There can be any number of reasons why a client would miss a payment. Sometimes they simply forgot the date or they had to update their credit card details and did not manage to do that on time. Whatever the reason, fully restoring the client's account once it is paid, is of the utmost importance. Until now, this meant that any custom domain information that was associated with the account would have to be re-entered manually.

We are happy to announce that we have greatly improved the way that we handle domain information during client downgrades. As a result, as soon as a client's account is restored, so is their old domain information.

What's more, you can now manually control, on an account-by-account basis, whether custom domains are supported. To change this setting for a single account, go to Manage Accounts > User Details and change the Active Domain setting.

This means that you can now, for example, temporarily disable custom domain support for specific accounts.

Any user up- or downgrade will automatically override the manual setting and apply the new package preset for domain support.

We believe this new behavior will make client management easier and more powerful.

We are happy to announce that today we launched a new feature that lets you add HTML snippets in the head of your web site. You can read the official announcement on the SiteKreator Product Blog.

Using the Header HTML snippet you can add Webmaster Tools, Facebook Insights, or any other meta tag by simply copy-pasting the relevant HTML code into the Header HTML field in Site Properties.

Based on requests from several of our private-label partners, we have now set the Storage Limit for packaged to 30GB.

Providing quality support can take up quite a bit of your time. Time that you would probably prefer to spend on growing your business. That is why, as part of our private-label reseller program, we offer optional white label email and chat support for your partners. This will give your clients direct access to our team of support professionals and we can help them solve any technical problem starting from "how to resize my gallery" to configuring a domain and email hosting.

With white label support enabled, your clients will see the option for online chat and email support when they click on the [Help] buttons inside their Admin interface. When they choose email support, our replies will be fully white labeled (SiteKreator is not motioned anywhere, including in the email address and the links we send them).

If white label support is not already included in your package, the price is just $2/mo per account. To set up white label support for your clients, please contact support at sitekreator.com.

Did you know that our Google Maps application lets you search and display a map by address? You can now enable this feature for all your customers with just two simple steps. And it won't cost you a thing.

Here's how to do it.

First you will have to apply for a Google Maps API Key. Make sure you fill in your Admin-mode domain — the domain that is used when your customer's website is in Admin mode — when applying for the key.

Once you receive the key from Google, simply email it to support at sitekreator.com and we will do the rest. Free of charge.

The video below shows you how easy searching by address with the Google Maps application is.

You have to strike while the iron is hot is the familiar expression. In the same way that blacksmiths had to work fast to hammer iron into shape before it would cool and the opportunity to mold it had passed, you have to act on time to turn trial users into paying customers.

But don't give up too quickly either. Did you know that research has shown that 80% of sales are made on the 5th to the 12th contact?

How can SiteKreator partners use this knowledge? One incredibly strong tool that can greatly increase your subscription rate is follow-up emails. This article looks at how you can increase your business with a few well-designed, well-written emails. We'll give you three easy steps to get your follow-up email system set up and we'll also share some details about just how much of an effect such emails can have.

Step 1: Decide when and how often to send follow-up emails

Users who have just signed up for a trial account, have an expressed interest in your product. They may simply want to see how it works, or they may have a concrete plan for a website. Whichever is the case, you have an opportunity to seize.

Try to have your first follow-up email go out to the new client within 24 hours of their signup, while the experience of your product is still fresh and they are still thinking about the website they wanted to create with your service.

Repeat this in the weeks after the trial signup. Make sure to slowly decrease the rate with which you send these emails, otherwise you risk being considered a spammer. A good schedule would be for a second follow-up email to come three days after the first, and a third one another three days later, making it exactly one week since the customer signed up. Further follow-up email could be sent at a rate of about once a week.

According to Jeanniey Mullen, chief marketing officer of Zinio, your focus should be on the first 90 days of messaging.  

Step 2: Write engaging content that invites customers to respond

In your first follow up email, thank your new customers for signing up, ask them how the build process is going, remind them that help is always just a click away. Try to be helpful, show that you care, but do not push for a direct sale. Offer a free downloadable white paper on how to build a better website and include a secondary call to action, such as "follow us on Twitter" or "Join our LinkedIn group". Fast follow-ups help you motivate people while their new trial is still on their mind.

Try to change the message in the emails that follow, use a different message every time, include a different offer and a different call to action.

It should be no surprise to any business owner that customers who get a friendly, positive response to their expressed interest in a service or product are more likely to buy. Just think about it for a second. What shop are you more likely to buy from? One where the owner doesn't seem to care that you walked in or one where you are approached and friendly offered help?

Over time track which message works and change the ones that don't work.

Step 3: Putting it all to work

Did you know that all this work can be easily automated with MailChimp? MailChimp is easy to set up and lets you track your follow-up email campaigns. It offers a free account that includes 2000 subscribers and lets you send  12000 emails a month.

Best of all, SiteKreator partners now enjoy full integration with MailChimp. Head over the Getting Started guide for a complete introduction. If you're new to email marketing, there is an extensive online library of excellent tutorials and guides that will make an email marketing superstar out of you in no time.

To have MailChimp integration set up for your reseller account, please contact support at sitekreator.com.