HAVE A QUESTION YOU DON'T SEE? ASK US!
All of our FAQ list questions were built using our customer’s questions asked in the past. If there is not an answer to what you may be seeking below, please do not hesitate to reach out! You will most likely see your question added in time, so that someone else may learn.
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GENERAL QUESTIONS
- HOW MUCH DOES BRAND MY EMAIL ESTATIONERY COST?
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Brand My Email can range in cost, however we have special pricing for State Farm. An eStationery bundle for one person starts at $189 for the basic features. There are price breaks when you order for more people.
- 2, 3, or 4 People brings it down to $159/per person
- 5+ brings it down even more to $139/per person.
You can also add options to your bundles, which will increase price. All our pricing is a ONE TIME FEE, unless you have edits in the future and what a change, then it’s an additional $29 depending on the change request.
- YELP REVIEW INFORMATION
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In partnership with State Farm Corporate and Yelp, please read below.
Please note: In an effort to nurture the Yelp community who actively contribute reliable and useful content, Yelp does not recommend every review from every user. Yelp gets millions of reviews from their users each month, and their job is to showcase the ones that best reflect the opinions of the Yelp community. For reference, we have also provided general FAQs on Yelp reviews here.
- GOOGLE+ REVIEW INFORMATION
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Per Corporate at this time:
- Disclaimer: Google+ is not approved as a Social Media platform for State Farm agents at this time. Agents may only gather online reviews and respond to negative reviews.
showcase the ones that best reflect the opinions of the Yelp community. For reference, we have also provided general FAQs on Yelp reviews here.
- WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF USING BRAND MY EMAIL?
- Unlimited email branding increases visibility, creating fully engaged customers. Clients are one-click away, from maps, web links, and social media. Your branded email is a way to create brand ambassadors of all users, increasing your brand awareness and ensuring corporate branding standards.
- WHY DO WE NEED TO BRAND EMAILS?
- Email is the most common form of electronic communication worldwide for businesses. This makes email the perfect place to convey your brand image and leave a lasting impression.
- WHAT IS THE DESIGN TURN AROUND TIME FOR MY BRANDED EMAIL?
- Design times vary depending on what product you order and how fast you get your information to us. Once we have all your information it can take anywhere from 1-2 weeks if we get approval quickly. If there are edits the process can take a little longer. The faster you get us your information, the faster turnaround you will see.
- WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF PUTTING ``WEB LINKS`` INTO MY EMAIL?
- You can increase your website traffic by directing your email recipient to click on the links built into your branded eStationery™. You can virtually direct the recipient to any information you choose, such as your website, info on your products, social media, recruiting or account logins.
- WHAT TYPE OF SUPPORT IS OFFERED AND FOR HOW LONG?
- Brand My Message is here to help you whenever you have a question or problem, offering ongoing support. A one year product warranty applies to your eStationery™ to fix any defects, such as typos or spaces that were not found when the product was delivered. We will be here for your should you need assistance with installing or re-installing a product.
- WHY DOES ``POWERED BY BRAND MY MESSAGE`` OR ``POWERED BY BRAND MY EMAIL`` APPEAR ON MY SIGNATURE?
- Our “Powered by” statement is the proud label of our products and we require that it’s kept attached to our eSignature. You wouldn’t buy a Nike™ product only to tear off the label would you? Please leave it alone. It is in our contract with corporate, that it is to remain on our products.
- DO I HAVE TO USE BRANDING ON ALL OF MY EMAILS AFTER IT'S INSTALLED?
- No you do not. You can pick and choose when you want to use it. It can also be set up so it pops up automatically with every email you use, and you can delete it out when you don’t want to use it. It will pop up on the next new email.
- WHAT TYPE OF PAYMENT DO WE ACCEPT?
- Credit card payments paid via Master Card, Visa, American Express or Discover Card are accepted at the time a quote is approved for an order. Checks may be accepted under certain circumstances, however may delay order process.
- WHAT IS THE BASIC PROCESS FOR ORDERING?
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1. Choose your customized package and request quote. 2. Receive and review a quote based on chosen package and options. 3. Send approval of quote to brandingadvisor@brandmyemail.com. 4. Credit card is submitted and charged. 4. Receive questionnaire, fill out the information and return to tracyk@brandmyemail.com. 5. Design Center creates proof for review. 6. Receive proof, make any changes needed and approve. Edits may be submitted and corrected at this time and re-proofed. 7. Once proof is approved, final design is created. 8. Final files are sent to you along with the installation manual. 9. Your email is branded! - WHAT IS THE TYPICAL FILE SIZE FOR THE OUTLOOK FOR PC/MAC ESTATIONERY?
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The average size file for the eLetterhead as a new email is around 90 KB
The average size for an eReplier used as a new email is approximately 55KB
If you send someone an eLetterhead, a client replies to you, and you reply back with your eReplier the size is around 115 KB. If you have a chain of emails back and forth, the size will continue to grow. Limiting the back and forth will reduce file size.
*File size will also depend on how many different options one has in their eStationery. For example if you have a second photo option on your eLetterhead, the file size will increase slightly.
- STATE FARM EMAIL ADDRESS AND MIRUS INTERNET REDIRECT INFORMATION
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When agent’s provide their website addresses to us, some have a redirect link set up. State Farm stresses the use of Mirus Internet Redirects, and stresses this system be used. When submitting your email address or website links please ask yourself these questions:
Do you have a MySFDomain/Mirus Internet Redirect set up?
- If yes, go to next question.
Do you have a MySFDomain/Mirus Email Redirect set up?
- If yes, you may publish this Email Redirect on the BMM Email template.
- If no, you may not publish this Email Redirect on the BMM Email template.
- Important things to remember:
- Email redirects are not automatically set up during the purchase of an internet redirect. They can be added on at the time of purchase.
- Email redirects are available for team members, but must be purchased by the agent.
- Email redirects can only be entered into Electronic Library (EL) if they have been purchased through Mirus.
- Email redirects that have been purchased through other vendors are unauthorized by State Farm and increase agent and State Farm exposure to privacy violations.
Note: Agents who currently own a simplified email address with a company other than Mirus are urged to migrate to the Mirus service.
- HOW DO I SET UP MY AGENT QUOTE LANDING PAGE (AQLP)?
- You may download a copy of the State Farm Agent Quote Landing Page for use by clicking HERE.
- WHERE DO THE CALCULATOR LINKS, LINK TO?
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The links are set up in collaboration through State Farm Corporate and direct to the following:
Life Insurance: http://www.statefarm.com/insurance/life_annuity/life-calculator/calculator.asp
Retirement Calculator: http://learningcenter.statefarm.com/calculators/retirement/index.html
Car Loan Calculator: http://partners.leadfusion.com/tools/statefarm/auto05/tool.fcs
- DO I HAVE TO SHOW MY CALIFORNIA LICENSE NUMBER ON MY EMAIL?
- According to California state, all Agents residing in the state must display their California License number on their eStationery.
- WHAT KIND OF PHOTO SHOULD I SEND?
- Portrait head shots in a portrait format are preferred. Nice resolution is required. If the photo is of a low quality, it will be denied and you will be requested to send a different photo. There are absolutely NO “selfie” photos permitted. If a selfie photo is submitted, it will be denied an you will be asked to send a nicer looking photo. You and your team are representing State Farm, and the quality of the photo on your eStationery should reflect your Agency in it’s best way possible. The format of your photo should be sent in .jpg, or .gif.
- CAN WE ``NET OP`` IN TO HELP ASSIST YOU?
- No we can’t and wish we could! We are not permitted to link up to your computers at all. If you are having any problems installing, please let us know. We will then attempt to talk you through the process for the install. If you are struggling, please let us know and we can start up a join.me page where you can see what we are doing to help further. If you are still struggling, we ask that you look to your staff to see if there is anyone more computer “savvy” to assist with the install. There is no shame in asking for help. We are here to assist.
- WHAT DO I DO IF I WANT TO CHANGE MY PHOTO, ADDRESS, ETC.?
- Give us a call and we will send you a quote and get the changes processed for you after payment is received and changes are submitted. There is a $29/person editing fee for changes.
- WHY CAN'T I ADD ICONS OR CHANGE THE ESTATIONERY AT ALL?
- Our eStationery is 100% approved by State Farm Corporate. To maintain consistency, we cannot allow anyone to add just anything they want to their eStationery. Anything on our current model of eStationery had to go through an approval process. It took MONTHS to get it to where it is today, and the design we use maintains uniformity throughout State Farm. If you have a request, we can however, add it to our “wish list”, and we will talk to corporate. Then we will put your name on this list and if it gets approved, we’ll definitely let you know!
- WHY IS MY FONT CALIBRI, 11PT?
- Our standard font, which is listed on the questionnaire you received, is called Calibri and it set as black, and 11pt. This is the font we use on our eStationery. If you would like a “special” font, you will have to contact our Customer support, and request the change. There will be an editing fee charged to do this, as your files will have to be reprocessed to reflect the changes you want made, then resent to you, and you will have to re-install them on your computer. We will also send along instructions on how to change your eReplier. That you can change without us having to do anything. If you would like this form, please contact us and request the eReplier font change instructions.
- DO YOU HAVE A REFERRAL PROGRAM?
- Yes! We do! We call it our Branding Bucks program! We are not permitted to reach out to agents. Agents are required to give us a call and make first contact. The agent that is calling us through a referral must tell us who they were referred by, in order to get credit for the connection between Brand My Message and agent. Please encourage your friends, colleagues to give us a ring!
- CAN WE SET UP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA?
- As much as we’d like to help you out with your social media…we are NOT permitted to set up your accounts for you. If you need assistance with how to do this, you will have to talk to corporate about it, or look online for the set up instructions.
- WILL ESTATIONERY SHOW UP ON MOBILE DEVICES?
- Absolutely! Yes it will. On certain mobile devices, it may look a bit different than it would on a desktop computer, as it’s getting shrunken down to “fit” on your phone/tablet. It typically looks normal on most devices but we’ll have the occasional device it may not register on. When your eStationery is Forwarded or Replied to from a mobile, it may shift the eStationery images a bit, or convert the images to attachments. This is nothing you did wrong, it’s just one format, trying to fix what it sees, and altering it to suit the mail format’s needs.
- CAN MY TEAM GET ESTATIONERY?
- Yes! You can purchase additional eStationery for your team. They are not permitted to use YOU, the Agent’s eStationery as there is only one license per person for use on your personal computers. Team member eStationery can have theirs or your photo on it, or we have a picture in picture option as well. It’ll be personalized with their name, email, etc… to your liking. You can also change out their stationery if there is a personnel change as needed by contacting us, there will be an editing fee.
- I HAVE EMAILS I USE AS TEMPLATES, CAN THESE BE SET UP THIS WAY?
- Yes, you can. We can talk you through the process, in fact we expect to be offering a short class on how to do this a few times a month. We are still trying to get this approved and will be done using a Join.me account so you can watch what we are doing while we explain it to you. This will be at a cost, yet to be determined. Stay tuned for more information.
TECHNICAL QUESTIONS
- HOW DO EMAIL SIGNATURES WORK?
- Your eSignature and eStationery will be installed on the email platform you use by you. We will provide step-by-step instruction so that you may install with ease. We also have personnel standing by to help you should you need a bit of hand holding. Our team is well equipped to walk you through the process.
- I'M HAVING TROUBLE COPYING AND PASTING INTO THE BODY OF MY ELETTERHEAD, HOW DO I DO THIS?
- If you are having problems copying and pasting into the body area of your eLetterhead please follow these steps: 1) Highlight and right click with your mouse and select “Copy” or press Ctrl and C. 2) Click in the body area where you would typically start typing your message. 3) Press Ctrl and V on the keyboard. This should paste your text, link, or art in place.
- WHEN SENDING ESTATIONERY TO A MOBILE DEVICE IT DOESN'T LOOK EXACTLY THE SAME AS IT WOULD ON A PERSONAL COMPUTER, WHY?
- Our eStationery is designed to work from Microsoft Outlook to Microsoft Outlook perfectly. In a perfect world, it would go from one email platform to another with ease, but because the email systems all read differently, they sometimes break up. We’ve noticed also that if you send an email, and open it on an iPhone for example,the customer will see the eStationery fine when it’s sent to them but then forward it from the iPhone, it somehow converts the forwarded email into an image free email due to it being forwarded from a device. If you have a thread of emails being forwarded from computer to computer it will most likely look fine. But if you add a phone to the mix,it will change.
- WHAT IS THE SIZE OF ESTATIONERY IN EMAILS?
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The average size file for the eLetterhead as a new email is around 90 KB
The average size for an eReplier used as a new email is approximately 55KB
If you send someone an eLetterhead, a client replies to you, and you reply back with your eReplier the size is around 115 KB. If you have a chain of emails back and forth, the size will continue to grow. Limiting the back and forth will reduce file size.
*File size will also depend on how many different options one has in their eStationery. For example if you have a second photo option on your eLetterhead, the file size will increase slightly.
- AFTER I SEND MY EMAIL, IT'S SHOWING UP AS A BUNCH OF ATTACHMENTS, WHY?
- This is not an issue with your computer or anything you have done. It’s based on the receiving client and the mail platform they might be using. Not all email systems are created equal, believe it or not. While one mail client will allow the images to display as they should, others modify the images to attachment form. We’ve seen this happen with MacMail and a few other mail services. The only way to fix this to an “all devices are created equal situation” is to have images hosted on one of our servers, vs a computer hosted eSignature. The recipient will still see the image as they should, but there might be some additional attachments in the email they received.
- I TRIED REPLYING AND MY EREPLIER ISN'T SHOWING UP, HOW DO I FIX THIS?
- The reason this is happening is because the email you received, that you are replying to, is not in html format. To insert your replier, click reply, click on the format text tab, select HTML, click back on message tab, insert your replier from the signature drop down menu. Your replier should now be showing. Click Here for a downloadable guide.
- MY ESIGNATURE DOESN'T LOOK RIGHT AND IS ``BREAKING UP`` ANY THOUGHTS?
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Check your display settings. They should be at 100% default.
- MY ESTATIONERY APPEARS TO BE OUT OF PROPORTION AND ``BLOWN UP``, HOW DO I FIX THIS?
- The first thing to check in this instance is your Display Settings. Go to your Start Menu > Control Panel > Display > ensure the setting is set to 100% (default). If it isn’t, you’ll have to select that option and the computer will require a restart. Once everything is back up and running, the problem SHOULD be fixed with your eStationery. If for some reason, this did not correct your issue, please do not hesitate to give us a call! 888-736-0165
- I MADE A STATIONERY FOLDER AND MY ELETTERHEAD STILL ISN'T SHOWING UP UNDER ``THEME`` WHAT DO I DO?
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If you had to create a new folder and name it for the Stationery folder, please double check the spelling of Stationery ensuring it’s an “E”ry at the end of the word and not an “A”ry. This is a VERY common thing that a lot of people do, so you are not alone. Suck it up, and check it out, the odds are you misspelled it.
As a sidenote, Stationary IS a word, it just means you are standing still versus something fancy to write on with Stationery.
- IF WE DON'T HOST OUR OWN WEBSITE, CAN WE STILL USE EMAIL BRANDING?
- Yes, Email Branding is not dependent on your website, though it can directly connect readers to any place on the internet, from websites to social media to company branded marketing.
- DO I NEED TO CHANGE MY CURRENT EMAIL ADDRESS TO USE THE EMAIL STATIONERY?
- No, the branded email will work with your email provider you use.
- WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMEONE FORWARDS MY EMAIL TO ANOTHER EMAIL ADDRESS?
- All of your custom design and branding will be forwarded to the new recipient as is! No worries the recipients will receive a fragmented email message in a form other than the original recipient viewed. Also, you just successfully sent a virtual billboard to someone beyond your normal email reach, thus advertised for your company.
- HOW DO I GET MY .ZIP FILE RELEASED FROM QUARANTINE?
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The process to get your .zip file go as such:
- We will email you your files in an email and the email will get stopped by SF Quarantine.
- You will get an email from HOMESYS and it will tell you that your .zip file is stuck in Quarantine.
- You will have to follow the instructions in this email to have the file released. (You will have to forward the email to HOMESYS etc… and within a day or two they will release the files to you.)
- Upon forwarding the message to HOMESYS, you will receive another email stating that your request is being processed. After it is released you will be able to access the original email with the files.
- DO I HAVE TO USE MY BRANDED EMAIL EVERY TIME I SEND AN EMAIL?
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You control whether you use your branded or regular email each time.
- CAN I STILL ATTACH PICTURES, FILES, AND IMAGES TO MY EMAILS?
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Yes, your branded email does not affect the functionality, so attach your files as you do currently.
- WILL MY EMAIL LETTERHEAD BE VISIBLE WITH EVERY EMAIL I SEND?
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Your branded letterhead will be visible most all the time. There are very select times where an email recipient may have their security settings set to a high level for incoming emails, so that the recipient may see red x’s in place of your letterhead. They have the ability to allow images sent if they know the sender is safe. Your recipients will always receive your written text in any scenario so your email will read well.
- WHERE DO INSERTED LINKS DIRECT TO?
- Your social media sites, websites, account logins or targeted marketing materials.
- WHY CAN'T I COPY AND PASTE INTO THE EMAIL CONTENT AREA?
- If you can’t copy and paste using your mouse, use Control (CTRL) and “V” buttom on your keyboard to paste to the content area.
- IT APPEARS THAT THERE IS A CLICKABLE LINK TO THE USER'S WEBSITE ON THE ESTATIONERY; WHAT IS THE ADVANTAGE OF ADDING THE OPTIONAL CLICKABLE LINK IN THE CONTENT AREA OF THE EMAIL?
- Even though it is a feature of the standard package, located half way down between the pictures in the left hand column, some people prefer to have the link in there again, below the signature in the content area, so as the reader finishes with the message, they see the link again.
- IF I REQUEST ESTATIONERY FOR A TEAM MEMBER, WILL MY PHOTO BE SHOWN ON THEIR SIGNATURE? WHAT DOES A TEAM MEMBER'S ESTATIONERY LOOK LIKE?
- There are three ways you can go about a team member’s eStationery. One way is to have the agent’s picture on all of the eStationery. Or, everyone can use their own photo. Team member’s eStationery will look like the Agent’s. The agents name is located in the banner area of the eStationery. It will include the Company logo, and the name of the Agency and website. The eStationery is all about the AGENTS branding. There are numerous areas where your name will be mentioned. The third option is to have a Picture – in – picture version made.
- WHAT ARE MY TEAM MEMBER'S PHOTO OPTIONS?
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There are 3 options:
- Agent’s photo on Team Member’s
- Team Member’s photo on theirs
- Picture in Picture – highlighting both people – Agent’s photo will be the bigger photo
- WHAT IS NMLS # AND MUST I HAVE IT ON MY ESTATIONERY?
- NMLS is National Mortgage Licensing System. You should have it on your eStationery if you are mortgage licensed and have been assigned one. You can always add the NMLS number at a later time for a small editing fee.
- DO I HAVE TO HAVE MY PHOTO ON MY ESTATIONERY?
- Yes, per corporate. Please give us a call for some photo guidelines.
- I PURCHASED THE FIRST NAME SIGNATURE, WHAT TYPE OF PEN SHOULD I USE TO SIGN WITH?
- First and foremost, we would like only your FIRST name signature. Not your lastname, for security reasons. It’s also very uncommon for someone to write/type their last name in an email. The best type of pen to use is a fine or extra fine Sharpie, or a felt type of pen. These product the best results. Color of the ink doesn’t really matter, as it will be changed to black in our design center for uniformity purposes.
- I DON'T HAVE SOCIAL MEDIA, WHAT HAPPENS TO MY SOCIAL MEDIA STAY CONNECTED BAR?
- If you don’t have any social media set up, the social media sites default to the State Farm corporate sites. They will be functioning and direct anyone who clicks on them, to the sites. If you decide at a later date, to start up a social media account, you will just have to give us a call and let us know, along with the proper URL link, and we can update it for you. This will be at a cost of $29 for editing. The files will then be sent to you in a proof, and upon approval, your files will be sent to you.
- CAN WE CHANGE YOUR GOOGLE INFORMATION?
- NO! We are not Google, nor are we related to them in any nature. If you want to move your map marker, change your map address, change your google plus page, you need to login to Google plus and do so on your own. We do not have access to any of that. If you have further questions, please contact Google. Here is a link for your convenience: https://www.google.com/mapmaker
- WHERE DO I FIND THE LINKS TO PUT IN THE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR MY REVIEW SITE(S) AND SOCIAL MEDIA?
- If you login to your accounts for Google Plus, Yelp, Social Media Accounts (Facebook, Linkedin etc..) You can just click in your Search Bar and Highlight the URL that is listed there and once highlighted you can either right click and Copy or Press CTRL and C. Then all you need to do is click with your arrow in the designated area on the Questionnaire form and Right Click and Paste or press CTRL and V. The link should have pasted into the area. Don’t worry if it appears to be too long and cut off, it’s all in there if you pasted, it may just not be visible due to the length of the URL.
