The new Two Bright Lights is packed with improvements. Without further ado, our quick guide below will get you up to speed in no time flat.
The New Navigation
Dashboard
The dashboard features a number of tools to simplify the Two Bright Lights’ experience. The Featured Publications showcases magazines and blogs that are new to Two Bright Lights and are actively seeking more submissions. The Submission Request section on the right side displays specific editorial requests. The bottom of your Dashboard highlights which publications have accepted your albums for publication.
Albums and Images
The updated Albums Tab features streamlined functionality and is much prettier! We incorporated the image gallery functionality into the albums tab to make much faster to find a specific image. The left navigation offers direct access to images, specific albums, or inspiration boards.
Upon opening an album (by clicking the thumbnail), the images and album info are displayed. The new Edit Album right navigation panel is a powerhouse of functionality. This panel is the place to add vendors, add album details, change the album cover and see the publication history.
We’ve also spruced up the image options. Selecting an image is a breeze with our new hover feature. Once an image is selected, tagging, sharing, downloading is easily done with one click. To mark an image a favorite just toggle the star icon on or off if you want to remove the favorite designation.
Submissions
The Submission Tab now utilizes a left hand navigation which offers simple sorting and tallies the number of albums in each status. We’ve eliminated the extra work of re-entering the album story (editing is available) to make submissions much faster than before.
Members
The Members Tab includes the previous contacts tab functionality with additional enhancements. This tab offers access to the bio pages of the publications with the option of marking favorites. Editor bio pages of the are accessed via this tab (click Browse Publications). We’ve added a personal feature history with the new My Publications function which makes it simple to find contact information as needed.
The member tab is the go to spot for updating contact information of the businesses associated with various albums. Check this area to ensure your colleagues are able to receive proper credit and notification of their features.
New Features
Inspiration Boards
We’ve amped up our inspiration board functionality significantly. Images are easily found with an internal search and display function (on the lefthand side) and now you can customize to your heart’s content! The template options are endless with new splitting and merging cell functionality.
Video
Editors love image and video combinations so we’ve made it easier to include video information. A vimeo link can be added in Album Story section (found in Edit Album- Album Info). It is important to attach the videographer in addition to the Vimeo link to ensure proper crediting.
Album Story
Previously the album story was added during the submission process. Now it is readily accessed outside of the submission process and easily editable. Plus, as an added perk anyone attached to the album can add to and edit the album story. The Album Story option is found under Edit Album.
Cover Letter
Thanks to member feedback we’ve added an optional cover letter feature for submissions to allow for increased personalization. A cover letter is a great way to increase the chances of acceptance and helps submissions stand out.
Help Center
Our Help Center received an overhaul too. Head to the Help tab for answers to FAQs, register for webinars, peruse Getting Started Guides or participate in our forum on Get Satisfaction. If you don’t find what you are looking for, we are just an email away and ready to help. Our email is [email protected]
BONUS! Getting Published through TBL = More Traffic for you!
Our home page now features a ticker of recently published members with active links to the feature for traffic boosts. The ticker showcases your logo, business name and a link to your site. To confirm your info is up to date, visit the My Account tab.
Let us know what you think via email at [email protected] We hope you love the improvements! Also if you would like more details please join us for our webinar on February 12 and/or on February 14.
Love the new look!!
I haven’t been able to submit anything since the change. Anyone else having this issue? I’m using Chrome on a PC
Hi Daniella! Thanks for checking in! If you are having trouble submitting if you clear your cache you should be all set. But if you continue to have any issues please feel free to email us at [email protected].
hi! when i signed up my email said you had templates for making marketing pieces..can you tell me where i can find that?
Hi Liv! Yes, we do. When you log into your Two Bright Lights account, go to the albums tab. On the lower left menu, select “Create New” under “Inspiration Boards.” Now you will be able to design inspiration boards using the photos you have uploaded! If you have any further questions, please email me at [email protected]. Thanks!