Creating an Act! Report to Excel Using the Contact List and Dynamic Groups
If you need to export a set of contacts regularly to Excel for external e-mail systems, direct mail, mailing labels or to a quoting system, here is how to simplify the process:
- Create a dynamic group in Act! and create the lookup.
- Customize the columns in the list view (Press F8 if you don't see the list view). Then customize the columns by pressing Tools -> Customize -> Columns
- Export to Excel by pressing Tools -> Export to Excel
If step 2 is too tedious, use this app to save time. It saves customized versions of the contact list view so you don't have to rebuild this every time you come back to it.
Lookup Multiple E-Mail Addresses at Once in Act!
If you are using Swiftpage E-Marketing, Constant Contact, MailChimp or some other outside service to send broadcast e-mail based on Act! contacts, then you need a place to look them up. Let's say you get a spreadsheet of 20 bounces, and you want to update Act! with that result. Rather than looking up each contact one at at time, this free tool will lookup multiple e-mail addresses at once.
It works with the primary e-mail address field of Act! versions 2010+
How to Reset the Act! History Queue
If you see e-mail history from Outlook not showing up in Act!, this is one of several possible causes. Act! uses a service called act.outlook.service.exe located here in a typical Act! installation: C:\program files\act\act for windows\act.outlook.service.exe. Here is how to reset it (video on bottom of this post):
- Start Task Manager (Start -> Run -> Taskmgr)
- On the details tab, look for Act.Outlook.Service
- Right click on it to end the task
- Restart the service by (Start -> Run -> C:\Program Files (x86)\ACT\Act for Windows)
- Look for act.outlook.service.exe
- Double-click to start it
You can watch a video on how to access the log. In order for the e-mail to record to Act!, the contact in Act! must have the same email address as the Outlook message. Our most common problem is the contact didn't have the same e-mail address. For example, John Doe may have sent you an email with his G-Mail address; however you have his business e-mail in Act!. That won't match up.
E-Mail Marketing Content Ideas
One of the biggest hurdles has been content creation. Here is a summary of 6 ideas along with a complete list of 15 ideas.
- Develop a branded guide or tutorial like this
- Interview an Industry Professional
- Re-Purpose Blog Commentary like this
- Host a Webinar Featuring Industry Experts
- Record Those Webinars for Future Prospects & Clients
- Offer a Video Training Series (Free or Paid)
If you are stuck on writing the content, there are reasonably priced content writers on upwork.com, elance.com or fiver.com
E-Blast Checklist
No matter which CRM or e-mail service provider this checklist applies. Here is a quick summary, along with the full article.
- Promise Something Specific in The Subject Line - And Deliver
- Craft a Succinct Header viewable in the Preview Pane
- Make it Mobile Friendly
- Test Timing & Wording Frequently as Visual Design
- Learn What Motivates You to Read Incoming E-Newsletters
- Create One Topic at a Time