Online Help

Help Table of Contents

Managing Distributed Email Content

The Distributed Email Content application allows an organization to gather content from affiliates or members and present the content to designated constituents in email messages. Use Distributed Email Content to maintain regional newsletters.

To set up and manage Distributed Email Content, log in as an administrator, click Email, and select Distributed Email Content.

For information about responding to content requests as a contributor, refer to Responding to Requests to Contribute Content.

Understanding Distributed Email Content

Follow these steps to manage distributed email content:

Set up the Audience and Contributors.
Define the email Content Types.
Create a Content Request.
Create the email campaign and message template and link the message to the Content Request.
Send the request for content.
Manage the contributed content.
Preview, test, and send the email.

Setting Up the Audience and Contributors

An Audience and Contributors identifies which staff members, affiliate members, and constituents in your organization can create, edit, submit, approve, reject, or view contributed content. A contributor is a specific administrator or constituent who can create, edit, and submit content. Create the Audience and Contributors once during initial setup and then reuse them with future email message newsletters.

Typically, an Audience and Contributors provides custom content to constituents who reside in a specific state or country, are members of an affiliate organization, are assigned to a security category, or are members of a group.

Note: Refer to the Managing Your Constituents Help page for information about adding contributors to groups from a constituent profile.

Creating an Audience and Contributors

Define who can edit, contribute content to, and view the contributed content in an email message.

To create an Audience and Contributors:

From the Email menu, select Distributed Email Content.
On the Distributed Email Content page, click Audience and Contributors.
On the Audience and Contributors page, click Create Audience and Contributors.
On the Name and Description page:

Type a name for this Audience and Contributors: Use a unique label to identify this Audience and Contributors on the lists and menus that other administrators and your content contributors see. This name is case sensitive. You might use something like Central Texas Chapter or New York Affiliate.

Tip: Establish a naming convention to prevent confusion if your organization has several administrators who work with Audience and Contributors and content contributions.
Select a security category for this Audience and Contributors: Select the administrator or user group that can edit or delete this Audience and Contributors.

Click Next.
On the Select Qualifier page, select who can view content from this Audience and Contributors:

Country is: Select a country. Content contributed by members in this Audience and Contributors appears only to residents of the selected country.
State is: Select a state. Content contributed by members in this Audience and Contributors appears only to residents of the selected state.
Affiliate is: Select an affiliate. Content contributed by members in this Audience and Contributors appears only to constituents in the selected affiliate.
Security Category is the same as the Audience and Contributors: Content contributed by members in this Audience and Contributors appears only to members of groups who can access the content objects.
Group is: Click Select a Group. On the Select Qualifying Group page, select a Group Type and subgroups and then click Save. Content contributed by members in this Audience and Contributors appears only to members in the selected group.
All constituents: Content contributed by members in this Audience and Contributors appears to all constituents.

Click Next.
On the Add Contributors page, type a name or email address in the Constituent Search boxes and click Search. In the Search Results section, click Add As Contributor in the Actions column to add an existing constituent to the Audience and Contributors group with contributor privileges. Repeat this step until you finish defining who can contribute to and view content.
Click Finish.

Note: Contributors must use their Username and Password to log in when they try to access the Contribution pages.

Editing an Audience and Contributors

Use the Edit action to rename an Audience and Contributors, change the security category, change the qualifier, or add contributors and audience members.

To edit an Audience and Contributors:

On the Distributed Email Content page, click Audience and Contributors.
On the Audience and Contributors tab, locate the Audience and Contributors you want to edit and click Edit in the Actions column.
Change the Audience and Contributors name, security category, or qualifier or add contributors and click Next.
When you finish making changes, click Finish.

To remove members from an Audience and Contributors:

On the Distributed Email Content page, click Audience and Contributors.
On the Audience and Contributors tab, locate the Audience and Contributors where you want to remove members and click Edit in the Actions column.
On the Add Contributors page, click Manage Contributors Group.
On the Members page, select the member you want to remove from the Audience and Contributors group and click Remove from Group at the top.
When you finish removing members, close the Members window.
On the Add Contributors page, click Finish.

Archiving and Restoring an Audience and Contributors

Use the Archive action to remove an Audience and Contributors and make it unavailable. Use the Restore action to retore an archived Audience and Contributors when you want to use it again.

To archive an Audience and Contributors:

On the Audience and Contributors tab, locate the Audience and Contributors you want to archive and click Archive in the Actions column. The Current Status changes to Archived.
To remove the archived Audience and Contributors from view, clear the Show Archived Audience and Contributors selection.

To restore an Audience and Contributors from the archives:

On the Audience and Contributors tab, select Show Archived Audience and Contributors to view archived Audience and Contributors on the list.
Locate the Audience and Contributors you want to restore and click Restore in the Actions column. The Current Status changes to Restored.

Defining Content Types

Use Content Types to differentiate multiple content components in the same email message. When you create the email message template, the Content Type controls which content gets inserted into each email section and therefore which content you need to collect for the email message. Content types might include Lead Story Title, Lead Story Byline, and Lead Story Body.

Creating a Content Type

To create a content type:

On the Distributed Email Content page, click the Content Types tab.
Click Create Content Type.
In the Content Type Name box, type a descriptive name that differentiates individual content components in an email. The name must contain only letters, numbers, underscores, or dashes. It cannot contain spaces.
In the Content Type Description box, optionally describe how you intend to use content of this type in an email message.
Click Finish.

Editing a Content Type

Use the Edit action to edit a content type.

To edit a content type:

On the Distributed Email Content page, click the Content Types tab.
Locate the content type you want to edit and click Edit in the Actions column.
Change the Content Type Name or Content Type Description.
Click Finish.

Archiving and Restoring a Content Type

Use the Archive action to remove a content type and make it unavailable. Use the Restore action to restore the archived content type when you want to use it again.

To archive a content type:

On the Distributed Email Content page, click the Content Types tab.
Locate the content type you want to archive and click Archive in the Actions column. The Active Status changes to Archived.
To remove the archived content types from the list, clear the Show Archived Content Types selection.

To restore a content type from the archives:

On the Distributed Email Content page, click the Content Types tab.
Select Show Archived Content Types to make the archived content types visible on the list.
Locate the content type you want to restore and click Restore in the Actions column. The Active Status changes to Active.

Creating Content Requests

Use Content Requests to ask contributors to create, edit, and submit content for an email message. A contribution is the content submitted by a contributor. In each content request, optionally include instructions to contributors and select whether the content requires approval by an authorized administrator or can be used without approval. Submitted content becomes part of your site library and can be reused in future email messages.

Note: When you create the email message template, you associate the message with a content request.

Creating a Content Request

Distributed email content requests are sent as email messages. When potential contributors receive the email, they click a link to the Contribution pages on your site where they can enter the content in a format you select and choose whether their Audience and Contributors receive the newsletter.

To create a content request:

On the Distributed Email Content page, click the Content Requests tab.
On the Content Requests page, click Create Content Request.
On the Name and Instructions page:

Assign a name to this content request: Type a unique name that identifies the content request type and purpose. The name is case sensitive.

Tip: Inserting the date in the name is an easy way to organize content requests.
Include instructions for this content request: Select Yes, display instructions on the content submission screen if you want to provide instructions to contributors.
Instructions for content contributors: If you selected to display instructions, type instructions about the contribution process or what content to contribute.
Require acknowledgment of instructions: Select Yes, require contributors to acknowledge that they read the instructions if you want contributors to read and acknowledge the instructions.

Click Next.
On the Due Date and Approval page:

Due Date: Choose one of the following:

I will accept contributions indefinitely.
I want contributions before this date and use the Month, Day, and Year lists to set the appropriate date.

Require Approval: Choose one of the following:

Yes, require approval of contributions made to this content request. Submitted content must be approved before it appears in the email.
Clear the selection to specify that no approval is required and that submitted content can appear immediately.

Click Finish.

Editing a Content Request

Use the Edit action to change the content request name, instructions, due date, and whether approval is required.

To edit a content request:

On the Distributed Email Content page, click the Content Requests tab.
On the Content Requests page, locate the content request you want to edit and click Edit in the Actions column.
On the Name and Instructions page, optionally type a new name and whether to include instructions and require acknowledgment of the instructions.
Click Next.
On the Due Date and Approval page, change the cut-off date for creating new contributions and select or clear the approval requirement option.
Click Finish to save the changes.

Archiving and Restoring a Content Request and Associated Content

Use the Archive action to remove a content request and make it unavailable. Archiving a content request also archives associated contributed content. Use the Restore action to restore the archived content request when you want to use it again.

To archive a content request and associated contributed content:

On the Distributed Email Content page, click the Content Requests tab.
Locate the content request you want to archive and click Archive in the Actions column. The system changes the Current Status to Archived.

Note: If you can see the archived content request in the list but want to remove it from view, clear the Show Archived Content Requests selection.

To restore a content request and associated contributed content from the archives:

On the Distributed Email Content page, click the Content Requests tab.
Click Show Archived Content Requests.
Locate the content request you want to restore and click Restore in the Actions column. The Current Status changes to Restored.

Creating an Email Campaign and Message

After you define the Audience and Contributors. define the Content Types, and create the Content Request, you are ready to create the email message template. On the Email menu, click Email Campaigns. Refer to Creating and Managing Email Messages in an Email Campaign and Using the WYSIWYG Editor for more information.

When you finish creating the email message template, return to the Distributed Email Content module to create and send requests for content and manage the contributions.

Important: When you insert a qualified contribution, the system inserts S67 tags to reference the item type_id and default content; for example:

<convio:session name="67" param="itemtype:106:criteria:state:altitem:321:layout:layout12a:creation::exists:false"></convio:session>

If you copy and reuse the email message, always replace the inserted content.

Sending a Content Request

Use the Send Content Request action to send the content request after you define the email campaign and message template.

To send a content request:

On the Email menu, click Distributed Email Content.
On the Distributed Email Content page, click the Content Requests tab.
In the Content Requests list, locate the content request you want to send and click Send Content Request in the Actions column.
On the Select Audience and Contributors page, select the Audience and Contributors from whom you want to request content and click Add. Repeat for each Audience and Contributors where you want to request content using this request.
When you finish selecting the Audience and Contributors, click Next.
On the Enter Request Details page, type the email address where replies to this content request will be sent in the Type your return email address box.
In the Type the subject of your email box, type the subject line that potential contributors see when they receive this content request. You could mention the intended use and deadline.
In the Type a note to your contributors box, provide information about your request and why contributors received the information. Include content form instructions, the information you want, information about where constituents can see the content, the content approval process, and important due dates.
In the Send the Content Request section, click Send Request. The system sends the content request to members of the selected Audience and Contributors and changes the status to Solicited.

Managing Content

Content is associated with a content request and one or more Audience and Contributors groups. As an administrator, you create default content that appears in the email message when you select it or when there is no contributed content for a message section. Audience and Contributors content is provided by contributors from your affiliates or members and is used instead of the default content when available.

Managing Default Content

As the administrator, create default content for each section of your email message template. Default content appears in the email message when you select it or when there is no contributed content to replace the default content.

To create default content:

On the Content Requests tab, locate the content request where you want to create default content and click Manage Content in the Actions column.
Click the Default Content tab.
On the Default Content tab, click Create Default Content.
On the Name page, use a name that helps you locate the default content on the content list. Your constituents cannot see the name.
Click Next.
On the Default Content page, select a layout type in the Layout box for this piece of content and type your content into the Text box.
Click Next.
On the Review Content page, look for spelling and grammar errors and check for completeness and accuracy.
Click Finish.

To edit default content:

On the Content Requests tab, locate the content request where you want to edit default content and click Manage Content in the Actions column.
On the Default Content tab, locate the content you want to edit and click Edit.
On the Name page, optionally type a new name that helps you locate the default content on the content list. Your constituents cannot see the name.
Click Next.
On the Default Content page, type your changed content into the Text box.
Click Next.
On the Review Content page, look for spelling and grammar errors and check for completeness and accuracy.
Click Finish.

To publish default content:

On the Content Requests tab, locate the content request where you want to publish default content and click Manage Content in the Actions column.
Click the Default Content tab.
On the Default Content tab, locate the content you want to publish and click Publish. The Current Status changes to Published.

To unpublish default content:

On the Content Requests tab, locate the content request where you want to unpublish default content and click Manage Content in the Actions column.
Click the Default Content tab.
On the Default Content tab, locate the content you want to unpublish and click Unpublish. The Current Status changes to Unpublished.

Managing Audience and Contributors Content

After you send requests for content and your Audience and Contributors submit their content, the next step is to preview and perhaps edit the content and then approve the content where approval is required.

Note: You specify whether to require approval when you create a content request.

To preview submitted content:

On the Distributed Email Content page, click the Content Requests tab.
Locate the content request where you want to preview the contributed content and click Manage Content in the Actions column.
On the Audience and Contributors Content tab, locate the content you want to preview and click Preview.
When you finish previewing the content, click Finish.

To edit submitted content:

On the Distributed Email Content page, click the Content Requests tab.
Locate the content request where you want to edit the content or content properties and click Manage Content in the Actions column.
On the Audience and Contributors Content tab, locate the content you want to edit and click Edit.
On the Name and Audience page, optionally change the content name, select a different audience, or change the content type.
Click Next.
On the Change Publish Dates page, optionally change the publication or expiration dates.
Click Next.
On the Edit Content page, optionally change the content that constituents will see.
Click Next.
On the Review Content page, check the content for spelling or grammar errors.
When you finish editing the content or content properties, click Finish.

To perform a simple edit:

Note: In a simple edit, you can edit only the contributed content.

On the Distributed Email Content page, click the Content Requests tab.
Locate the content request where you want to edit the contributed content and click Manage Content in the Actions column.
On the Audience and Contributors Content tab, locate the content you want to edit and click Simple Edit.
On the Edit Content page, edit or replace the existing contributed content.
Click Next.
On the Review Content page, check for spelling or grammar errors.
When you finish editing the content, click Finish.

To approve submitted content that reqires approval:

Before you can Approve content, contributors must click the Submit action to move the content out of the draft state. If you Reject content, the system returns the content to the Draft state where the contributor can make changes and resubmit the content for approval.

Note: By default, all content must be approved. Clearing the default approval option when you create a content request means contributions for that content request are ready for use without approval.

On the Distributed Email Content page, click the Content Requests tab.
Locate the content request where you want to approve the contributed content.
To approve content for each Audience and Contributors

Click Manage Content in the Actions column of the appropriate content request.
On the Approve Content page, click Preview to make sure the content is correct.

Note: Instead of going through the Preview process, you could click Approve on the Approve Content page for each Audience and Contributors.
On the Preview page, click HTML Preview and then Plain Text Preview to check both versions.
If both versions look correct, click Approve and Next to move to the next Audience and Contributors.
Repeat these steps until the system shows the Approve Content tab again, which means there is no more content to approve.

To approve all Audience and Contributors content for the selected content request:

On the Content Request page, click Approve All in the Actions column of the appropriate content request.
On the Approve All Contributions page, click Finish. The system changes the Current Status to Approved for the approved Audience and Contributors content.

To reject submitted content:

On the Distributed Email Content page, click the Content Requests tab.
Locate the content request where you want to reject the contributed content and click Manage Content in the Actions column.
On the Approve Content page, click Preview.

Note: Instead of going through the Preview process, you could click Reject on the Approve Content page for each Audience and Contributors.
On the Preview page, click Reject and Next to reject content and move to the next Audience and Contributors.
Repeat these steps until the system shows the Approve Content tab again, which means there is no more content to approve or reject, For rejected content, the system changes the Current Status to Draft to allow contributors to edit it.

Previewing, Testing, and Sending the Email Message

Refer to Creating and Managing Email Messages in an Email Campaign for information about how to preview, test, and send the email message.