Update Rules Routing for eBay Emails

If you have ReplyManager also reading your POP account and you have enabled the eBay Duplicate Rule, then we recommend that you update the Duplicate Rule to filter the duplicate emails into the appropriate folder.

Go to Maintenance >Accounts. Click on the eBay Duplicate Rule. Under Conditions, please select "From" Equals "member@ebay.com" from the drop down menus. Be sure the appropriate account has been highlighted in "Apply this rule to". When an email notification is read from the POP account, this Rule will now filter and route the emails to the appropriate folder.



Be sure to check any other eBay Rules you have set up to properly route the emails into folders. Please see the Help Section on the application for complete setup instructions.

ReplyManager with eBay Integration Now Available

We are excited to announce that eBay integration for Ask the Seller is now available to existing customers. This new module interfaces with eBay to allow sellers to respond directly to buyers, which includes those buyers that choose to remain anonymous. Using the eBay trading API, sellers can receive and respond to messages buyers have posted about active item listings through the eBay message center. The API allows seamless threading of email messages with ebay messages. Heres how to set it up:

Easy Setup within ReplyManager:

1. First, go to Maintenance>Folders to add a new folder for the eBay account “eBay - Ask the Seller" Folder (to separate the email coming from your eBay email account)
2. Then, Maintenance>Accounts> Add new eBay account
3. Enter a description (Company Name eBay account)
4. Select "Force" into the new eBay folder, Click Update
5. Click “Get eBay Token” (code for account) This will open a new browser window, please follow the directions in the window.
6. Click “Open eBay Authorization Window”. Sign in to link your to eBay account. This step captures a piece of code to connect to the mailbox. Wait 30 seconds before clicking Update, then test to confirm you have a successful connection. All Unanswered emails, and those one day prior, from the eBay mailbox will begin to populate within a few minutes.

This eBay mailbox contains your “Ask the Seller” emails. eBay will also send notifications to your POP or IMAP account notifying you of system messages as well as the “Ask the Seller” emails. If RM is reading your POP or IMAP account, your “Ask the Seller” notifications will be read there as well and will be a duplicate email.

In that case, if you are an existing customer, please see the Help area on the application for the eBay - Duplicate Rule setup and conditions.

If you are a new customer, please activate the Rule already set up in your template, and apply it to the POP or IMAP account ONLY. You can then choose to Delete the duplicate emails OR move them to a designated folder (we recommend “eBay Duplicate email” folder). You can then browse and delete in that folder as you choose.

Please see our ReplyManager website for any other updates. Please let us know if you have any questions or need help implementing the new feature.

What To Look for in Email Management Software

The process of finding and selecting an email management solution (or any web-based software) should be similar to how a business might hire an employee. The company would search for prospects, group interesting candidates together, interview the candidates, check references and make a selection. When "interviewing" possible web software solutions, keep these questions in mind:

• Is the software easy-to-use and to setup?
• How long has the company been in business (they are, after all, managing your data)?
• Is secure access available?
• Do you do back-ups of the stored data?
• How is their customer support? Do they provide only an email or is there a phone number with a live person on the other end?
• What is their up-time?

Get answers to these questions, and you'll be better prepared to select the best and most reliable web-based solution.

Adding Images to Emails Within ReplyManager

The new ReplyManager HTML Editor includes an Add Image tool so users can insert an image into their email, which is different from simply including an attachment. Images are not uploaded, but are referred to by placing the URL of a hosted image (images stored at other virtual locations) into the HTML of the email. Here is how to do it:

Be sure the HTML Editor is active. While composing the email, click on the Insert / Edit Image button and add the URL of the image. Advanced features include positioning within text and linking the image to a URL.

Even better, if you use Firefox or Safari, the Drag and Drop feature is available to you when inserting images into an email.

If you are not sure what the URL of an image is (e.g. where it is hosted), but can see the image on a website (e.g. your company logo), right click on the image and select View Image, Copy Image Address or Properties (IE). You'll see the URL of the image in the address bar.

For example, if I want to insert the ReplyManager Email Management logo into an email I would include the following URL:

http://www.replymanager.com/images/rm_logo.gif

To include attachments, please use the File Attachment function.

Staying Positive is Good for Business!

It is hard in this current state of affairs to stay positive in your attitude and outlook on all things business or personal, especially when our media is keeping us informed on all the negatives.

Here is an interesting article from eMarketer on practical steps for focusing on things you have control over, recognizing opportunities and achieving positive results for your business.

"The answer lies in seeking a balance—anchoring yourself to reality while focusing on every glimmer of hope and opportunity you can find."
Read the full article
Commentary from Geoff Ramsey: How Staying Positive Is Good for Business – February 9, 2009

Boomers and Their Online Buying Trends!

Studies are confirming what we all know - Boomers are a powerful bunch!

Research is showing that Boomers, those between the ages of 44 and 62, are now one of the largest groups of online users. They are doing everything from shopping, gathering information on products and services and staying in touch with friends and family. Understanding and adapting websites to their buying trends would be beneficial to online Marketers.

Read the full article at eMarketer
You’ve Come a Long Way, Boomers, and You’re Online Now! – December 4, 2008

One Click Email Search for Reply Manager

Reply Manager provides a quick and easy way to search for all emails sent or received by the same email address. To do this, open an email from the person you would like to search. Click on the linked From address at the top of email. The system will automatically generate search results that include all emails sent to and received from this email address.