Online Help

Building a Coaching Email Message

When you build a Coaching Email message, you will provide a name and description for the email, set up the message envelope, select its stationery, and create the content. You can send it to test accounts you may have for popular email providers (such as Yahoo! or AOL Mail) to check its appearance.

After you build the message, you can approve it and go on to send it, or leave it Approved and send it at a later time. Instead, you can leave it in the Draft status if you want to work with it later.

To build a new Coaching Email message:

  1. Click Event Emails from the top navigation bar. The Event Emails splash page displays.
  2. From Related Actions, click Edit Coaching Emails. The Message List page displays.
  3. From Related Actions, click Create a new message. 
  4. On the Message Information page, complete the following information:
    1. In the Message Name field, type in a descriptive label that relates to the purpose of this email.
    2. In the Description field, type in a brief statement that will help identify the purpose of this message to administrators browsing the Message List.
    3. Select a Type for this message so you can group this message with other similar messages by clicking one of the following options:
      • Choose an existing value drop-down list, and click the appropriate message type, such as Participants.
      • Or, Enter a new value radio button and enter a new type.
        Tip: It may be beneficial to create a new type called TeamRaiser Messages to keep all of the messages you create in this application together. Or, you can be more specific by creating TeamRaiserMessagesForParticipants or TeamRaiserMessagesForCaptain. The type is displayed on the Message List page to help administrators identify the purpose of the message.
  5. Click Next to display the Envelope page.
  6. On this page:
    1. Enter a Sender Name to display in the From area of the email header and inbox of message recipients. Entering a title (like Fundraising Coordinator) might trigger a better open rate than your real name.
    2. Enter the Reply-To Email Address where reply emails will be sent. 
    3. Enter a Message Subject to display to recipients when they view their inbox.  
      Tip: A compelling subject line (such as a call to action) may increase the chances of the intended recipients to open and act on this email.
    4. To optionally add the First Name, Last Name, or First and Last Name to the subject line:
      1. Click the appropriate option from the Select Personalization Option drop-down list (such as First Name).
      2. In the prompt, enter the text to display if the personalization option that you selected is not available (for example, Team Captain or Friend).
      3. Click OK.
  7. Click Next to display the Stationery page.
  8. Click the button of the appropriate stationery for this message and then click the Next button. The HTML Content page displays.
  9. To work with the content of this message:
    1. Using the features of the WYSIWYG Editor, enter and format text; apply styles, incorporate background colors, insert images, tables, links, and contact information; and add personalization tags. (for assistance, refer to Using the Event Center WYSIWYG Editor).
    2. Click the Save button.
    3. Click the Preview button. The message displays in another browser window.
    4. Close the Preview window, make any changes, and repeat the steps above.
  10. Click the Next button. The Plain Text Content page displays
  11. On this page:
    1. Click the Update Plain Text button. he content from the HTML version displays in the plain text entry area.
    2. Review the content and make any changes that are necessary.
      Important: The system will OVERWRITE any changes you make in the plain text if you click the Update Plain Text button again. That is, if you go back into the HTML Editor and make changes and you have already made changes in the plain text, clicking the Update Plain Text button will cause anything in this plain text to be overwritten to match the HTML version. To avoid this, you may have to keep track of any changes you make to the HTML version and manually make these changes in the plain text editor as well.
    3. When you are finished editing the plain text content, click the Save button.
    4. To view your messages in email format, click the Preview button. A new browser window opens and displays the message.
    5. Close the Preview window, make any changes, and repeat the previous steps.
  12. Click the Next button. The Send Review Email page displays.
  13. To verify that this email is properly formatted and can be received through various mail service providers (such as, AOL, Yahoo, and MSN):
    1. Type in email addresses for any test accounts in the space provided. You can separate the addresses by commas or put each one on a separate line.
    2. Click the Send a separate plain-text copy to my test email addresses checkbox to receive both formats.
    3. Click the Send button. The messages are sent to your test accounts.
    4. When you receive the emails, review them, and repeat the steps above to make any necessary changes.
  14. Click the Next button. The Approve page displays.
  15. To:
    • Approve your message now, click the Approve button and then click the Finish button. The Messages List page displays with your message listed as Approved (Never Sent) in its Status column. (Note that to edit it before you send it, click Return to Draft from the Actions column to display the Edit action.)
    • Keep the message in the Draft state so you can edit and work with it later, click the Finish button. The Messages List page displays with your message listed as Draft in its Status column. (Note that the message must be Approved before it can be sent.)