 The real key here is providing a way to track PURCHASES from the click throughs... using cookies, or invisible .gif images...   if you could focus on that next - I believe you'll find that LMP will far exceed the ability that other Mailers can provide - think about it...  please... see my original post of top 10 requests for more details...