For those of you with a multiple list account, you have the option to use your own domain rather than simplelists.com. You can add more than one domain and you have the freedom to brand the email system as your own. If you combine this with branding your landing pages (as we showed you in a previous blog), your emails will be very professional and aligned to your brand/image.

Setting up your own domain

Log in to your multiple list account, click on ‘General Settings’ and then select the ‘Domains’ tab. Type in your domain name and click ‘Add’. In the list that appears next, set your domain name as ‘primary’. You should then be able to view your new email addresses on the ‘List members’ page.

Configure your MX records

After you have added your domain name, you need to configure the mail exchange records associated with it. You do this via your web hosting control panel. In your panel, set the Primary MX record to ‘mx1.simplelists.com’ and the Secondary MX record to ‘mx2.simplelists.com’. You will find a step by step guide for doing this in cPanel in this short video. Please be aware that it can take up to 72 hours for the changes to come into effect. How long it takes depends on your web hosting settings.

Improve deliverability

There are also some things you can do to improve the deliverability of your messages. SPF records prevent spammers from sending messages with false/forged email addresses from your domain. DKIM records help to verify the sender and show that a message has not been altered on its way to the recipient.

If you choose to use your own domain with Simplelists, we recommend that you add both of these DNS records to your domain. When logged into your Simplelists multiple lists account, navigate to ‘General Settings’ and the ‘Domains’ tab. Scroll down to find the details you’ll need to add the DNS records. Then, open your web hosting control panel and complete the required fields for the SPF and DKIM records. You can see instructions for how to do this using cPanel in this short video.

All of these instructions can be viewed in two short videos on a previous post on our blog.

When you contact the members of your email list, it is likely that your message will include a link to a page on a website designed specifically for them to read more, subscribe and/or visit email archives - this is called a 'landing page’ and these can be generated automatically using Simplelists. So that the page that they land on looks correct and does what you need, you may want to make sure that your list members see your branding or logo when they click through. In this post, we explain how to customise your landing page and share some other top tips for making the landing page 'perfect’.

Use your own logo or branding

To replace the Simplelists branding with another image, copy the web address of the image that you would like to use instead. When logged in to Simplelists, navigate to the 'General Settings’ menu and paste the web address of your image into the custom image field. Click 'Update Settings’ and you should see the message 'The settings have been updated successfully’. Refresh/reload the page and you should then see your own branding. You can also watch these instructions in a short video.

Top tips for marketing landing pages

If you are running an email marketing campaign, have a think about what you want to get from your landing page when your members visit it. For example, do you want to persuade the visitor to click on another page (click through), buy a product, or gather data from them (lead generation)?

Don’t link to your home page

A good landing page will generally be a separate page that is distinct from your website (i.e. not just to the home page) and it will tend to have no navigation menu and be accessible only from the link in the email.

Use a snappy, concise headline

The title of the page will be the first thing that visitors read so make sure that it is near the top of the page and large enough to be obvious. Make sure the title is relevant to the content of the email they have come from.

Use an image or video

An image or short video is a great way to make an immediate good impression and also entices people to read what follows. Put the image/video near the top so that people don’t have to scroll to see it.

Check your colour scheme

Different colours generate different emotions and feelings when people see them. Try to match the colours in your image/video to what you are doing. Blues tend to be associated with trust and stability, while red emulates energy, strength and passion.

Break up your text

It is a good idea to use sub-headings to break up the text on your page. This makes it much easier for people to read and directs them quickly to the topics of most relevance to them.

Make the call-to-action obvious

Whatever you hope that your visitors might do (subscribe, buy a product, click through, etc.), make it clear and easy for them to do so.

Make sure mobile users have a good experience

Finally, don’t forget that the majority of visitors may well be using a mobile device. So, make sure the landing page can be viewed well on a range of devices. If it is not an option to make the page responsive, at least make sure it works OK on phones and tablets. This is definitely important if you want your visitors to fill in a form or make a purchase.

Setting up your own domain is easy. Log in to your Simplelists multiple list account, navigate to 'General Settings’ in the left-hand menu and select the 'Domains’ tab. Enter your domain name and click 'Add’. In the list that follows, set your domain name as 'primary’. You can then view your new email addresses on the 'List members’ page in the left-hand menu.

Configure MX records

Once your domain name is added, you must configure its mail exchange records, using your web hosting control panel. Set the Primary MX record to 'mx1.simplelists.com’ and the Secondary to 'mx2.simplelists.com’. You can see instructions for how to do this using cPanel in this short video. Note that it can take up to 72 hours for the MX changes to come into effect, depending on your web hosting settings.

Make sure your emails are received

There are some simple steps that you can take to improve the deliverability of your emails. SPF records prevent spammers from sending messages with forged email addresses from your domain. DKIM records help to verify the sender and prove that a message has not been altered in transit.

If you are using your own domain, it is recommended that you add both of these DNS records to your domain. When logged into Simplelists with your multiple list account selected, navigate to 'General Settings’ and the 'Domains’ tab. Scroll down to find the details you’ll need to add the DNS records. You can then open your web hosting control panel and complete the required fields for the SPF and DKIM records. You can see instructions for how to do this using cPanel in this short video.

All of these instructions can be viewed in two short videos on a previous post on our blog.

When you send an email to your list, it is likely that your message will contain a link to a webpage for your members to read more or visit a particular website. It’s important to make sure that the page they click through to (the landing page) looks right and does what you need it to. One important thing, particularly if you are using Simplelists for email marketing campaigns, is to ensure that your readers see your own branding/logo when they click through. In this short post, we tell you how to customise the landing pages that are automatically generated by Simplelists, which your readers will see when subscribing or unsubscribing, or visiting email archives.

Customising Simplelists landing pages

Your Simplelists list has several landing pages. These are webpages for members to subscribe and unsubscribe, and for email archives. To make things quick and easy, these landing pages are set up for you automatically - you don’t need to do a thing. But, if you’d like to, you can customise your landing pages to replace the Simplelists branding with your own logo or branding.

Use your own logo or branding

In the image below, you can see a simple subscribe form with the Simplelists branding. To replace this with another image, copy the web address of the image that you would like to use. Then, log into Simplelists and go to ‘General settings’ in the left hand menu. Paste the web address of the image you wish to use into the custom image field and click ‘Update settings’.

If you have done this correctly, the message ‘The settings have been updated successfully’ will appear at the top of the screen. When you reload the page, you will see the new image, instead of the Simplelists branding.

Other things to think about

If you are using Simplelists for an email marketing campaign, you should give some thought to what you want your landing page to achieve when members visit it. Often, a landing page will be a separate page, distinct from your website (and not just the home page) which is designed for a single purpose. This might be to persuade the list member to visit another page (click through), perhaps to purchase a product, or to capture their data, such as their name and email address (lead generation). A good landing page will often have no ties to your website (e.g. no main navigation menu) and only be accessible from the link in the email.