February 2, 2010
Did you know that you can add correspondence to an order or a customer?
Did you know that you can add a reminder to that correspondence if you use Outlook?
This would be helpful in a situation where you need to go back to the order or take action with an order or customer.
One distributor is using it to remind herself to send out Thank You notes after orders ship and also reminding her when it is a customers birthday.
Some others are using it to remind themselves that they need to call their customer back for a follow-up.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Follow these steps to set your reminder from an Order Summary page:
1. Go to the Order Summary page
2. Go to the Customer order area at the top
3. Click on Add/Email to the right of the Correspondence section
4. Then check the box to send a reminder at the top of the page and enter a date for the reminder (1 & 2 below)
5. Then scroll down to the bottom (make sure that you don’t have any external emails selected) and type in your reminder message. (3 below)
6. Click Save Correspondence. (4 below)
7. You will see a download message in your browser, you can click on that and select Open or Run (dependent on your browser)
8. Now select “Save and Close” in the top right of your Outlook Window. This will set up your Outlook and you will get a pop up reminder on the date and/or time specified.
You can also do this same type of reminder directly from your Customer Correspondence:
1. Find your customer in your database
2. Click on Edit
3. Click on the Correspondence tab
4. Now click on Add New Correspondence on the top left and follow instructions above starting with #4
Let us know if you have any questions regarding this blog: info@distributorcentral.com
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Posted by distributorcentral
January 27, 2010
This is a popular question from Distributors, here are a few tips to get you on your way:
• Once an order is submitted from your website, you’ll receive an email noting that there has been an order placed. Go to the Account Maintenance area in the Account menu to verify your email address. A notice will also display on the Home page in your DistributorCentral account (see figure below).
• Once you have located the order within your DistributorCentral account, you will be able to see who your customer is on the Order Summary page. You’ll also see when they placed the order and any payment information they have provided (see figure below).
DistributorCentral does not process any payments for you. Also, payments between you and your customer, and you and the supplier are separate. The payment information that your customer provides would need to be processed by you. You would then need to also provide your payment information separately to the supplier.
To access the payment setup area in your DistributorCentral account, Go to the Account Menu >> Payment >> Payment Setup.
• On the Order Summary page, you’ll also be able to see who the supplier is for that product as well. Orders are never automatically sent to the supplier, and you will have control over when/if you would like the order to be sent to the supplier. (see figure below).
• Once you verify the order, you have the ability to create and send the PO to the supplier through the DistributorCentral system. If you prefer, you can also print out the order and fax it to the supplier, or you can save the order as a PDF and email it to the supplier with your standard email client (see figure below). If it the first time placing an order with a supplier, you will need to contact them to setup an account and business relationship.
Click on the links below to access brief guides that can help you get your account setup and ready for business.
We also recommend that you place a few test orders from your live website to see exactly how the system works. Make sure to log out of your DistributorCentral account when doing this.
Comments Off | Guides, Helpful Articles, Order Management, Tips | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
January 26, 2010
Your website in DistributorCentral has a built-in shopping cart which allows your customers to place orders to you. Whenever they go through the ordering process, the system will automatically generate a username and password for them, which they can then use to login to view their order history. Furthermore, you customers can view their order status as well as quotes and invoices from the My Account page on your site (see image below).
Whenever visitors go through the ordering process, they will also be added to your Customer List in your DistributorCentral account. From within your account, you will have the ability to review and edit their information as well as send them their username and password if they happen to forget it.
The My Account page will also allow your visitors to register or sign up on your website. Additionally, if you enter in a customer or place orders for a customer in your DistributorCentral account, you can then send them a username and password to your website as well.
Many of the premade templates already incorporate the My Account page; however, you can remove this page if you prefer to not have this feature on your website. You can also set a website preference to not have the system generate a username and password for your customers when they go through the ordering process. To find this preference, go to the Websites Menu >> Add/Edit Websites >> then click on the Preferences link. From here, select No for the Send New Customer Registration Email preference. Click on Save and then Publish your website.
NOTE: The My Account page is intended to be used by your customer and is not intended for “you” to sign in to your own DistributorCentral account. Instead, if you want to login to your DistributorCentral account, go to www.DistributorCentral.com.
Comments Off | Account Customizing, Helpful Articles, Order Management, Tips, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
January 25, 2010
In an effort to help our Suppliers keep their product data up to date as easily as possible, we have added a few requested features to the product editor. Some of these features are below:
1. The Product Display Status Report. This report isn’t a brand new feature but we have added new ways to sort the report and new columns to the report. The report is meant for a Supplier to quickly glance through their products to see if they are displaying, if they have images, etc. If they aren’t displaying, you can quickly see why and correct the issue.
There are now added fields to allow you to sort the product status report by item number, name, or last updated date. The other fields available to sort by are Product Name, Style Number, Created Date, Updated date.
2. For those Suppliers that set updated pricing to start at a future date, you can now quickly copy your current pricing to the future pricing for any specific product to help cut down on re-entry. To see this feature, go to edit a product and click on the pricing tab. There on the right side there is a link called “Copy current pricing to Future pricing.”
3. Product Updated dates are also easy to see for your products from the Product List page. You can tell when a product was last updated without editing it.
Let us know if you have any questions regarding updating your products.
Technical Support – info@distributorcentral.com – 888-516-7401
Comments Off | General, New Features, Products, Suppliers | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
January 15, 2010
We are now offering an XML feed of product Data for our advanced users!
Please note that you should work with a Website Designer that is experienced with XML feeds if you would like to use this feature. DistributorCentral does not provide support with integrating these feeds to your site.
The DistributorCentral product XML data feed is designed for developers wishing to design their own website, but still use DC product data. You will still create a basic website and catalogs using existing tools within your DC account, but the output will be pure XML …
See this guide to read on about this feature: XML Guide
Comments Off | General | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
January 14, 2010
We’ve been having a great show at the PPAI Expo this week. It was great to put so many faces to names at the Power User’s Social on Tuesday as well as talking to so many of you distributors and suppliers in our booth and on the show floor during yesterday’s opening day of the expo. We’ve had numerous discussions about the exciting new features that we’ve launched over the past few months and received some great feedback that will lead to even more exciting new features to help you conduct business.
If you are attending the show and haven’t done so yet, please stop by booth 5555 and say hi!
Comments Off | General, Tradeshows | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
January 8, 2010
Stop by our booth at the PPAI Show next week! Our booth number is 5555.
We are also having a Power User Social & Networking Event on Tuesday night. All are welcome to stop by, both Distributors and Suppliers. It will be adjacent to the New Product Pavillion Sneek Peak. It will start at 5 and last til 7.
We hope to see you there!
Comments Off | General | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
December 10, 2009
With the addition of the File Upload tool, DistributorCentral makes it easy for Suppliers to create an “end user friendly” file upload website. This is a valuable feature since Distributors would be able to send their customers directly to the “blind” file upload website where the customer can then upload large artwork files. Suppliers can easily assign the uploaded artwork files to orders in their account as well.
To view an example, go to www.checkart.com
To add this feature to a website:
- Edit the website page that you would like to have uploader on
- Choose File Uploader from the content drop-down menu
- Indicate the email address that you would like the artwork upload notification sent to (see image below)
- Click Save at the bottom of the page and then publish your website to apply the changes
If you would like a file upload notification on the Home page of your DistributorCentral account that indicates that you’ve have received new uploaded files:
- Go to the Account Menu
- Select Preferences and then Account Preferences
- Click on the Orders menu on the left side of the page
- then select Yes for the file upload preference (see image below)
Comments Off | Account Customizing, Suppliers, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
December 2, 2009
We’ve added a new feature that will display any incomplete orders you have started in your DistributorCentral account as well as orders that have not been completed from your DistributorCentral website.
To access this feature, go to your Orders Menu and select Incomplete Orders.
Incomplete orders from your website will only display if the customer has added the product to the shopping cart and proceeded past the shipping information page in the ordering process.
Any Incomplete orders older than 7 days will automatically be removed from this area.
Note: The most recent incomplete orders may actually still be in ordering process on your website. It is not recommended that you complete an order unless your customer has notified you.
Comments Off | General | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
November 30, 2009
General Website Info:
When you get your Distributor DistributorCentral account, you also get a free website creation software. There is no limit to how many pages or websites you can have or what you can put on your site. We have online video tutorials, training seminars and templates that provide support to help you build your site, but the design work is up to you and your imagination.
DistributorCentral will also host your domain name(s) and your e-mail at no charge. With the customer-friendly version of the DistributorCentral product catalog, your customers can search for products and place orders on your website. If you already have a website of your own, we can provide you with a link for the product catalog and shopping cart that you can put onto your existing site.
DistributorCentral Example Websites:
The DistributorCentral website software is extremely versatile and will accommodate the needs of users with no website design experience and those with years of HTML and website experience. See the list below to see sites within DistributorCentral ranging from simple to advanced.
Simple – simple.dcdistributordemo.com – Basic website design with no HTML/CSS used
Intermediate – www.dcdistributordemo.com – Moderate website design used with high use of graphics and no HTML/CSS used
Advanced – advanced.dcdistributordemo.com – Complex website design with high use of graphics and HTML/CSS
Niche/Target – green.dcdistributordemo.com – Moderate website design with a customized catalog and low use of HTML/CSS
Resource Site
Image Resource Website www.distributorcentral.com/websites/imagesforyourwebsite
Helpful Reference Sites
www.distributorcentral.com/websites/distributor (reference & educational site)
Here is a good site for general website design http://websitehelpers.com/design.
Check out this site to help create images and buttons: http://www.cooltext.com
You have the following options for creating a website in your DistributorCentral account:
1 – You can use our web editor that is included in your DistributorCentral account to design a site. There is no cost involved, however you will need to dedicate time learning our system by watching our website video tutorials.
2 – We have a 99$ website feature where we can design a website for you based off our templates. In your DC account is a list of templates that you can use for our $99.00 website special (one time setup fee, no monthly or reoccurring charges).
3 – If you want a more advanced website, DistributorCentral has partnered with the following people to provide website design using the DistributorCentral software. Each designer works independently and will have his or her own price structure.Contact the designers to inquire about estimated time of completion, the style of your site and other details.
Click here to view their contact information
Comments Off | General | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
November 30, 2009
Every website that utilizes DistributorCentral’s Product Catalog will also have a shopping cart for ordering.
The shopping cart allows for the seller to enter all the payment options that they would like to offer to their customers.
The available payment methods are:
- Credit Card – Collect Info Only – No Processing
- Credit Card – Authorize.net Merchant Account
- Credit Card – Paypal Payflow Pro Merchant Account
- Check / Money Order
- Paypal
- Bill To Account
- Purchase Order
- “We will call you for payment information”
- “I will call you with my payment”
- Pay Later
- Proof Request Only
- No Charge
- Commission Deduct
- Bill to Department Number
Click here to view a guide that lists all of the available options along with an explanation of those available and where you can make those changes.
Comments Off | Account Customizing, Guides, Website Templates, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
November 30, 2009
Why use DistributorCentral for your online order management system?
The Promotional Product industry can be fierce and it’s constantly changing, with no shortage of competition. Distributors need ways to reduce cost while continuing to be efficient and maintaining a high standard of quality and business ethics. DistributorCentral has an online order management system that is distributor focused, and just so happens to be a utility that can help you achieve this. DistributorCentral’s online ordering system provides an alternative solution that can help streamline your business and present you with far more product information than paper catalogs could ever provide. With the advent of the internet, e-commerce, the growing evolution of the paperless world and the mobile office, there is no better time than now to take the leap to DistributorCentral order management.
It Will Save You Time!
- DistributorCentral’s online ordering system alleviates the need for you to have to navigate to multiple supplier websites and learn their ordering system. Having an online ordering system that is distributor focused allows you to have a central location to place and manage your orders, as well as keeping your orders consistent.
Accessibility and Convenience!
- One central location to place all of your orders. Instead of trying to find products by going through stacks of paper catalogs or navigating from website to website, you can use your DistributorCentral account to research and compare products, and place all your orders.
- By keeping things electronic and stored online, you cut down on paper waste in your office as well as save space and memory on your computers hard-drive that can easily get cluttered by orders and artwork files. When orders are placed online they along with artwork files and proofs are stored on our server and will be available for as long as you have your DistributorCentral account.
- The availability to run reports for your orders will help you track your accounts receivable/payable and other accounting numbers. When everything (orders, payments, etc.) are recorded online, reports are literally a few clicks away.
Accurate Orders!
- DistributorCentral allows all of the product information (artwork, proofs, shipping info, etc.) to be presented along with every product. This helps reduce errors and ensures more accurate orders. You also will have the ability to place custom orders for vendors and products that are not listed in DistributorCentral. Once an order is submitted, the information is kept all together in one place, making it easier for you to manage.
Have a Mobile Office!
- Work from home or virtually anywhere with a laptop and a wireless internet card. Using DistributorCentral as your order management system lets you perform all your necessary duties for managing your orders online, allowing you to keep everything accessible from a computer with an internet connection.
Lets Get Started!
Click on the 
button at the top of your account to view our newly revised videos regarding order management. They’ll help you get on the fast track to using DistributorCentral for your online order management system.
Comments Off | Account Customizing, Order Management | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
November 23, 2009
You might notice a new look on your Distributor DC home page. On either side, there are now small Supplier ads. These ads include specials and new products that these Suppliers are offering.
Suppliers pay to provide a system to distributors free of charge and part of that support is through the opportunity to display pertinent ads about specials, new products, and other information to distributors.
If it is found that Distributors feel strongly about this new feature, there may be an “ad-free” version of the DC home page available in the future.
Suppliers: Contact your Account Representative today to display your ad! Call 888-516-7401.
Comments Off | General, Suppliers | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
November 23, 2009
We have added new features that allow you to rate your experience with Suppliers on DistributorCentral.
1. You can rate the overall experience with Suppliers by clicking on the Rate Your Suppliers link on the home page of your DC account.
2. You can also rate your experience with Suppliers on individual orders as well from the summary page of each order.
3. Finally, you can rate quality of supplier product information at the bottom of the details page for each product in DistributorCentral.
Comments Off | New Features | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
November 23, 2009
ATTENTION SUPPLIERS:
When entering your products into your DistributorCentral account, make sure to include plenty of relevant keywords in your product description. Strong product descriptions will make it easier for Distributors to find your products from within their accounts, and will make it easier for them to sell your products on their websites.
Look at these to examples below:
This product has a weak description and virtually no keywords which would make it very difficult to find in the product catalog unless the customer knew the exact product name or number. You should not expect products with descriptions like this to have much success in DistributorCentral.
The Eastwood Series with Metallic Accents
# WAMA-150
The Eastwood Series with Metallic Accents
This product on the other hand has a great product description with lots of keywords which makes it easy to find with keyword searches and will help the Distributors sell the product on their websites since end customers will know more about the product and feel more comfortable purchasing it.
Chubs Widebody Ballpoint Pen w/ Rubber Grip
# 5003 Widebody Ballpoint Pen w/ Grip
As the name denotes, this pen is a bit thick (or Chubbier, if you will). Great for your advertising message to stand out with its translucent barrel. Choose a black imprint on the yellow or a silver or white on the other colors to. Black rubber grip with chrome colored accents. This is a wide body, retractable, grip, click, ball point pen.
• This is one of our many great looking ink pens
• This pen is a great writing instrument for advertisements
such as bank accessories, real estate, office supplies, health care or many other business.
• Med. Point Black Ink
• Comes in 5 different colors
Products with strong descriptions like the example above, not only improve the integrity of the product catalog on DistributorCentral, but also help Distributors increase your sales. Take pride in your products, it may take a little more time to add strong descriptions, but it will be well worth the effort.
Visit this site to get ideas for keywords to add to your products in DistributorCentral,
http://www.google.com/sktool/#
Visit this site to learn more about optimizing your products and about Preferred Product Placement,
www.distributorcentral.com/websites/pso
Comments Off | Suppliers, Tips | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
November 18, 2009
Distributors, are you letting your Suppliers know where you find their products? You should.
When you tell your Suppliers how you found them and their data, you are benefiting yourself and the Supplier. A Supplier usually budgets a certain amount of money each year for advertising and marketing. If they don’t find a benefit in advertising a certain way, they will stop.
This benefits you as the Distributor because you are insuring that you will continue to be able to find this Suppliers products and this Supplier will continue to provide you these free services. Also by “Getting the word out”, you will be helping to bring more quality Suppliers to our database of products.
This benefits the Supplier because they know where they are getting the greatest benefit and Return on Investment.
So, the next time that you call a Supplier, make sure to mention “I found your products on DistributorCentral.”
Comments Off | Products, Suppliers | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
November 13, 2009
There is a new feature offered that would allow you to edit your website while in “Preview” mode rather than going directly into the website editor.
You can try this by following these steps below:
- Log into your DistributorCentral account
- Go to Website Menu> Add/Edit Websites
- Click on Edit to the Right of your website
- Here at the top right you will see a new Preview link. It will say “Edit/Preview“
When your Preview window opens, you can hover your mouse over your content and it will turn yellow. If you click on any of that content, the system will open up the website editor to the area where you can make that change.
When you save that change, the editor window will close and the preview will refresh automatically.
Remember to Publish Your Changes.
Comments Off | Customize, New Features, Website Templates, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
November 11, 2009
It is that time of year again!
Suppliers, remember to update your products and pricing on DistributorCentral.
There are a couple of ways to accomplish this. . .
1. For Pricing updates, you can export the Pricing spreadsheet from your account under Products>Add/Edit Products.
This will allow you to update all of your product pricing including product setup charges.Then you just send it back to info@distributorcentral.com and we will update the system.
2. For product additions, you can add those directly to the system from inside your DistributorCentral account OR you can contact DistributorCentral for details and timelines if you would like us to add your new products.
If you would like to do this yourselves, there are many resources we offer if you need any help.
You can view our Product Setup Tutorial, use our Product Setup Manual , and you can give us a call or email if you have any questions.
Comments Off | Suppliers | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
November 11, 2009
Distributors, you have the capability of controlling the minimum order total that you will accept from your DistributorCentral shopping cart.
There have been some Distributor concerns regarding the minimum order that they want to accept.
There is a preference in your account where you can set that amount.
To find this preference:
1. Log in to your DistributorCentral account.
2. Go to Account Menu>> Preferences>> Website Preferences.
3. Pick your website that you would like to set a minimum order amount by selecting “Website Preferences” to the right of that site name.
4. Then click on Orders in the left, white column.
5. Here scroll down towards the bottom and find “What is the minimum order total you will process?”
6. Type in the minimum order you will process. This is the retail total amount.
7. Select Save at the top of the page in the right corner.
8. Now you need to Publish your Website to make those changes live on your DC shopping cart.
If a customer goes to your website and tries to complete an order that totals under the amount that you have specified, it will not allow them to submit the order and it will give them this message at the top of the Order Review Page:
They also don’t have the “Finish” button for the order, they can only “Add Another Product” or “Cancel Order.”
Comments Off | Account Customizing, General, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
November 5, 2009
DistributorCentral makes it easy for you to place a reorder for orders that you currently have in your account.
To do this:
- First, on the home page in your account, go the the Order Search section
- Then key in the Order Number that you would like to place the reorder for (you can also search by PO Number, Cutomer Name or Phone Number – see step 1 below)
Reorder Step 1
- Next Click on the Reorder button at the top right portion of the page (see step 2 below)
Reorder Step 2
- You will then be prompted to specify which type of reorder it is, such as An Exact Reorder (same product and no changes in imprint or artwork), A Reorder With Changes (same product, but has changes in artwork or other options) or Rework Of Previous Order (generally used if there was an error on the previous order)
- Then review your order and Save or Send it
Comments Off | Helpful Articles, Order Management, Tips | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
November 3, 2009
We have added a new feature that allows you to quickly send your customers “reorder reminder notices” for orders that they have placed from your website.
To take advantage of this feature:
- You can set a reminder date from summary page of each order
- Or, you can set a reminder date for all of your orders at once, by clicking on the number link in the Customer Reorder Reminders area on the home page in your account
- Next, you can customize a message that will be emailed to your customers regarding the reorder reminder, and send it to your customer(s)
- The email that you customer will receive will look similar to the image below. They’ll be able to click on the Place Your Order Today! link which will send then directly the the order confirmation page for that product. Note, if you test this feature, you’ll want to log out of your DistributorCentral account prior to clicking on the Place Your Order Today! link.
You can also setup preferences in your account for your reorder reminders. To do this, go to the Account Menu >> Preferences >> Account Preferences, then click on the Orders tab.
You can put in the amount of days to control how often orders display on your reorder reminder list. For example, if you would like orders reminders to show up once a year for each order, put 365 in the reorder reminder date field (see image below).
You can also create a default message that will automatically display for your reorder reminder emails (see image below).
Comments Off | Account Customizing, New Features, Tips | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
October 16, 2009
Animated GIF’s are images containing a series of GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) graphics that are displayed in rapid sequence in a web browser, giving the appearance of a moving picture. They are a great way to catch you website visitors attention and to show many product images without having to take up a lot of space on your site.
Here is how to create them using Adobe PhotoShop and ImageReady…
Step One: Compile each image or frame that you would like displayed in the animated GIF on its own layer in PhotoShop
Step One
Step Two: Click on the ImageReady icon at the botton of the tool bar in PhotoShop
Step Two
Step Three: Create frames in ImageReady by clicking on the >> icon and set the display times for each frame. You can also add fading effects from frame to frame by using the Tween option.
Step Three
Step Four: Save the image using the Saved Optimized As option
Step Four
That’s it. If you are using this for a website, just upload it like a normal JPG or GIF file.
There is a fine line between using animated graphics on your website as a tasteful method to display information to your visitors and having them be distracting. We suggest that you use only one per page.
Click here to view premade animated GIF’s that you can use on your website.
Comments Off | Tips, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
October 15, 2009
Suppliers and Distributors,
We’ve added a file uploader that you can add to your DistributorCentral website. This will allow your website visitors/customers to upload artwork to you and even assign it to a PO that you have in your DistributorAccount.
Click here to see an example.
To add this feature to your website:
- Edit the website page that you would like to have uploader on
- Choose File Uploader from the content drop-down menu
- Indicate the email address that you would like the artwork upload notification sent to (see image below)
- Click Save at the bottom of the page and then publish your website to apply the changes
If you would like a file upload notification on the Home page of your DistributorCentral account that indicates that you’ve have recieved new uploaded files:
- Go to the Account Menu
- Select Preferences and then Account Preferences
- Click on the Orders menu on the left side of the page
- then select Yes for the file upload preference (see image below)
Comments Off | Customize, New Features, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
October 15, 2009
Suppliers and Distributors,
We’ve just added a feature that allows you to adjust the print size on your Customer Orders, Invoices, and Supplier POs. This will allow you to fit all of the order information on one page if it happens to overflow to the second page.
It’s located in the upper left hand area of the Summary Page for your orders.
Comments Off | General, Helpful Articles, New Features | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
October 7, 2009
We have added a new feature that will allow Distributors to do a keyword search in their DistributorCentral account and receive results not only from our product database but they can also receive results for matching Supplier PDF catalogs and Supplier email flyers!
To try this, just do a keyword search in your account. For example, try “magnet.” You will see 2 new tabs above your product search results, SupplierCatalog and SupplierEmail.
If you click on either of those tabs, you will see any Supplier Catalogs or Emails that match your search criteria. You can browse through their catalogs page by page or view all their advertised specials in one area.
This would allow you to access even more resources to research products than we could provide you as a distributor before.
Each Supplier has access to upload their PDF catalogs and flyers, so feel free to ask your favorite Suppliers to do so if you don’t see them currently there!
Suppliers-
You can submit your Email flyers by adding upload@supplieremail.com to your email lists or just forward any of your recent email flyers to that address.
You can upload your catalogs by following the below instructions:
- Log into your account at www.distributorcentral.com
- Go to Products Menu and down to Upload PDF Catalogs
- Browse your computer and select the PDF catalog that you would like to upload
- Name the catalog
- Then select Save to upload the file ( it could take a few minutes depending on the file size)
Your catalogs must be less than 30 MB file size for upload, so you may need to split it up.
Let us know if you have any questions!
Comments Off | Catalogs, General, New Features, Suppliers | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
September 24, 2009
Suppliers, you can now upload your PDF catalogs so that they display when Distributors conduct keyword searches in DistributorCentral.
Here’s how to upload your PDF catalogs in your DC account
- Go to the Products Menu and select Upload PDF Catalogs
- Click on the Add New Catalog link
- Indicate your Catalog Name, Display Start and End Dates, then browse your computer to select the file to upload (see image below)
Important Info In Regards To Uploading Your PDF Catalogs
• The maximum file size that you can upload is 30MB. If your catalog is larger than 30MB, you’ll need to separate it into several parts and upload them individually.
• Be sure that you do not convert the text in your PDF catalog to outlines. If you do this, the keywords for your catalog will not be able to be indexed when searched for in DistributorCentral.
Comments Off | Catalogs, Suppliers | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
September 23, 2009
Search Engine Optimization can make your DistributorCentral website more successful for your company.
Below is a link to a document that could be helpful for you to optimize your website for search engines. This document is specifically targeted to optimizing your website for Google.
Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide PDF
Comments Off | General, Resources, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
September 16, 2009
The rapidly growing use of community and social marketing sites has led to numerous requests for additional functionality within DistributorCentral to help our users more easily interact with these types of services. One of these requests has been addressed with a new feature that allows you to instantly “share” a product or website content with friends or their favorite social websites such as Facebook, Twitter, their blog, and more. A new website preference allows you to display a “SHARE” button on the catalog page that enables you, or your customers, to quickly share information with a wide range of 3rd party tools. By default this button will appear on your websites; if you wish to turn it off it is located under the “General” section when editing your website preferences.
The default tool is a product from AddThis.com which enables compatible sharing with AIM, Amazon Wishlist, Ask, Backflip, BallHype, Bebo, Blogger, Blogmarks, Buzz, Delicious, Digg, Diigo, Email, Facebook, Fark, Faves, Favorites, FriendFeed, Google, Hatena, Kaboodle, kIRTSY, Link-a-Gogo, LinkedIn, Live, Menéame, Mister Wong, Mixx, Multiply, myAOL, MySpace, Netvibes, Netvouz, Newsvine, Nujij, Plaxo, Print, Propeller, Reddit, Segnalo, Simpy, Slashdot, StumbleUpon, Stylehive, Technorati, ThisNext, Tip’d, Tumblr, Twitter, TypePad, WordPress, Y! Bookmarks, and Yardbarker. New sharing sites are routinely being added.
If you have an account with AddThis.com, ShareThis.com, or other 3rd party tools you can also use a second new preference (“Custom Share Button”) which allows you to insert your own HTML/JavaScript code in lieu of the default button. By registering for an account with these services you can track the use of the SHARE button on your site as part of your ongoing marketing and traffic research efforts. In general you would not use both of these preferences at the same time, but rather use either the stock SHARE button or custom code that you obtain from one of the share button providers.
To access these website preferences:
- Go to the Website Sites meneu and select Add/Edit Websites
- Click on the the Preferences link for your website
- Click on the Catalog tab
- Scroll down to the bottom of the page (see image below)
Comments Off | New Features, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
August 13, 2009
DistributorCentral has added a new payment type “Proof Request Only” which you can add in addition to “Credit Card” which can help get orders from your website closed at a higher rate (see image below). If you apply this payment type, you will have to ask your customer for credit card info after the proof has been approved. Some distributors have decided it is better to get to a proof than to require credit card info on all orders.
To apply this new payment type:
- Go to the Account menu
- Select Payment and then Payment Setup
- Move over the Request Proof Only preference (see image below)
- Click on Save, you will not need to publish your website
Comments Off | Account Customizing, Customize, Websites | Permalink
Posted by distributorcentral
