Creating and sending a newsletter

New newsletter

1. In the menu, go to Newsletter and click Newsletters.
2. Create a new newsletter with the button at the top of the list.
3. Fill in the Subject. Under Preview text you can add a short grey line that many email programs show after the subject. On the right, you can see straight away how the email will look in an inbox.
4. In the newsletter, click the Title or the Introduction. A window opens: write the main heading and, if you like, a personal note, then click Save. In the introduction you can make text bold or italic, add a bulleted list and add links (with a full address, for example https://www.yourwebsite.com/contact/).

At the top, under Sender, you choose the sender name, the sender address and where replies arrive. If you leave them empty, your default from Settings → Email applies (see Sending email from your own address).

You can save a newsletter and carry on later. Only once you send it is it fixed.

Multilingual website?

Then the subject and preview text show all languages one below the other, each with a language tag after it (NL, EN …). In the window for the title the languages are also listed one below the other; for the introduction you choose the language with the tags above it. Use the language tags next to the preview to view the newsletter in one language; the items appear in that language automatically. Translate now (next to Subject and preview) translates the empty languages straight away: subject, preview text, title and introduction. Anything you filled in yourself stays as it is; empty a text if you want it translated again. An orange dot means: not translated yet. Subscribers receive the newsletter in their own language. Not translated? Then they receive the main language.

Placing items in the boxes

Under Content you see the newsletter as it will look, in the style of your website. An empty box has a blue dotted line.

1. Click Place an item.
2. Choose the collection, for example Posts, Events or Portfolio (you only see what your website has). Or choose Pages to show a page of your website, for example a landing page or a promotion page. You only see pages that are on your website. If your website has Sponsors, you can also choose Sponsor (one featured sponsor with a large logo, name and short text) or Sponsor group (for example all your main sponsors with their logos in one block). Clicking a logo goes to the sponsor page of your website. A Photo album appears with its title, date and number of photos, with the main photo large and two other photos small next to it; clicking goes to the album on your website. A download appears with its title, short description and file type (for example PDF · 1.2 MB), with the button Download the file. If your website has Reviews, you can also choose Review (one review featured with stars, heading, quote and the name as shown on your website) or Review score (the average with stars and the number of reviews, of All reviews or of one tag). A click opens your reviews page.
3. Choose the item or page. You can also search. It appears neatly laid out in the box straight away: for a page, with the first photo, the heading and the start of the text of that page, plus a link to it. Want a different text or photo? Fill in the Description for the page (Page settings → Findability) or choose an Image when shared; those are then used. If the page has no photo, your logo is shown.

• Other item or Remove: move your mouse over a filled box.
• Wide or narrow: to the right of each row (on a narrow screen: above it, as soon as your mouse is on the row) there are two small buttons: 1 wide box or 2 narrower boxes side by side. On a phone, two boxes appear one below the other.
• Order: move over a row; below the buttons, arrows appear to move the row up or down, and a red bin to remove it.
• New row: below the last row, click + Add row. It already contains an empty box.
• Quick: click Add the latest at the top. The latest posts and upcoming events are added.

Empty boxes are left out of the email. Don't forget to save.

Check it first

• Preview: opens the newsletter as it will appear in the email.
• Test email to me: sends the newsletter to your own email address. That way you can see how it looks in your own email program and on your phone.

Just changed something? Save first; then these buttons work again.

Sending

1. In the Newsletters list, click the envelope icon (with the arrow) next to the newsletter, or click Send in the newsletter itself.
2. Tick one or more Groups, for example Online aanmelding (online sign-ups) and Clients. You can see straight away how many unique email addresses the newsletter will go to. If someone is in two groups, they still only receive it once.
3. Want to see it once more? Click View preview or Send me a preview.
4. At the top you see the sender and where replies arrive. If there is no reply address yet, choose one first (Settings → Email).
5. Click Send. The CMS asks whether you are sure, showing the number of addresses and roughly how long sending will take. Click Yes, send.

The newsletter is sent gradually, spread over time. That way it is delivered better and doesn't end up in spam. You can simply close the CMS; sending carries on.

While sending

• In the menu, a green dot flashes next to Newsletters. In the list, the row is light blue and you can see how far it has got.
• Click View progress for the Sending overview: how many have been sent, a bar with the percentage and the most recent addresses.
• You can simply close the window, or the whole CMS. Sending carries on.
• Something wrong after all? Click Emergency stop. Sending stops immediately; the rest won't receive it.

Report

When everything has been sent (or after an emergency stop), you see a Report at the envelope icon: when it started and finished, how many newsletters were sent successfully, how many failed and how many were skipped because someone unsubscribed in the meantime. You also receive the same summary by email.

Want to know exactly who received it? In the list, click the Delivery report icon (or Delivery report in the sending window). You see every address with its status and the date and time it was sent. You can search and filter, and with Download (CSV) you can open the list in Excel. If you sent the newsletter more than once, each time is listed as a separate Round: when, by whom, to which groups and who received it then.

Under Statistics, an orange dot appears in the chart on the day you sent the newsletter. Point at it to see the subject and the number of addresses. That way you can see whether more visitors came to your website afterwards.

Sending again

A newsletter never reaches the same address twice. If you send it again later, for example to a group you have just added or after an emergency stop, click Send again (new and failed addresses). It then only goes to addresses that haven't received it yet, and addresses where sending failed before are tried once more. Anyone who already received it won't get it again. The CMS shows how many addresses will be skipped.

You can no longer change a newsletter once it has been sent. Create a new one for next time.

Who receives the newsletter?

• Under Newsletter → Subscribers you see everyone who has signed up, with their groups, whether the sign-up has been confirmed and the sign-up date. You can filter by status and group.
• Anyone who signs up on your website first receives an email with a button to confirm the sign-up. Only then do they receive the newsletter. That way, nobody can sign someone else up. Online sign-ups automatically go into the Online aanmelding group.
• Use Edit to put someone in other groups. You can create a new group, such as Clients, right there.
• Several at once: tick the addresses at the start of the list (Shift+click ticks a whole range, the tick box at the top ticks everything you see). In the bar choose Add group, Remove group or Delete. Removing someone from a group does not unsubscribe them. Esc or Clear selection removes the ticks.
• Import: paste a list of email addresses (separated by commas or each on its own line), choose the groups and tick that you have permission. People who have already signed up are added to the chosen groups; anyone who ever unsubscribed is skipped. Every import is listed in the Import log.
• You can also add a single person, but only if that person gave permission, for example on a registration form.
• At the bottom of every newsletter there is a link to unsubscribe. Anyone who does so won't receive it any more.

No Newsletter in your menu?

The newsletter is not included as standard. Your website also needs a sign-up form. Get in touch with Windkracht if you want to use it.