Best Practices for Sharing Online Viewing Room Links | ARTERNAL Help Center
Best Practices for Sharing Online Viewing Room Links
Learn when to use Contact Association or Email-on-Entry when sharing OVR links, plus best practices for tracking engagement inside ARTERNAL.
Written by Kalila Richards
December 2, 2025
Understanding Your Link Access Options
When creating an OVR link, you’ll see two options under the General section:
1. Contact Association
Assigns the OVR link to a specific contact so you can track their activity.
2. Ask for Email on Entry
Requires visitors to enter their email before viewing the OVR.
When to Use Each Option
Scenario 1 — Sharing the link via SmartMail (recommended)
If you’re sending the OVR through ARTERNAL SmartMail:
- You don’t need to enable Contact Association
- You don’t need to ask for email on entry
SmartMail automatically tracks exactly who opens and interacts with the link.
Scenario 2 — Sharing the link publicly (website, social media, newsletters)
If the link will be viewed by people you don’t already know:
✔ Turn on “Ask for Email on Entry.”
✘ Use Contact Association
This allows you to collect new email addresses and avoids anonymous “visitor” activity in your insights.
Scenario 3 — Sending the link privately outside ARTERNAL (WhatsApp, SMS, personal email)
If you’re sending the OVR one-to-one and already know who the recipient is:
✔ Use Contact Association
✘ Do not require email on entry — this may create unnecessary friction.
This ensures activity logs directly under the correct contact.
Tip: Quickly Duplicate OVR Links for Different Audiences
You can duplicate an OVR link to create multiple versions — for example:
- One link with email-on-entry
- One link without it
- One version per VIP client
This helps you maintain consistent design without rebuilding each link.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Do I need to enable anything when using SmartMail?
A: No — SmartMail already tracks who opened the link and what they clicked.
Q: Why does my report show “visitor” instead of a contact name?
A: This happens when the OVR was shared outside ARTERNAL without email-on-entry enabled or without a contact association.
Q: Will asking for email on entry annoy my clients?
A: For personalized one-to-one sharing, use Contact Association instead. Reserve email-on-entry for public or unknown-audience links.
Q: Can I create multiple versions of the same OVR?
A: Yes! Use the Duplicate function to keep the same layout, images, and fonts without rebuilding.