Forward to a Friend

What Is Forward to a Friend

Forward to a Friend is a feature that you add to the emails you send your subscribers. When subscribers want to share the information in your email with friends, they click the icon and fill out the sending form. If the subscriber uses this tool to forward content, you collect tracking information on the forwarded message.

When a subscriber clicks the Forward to a Friend button, a form appears where the subscriber can enter a personal comment to the recipient (which will precede a standard blurb inviting the recipient to subscribe), increasing the chances that the recipient will read the email. Additionally, you will be able to track how many times your emails are forwarded using this feature and how many new subscribers you've gained as a result.

Note: If a subscriber uses the forward feature in their email client instead of the Forward To A Friend icon, the links contained in the email will lead to the original subscriber's Profile Center, Subscription Center and Unsubscribe links. To protect your subscribers' privacy and the quality of your data, you should not include sensitive information in the profile center or other landing pages.

Why Use Forward to a Friend

The Forward to a Friend feature helps you to spread your message and grow your list by leveraging the network of your existing loyal subscribers. When a subscriber selects a friend who will enjoy your email content, the subscriber has helped to target your message to an audience that is likely to appreciate it.

The Forward to a Friend feature is better than the forward button in the subscriber's email client. Not only does it allow you to track certain data about the message being forwarded, but it also gives the subscriber a better user experience. The Forward to a Friend feature protects the privacy of the subscriber by removing the links to the subscriber's personal landing pages from the message and lets the subscriber use a convenient form for forwarding the message to multiple subscribers with a personalized message.

How to Add a Forward to a Friend Icon

To add the specially coded Forward to a Friend button to a content box, you follow basically the same steps as you would to insert any stored image.

If you're trying to insert a Forward to a Friend icon in an HTML Paste email, see How to Use Forward to a Friend on the HTML-Based Emails page.

1. Click the Content tab.
2. Click the my emails folder.
3. Click the email you wish to add Forward to a Friend to.
4. Click Create or Modify in the content box you wish to add the icon to.
5. If creating new content, choose a layout that includes an image in the Select Orientation dialog box. If modifying existing content, choose to modify the image in the Modify Content dialog box.
   If you're creating new content, the wizard will walk you through the creation process. Follow the next step when you arrive at the Select Image dialog box.
6. In the Select Image or Modify Image dialog box that the wizard presents, navigate to the Forward to a Friend image subfolder.
   All of the Forward to a Friend designs available in your account are shown in the dialog box. Note that only one size option is available for these images.
7. Select the desired Forward to a Friend design.
8. If you're creating new content, continue with the rest of the wizard's dialog boxes to define your content box.
9. When you save and exit the wizard, the content box shows your inserted Forward to a Friend button.
   You can also insert the Forward to a Friend button into an HTML paste email in the same way that you insert other images.

How to Upload a Custom Forward to a Friend image to the Portfolio

Use the following steps to upload a single file:

1. Click the Content tab.
2. Click Portfolio.
3. Click the Forward to a Friend folder.
4. Click the Single Upload button on the toolbar (or if you'd like to upload an entire folder of FTAF images, click Batch Upload).
   The Upload Item window appears. Complete the Upload Item window:
   • Choose a file - The file to upload. Click the Browse button to navigate to the file.
   • Name the file - The name of the file. The name must be unique in the portfolio. The name can contain only numbers, letters, and spaces.
   • External Key - The unique identifier of the file used by the API. This is a mandatory field. The system defaults this value to the file name. You can change the default value.
   • File description - A description of the file. This description helps you manage the files in your system.

4. Click OK.
   The files are uploaded to the application. Now when you insert your FTAF image into your email, the application will link it with the Forward to a Friend functionality.