“Newsletter > Subscribes” is a core part of Newsletter and where you can manage your subscriber list: search, edit, create, import and export are some of the most common features. But it not limited to these operations: statistical data, bounce list import, massive actions are features available for advanced users.
The module provide some “massive actions” where an entire set of subscriber can be changed. For example you can remove all not confirmed subscribers or change subscriber preferences and so on.
Test subscribers
The best way to make a reliable test is to send a newsletter to real subscribers. This way the email is composed using real user’s data, like the name, email, identification code, sex, preferences and so on.
Newsletter provides a setting which enable a regular subscribe to become a test subscriber as well. Opening a subscriber editing panel, there is a selection to set him as test user.
A test subscribe remains a regular subscriber, so when you send a real newsletter he’ll receive it. But when you send a test only subscribers with test setting to “yes” are used.
A note: sometime the extraction of test subscribers ignore preferences or other targeting settings, it depends on the context. So if you set a newsletter to be addressed only to women, probably even if a test subscriber is a man he will be used as recipient.
Importing of WordPress users
If there is already a set of WordPress users, you may want to “import” them into the Newsletter database to send them newsletters.
Actually, WordPress users are not imported but “linked”: each WordPress user can have a subscriber profile and can unsubscribe from the newsletter still remaining an active WordPress user.
Being linked to a subscriber profile, even a WordPress user can set preferences, subscribe the Feed by Mail and so on.
Massively linking WordPress users to Newsletter subscribers can be done forcing the subscription status as confirmed or not confirmed. If you choose the not confirmed option, you should even consider to resend a confirmation email as explained below.
How the “linking” works? It’s not exactly an easy step. The sequence is:
- All WordPress users are initially loaded and for every user…
- If exists a subscriber already linked (the relation is established using the user’s identification number) this user is skipped.
- If exists a subscriber with the same email of the user, and that subscriber is not linked to another WordPress users, the two are connected.
- As last case, a new subscriber is created, linked with the WordPress user and set with the specified status.
Since both the subscriber and the WordPress user contain an email, when a message is sent the WordPress user email is used in the rare case they diverge.
Note: the WordPress user database is not touched by this procedure and is generally never changed by Newsletter activities.
How to resend a confirmation email
If you are in the particular situation with an important number of subscribers not confirmed (for any reason), you may want to send to all a (new) confirmation message.
To complete this task, you should create a regular newsletter setting it to be addressed to the not confirmed subscribers. In this email it’s important to add the {subscription_confirm_url} tag as it is used in to the normal confirmation message (configurable on Subscription panel).
This method grants a secure delivery of this confirmation email even to a big number of subscribers.
Export and import
You can import and export subscribers. using a CSV file. The exported file IS NOT compatible with the import format. The generated file should be “Excel compatible” and that leads to problems when opened with Calc.
Bounced email importing
If you have a list of bounced email addresses (for example a list supplied by SendGrid or other SMTP services you are using), you can “import them” to get Newsletter to mark them as bounced and avoid to send out other emails to those addresses.
The bounce import function is under the “massive actions” and email should be one per line. If the list contains non-existent emails or emails already marked as bounce there are no problems at all.
