Email Campaigns

How to Create an Email

Add basic information

Select Email Recipients

Use a smart list
Other options for choosing recipients

Choose a Template and Add Content

Add content

Review and Determine Delivery

Advanced Email Techniques

How to use tables
How to use borders
How to use columns/additional tables
How to use HTML

Manage and Track Emails

Manage emails
View email tracking

How to Create an Email

On the left navigation bar, hover over Emails, then in the submenu, click on Send an Email

The platform has six steps to detail the entire process of creating and sending an email campaign.

Add Basic Information

Fill out the required basic information fields, then click Next.

Campaign Name refers to the title by which you’ll refer to this email in your records. It only shows up in your Manage Emails tab under this name, which is not visible to members. Campaign Name must be unique for all new emails. Sender address will auto-populate if you’ve previously entered this information in the member info tab.

Note: The address entered in this section will automatically appear in the lower left corner of your email. You are legally required to include a valid physical postal address.

Select Email Recipients

Admins can choose to send emails to all members and/or contacts. Moreover, you can send to specific group members, add new recipients manually, or from a previously-created distribution list, all with only a few clicks. There are different ways to add recipients:

Use a Smart List
Select all members
Select individual members or contacts
Select a distribution list

Note: Email credits do not roll over to the next month.

Use a Smart List:

A Smart List is a distribution list populated by dynamic queries based on member actions and statuses. For example, Smart Lists can be created based on a group’s member levels, or those who’ve RSVP’d to an event.

In Step 2. Recipients of building your email campaign, select Use a Smart List
Click the Select Members By dropdown menu and choose a category
Choose a list of recipients from the list(s) that appears

Note: Depending on the Smart List you wish to create, you’ll select the criteria of the list. For example, a Smart List based on email activity has the option to include members who clicked within or opened an email.

To save the Smart List for future use, select the Add this to My Saved Smart Lists checkbox and name your list.

Other options for choosing recipients:

All Members: Select to send to all your members, contacts, or both in one click.
Choose People: Select individual members or contacts from your group.

Note: You can only add members from one page at a time using this method. Make sure you press Save & Close before moving on to a new page.

Choose a Template and Add Content

Templates will help you create an attractive email that is fully customizable with HTML content, buttons, and personalized elements. The template options are displayed in a filterable list.

Select the other pre-designed templates to build email that most closely aligns with your email goal. You can filter templates by organization, such as Greek, Church, or Nonprofit among others, to quickly access relevant templates.
Select Basic Templates to craft an email with the least amount of pre-built design, so you can fully customize your email with tables.

Save time by creating and saving email templates for future use. Access a saved template by selecting the My Custom Templates filter.

Add Content

You can customize your content within the confines of your chosen email template.

Click inside the template window to bring up the Editor Tool
Use the editor to add your content

NOTE: Emojis are not supported with memberplanet emails. If an emoji is added to an email, the email will send out as cutoff where the emoji is included. If you remove the emoji(s), email will send out successfully.

There are also six pre-programmed buttons that allow you to insert information from other sections of your group:

Images: Upload an image from your PC. (580 pixels)
Personalized Text: From the dropdown menu, select how you’d like to address your recipients. All information, such as name and email address, is pulled from membership data. This allows each recipient’s email to appear directed specifically to them without sending one to each person.

Click on Add Follow Us Links at bottom of the email window to add social media links that allow members to easily follow your group on your preferred platforms
Click on Add Social Media links at the top of the email window to enable sharing by members on the selected platform
Select Add Banner Image (580 pixels) to include a specific image for your email

For example, the image you use for your group page.

4. Preview your email creation progress by selecting View as Web Page

Review and Determine Delivery

Once you have created your email, review to ensure all the elements, such as recipients and links to social sites, were successfully added.

Click the Save This Email as a Template button if you’d like to reuse the design. Next time you send an email, all you’ll have to do is update any content changes.

Campaign Score: Use this tool to estimate whether or not the text and look of your email resembles spam or junk mail. We recommend a score of 4.0 or less to minimize likelihood your email isn’t delivered properly.

Determine Delivery

Choose one of the delivery options:

Send this email now
Send this email later

If you opt to send your email at a later date:

2. Enter date and time you’d like your email to send

Note: To select multiple date and times, click the checkbox and enter the remaining dates and times.

Save this email as a draft

3. Click Finish to complete your email creation process

Advanced Email Techniques

How to Use Anchor Links in Emails
An anchor link allows a user to jump to a specific spot on a page. For emails, it makes navigation easier with these benefits:

Anchors let users reach a section with one click.
In a longer email where you have multiple subheadings, you can use anchors to help a user navigate more efficiently by linking directly to the beginning of a subheading section.

For example, a newsletter might mention announcements or a table of contents at the top with links going to sections farther down the email for more details.

To set up an anchor link in an email, you must first create an email campaign in memberplanet, then set up the anchor or the spot the anchor link will go to.

How to set up an anchor
After you choose your template and are working on the content of your email, you will see these editing tools when you click in the body the email builder. The flag icon is the anchor button.

In the body of the email, use your cursor or mouse to select the subhead you will be anchoring
Click the flag icon in the editing toolbar
In the popup window, type in your anchor name

Note: The name you give your anchor must be unique within the document. You should not use spaces and special characters since this will be used in the anchor link. Keep in mind that the anchor name is also case sensitive.

4. Click OK

The text that you have set as the anchor will have a flag in front of it in the email builder. Recipients will not see the flag or any indication that the text is anchored. Now that you have set up the anchor, you can create the anchor link anywhere in the email.

How to set up an anchor link

Select the text you want to link to the anchor
In the editing toolbar, click the link icon
In the popup window, click the Link Type dropdown menu and select Link to Anchor in the Text

An option to select an anchor will appear

4. Click the dropdown menu under By Anchor Name and select the anchor you wish to link to
5. Click OK

Your anchor link has been created. We recommend that you save your email. If you find that the anchor isn’t working, check to make sure you have not used any spaces or special characters in the anchor names.

How to use tables
If working within a template doesn’t suit your needs, an email can be built completely from scratch. Tables allow admins to create an email purely from their own vision. Building through tables is a highly specific task, therefore these instructions will take you through some vital elements in each step of the process in general. This is not intended to encompass all options available.

Select a basic template
Delete the basic information from the template
Click inside the email window to bring up the editor toolset
Click on the table icon in the editor toolset
Decide how many rows and columns you want in your email

Best practices:

Set your table width to 580 pixels regardless of the content you’ll be adding. This will prevent any of your text from bumping against the outermost edge of the email.
Enter the width of your center column to ensure your other column’s content doesn’t run into each other.

How to use borders
Creating a border around your email isn’t required, however it does give your email a frame that increases its professional appearance.

To create a border, simply add another column and row to your table. For example, a 3x3 table will become a 4x4 table to incorporate a border.

To add color to your border, right click on each cell, select Cell Properties and change color.

Note: Colors can be set using RGB or the hex code.

Best practice: If using a border, it’s a good idea to also add a padding column and row to your table. This should be set at 10 pixels. This padding will ensure your images and text don’t run into the border edges to create a visual mess.

How to use columns/additional tables
You can continue to modify the design of your email by adding more tables within your central table. Repeat the table creation process for each element you wish to add. For example, if you want to add a picture to one of your columns, creating a sub-table will allow you to place that image exactly where you want it without ruining the other table design elements.

When adding additional tables, it is important to also add an additional column for padding. Similar to the border padding, table padding allows your inserted element to have a defined space within the email. Think of a photo in the middle of a newspaper column, and how the words flow around it without the column turning into a zig-zag.

Best practices:

Before adding images, resize them to 150 pixels. If you don’t have edit image software: Perform a browser search for “Image editor.” Any of the numerous, free results will guide you through editing your image to the correct pixel size.
Be sure to select a font and to set a font size for the text of your content.

How to use HTML
If you prefer to build your email using HTML code, or to make edits directly to the source code, simply click on the HTML tab on the editor tool. This will bring up the HTML code for you to work in.

Note: You can tag your edited HTML code to easily locate the changes you make.

Once you’ve added your table, right click on it and select, Table Properties
Within the Table Properties window, select Advanced
In the ID window, enter your tags
Search for them from within the HTML editor window

Manage and Track Emails

Our email tracking functionality allows admins to monitor all sent emails and and manage drafts, as well as scheduled emails, in one area. Being aware of your tracking information allows you to know what is working and what isn’t, quickly. Use that information to help decide which emails become templates for later use.

Manage emails

On the left navigation bar, hover over Emails
Click on Manage Emails from the submenu
Choose which of the following information tabs you want to view:

Sent: Explore details of emails you’ve sent. Click on the gear icon to reveal options for viewing, resending, copying, and deleting the email.
Drafts: View all the emails you’ve created, but haven’t sent.
Scheduled: Emails you’ve completed and set to be sent at a date/time in the future.
Tracking: View details about receipt details for emails you’ve previously sent.
Bounced: See a history of emails that were returned undeliverable. This includes recipient details, such as name and email address sent to.
Unsubscribe: View who has opted to receive emails from your group anymore. This includes recipient information and a comment section.
Spam: See which emails have gone to a member’s spam folder.

View email tracking
Email tracking allows you to view stats on all your emails sent from the platform. Search for the campaign name or select a date range. View whether your email was delivered, bounced, opened, clicked, unsubscribed or it went to the spam folder for all recipients. Tracking is incredibly useful not only in determining which emails are effective, but also in choosing whom to communicate with. For example, send another email to members who haven’t opened previously sent emails, or to those who haven’t clicked on a call to action, such as an RSVP link, to find out why. It also aids in determining why emails are bounced, or not able to reach the recipient due to incorrect email addresses, invalid recipient information, etc..

On the left navigation bar, click on Emails
Click on the Tracking tab

Note: The default date range for tracking is set at one month. To view tracking information for a wider date range, select the calendar and adjust.

You also have the option to export data to an Excel spreadsheet by clicking the Export button.