Tendenci

Tendenci June 2008 Newsletter

noemail@tendenci.com — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:04:29 GMT

Tendenci Newsletter

Hello [firstname],

Welcome to the June 2008 Tendenci newsletter! We have some important Tendenci software updates, training classes to announce and other tidbits to fill you in on. Visit us online at www.tendenci.com and http://blog.tendenci.com for up-to-the-minute updates!

What's new with Tendenci?

The Tendenci team has updates and new features to share with you - the last few rounds of changes have been focused on helping you edit and control your site's content even better! For links to these exciting new tools, look for the "Tendenci and Other Tools" menu on your Tendenci User Console.

New Tendenci Navigation
Thought rearranging your Navigation was tough? Well no longer. Tendenci's new drag and drop Navigation Editor will chase all those fears away!

Template Editor
Ever wish you had more control over what your Tendenci site actually looks like? Well the new Template Editor will answer all of your HTML dreams.

Style Sheet Editor

Not only can you edit HTML with our new Tendenci Tools, but you'll be able to edit the CSS on your site now too! You also don't have to worry about making a mistake. Tendenci remembers all of your previously saved styles.

Coming soon!!

We have a few software changes in the works that you should know about. Stay tuned to our Tendenci Software Blog for more updates and help as they are refined and released:

Improved Job search features
Updated User Profiles interface
Directory listing updates

Save the date!
Tendenci User Conference 2008 - October 2-3, 2008

Our 2nd annual Tendenci User Conference will be held here in Houston on October 2nd and 3rd on the University of Houston main campus (4800 Calhoun Rd.). The conference is a great place to not only learn more about the Tendenci software functionality, but also a chance to connect with other users and learn how other organizations are using their Web site.

Have Tendenci Questions? We have answers!!!

Our Tendenci Support Team gets a lot of questions. Here is one of our most frequently asked this month. For answers to this questions and more, please visit our help files.

You can also link to any of our super FREE and super cool educational tools from here: http://www.schipul.com/education

How do I retrieve my password for my site?
If you can not remember your login information, you can can retrieve by following the steps below:

In a browser window, enter your site URL and include /en after the URL.
that should bring you to a login area
Click on the links that says Forget your password?
Your login information will then be emailed to you.

A few other featured help files this month are:
How to add my business or organization to Google Maps?
How do I restrict page view to a specific User Group?
How do I create permissions for a User Group?

Check out all of the different ways you can get help on you Tendenci Powered Website:

1. Visit our Tendenci blog at http://blog.tendenci.com.
2. Sign up for one of our Tendenci training classes
3. Read our Tendenci help files
4. Email the Schipul Support Team at support@schipul.com or call the Support Line at (281) 497.6567 ext. 411 - support charges may apply for both

Upcoming Tendenci Training Classes

Here are our upcoming Tendenci software, Web marketing and Search Engine Marketing training classes. Unless denoted as a 'Webinar' all classes are held at our Schipul offices in Houston.

Webinar - Intro to Memberships Module
Day: Wed 25-Jun-08 1:00 PM
Location: Online Webinar
Intro to Tendenci Software Training for Administrators and Event Planners
Day: Thu 3-Jul-08 1:30 PM
Location: Schipul - The Web Marketing Company 11757 Katy Freeway, Suite 930 Houston, TX 77079
Webinar - Intro to Tendenci Software Training for Administrators and Event Planners
Day: Wed 9-Jul-08 1:30 PM
Location: Online Webinar
Tendenci Newsletter Training
Day: Thu 10-Jul-08 1:30 PM
Location: Schipul - The Web Marketing Company 11757 Katy Freeway, Suite 930 Houston, Texas 77079
Webinar - Content Management Using Tendenci
Day: Wed 16-Jul-08 1:30 PM
Location: Schipul - The Web Marketing Company 11757 Katy Freeway Ste. 930 Houston, TX 77079
Content Management Using Tendenci
Day: Thu 17-Jul-08 1:30 PM
Location: Schipul - The Web Marketing Company 11757 Katy Freeway, Suite 930 Houston, TX 77079
Webinar - Forms, Catalogue, online Surveys
Day: Tue 22-Jul-08 1:30 PM
Location: Online - Webinar
Webinar - Intro to Corporate Memberships Module
Day: Wed 23-Jul-08 1:00 PM
Location: Online Webinar

Help us welcome our new Schipul Team hires!!!

	Maggie McDonald--Communications I’m a Houston girl, and besides a trip to Basic Training to join the Army Reserves and a brief stint in Spain, I have lived here my entire life. I graduated from Tomball High School in 2001 and went on to Graduate from Houston’s own U of H with a BA in Public Relations and a minor in Marketing. I love all that is Houston and never tire of telling random strangers how great Houston really is. I interned as an event planner for a year in college and interned in the marketing department at the Houston Dynamo (Forever Orange!) my entire senior year. I love to learn, to read, and the color yellow. Although I’m a self-proclaimed internet newbie who accidently tripped and fell into the Social Media world… it was love at first “site.” I’m excited to be expanding on all that I have learned up unil now and am super excited to be working with all the amazing crew at Schipul.
	Brandi Lalanne--Graphics Team As long as Schipul provides me with all of the free coffee I can handle, I will continue to make the client's websites as pretty and functional as I can. The funny thing is, drinking coffee and doing web-based work is pretty much what I do in my free time too. I think its safe to say that I love what I do.
	Mariam Tejada--Production Team Raised around numbers, languages and dancers I have naturally developed an affinity for math, foreign languages and dance. I graduated from M.B. Lamar Senior High School in Houston, TX in 2007 and currently attend Scripps College in Claremont, CA where the unofficial mascot is a squirrel. As my third summer as an intern for Schipul I am eager to keep learning about web marketing, web design, and Tendenci®.
	Rebecca Leven--Graphics Team Rebecca, better known as Becky, is a fun-loving, driven, and passionate little lady who loves to accessorize. She originally hails from New York City but has lived in Singapore, Tokyo, and Connecticut too. While not basking in the sunshine of Schipul she spends time running, cooking, and causing a ruckus. Becky currently attends Rice University where she has held various social co-ordination positions, spends ungodly amounts of time in the foreign language studies building, and is also involved in working with local African refugees. She is having the time of her life at Schipul and eating up all the new exciting knowledge as well as many of the various snacks in the Schipul kitchen.
	Jordan--Production Team Oddly enough, I spend my free time creating jewelry. I just graduated from Westchester Academy for International Studies in Houston, TX in 2008. I am on my way to attending Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX to be a pirate and follow the potential path of pre-med. This is my first time working as an intern for Schipul and I look forward to having many enjoyable experiences in the world of web design and marketing.

Goodbye from Schipul!

We'd also like to bid a fond farewell and good luck to a few of our beloved Schpulites. Our Graphics Team Director Tim Newton, one of our graphic artists Sofia Chu, and one of our Account Executives Braulio Perdigao who ll are headed on to other opportunities. They will be missed here in the land of Schipul!

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26-Jun-08 12:04 PM

Important Tendenci Email Delivery Update

noemail@tendenci.com — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Tendenci has made an important update affecting the way that email is sent from your Web site!

The battle against Spam is an ongoing issue in the online world. It is our job to keep your Web site's emails compliant to the latest regulations to ensure that your emails are delivered to your members!

On that note, Tendenci has updated its email delivery process when sending on behalf of clients via your Web site (including newsletters, contact forms and any online notification sent from your site).

When an email from your Tendenci site is sent it will now have a Sender Address of DO-NOT-REPLY-TENDENCI@schipul.net. This change was made to match the address of your Web site's mail server to the 'Sender Email' address in order to be compliant with new email regulations.

A 'Sender Email' address that does not match the actual mail server address looks suspicious to mail servers, resulting in blocked emails or failed deliveries.

Some Examples

The Old Way

To a server this sample email header could look like Spam as it is sent with the sender's own email address from a Tendenci site's newsletter generator (@hotmail.com vs. @schipul.net):

Return-Path: mdinkleplotz@hotmail.com
Sender: mdinkleplotz@hotmail.com
From: "Mary Dinkleplotz" <mdinkleplotz@hotmail.com>
Subject: My organization's newsletter!

The New Way

By changing the 'Sender path', your email will appear less suspicious as the sender address matches your Tendenci site's mail server that is being used to send the email (@schipul.net):

Return-Path: DO-NOT-REPLY-TENDENCI@schipul.net
Sender: DO-NOT-REPLY-TENDENCI@schipul.net
From: "Mary Dinkleplotz" <mdinkleplotz@hotmail.com>
Subject: My Organization's Newsletter

For more information, please read our Tendenci Help File and Tendenci Blog post.

The good news is that this mandatory update will make your email compliant with online regulations and will help increase your email delivery rate.

However, one immediate side effect of this change is that bounce-back features of Tendenci email delivery will be temporarily disabled. See our Tendenci help file or blog post for more information on how to handle this temporary disruption.

As always, we so appreciate your business and the opportunity to serve you! Please contact the Support Team with any questions on these updates at (281) 497.6567, ext. 411 or by email at support @ schipul.com.

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9-Jan-08 8:00 AM

A New Tendenci Console is coming your way

noemail@tendenci.com — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 18:00:00 GMT

Hello,

We're excited to announce that a brand new and more user friendly Tendenci Console is about to be released next week. This Tendenci update will change the look of your Tendenci Console or Homepage. This simplified interface will streamline access to your most used Tendenci modules (like User search and Calendar) and move the Admin Only Links to the upper right hand corner.

Admins also see live RSS feeds from Tendenci Blog and the new Help Files Module.

Admin View

As always, Admins will see many more links than a regular user or member.

User View

As an Admin, you still have to opportunity to choose what Tendenci home page appears on your site.
We want to be sure you understand what the options are for custom user home pages and how, as site Admin, you are able to change the user home page that appears on your site. We hope you enjoy the movement towards greater usability within the Tendenci software.

If you have any questions please contact our Support Team at support@schipul.com or call us at (281) 497-6567 ext. 411 or (877) 724-4785 ext. 411.

8-Nov-07 12:00 PM

Tendenci Reseller Recap - Q4 2007

noemail@tendenci.com — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:06:41 GMT

Hello [firstname],

First of all, a huge "Thank You" to all of our Tendenci resellers; 2007 has been our best year yet (so far), and we couldn't have done it without you! Welcome to the Schipul resellers newsletter of upcoming events, articles, and more from our valued resellers.

Quarterly Bonus?
-  We have recently revised our reseller landing page on Tendenci.com, as seen to the left. We've also instituted a new bonus system to show our appreciation for your hard work promoting Tendenci. Check out the revised page, and let us know if you have any feedback.

Getting What You Want
-We also expanded and revised our reseller pricing matrix, which can be found on the reseller page, and a direct link can be found here:
  Schipul reseller pricing matrix.xls

Tendenci User Conference 2007
-  Tendenci's first-ever User Conference took place in Houston on September 28th. Almost 100 Tendenci clients and resellers attended, and were able to learn more about existing and emerging functionalities within the Tendenci software. Check out photos from the User Conference here. Among the resellers who attended were: Active Imagination, Louis Provenzano, True Light Resources, Sharon Dotson, Dan Keeney from DKP, and Scott Beatty from North Point Design.


What You Sold
- Below are screenshots of Tendenci sites that were sold by our great resellers. Continue bringing business, and we'll keep building your clients great looking sites like these!





Finally, below you'll find a calendar of our upcoming events if you would like to learn more about Tendenci can help drive traffic to your clients' websites.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at 281.497.6567 or at sales@schipul.com.

-Your Friends at Schipul - The Web Marketing Company

Calendar Events for 9-Oct-07 to 1-Jan-08

Intro to Tendenci Software Training for Administrators and Event Planners
Sponsor: Schipul - The Web Marketing Company
Day: Wed 10-Oct-07 1:30 PM
Location: Schipul - The Web Marketing Company 11757 Katy Freeway, Suite 930 Houston, TX 77079
Register Mapquest | Add to Calendar

Tendenci Newsletter Training
Day: Thu 18-Oct-07 1:30 PM
Location: Schipul - The Web Marketing Company 11757 Katy Freeway, Suite 930 Houston, Texas 77079
Register Mapquest | Add to Calendar

Content Management Using Tendenci
Sponsor: Schipul - The Web Marketing Company
Day: Fri 19-Oct-07 1:30 PM
Location: Schipul - The Web Marketing Company 11757 Katy Freeway, Suite 930 Houston, TX 77079
Register Mapquest | Add to Calendar

Content Management Using Tendenci
Sponsor: Schipul - The Web Marketing Company
Day: Thu 25-Oct-07 1:30 PM
Location: Schipul - The Web Marketing Company 11757 Katy Freeway, Suite 930 Houston, TX 77079
Register Mapquest | Add to Calendar

Intro to Tendenci Software Training for Administrators and Event Planners
Sponsor: Schipul - The Web Marketing Company
Day: Thu 1-Nov-07 1:30 PM
Location: Schipul - The Web Marketing Company 11757 Katy Freeway, Suite 930 Houston, TX 77079
Register Mapquest | Add to Calendar

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23-Oct-07 11:06 AM

Web Marketing Fundamentals Increase Sales Lead Generation

noemail@tendenci.com — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 22:00:00 GMT

This is an older article written by Ed Schipul from www.schipul.com. We consider this to be an essential read for anyone wanting to dive into Web marketing and the way we designed Tendenci. Enjoy!

Web sites respond differently from other advertising media for two primary reasons. The first is that web users are incredibly impatient. The second is that they are incredibly smart. The more we treat people on the web like they are impatient and smart, the higher the conversion rate from visitor to phone call or contact forms.

So how exactly does a web site treat visitors as impatient and smart? By giving them what they want, on their terms, immediately and with humility.

Some of the specific ways you can achieve marketing success on the web are by making sure the following web marketing elements are in place on your web site’s home page.

1) Use a strong marketing headline that is focused on the site visitor. Try using the word “You” or “Your” instead of “me” focused words. The headline should be the dominant element on your home page and should be larger than your logo, your company name or your tag line.

2) Make your service or product the “hero” of the home page. Use pictures and relevant text that features what you do for them. Link directly from those images on the home page to detailed pages with extensive information and more pictures.

3) Use a clear “call to action”. Tell the site visitor, on the home page, exactly what you want them to do. People will read your site content at length if it answers their questions, so be sure to ask for the business at the end of the page or article.

4) Be consistent with your branding. Use your logo and keep the colors consistent with your other marketing materials so your site visitor immediately knows exactly where they are.

5) Make it easy to contact you. Use a mini-contact form on your home page, possibly on every page, as well as a complete contact form. It is OK to use a mailto link but it should be in addition to a contact form for higher response rates. Put your address and phone number in text format on every page if possible so people can copy-and-paste your information into their contact software.

6) Use appropriate color and imagery. Every industry has a certain “look and feel”. Now is not the time to try to re-brand your industry. Give your visitors what they expect exactly as they expect it. Branding includes positioning and consistency, so this is your opportunity to be consistent and professional at the beginning of the sales process.

7) Search engine optimize your site no matter how well known your brand is. With all of the viruses and tacky web sites on the net, your visitors will *not* guess your site name but will go through Google or Yahoo just to be safe. If you are not listed then you are invisible. Start by registering with www.dmoz.org and read up on search engines at www.searchenginewatch.com.

8) Use testimonials and brand logos from your business partners (as allowed) assuring your site visitors that you are a “real” company with an honest reputation. Try not to let your success convince you that everyone knows you want their business.

9) Interact intelligently with your site visitor. Every brand is different of course, but there is always a creative way to interact. If you sell books, let them buy online. If you are a consultant, offer calculators for metrics and case studies. If you are a plastic surgeon, offer dynamic before-and-after photo galleries. If you are targeting the younger generation, offer games that feature your brand.

10) Respect the privacy of your site visitors with a privacy policy. Link to a written privacy policy at the bottom of every page, and be sure it is written in normal language instead of legalese.

Additional hints include putting your phone number at the bottom of every page, in the text, at the top and making sure it appears on your home page a minimum of four (4) times. Anything less and impatient users will miss it, costing you a potential phone call.

Your site visitors really are just as impatient and smart as you are, and they want to be treated that way. Executing the web marketing fundamentals in their entirety will greatly increase the conversion rate of visitor to contact.

24-Aug-07 5:00 PM