I need a bit of automation in my emails (scheduling deliveries over time, tying emails to landing pages with opportunities to purchase products, etc.), I love the forum side of SMF, but I am pushing the boundaries of the emailer feature, so I wanted to upgrade that aspect of what I was doing.
I was wondering if there was a way to copy all of my contacts in SMF and then import all that information into Constant Contact, or Mailchimp, etc.
I need these contacts to be in both places - as the forum is a crucial aspect of my business. Any ideas? I've got over 750 form members and I really want to be able to import them to Contant Contact or Mailchimp without having to enter each one of them individually.
You guys have been miracle workers in the past. I have spent about 30 minutes in the Admin Side of the Forum, and can't find my way, so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Yes you can. However, Mailchimp is very strict and you will find that after awhile they will not send to all your users if they do not open your Emails to them sent via Mailchimp.
There's a newsletter mod that expands the newsletter functionality to be more robust...
https://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?action=search;basic_search=newsletter
Easy way you can export the emails from the database table to a csv file using phpmyadmin if you have installed.
They are located in smf_members.
I do have some paid SMF addons for SMF that might help Zapier for SMF requires paid zapier account but you can auto register members or export member information to build an email list
https://www.smfhacks.com/zapierforsmf.php
And a newsletter addon
https://www.smfhacks.com/newsletter-pro.php
"Easy way you can export the emails from the database table to a csv file using phpmyadmin if you have installed.
They are located in smf_members."
I like the sound of Easy way.. but these things are so rarely easy for me.
Do I find the CSV file on the SMF form (eg: log on to SMF form then: Admin>Members>Maintenance>Database>Backup Database)
or
Do I access the phpmyadmin file through my webhosting provider (C-Panel)? I thought that was what you meant, but I didn't see a phpmyadmin file.
or do I need to go somewhere and download and install phpmyadmin somewhere?
I did see a file called here: /simplemachinesforum/Sources/Subs-Members.php ----- is this it? Just copy and paste it?
You need to go though cpanel there should be a database/phpmyadmin section
If not i recommend https://www.adminer.org/ a single file to upload to manage the database.
"You need to go though cpanel there should be a database/phpmyadmin section"
Found it in Cpanel.
And now a few more questions:
If I select "Export" - does it remove the membership list from SMF? I need them to be in the SMF list, as well as the mailchimp list.
if it does remove them, would "Copy to Clipboard" be the better option, and if that is the case, does it copy them as a CSV file?
If no, then how do you get the information copied to the clipboard saved as a CSV file?
Exporting the database or individual db tables is for backup purposes, it doesn't remove anything from the db, just gives you a local copy. If you dump the table as CSV, you should be able to open it in a spreadsheet, then you can do what you want with it.
Thanks for all your help. Got my contacts imported, and on a drip campaign.
You know, it cracks me up, that I can go to this forum, type in a poorly worded question about stuff I have very little knowledge of, and get an answer I can understand. My claim to fame used to be that I could program a VCR...maybe one day, I'll be able to help someone w/ SMF as you guys have so graciously assisted me over they years.
Case Closed!