Uploading List of Email Addresses
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I manage a blog for a client who wants to distribute the blog via email notification to all of his 200 clients. Typically, we add a client to the blog, by typing their email address into the Email Subscription widget. That gets very time consuming, especially if your are trying to add 200 names.
I have seen the invite function in which you can create a list of ten email address to sent customized invitations. I also see where I can download all followers to a CVS file. Is there a way we can by a reverse process simply upload an email list to the WordPress followers database from a Word or Excel file?
Walt Walker
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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I have seen the invite function in which you can create a list of ten email address to sent customized invitations
That is for inviting people to be users on your blog (Editor, Author etc.) not email subscribers
For email subscribers it is one name at a time and they also need to click on a link in the email to confirm they want to receive the email when a new Post is made
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Regarding the invite function being only for Administrator, Editor, Author, and Contributor, the instructions under Users / Invite gives you the option to select Follower on the dropdown menu as well as Administrator, Editor, Author, and Contributor.
The next line says, “Click the Send Invitation button. When your friend accepts the invite, they’ll receive an email update each time you publish a new post.”
Is there a difference between a Follower and an Email Subscriber?
Walt
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I might stand corrected, but I have always though of that option for blogs that are Private – but give it a try and see what happens – put in a friends email that is not an account here and hit Invite
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I for sure stand corrected –
I just put in an email that is not used on WordPress.COM and made a Post on my test blog – and I got the email notice of the Post being published –
So – 10 at a time for a Follower
I learn something new every day – thanks
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Okay. Next question:
Browsing around on the stat page, I find that we had 4 “followers” (myself included) and 58 “email only” followers.
There is obviously a difference. I assume from viewing the list that “followers” are individuals who have some kind of WordPress account and “email only” are those without a WordPress account (username, password).
But the invitations are to become “followers.” So when we are sending out invitations by the tens (using <Users>, <Invite>), are we inviting them to sign up by creating a WordPress account. That is WAY too complicated. We just want them to get and email notification.
Walt
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to become “followers.” So when we are sending out invitations by the tens (using <Users>, <Invite>), are we inviting them to sign up by creating a WordPress account.
No – the email address I used for a test was not associated with any email account and I was not ask to open an account.
I received an email that said I was invited to follow my test blog, it had a link in it that I had to click on to confirm that I really wanted to follow my test blog – after I clicked on the yes I want to subscribe link, I received an email that confirmed that I was now following my test blog
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Okay. So it seems that the <User> <Invite> <followers> function produces the same results as the Email Subscription widget.
I think I have the answer to my third questions. The issue is that I do not have the option to send invitations from anyone but “Walt Walker” because the WordPress account is under my name. I assume that inviting a person to be an Administrator will give me the option to send under their name as well. Correct?
Here is (I think) my last question: According to the stat page we have 62 follow the blog and 130 following via Twitter. The publicize function automatically posts links on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Is there any kind of Twitter invite function in WordPress . What would be great is an invite function that gives the invitee several options of how to follow (email, facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, etc. Anything like that available through the Publicize function?
W Walker
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an Administrator will give me the option to send under their name as well.
Yes – the invite to my test blog was from “captnmike” which is the display name for the “auxclass” account
There is also a box you can enter text into to explain what is going on
The footer of the email I received had this in it
This message was sent by a WordPress.com user who entered your email address to invite you. You can unsubscribe if you’d prefer not to receive invitation emails in future. Please do not reply to this message; it was sent from an unmonitored email address. For help with WordPress.com, please visit WordPress.com Support
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I’m glad things are working out for you but this is all rather horrifying. When the spammers figure out that this works, they are going to write a script that inputs thousands of email addresses. Seriously, this is horrifying.
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Raincoaster: Horrifying indeed. It could even be done with a series of macros. Of course, wholesale uploads are already doable on email marketing platforms like constant contact, Emma, etc. As much as I would like to make this process easier, WP programmers need to figure out a way to safeguard WordPress from turning into a broadcast email platform. Currently, it does so by limiting to ten at a time, but as you pointed out, someone will figure out a way around that restriction.
I think the answer to my question about people following the blog via Twitter, we just need to get a Twitter and Facebook icon and link on the homepage. Readers can click on to follow from there.
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