Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I buy and install Ballywho! when I can use an email sending service?
Email sending services are just fine if you have a small list, but can become very costly if you have larger lists. Case in point: We know of one Ballywho! customer that sends out roughly 46,000 emails per week! Using an email sending service, this could cost them around $600 per week! Using Ballywho! only costs them the one time licensing fee and their monthly web hosting charges - about $24.95 per month.
How do I install Ballywho!
After purchasing you will be sent an email to download the software. After downloading, follow the included, step-by-step instructions. It basically boils down to:
- Download the software from our servers
- Create a mySQL database in your hosting control panel
- Upload Ballywho! files using FTP
- Run the Ballywho! installer
How many emails can I send?
There is no limit to the number of emails that you can send with Ballywho! There may be, however, a limit that your web site hosting company imposes. Check with them to make sure.
Can I personalize each email?
Sure. Ballywho! automatically personalizes each email with the recipient's email address. This helps to get it past spam filters. It also gives your recipient a warm, fuzzy feeling.
I have a large mailing list. Can I separate it into smaller lists?
Sure can! Ballywho! Pro has support for unlimited mailing lists/groups, with unlimited email addresses in each list. You can also make each list public or private, so that only you, the administrator can add and remove addresses in that list. You can also use a different "From" email address for each list if you like.
Can a visitor to my web site sign-up directly into a mailing list?
Sure can. When creating a sign-up form, you can select a mailing list from a pull down menu and finish creating the form. Doing so will automatically insert that new subscriber into your master list and the chosen mailing list at the time of sign-up.
I need more information from my customers. An email address isn't enough.
Absolutely. We thought email addresses weren't enough either, that's why we included an address book with the following optional fields: first and last name, email address, two phone numbers, fax, two address fields, city, state, zip, country, web site, company and comments. There are also five custom fields that you can name what ever you like.
Can I use my own template design?
Absolutely. Ballywho! is made for just such a thing. You can have any design you like. It's actually a very easy copy and paste process. In fact, taking your design from Photoshop (or any image editor) and making a functional Ballywho! template can be accomplished in as little as 5 minutes!
Can my subscribers forward my newsletter to friends and colleagues?
Sure. Ballywho! has a "Send to a friend" referral system built right in, so that your subscribers can easily click a button or link in your newsletter, which will take them to the send to a friend form on your Ballywho! mini-site. All they need to do is fill in their friend's first and last name, and email address.
Can I see how many subscribers opened and read my email?
Certainly! You can also see who didn't open your email!
Are Google/search engine sitemaps supported?
Yes. Whenever you create or edit a newsletter, press release, postcard, etc. your search engine sitemap.xml file will automatically be updated. However, Ballywho! can not submit the sitemap to search engines for you. You can find out how to do that on the Wikipedia Sitemaps page. Another Ballywho! search engine benefit is the robots.txt file.
What about RSS?
Supported. Let's face it, not everybody wants to subscribe to your newsletter. For those that don't RSS feeds are a perfect way for them to still receive your updated information automatically. Every time you create, or edit a newsletter, Ballywho! will automatically update the RSS feed.