Personalized mail merge

You can connect Skrol to your Gmail, Apple, Outlook, Yahoo, or any other email account that supports SMTP to send personalized messages to anyone individually or in a group directly from Skrol (i.e., without opening an email app).

Mail merge right from your phone helps you send repetitive emails on the go to organize small events or other similar tasks. It's particularly important when caught in an emergency and needing to contact a large group of people right away. With Skrol, you can do so with just a few taps, including dictating your message inside the app.

Skrol isn't a substitute for full-fledged email marketing services like MailChimp or Constant Contacts. Its advantages are that it's connected to your personal or work email address, works with contacts you already have, offers far greater privacy, doesn't cost you a penny, is dead simple to use, and is always with you!

The illustration on the left shows a personalized email message in preview mode before sending it to 12 invited people.

Interactive templates for texting

You can create any number of messaging templates that can include a person's name, time, day, duration, and location. This way, you can send informative texts in seconds with zero typing. Here is a typical example:

"Hi, [First name]! Sorry, I am delayed by traffic and expect to be [DURATION] late! Please call me back at (My mobile number) if you can't keep the meeting."

When you select this template, Skrol will present you with the "Select duration" list from 5 to 60 minutes so that the final message will look like this:

"Hi, Emily! Sorry, I am delayed by traffic and expect to be 40 minutes late! Please call me back at 201-555-3456 if you can't keep the meeting."

You need only five taps to send this personalized and informative message while the car isn't moving. And it's even faster than dictating one with Siri.

You can send similar interactive texts to groups or a selection of several people, but without personalization because smartphones don't support it.

Organizing templates

Email templates are a time-saver when sending quick, pre-formatted responses to everyday situations, such as invitations, appointment confirmations, or standard responses to clients.

Also, well-crafted templates eliminate typographical errors, which is particularly helpful when typing on a tiny glass display. With Skrol, you can:

1. Create an unlimited number of templates and template folders right on your iPhone.
2. Include all available fields in the email's subject and message text for personalization.
3. Send a single or group message based on the template in seconds.
4. Preview and exclude messages you'll be sending to a group;
5. Cancel mail merge within a user-selectable amount of time in case of accidental send.

The illustration on the left shows a list of folders with email templates related to a single subject.

Mail merge to individuals

To send an email 'the old-fashioned way,' you would normally (1) close the active app; (2) locate the email app icon on the Home page;  (3) tap the icon to open the app; (4) tap the Compose button to open the New message page; (5) Tap the To: field; (6) start typing the name of the person; and (7) tap the right name from the drop-down list. You are now ready to write a message.

Depending on your skills, these seven steps take 20 to 40 seconds. Not a lot, but it's still a hassle for a frequent mailer.

Let's do the same with Skrol: (1) swipe the person's name in the List view; (2) tap the email icon, (3) tap the Compose new... command from the menu, and Skrol opens the New message page of your preferred email app, so you start typing the message in under 10 to 15 seconds.

Alternatively, you can select the Use template... command, select a pre-written template from the list, and email a perfectly formatted and error-free personalized message in less than 30 seconds.

Mail merge to groups or selected contacts

The three-dot menu above the alphabet and illustrated on the left manages the sending of emails to groups or a selection of random contacts in the list.

Just like with a message to a single person, you can use the Compose new... command to write and send an ad hoc message using your preferred email app.

The Use template... command does the same but adds a template text to the email's body. You can also modify the message before sending it like a regular email.

In both cases, the list of the people in the group will be added to the Carbon or Blind Copy field, depending on your preferred settings.

The Personalized mail merge... command works with templates containing contact-related merge fields, such as first and last names, salutations, company names, and others. This mode requires the valid SMTP settings described in previous slides.

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