We took the wraps off of the first software update of 2013 just a few moments ago. You can run software update right now to get the changes. Mac App Store customers will have to wait a few more days for Apple to approve the update (we’ll update this blog, Twitter, and Facebook when they do).
Here is some of what’s new:
The “History” tab has been renamed to “Reports”
The first-run experience for new users of Direct Mail has been streamlined and otherwise improved
Several crashing bugs were fixed
The image editor has been improved to allow fine-grained adjustments to image sizes and to stop blurry upscaling of small images.
Added support for importing additional Daylite attributes (Salutation and Suffix)
…and various other enhancements and fixes
Feel free to read the release notes to get the full list of changes. Please let us know what you think!
Another year has flown by and, once again, Macworld is here! If you’re going to be in or around San Francisco this January 31st to February 2nd, come on down to Moscone Center West and we’ll get you in to the Expo Hall for free—you’ll need to be one of the first 100 folks to claim your free pass. We’ll be joining other top OS X and iOS developers in showcasing fantastic business apps, hardware, and accessories.
One of our favorite things about Macworld is the chance to meet our customers in real life. We love hearing about what you’re using Direct Mail for, and enjoy getting feedback on what you like (or don’t like). We’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have, show you some of the new things we added in 2012, or provide advice on becoming a better email marketer. So we hope you’ll stop on by the Appalooza section to say hello!
Start 2013 off right by downloading a brand new update to our iOS app, Stamps. If you don’t already use Stamps, you should! It’s an easy way to review your email campaign reports from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. You can also use Stamps to fill out subscribe forms that you’ve created in Direct Mail—new subscribers are automatically synced to Direct Mail.
Version 1.2.2 includes a new Kiosk Mode for viewing subscribe forms on the iPad. Kiosk Mode turns your iPad into a tamper-proof device for gathering new subscribers in your store, at events, or anywhere on the go. To try it out, tap the full-screen icon in the top-right corner of the screen, then tap the lock icon. Kiosk Mode uses the new Guided Access feature in iOS 6 to make sure no one can leave your subscribe form to check out your other apps or personal data.
To enter Kiosk Mode, tap the full screen icon, then tap the lock icon.
Version 1.2.2 also renames the History tab to “Reports”. The History tab in Direct Mail will be renamed to “Reports” in a forthcoming update.
You can update to the latest version of Stamps by opening the App Store on your device, or clicking here.
Update: Direct Mail 3.4 is now available in the Mac App Store.
Just in time for the holidays, we’re happy to announce a brand new version of Direct Mail (3.4) that delivers two oft-requested features: Daylite 4 integration and a “forward to a friend” feature for sharing your emails. Read on for more information, and be sure to download the update today! Mac App Store customers will need to wait a bit longer, as Apple is still reviewing the update.
Daylite 4 Integration
We are big fans of Daylite and know that many of our customers rely on Daylite and Direct Mail to stay in touch with their clients and customers. Although Daylite 4 (launched earlier this year) did not initially support third-party integration, it has recently been updated to support integration with Direct Mail. We’ve worked hard to make integrating with Daylite even easier than before—you don’t even need a plug-in!
You will need Daylite 4.1 to support integration with Direct Mail.
Importing Contacts
Now importing contacts (people and companies) from Daylite is as easy as dragging and dropping. Try selecting your contacts in Daylite and then dragging them onto Direct Mail’s window:
Contact Syncing
Instead of importing your contacts from Daylite each time, you can also set up Direct Mail to automatically sync with one or more of your Daylite Groups. Now it’s easy to manage your mailing list from inside Daylite and use Direct Mail for creating, sending, and tracking your email campaigns. Direct Mail will keep up-to-date with name, email address, and other changes you make inside Daylite.
Please see this help article for more information on setting up syncing with Daylite.
Linking Email Campaigns
Daylite makes it easy for you to keep track of email correspondence with your clients. Now Direct Mail can automatically link sent email campaigns back to Daylite, as well. You can even jump from Daylite into your Direct Mail email campaign report with one click:
We think you’re going to love the integration between Direct Mail and Daylite. Please let us know what you think in the comments or via our support site.
Forward to a Friend
Direct Mail 3 has long made it easy for your recipients to share your email on Facebook and Twitter. Now we’re adding support for sharing via the original social network: email. Our templates in Direct Mail 3.4 now include “Forward to a Friend” links that your recipients can use to pass along your newsletter. If you use your own templates, you can add this functionality by including a link with the href set to “[forward to a friend url]”.
You’ll be able to see when people share your newsletter by looking at the Links section of your history report (just like for Facebook and Twitter).
What Else?
We’ve also added a brand-new web-based API to Direct Mail 3.4. This makes it possible to add, remove, or update your Direct Mail mailing lists from other web-based applications—even when your computer is turned off. Please see our API documentation for more information.
Another addition is a new bulk-edit feature. Now it’s easy to edit the contact information (like correcting the spelling of a company name, for example) for several addresses at once.
Enjoy!
We hope you like these new changes in Direct Mail—be sure to check out the recently updated Stamps for iPhone (and now iPad), too! We are already hard at work on some exciting new changes to be announced in the new year!
Stamps is a great way to view your email tracking reports from your iPhone, iPod touch, and now iPad! We’re happy to announce that version 1.2 of Stamps is available now from the App Store and features several great enhancements.
Detailed History Reports
We’ve enhanced the history reports to show you detailed activity information for each recipient. See which email addresses opened, clicked, bounced, unsubscribed, or filed a spam complaint. You can even see what each individual recipient clicked on in your message.
Just like Direct Mail on your Mac, you can view a report of the top email clients and get a fully-interactive map of where your recipients were when they opened your email.
Full-Screen Subscribe Forms
If you use your iPad in store or at trade shows to collect subscribers for your mailing list, then you will love the new full-screen mode for Stamps subscribe forms. Just use two fingers to zoom in to your subscribe form (just like you would to zoom into a page in Safari) and it will automatically go full-screen.
Get the Update!
If you already have Stamps on your device, open the App Store to update. If you haven’t tried out Stamps yet, visit https://directmailmac.com/stamps on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad to try it out. It’s completely free! You can learn more about it here.
