Sending s and Texts

Transcription

1 4HONLINE Sending s and Texts Created: October 23, 2013 Revised: October 24, 2013 (Corrected document title and added texting on page 3.) Revised: November 4, 2014 (Update to 4HOnline changed screens and added option for ing managers.) OVERVIEW You can send s from inside 4HOnline, bypassing the need to create an report, export to Excel, and copy/paste addresses to Outlook. You can also send text messages from 4HOnline, bypassing the need to use your cell phone. With some preparation up front, this can be an incredibly valuable tool for you to use with your 4-H members and families. You can even merge database fields into them to create personalized s/texts. SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS BY CREATING COMMON REPORT FILTERS The broadcast module does not have its own filter system/function; instead it relies on filters that have been set on CUSTOM reports. In theory, you COULD try to remember to set up a report with the correct filters each time you plan to send an , but in reality, it s going to be much easier to set up those filters ahead of time, so you can just select and use them in s. You can either start from scratch and create a simple custom report, or you can start with the one that is in Shared reports (State -> Projects folder): DairyCow. It makes absolutely no difference what fields are on your report does not have to include addresses. The only important thing is how you set the filters. Start by highlighting DairyCow (in Shared) and click Memorize Report. Rename it just the way it is already named because it s logical. Remember that it is now in CUSTOM (which is what we want). The report will open on the Standard 1

2 Filters screen. Notice that it is set for the Dairy project, primary club only, youth, active-incompletepending. That s what you need to get all the youth (currently enrolled or in the process of enrolling) who are signed up for the Dairy project this year. (If you want project leaders included, you d need to add Adults and they d have to have the project on their record). Click the Reports icon at the top to see your list of folders. Highlight Custom, and then click Add Folder (this is going to make your life easier). Call it Broadcast Filters. Locate the DairyCow report you memorized into Custom, and drag it up to the new folder. You have to drop it exactly IN to the folder (green checkmark) for it to stick. If you drop it a little bit below or above, it won t work. Now, highlight DairyCow again, and click Copy Report. Name this one for another project (like Dogs). Change the standard filter by clicking on the Projects tab, removing the Dairy project (the << button) and adding the Dog project (the >> button). Scroll to the bottom of the page and click SAVE (or plan to do it over.) Click back on the Report icon. Drag the Dog report into the Broadcast Filters folder, again being sure to drop it ON the folder, not above or below. Copy one of the reports again, and set it up for another project. Keep doing this until you ve identified all the projects that you think will be used for sending s to participants. CLUBS copy a project report, name it for a club, and change the standard filter from the project to that club. Copy that for all your clubs. OTHER FILTERS if you have a report set up with the filters exactly the way you want them for some group (club leaders, newsletter mailing, whatever ) copy that report and also move it into the Broadcast Filters report, naming it for the filter, not for the format. When you re done, your Broadcast Filters folder should contain a list of reports named for the folks who will show up on them for the filter, not for the format. The fields that are on these reports are completely irrelevant. All that matters is the filter. 2

3 NOW YOU CAN SEND BROADCAST S!! Click on the Connect tab at the top of the 4HOnline screen, then Broadcast s icon, then the Add Broadcast link near the upper left. Enter a title for your one that will help you identify it. That will not be your subject line, just an identifier for you. Click Create . Setup screen: The title appears as you typed it above, and can be edited. Enter the subject line for the . Send to Members, Families or Managers: o Members sends the to the account associated with the member. That MAY also be the family , depending on how the info was entered. o Families sends the to the family account the one they log in with. o Managers sends the to 4HOnline managers (club managers). Send to Unsubscribed: o (checked) sends to everyone on the list, no unsubscribe option at the bottom of the message. o (unchecked) includes unsubscribe option, filters out anyone who has previously clicked on that. Remove Unsubscribe Link o (checked) no unsubscribe option at the bottom of the message. Click Continue to save your settings and go on. (Exit or Delete if you want to back out of the Use My As Reply-To: o (checked) recipients who click Reply will send a response to your county 4HOnline o (unchecked) the comes from no-reply@4honline.com and recipients cannot reply. Click Continue to save your settings and go on. (Save, then Exit or Delete to back out of the 3

4 Layout screen: Type in your message. You have a pretty full-function text editor so you can format your text similar to how you would do that in Word. Merge fields: o If you selected family back on the first screen, you only see fields that are associated with families. o If you didn t select family, you see fields associated with individual member records. o With your cursor where you want the merge field, just double click on the appropriate field from the Field Selection box. You can close that box if you don t use merge fields. Hyperlinks: o Highlight the text that you need to be the link. o Click the Hyperlink icon at the top of the screen (looks like 2 links of a chain). o Type in the URL for the link. To send a text message, use the bottom box. Click Continue to save your settings and go on. (Save, then Exit or Delete to back out of the Recipient Selection screen: Click on Select Report. This opens a snapshot into Custom reports. Locate the report(s) with the filter that you want to use. Note that you can include more than one report. The will automatically remove duplicates in the settings at right, if a member is enrolled in both Dairy Cattle and Dogs, the family would only receive one message even if they have 3 kids in those projects. Click Save. 4

5 You ll see a list of who s going to receive the . Remember that there will only be one message per address, regardless of how many times the address is listed. Depending on what you selected for recipients on the Setup screen, you will see one of three boxes on the left. Check the boxes for which additional addresses you wish to send to. Click Continue. Send Status screen: Click the Send Now box, then click Finish. At that point there s no going back. o Your will be sent to the 4HOnline mail server, and labeled pending. Within 15 minutes, it will send, and then be marked as having been sent. o You can view details of how many messages were sent, and an estimate of how many were opened. That is not an exact science, because some clients do not record messages as opened. University of Wisconsin, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Wisconsin counties cooperating. UW- Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming including Title IX and ADA. 5