Creating a Newsletter from Scratch

To create a new Newsletter without using a template or layout, follow these steps:

Step 1        Log into the Digital Communication platform

Step 2        Select the Product Suite product and the Emails module

Step 3        Under the Add New section, click New on the Newsletter card

Step 4        Complete The Basics page

Note: Anything in italics is an optional field as noted below. Some of the fields will auto populate from Account Settings.

• Name
• Description (optional)
• Include in newsletter archive
• Store your email in a folder

Step 5        Click Continue to advance to the Editing your email page

Step 6        Make any changes to the existing items in the template

Step 7        Select the desired email element, and “Click, Drag, and Drop” the corresponding icon into the body of the email being created

• Image
• Text
• Text + Image

Note: When utilizing an IMAGE within the email, the Alt Text will need to contain text that describes what the image represents as it is used when emails are viewed through a viewing impaired app.

• Social
• Copy Cell
• Web Poll
• Submit Button
• Video
• Divider

Step 8        Click and adjust email parameters as needed

• Full Screen (It is necessary to disable this function before moving the the next screen.)
• Toggle Gridlines
• Toggle Resize
• Settings
• Autosave

Step 9        Hover over each cell to Edit, Move, or Delete

• Edit
• Move
• Delete

Step 10      To preview, click the Preview icon

Step 11      Select from the following options:

• Preview On Desktop
• Preview On Mobile
• Send Sample
• Spam Content Check
• Email Client Preview

Note: The preview opens in a new browser window. From that window, you can toggle between preview options. Click on the preferred testing method. The test email will appear in a new browser tab.

Step 12      If a misstep was made and the changes need to be reset, click on the History button

12.1            Hover over the versions in Email History

12.2            Click View to preview the version for each email

12.3            Once the desired version is found, click Revert

Step 13      The system autosaves every minute, but we recommend clicking on Save  on the right side of the menu bar

Note: Clicking the  button is optional, but recommended before proceeding, as this will save time when the email is scheduled for launch. Clicking Validate will identify any missing pieces (e.g., required alt text) or invalid links. If this step is skipped now, validation will happen automatically when the email is scheduled for launch.

Step 14      Click the Inbox Appearance in the top center of the page

Step 15      Complete the Inbox Appearance page

• Email Subject, if needed Use Merge Fields and Use Emoji
• Preview Text, if needed Use Merge Fields
• From
• Reply-to Address

Step 16      Click Continue to advance to the Email Recipients page

Step 17      Drag and Drop the file into the box or click Select Files to browse and select the desired file

Note: The data file must be in a CSV format with the header row located within the first row. The header row cannot contain spaces, numbers, or special characters.

Step 18      To include duplicates, select the check box, if desired

Note: At the completion of the data file being uploaded, the record information will appear under the header of the Map Merge Fields page.

Step 19      Complete the Map Merge Fields page

Note: Mapping is the process of aligning the merge fields created within DocuMatix to the header fields contained in the CSV file.

19.1            Using the drop-down arrow, select the Email Address from the list

19.2            Use the drop-down arrow to select the appropriate field for each required merge field

19.3            Use the drop-down arrow to select the desired Action if blank:

• Use default value: The default value entered will be used in place of a custom value
• Reject record: The email will not be sent to that recipient
• Remove merge field from the email: The merge field will be removed from the email

19.4            If “Use Default Value” action is selected, enter the desired text into the Default value field

19.5            Select the optional fields, if desired

Note:  The Merge fields containing “Custom Field” in the name are optional data fields that can be populated for reporting capabilities but will not be placed in the email.

19.6            Select the launch date if one is present in the file

Note: When selecting a launch date field, if a record contains a blank in the Launch Date field, the email will not be sent out.

19.7            Click Continue.

Note: If the data file contains Invalid and/or Corrupt Records, they will be automatically removed, and the file will be uploaded. Clicking the underlined number to the right of Corrupt Records will open an Excel file which provides reasons the records were classified as corrupt. Invalid Records indicate there is missing data and Corrupt Records indicate that an email address is not in the correct format.

Step 20      To continue, click Next

Step 21      Click Schedule Launch. For more information, please refer to procedure Scheduling an Email Launch (DMX375).

Article Reference: DMX328