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FAQ

How do I preview my newsletter?
How do I preview what sfnewsletter has written before I send it out if I choose to manually send sfnewsletter?
How do I upload a picture?
My picture doesn't look right on the "customize" page, what is wrong?
My picture doesn't look right on my sfnewsletter, what is wrong?
How do I erase an email from my invitations?
Why can't I delete an email from my invitations?
How do I re-invite someone I already invited?
How often can I re-invite someone?
It appears about only half of the invitations or less are being accepted. What is wrong?
Somebody I never met just signed up on my newsletter. How did they do that?
I just sent out a newsletter and somebody signed up on my list right after it was sent, how can I make sure they get this week's, or do they have to wait until next week's?
How often is sfnewsletter sent?
I just paid for my subscription, but it doesn't show my account as active.
How can I re-invite a pending invitation?
How can I re-invite someone?
How often can I re-invite someone?
I sent an invite to a reader and they accidentally clicked "decline". Now I can't re-invite them. What can I do?
I want sfnewsletter to send my newsletter for me on Fridays. How do I set that up?
I want to send sfnewsletter myself on a different day besides Friday. How do I do that?
How often does the content of sfnewsletter change?
Who writes sfnewsletter?
Can I contribute content to sfnewsletter?
I accidentally deleted a reader on my mailing list. How do I get them back on?
Nobody is signing up for my newsletter, what's wrong?
Can I put a link to a listing under "My Comments"? If so, how do I do it?
What happens if someone declines, but then wants to be on my list after they deleted their invitation.
If an email bounces after I send an invitation does it disappear from "pending"?
When can I re-invite someone?
Can I re-invite all the invitations that are "pending" at the same time?
I just got a bounced email. How can I get rid of it from my list?
I have a lot of "pending" invitations that I know will never be accepted. What can I do?
Do Pending and Active invitations reflect "live" emails?
What does "Active" mean?
What does "Pending" mean?
What does "Declined" mean?
What does "Unsubscribed" mean?
This email address, nameofreader@reader.com, is a guy who received a forwarded newsletter from another person on my list, he subscribed from the link on the newsletter and I just noticed that he is on the "Pending" list. Whats the story?
How do I change my subscription from monthly to annual? (This question also applies to changing subscriptions from Annual to monthly, monthly to quarterly, quarterly to annually, etc...)
You gave me a free month (week, year, etc.) why did PayPal just bill me?
How do I cancel my subscription?
Is there a limit on how many clients I can send to?
How long will my readers receive the newsletter?
How can I edit a name on my mailing list?
There are several people on my list that I forgot to enter their names. How can I put their name with their email?
My best friend just declined my invite. What's up with that?
I left off the name on two of my invites & had to re-send one because of a typo. After my name-less people accept, how can I get in and edit the mailing list to add their names?
How can I remove email names that bounced back?
How do I link to my newsletter from my website?
My picture shows up on my preview, but not on my newsletter. What happened?
None of the links are displaying on sfnewsletter. What is wrong?
Why do you have this invite-accept process?
Somebody on my distribution list just listed their home with a competitor. Why?
Can a reader on my list be on someone else's list too?
How can I get more people to sign up on my list?
How does sfnewsletter work best?
I sent out 500 invitations, but only 50 people accepted. What happened?
My list is not growing automatically, I thought it would.
Where is sfnewsletter based?
Do you do newsletters for other markets?
Our tips on how to stomach the cost of sfnewsletter.
Explain the "Reader Action" emails I receive from SFN Webmaster.
What is my "sample newsletter"?

How do I preview my newsletter?
After you have created an account and are logged in, you can either click on the "preview sfnewsletter" link in the left hand column of your homepage, you can click "preview" on the right hand side of the "customize" page, or click the "preview" link in the "My sfnewsletter" area on the bottom right hand side of your homepage.

How do I preview what sfnewsletter has written before I send it out if I choose to manually send sfnewsletter?
Once sfnewsletter writes a new copy each Friday, it is "published". Once the new newsletter is "published" you will see a "send this week's sfnewsletter" link. The link will contain the most recent date. If you see the most recent date and you still have not sent the new sfnewsletter, you can click any of the "preview" links and you will see the most recent version with your customizations displayed.

How do I upload a picture?
Go to the "customize" page, under "step one- upload photo" click "browse". Find the picture you want on your computer. From that pop-up screen click "open". Once the pop-up closes, you'll see the file name next to the "browse" button and the "upload photo" button. Click upload photo, and you're done. You'll see the photo displayed as soon as it downloads. On the customize page, the photo is not to scale. Please click "preview" to see how it will look on your sfnewsletter.

My picture doesn't look right on the "customize" page, what is wrong?
Pictures on the customize page are not to scale. From this page please click "preview" and you will see how it will look on your sfnewsletter.

My picture doesn't look right on my sfnewsletter, what is wrong?
You need more make-up or your screen settings are off, or your picture is having a bad hair day. Try a different picture. If it still looks wrong, feel free to contact us.

How do I erase an email from my invitations?
You can't. You can only "decline" on their behalf. By declining, you essentially inform yourself that at some point you realized that email either didn't work, they didn't want to receive your newsletter, or you didn't want to invite them again.

Why can't I delete an email from my invitations?
We do this to prevent hackers and spammers from abusing our system. If you were able to delete someone from your invitations then you would be able to re-invite them, even if they declined. This would mean you could continually annoy as many people as you like with invitations. Or worse, a super computer could hack onto our site, upload hundreds of thousands of email addresses, send out those invitations, and two minutes later delete all those invitations, and re-invite everyone over and over and over again. Not cool. So you can't delete invitations.

How do I re-invite someone I already invited?
If they have not accepted or declined your invitation, you can wait for their invitation to expire (7 days from when the last invitation was sent) then click the "Re-Invite" link next to their name, and re-invite them. If they declined your invitation initially, but have since changed their minds, you can ask them to find your original invitation and click "accept". If they deleted that invitation, and they still want to be re-invited, you'll have to contact us and we will deal with those issues on a case by case basis.

How often can I re-invite someone?
As often as you like. However, you must wait for their last invitation to expire (7 days) in order to re-send. Of course you cannot re-invite if they have declined.

It appears about only half of the invitations or less are being accepted. What is wrong?
Nothing is wrong. You are trying to get someone to willfully receive your marketing materials. That is not easy. Some invitations may have been sent to bulk/junk folders, many readers may not check their email that frequently, or they saw your invitation and dismissed it. We suggest you follow up, or contact each person you're going to invite prior to sending out your invitations. This gives you a reason to connect with past clients, and allows you to tell them what to expect, and what to do if the invitation doesn't come through.

Somebody I never met just signed up on my newsletter. How did they do that?
The only possible way a total stranger could get on your newsletter is if one of your other readers forwarded it to them, and they clicked on the "subscribe" link in the disclaimer. Embrace the power of email marketing! You just got a referral, and you didn't even know it.

I just sent out a newsletter and somebody signed up on my list right after it was sent, how can I make sure they get this weeks, or do they have to wait until next week's?
You can forward them a copy from your inbox, or inform them they will get the following week's sfnewsletter and all subsequent sfnewsletters.

How often is sfnewsletter sent?
Every Friday...like clockwork.

I just paid for my subscription, but it doesn't show my account as active.
Wait ten minutes, take two aspirin, and call us in the morning. Actually, try clicking "refresh" on your browser, or waiting 10 minutes then clcking "refresh". If that doesn't work, contact webmaster@sfnewsletter.com immediately.

How can I re-invite a pending invitation?
You'll have to wait for it to expire. Invitations expire after 7 days from when they are originally sent.

How can I re-invite someone?
If their invitation has expired, click on "Re-Invite" next to their name in the invitations page, and click "re-invite".

How often can I re-invite someone?
As often as you like, as long as they haven't declined.

I sent an invite to a reader and they accidentally clicked "decline". Now I can't re-invite them. What can I do?
Ask them to find the original invite in their email and click accept. If that doesn't work, contact us at webmaster@sfnewsletter.com

I want sfnewsletter to send my newsletter for me on Fridays. How do I set that up?
Go to the "sending preferences" page. If the box for automatically send sfnewsletter is unchecked, check it.

I want to send sfnewsletter myself on a different day besides Friday. How do I do that?
Go to the "sending preferences" page. Make sure the box "automatically send sfnewsletter" is unchecked.

How often does the content of sfnewsletter change?
Every Friday. We try to keep it entertaining. We are always welcome to suggestions and comments. If you have something you'd like to say that you think everyone could benefit from, please send it to us. We'll probably print it.

Who writes sfnewsletter?
Our staff, our readers, our clients, and you. We are a community of people interested in real estate. Primarily, sfnewsletter is written by Alexander Clark.

Can I contribute content to sfnewsletter?
Absolutely! We encourage it. You can keep your content to yourself and just put it under your "my comments" section, or send it to us, and we'll see if it is fit to print.

I accidentally deleted a reader on my mailing list. How do I get them back on?
Invite them again.

Nobody is signing up for my newsletter, what's wrong?
Your invitations may not be getting to them, or they may simply not want to read it. Find some other people. There are billions of people on this planet and a lot of them have heard of San Francisco. Interest is out there. Trust us.

Can I put a link to a listing under "My Comments"? If so, how do I do it?
Yes. The "my comments" section supports html. If you don't know html, you might ask someone that does.

What happens if someone declines, but then wants to be on my list after they deleted their invitation.
If this happens, you'll have to contact us, and we'll work with these scenarios on a case by case basis.

If an email bounces after I send an invitation does it disappear from "pending"?
No. If emails bounce back to you, they will remain pending until you "decline" on their behalf. To "decline" on someone's behalf, simply click on the "pending" status next to their email/name in your invitation list. You'll see a button "decline". Click it, and they'll be added to your declined list and out of your hair.

When can I re-invite someone?
After 7 days from when the invitation was last sent, the invitation will become "expired". At that point you can re-invite those people that may not have accepted/declined your invitation, but you think still might like to receive your newsletter. Once you re-invite, that invitation again becomes pending for the next 7 days, then expired. The cycle then continues as long as you care to keep re-inviting. If you decide to give up on re-inviting someone, you can "decline" on their behalf and move their email to your declined list, and thus forget about them.

Can I re-invite all the invitations that are "pending" at the same time?
No. We allow you to bulk send invitations once. After that, we encourage you to think long and hard about whether the person you are sending the invite will actually accept or not, whether they even remember who you are, or whether it is worth your time continually trying to get them on your list. We're helping you get targeted marketing accomplished. By going through your list one by one, we also encourage you to contact that person through a different means (email, phone, post, etc.) to ask if they received your invite, do they still want to buy/sell, do they still live where they live, are they older, did they get married, etc., etc. Contacting people creates opportunity to close deals.

I just got a bounced email. How can I get rid of it from my list?
Any time after you send an invitation, you can "decline" that same invitation. This is what you will want to do with bounced emails. To "decline" on someone's behalf, simply click on the "pending" status next to their email/name in your invitation list. You'll see a button "decline". Click it, and they'll be added to your declined list and out of your hair.

I have a lot of "pending" invitations that I know will never be accepted. What can I do?
Any time after you send an invitation, you can "decline" that same invitation. This is what you will want to do with bounced emails. To "decline" on someone's behalf, simply click on the "pending" status next to their email/name in your invitation list. You'll see a button "decline". Click it, and they'll be added to your declined list and out of your hair.

Do Pending and Active invitations reflect "live" emails?
Yes. "Active" are readers that are receiving your sfnewsletter and have accepted your invitation. "Pending" is an invitation that is still a maybe, meaning no action has been taken to accept/decline your invitation. "Declined" is definitely a no I don't want to receive your sfnewsletter, or you have declined for them, because you don't think they'll ever accept your invitation, but you gave it a shot. Unsubscribed are readers that were on your list and took themselves off.

What does "Active" mean?
"Active" are readers that are receiving your sfnewsletter and have accepted your invitation.

What does "Pending" mean?
"Pending" is an invitation that is still a maybe, meaning no action has been taken to accept/decline your invitation.

What does "Declined" mean?
"Declined" means that someone received your invitation to join your sfnewsletter, but decided they didn't want to accept. They will not receive your newsletter.

What does "Unsubscribed" mean?
Unsubscribed are readers that were on your list and took themselves off.

This email address, nameofreader@reader.com, is a guy who received a forwarded newsletter from another person on my list, he subscribed from the link on the newsletter and I just noticed that he is on the "Pending" list. Whats the story?
By opting-in this way, our system will send them an invitation to join on your behalf. They must accept the invitation. So if this person's status is "pending", they have not yet accepted your invitation to join.

How do I change my subscription from monthly to annual? (This question also applies to changing subscriptions from Annual to monthly, monthly to quarterly, quarterly to annually, etc...)
Just follow these steps:
1. Log-In to sfnewsletter
2. Choose "manage subscription" from the left side menu
3. At the "manage subscription page", click on "cancel subscription".
4. Follow all Paypal steps to cancel (it is 1 or 2 steps).
5. Go back to the "manage subscription page", click on "subscribe".
6. Choose the subscription option you would like (monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually).
7. Follow all the Paypal steps.
8. Relax...it's done, and it really wasn't that bad.

Canceling your subscription will NOT take away the remaining days of your current subscription and signing up for a longer subscription will add months to the end of your current subscription.
If you have any problems with this, feel free to contact customerservice@sfnewsletter.com.

You gave me a free month (week, year, etc.) why did PayPal just bill me?
We have no control over PayPal. We cannot change YOUR billing option. We can give you free months, weeks, years that are added to your account, but if you don't want to be billed as you selected when you signed up, you will have to cancel your subscription and sign up again when your current subscription expires.

How do I cancel my subscription?
Follow these steps:
1. Log-In to sfnewsletter
2. Choose "manage subscription" from the left side menu
3. At the "manage subscription page", click on "cancel subscription".
4. Follow all Paypal steps to cancel (it is 1 or 2 steps).
Sorry you had to go. We'd love to hear why.

Is there a limit on how many clients I can send to?
No. Send it to as many people as you like. The cost is the same whether you send it to one person, or one million. But there is a limit to how many people you can "invite" at one time. That limit is 500.

How long will my readers receive the newsletter?
As long as you keep your account current, or until they unsubscribe.

How can I edit a name on my mailing list?
Login to sfnewsletter. Click on "manage mailing list". Search or scroll for their name/email. Click "edit" in the column next to their name. Click "submit changes" and you're done.

There are several people on my list that I forgot to enter their names. How can I put their name with their email?
Login to sfnewsletter. Click on "manage mailing list". Search or scroll for their name/email. Click "edit" in the column next to their name. Click "submit changes" and you're done.

My best friend just declined my invite. What's up with that?
They may be your best friend, but they don't want to receive your marketing materials or they don't completely understand what you are sending. Don't take it personally. There are many other fish in the sea. You might just give them a call/email to find out why they declined.

I left off the name on two of my invites & had to re-send one because of a typo. After my name-less people accept, how can I get in and edit the mailing list to add their names?
Login to sfnewsletter. Click on "manage mailing list". Search or scroll for their name/email. Click "edit" in the column next to their name. Click "submit changes" and you're done.

How can I remove email names that bounced back?
Login to sfnewsletter. Click on "manage mailing list". Click on "view invitations". Scroll or search for the name/email. Click on the word "pending" next to their name/email. Click "decline". Your sfnewsletter will no longer be sent to that person.

How do I link to my newsletter from my website?
Login to sfnewsletter. On your sfnewsletter homepage, click on the "links" menu item on the left.

My picture shows up on my preview, but not on my newsletter. What happened?
Email is a tricky proposition sometimes. Most likely your email application or server has a firewall or spam protection software installed that does not allow "images" to be displayed. Depending on your email host, you will want to either "display images from this sender", or "add sender to your safe list", or label "this is not spam", etc.

None of the links are displaying on sfnewsletter. What is wrong?
Some email applications block all images regardless of where they are coming from. They do this in hopes of protecting you from SPAM, but they are just really filling their pockets with revenue created by fear of malicious viruses most likely started by the anti-virus companies themselves. Make sure you "display images from this sender", or "allow images to be displayed", or "add sender to safe list", etc.

Why do you have this invite-accept process?
We have this invite process to protect you from accusations that you are sending spam, and we strictly adhere to the laws layed out in the FTC CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.

Somebody on my distribution list just listed their home with a competitor. Why?
Call them up. Find out why. Make sure they weren't using you for free information and delete them from your list if you have to. Or ask them to refer all the rest of their business to you. We can only help you market yourself. Getting listings and closing deals is up to you.

Can a reader on my list be on someone else's list too?
Yes, for now. If another person invites your reader to join their list and the reader accepts, they will be on their list too. Remember, it is the reader's choice whose list they want to be on. If they want to be on multiple lists, that is up to them. Chances are pretty good they will only want to be on one list, if any.

How can I get more people to sign up on my list?
Ask everyone you know and meet if they have heard of sfnewsletter. Tell them about it, and ask if they'd like to receive it. If so, get their email and send an invite to them.
-Have a print out of a CMA report at Open Houses, and tell them they can have the same thing sent to them every Friday via email. Get their email and send an invite.
-Have a sign up sheet at open houses to capture emails. Send them invites.
-Have a link to your sfnewsletter on your website and in all your emails (we provide this link for you on your sfnewsletter homepage).
-Have a link to subscribe to your newsletter on your website and emails (we provide this link for you on your sfnewsletter homepage).
-Have a copy of your sfnewsletter on your website and a way for them to sign up electronically (capture their email), then send an invite.
-If you are ever interviewed in the newspaper or anywhere, make sure they talk briefly about your sfnewsletter and mention your email as a place for them to sign up or send them to your newsletter signup page on your website.
-Create a page on your website dedicated only to signing up on your newsletter. Example: www.janerealtor.com/subscribe. Use the link we provide for you on your sfnewsletter homepage to put on your website.
-Put a tiny sample of your sfnewsletter on all your mailings and print advertising.
-Suggest (softly) that your readers forward your sfnewsletter to their friends.
-Have a contest on your sfnewsletter in your "my comments" section giving something away to the first person to sign up X amount of readers on your list.
-Put a blurb about your sfnewsletter on the back of your business card, and ask that they send you an email if they'd like to join your list.
-Be creative!

How does sfnewsletter work best?
Your readers (buyers/sellers) are bombarded with solicitations to earn their business from more than 5000 agents in San Francisco. sfnewsletter works best as a "soft sell". By giving them this valuable information without pressuring them to buy/sell with you, they might be more inclined to give you their business. Not only that, but you're giving them exactly what they want...sales and new listings in their neighborhood. They will forward your newsletter to friends/family and your distribution list will grow. Give it time. Rome wasn't built in a day.

I sent out 500 invitations, but only 50 people accepted. What happened?
Those are pretty good numbers. Remember, you're asking someone to accept your marketing material. That is not easy. Keep inviting them, and contact them on phone or email to make sure they received the invite. Talk up your sfnewsletter, and get them on your list. Once they are on, they'll probably thank you. It's getting people on your list that is the trick. Why do you think Tivo is so successful? Because advertising can be avoided!

My list is not growing automatically, I thought it would.
Keep working at it. Think outside of the box. We provide you with all the tools for a successfull newsletter.

Where is sfnewsletter based?
San Francisco, California. We are local. We know the market, we know the city. This is what your clients want. Local knowledge. Not a newsletter written in Kansas with boiler plate articles about how to clean their furnace, or how to trim weeds in their yard. Your clients want to know from you what the house down the street listed at, and what it closed for.

Do you do newsletters for other markets?
Not yet. We're working on it. Contact us if you think your market needs something like sfnewsletter. Email info@sfnewsletter.com

Our tips on how to stomach the cost of sfnewsletter.
1. The cost is the same whether you send to one or one million people.
2. Even if you subscribe for 30 years and don't get one deal until your 30th year, if that deal is a $3MM deal (very common in San Francisco), sfnewsletter is paid for.
3. Don't focus on the deals from sfnewsletter or readers on your list. Focus on the interaction it is creating between you and your clients. That is what creates deals.
4. Be creative with your customized column:
-Ask a preferred business partner to split the cost with you if you list him/her there.
-Get creative with the picture area. That is a jpg. You can do many things with jpgs.
-Link to something in your my comments section and collect money from them for the link.
-Get creative and think outside of the box
5. This is truly automatic sending. Your newsletter WILL go out on Friday without you lifting a finger.
6. You never have to write content or think of something interesting to say/send. We do that for you. We sweat the small stuff, you don't.

Explain the "Reader Action" emails I receive from SFN Webmaster.
A "reader action" is an email we send to you when:
1. A reader accepts your invitation to join. The invite could have come from you, a "send to friend" invite, or they clicked "subscribe" on the bottom of your newsletter.
2. A reader declines your invitation to join.
3. A reader unsubscribes from your newsletter.
4. A reader "subscribes" to your newsletter by clicking on the "subscribe" link on the bottom of your newsletter, or from a subscribe link you may have placed on your website. They still must accept the invitation we send to them. Their status will be pending. Once they accept, you'll get a reader action email that they have accepted.

What is my "sample newsletter"?
Your sample newsletter is the information that is currently on your "customize" page, NOT the last newsletter you sent. Please be mindful of the pictures and information you display on this page.

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