Frequently Asked Questions
If you have a specific question related to Topica’s Online
Marketing and Sales Solution, it may be already answered. We have
gathered a list of commonly asked question that might be helpful
for you to browse through. If you don’t find what you are looking for,
please contact our Customer Success team —
we’re here to help!
What is Topica’s Online Marketing and Sales Solution?
It is an end-to-end marketing solution that addresses all stages of online marketing: prospecting, conversion of prospects to customers, customer retention, and customer cross or up-selling.
Is Topica’s system compatible with the new anti-spam laws?
Yes. Topica is completely compatible with the latest anti-spam
laws. Our solution includes a CAN-SPAM compliance package that
automates many of the requirements mandated by law. For more
details, please see our section on best
practices for legal compliance.
Do I need my own customer list to start using Topica’s Online Marketing and Sales Solution, or does Topica supply the addresses?
It’s your choice. You can generate your own prospects, or have Topica generate prospects for you. If you already have a list of prospective customers, you can easily import them.
How many prospective customers can I have per account?
Your database can include an unlimited amount of prospective
customers. Topica will charge one cent for each prospective
customer, with a minimum charge of $49.95.
Does Topica‘s Online Marketing and Sales Solution enable me to collect prospective customers directly from my Web site?
Yes. With Topica, you can create any number of forms that you can
place on your Web site (or other Web sites) to collect
information on prospective customers.
Can I collect and segment demographic information about prospective customers?
Yes. You can collect any demographic information you desire. You
have an unlimited capacity to create database fields and can
change the type and name of these fields in order to get
different types of information. You can also build audiences from
any of the fields you have defined.
How quickly can I expect messages to be delivered to prospective
customers?
Most messages are delivered by Topica email servers within
minutes of sending your email. The arrival into your prospective
customers’ inbox will depend on their ISPs infrastructure
and receiving capacity.
Does Topica add anything to the content of the email message?
Yes. Topica adds a short text tag line and our Web site URL.
(shown below) As part of our CAN-SPAM compliance package
that’s included in our solution, every message will also
feature the mandatory “unsubscribe” link.
Update your profile or unsubscribe here:
http://topica.com/survey/
Delivered by Topica, http://topica.com/
Topica may also add:
Report unsolicited email here:
http://topica.com/unsolicited/
Can I get a trial of Topica’s Online Marketing and Sales
Solution?
Yes. Topica offers a free, 14-day trial of our Online Marketing
and Sales Solution. This is a limited trial which gives you
access to many of our basic features. For use of our more
advanced features we recommend customizing your solution and
purchasing or requesting a quote online. The first 30-days are
risk free, with a full money-back guarantee.
Do you require a long-term commitment to start using Topica?
No. Topica is available on a monthly basis, however, many of our
customers choose our 6- or 12-months plan to take advantage of
special discounts.
What kind of customer support is available?
Customer Support Representatives are available
Monday–Saturday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (PST). In addition to
email support, you can request phone support, dedicated account
management, or assisted account set-up. If you have not already
selected one of our customer support packages when signing up,
please contact our Customer Success team.
How safe is my contact data in your system?
We host our servers with a top-tier provider, in a
state-of-the-art network operation center, giving your data the
highest level of safety. Our backend systems ensure full
security, redundancy, backup and high-speed network connections.
A dedicated staff of expert technicians maintains our systems 24
hours a day. If you would like more information on the security
of your account, please see our privacy policy.
After I sign up, can I start right away?
Yes. As soon as your credit card is approved, you can immediately
begin using Topica.
Can I send HTML emails?
Yes. The Topica interface provides complete flexibility with the
type of email format, supporting both text and HTML messages.
Do you have pre-formatted templates?
Yes. We offer professionally designed HTML templates that make it
easy to send polished graphical emails. They’re perfect for
product promotions and content messages. Just select your
template, enter content elements (text or graphics), and
we’ll automatically create both HTML and text versions of
your email message.
I create an email message once per quarter. Do I still have to
pay a monthly fee?
Yes. The monthly fee still applies. However, you can choose a
plan that charges bi-annually or annually, which makes it easier
to manage your payments.
If I have an existing list or database, can I import it without
losing data?
Yes. Topica allows you to import lists of prospective customers
and data associated with those customer names. Our data import
process is easy and flexible, and accommodates a range of data
types and formats.
How will I know when the email message or mailing reaches
prospective customers?
There are two ways to be notified about delivery. First, we
recommend that you always include yourself on your mailing list
so you will receive the email message. Second, the Reports
section tracks and reports delivery, in real time.
When an email message is sent, can people see who else is
receiving it?
No. Recipients only see their information, and can’t see
the other email message recipients. Because each email is sent to
an individual’s email address, it appears as though it is a
one-to-one communication, from you to them.
Can I sell directly from my email messages or promotions?
Yes. We’ve partnered with eBay, PayPal, and Amazon.com to
make it easy for you to add e-commerce buttons directly into your
email messages. This makes it easier for people to purchase
immediately from your emails, and is an effective way to generate
more sales.
Can I confirm that my prospective customers have given permission
to me to send them emails, even if they have signed up on my Web
site, or I have added them directly to my list?
Yes. You have the option to send confirmation emails to all
prospective customers, to ensure that they’ve truly given
you permission and protect against accidental subscriptions due
to typo or forgery.
Can I send automated Welcome and Goodbye messages to my
prospective customers?
Yes. You can use our automated messaging technology to send
automated Welcome and Goodbye email messages to your prospective
customers, which you may also customize. A Welcome message is an
email sent to all new users who subscribe to your list, and a
Goodbye message is an email sent to all users who unsubscribe
from your list. Automated messaging can also be sent in response
to a previous campaign or a transaction.
How long does it take to import new contacts?
If your list is less than 500 contacts, it will import quickly in
real time. The Web page will show when the import is complete.
For larger lists, the time depends on the number of prospective
customers you are importing, but may take up to twenty-four
hours. You will receive an email from Topica when your import is
complete.
In order to facilitate large imports and ensure that they meet
our Permission
Email Policy, Topica monitors imports and may flag
large imports so that our Customer Success team can review them. If
your import requires our assistance, we will notify you as soon
as you submit your import, and we will provide further
instructions for processing your import quickly and efficiently.
Can I use my own branding on messages and forms?
Yes. You define your branding as a list preference, which can be
a simple logo or HTML headers and footers. Your branding is used
whenever possible in customer-facing material such as messages,
forms, landing pages, error pages, forward to a friend, etc.
Can I personalize my messages?
Yes. You can place references to any fields in the customer
profile within your message.
If I stop using my account will I
still be billed?
Yes. You will be billed for subscription fees on a monthly,
bi-annual or annual basis (depending on what plan you signed up
for), until you cancel by using the cancellation form.
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