As small business owners, we have a lot of things to do and every moment counts. So if you find yourself typing the same information over and over again, there are quicker ways to do it. One way is using a text expander. Let me show you how to save time by using a text expander to add UTM coding to your UTM links.
UTM Links
In a previous post, UTM Links: How do you know your ad campaign is effective?, I discussed the importance of using UTM links to help track the success of your campaigns. I also showed different ways to create UTM links. I am going to add text expander to the list.
Text Expander
Basically, a text expander takes a short bit of text and exchanges it for a large piece of text. With only a couple of keystrokes, you can write volumes of text.
I use text expanders for signature blocks, my affiliate link disclaimer, and introduction letters to new followers. This article, Save Time and Energy with Autotext, explains more about text expanders.
There are many different text expander tools for both Macs and PCs. I personally use Phrase Express.
- 10 Text Expanders To Boost Your Typing & Texting Speed
- Top 5 Best Text Expander Apps for Windows
- What are the best text expansion apps for OS X?
Examples of Text Expansion for UTMs
Here are a couple of examples of the shortcode I use for my UTM add-on:
;utme – ?utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=bookreview&utm_source=edgar
;utmp – ?utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=bookreview&utm_source=pinterest
When I want to change a link to a UTM link, I simply type the shortcode to the end of a link. For example:
https://tubarksblog.com/2017/12/10/book-review-the-100-startup-reinvent-the-way-you-make-a-living-do-what-you-love-and-create-a-new-future/;utme becomes
https://tubarksblog.com/2017/12/10/book-review-the-100-startup-reinvent-the-way-you-make-a-living-do-what-you-love-and-create-a-new-future/?utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=bookreview&utm_source=edgar
Creating UTM Links for MeetEdgar and Pinterest
With a text expander, I can speed up the process for converting links into UTM links while adding links to MeetEdgar or Tailwind, my Pinterest scheduler. Let me show you how I would do this in MeetEdgar.
1. Navigate to the page you want to add to MeetEdgar.
2. Click on the MeetEdgar tool.
3. Add the shortcode to the end of the URL in MeetEdgar.
4. Once it expands, select your other options and save it to the library.
A text expander is a great way to save time while improving your shared links. You can quickly create UTM links with only a couple of keystrokes.
