Newsletter: Creating a Communication Template

Create a Communication Template

Your organization can create and customize templates to communicate with volunteers from the system.

•  Templates are especially useful for recurring communication purposes, such as weekly newsletters or volunteer appeals.

Note: Every time you send the template to volunteers, you will need to populate it with information using the method described in the Populating a Communication Template tutorial.

1. From the Main Menu, click Communications then Templates under Configurations.
   
   
2. At the bottom right corner of the screen, click Add Template.
   
   
3. Select one of the provided template types by clicking its check mark (✔). The Add/Edit Template page will open.
   
   
4. To name this template, click the edit button at the top of the screen.
   
   
5. Enter a Code (a unique identifier to distinguish templates with the same name), Name, and Sub Category, if desired. Click Save.
   
   

Add Widgets

• Periodically save your work by clicking Save at the bottom of the widget menu. Click Restore to undo changes made since you last saved your work.

1. Content is added to templates in the form of widgets. Click Widgets at the right of the screen to access the widget menu.
   
   
2. To add a widget to the template, click and drag the widget type to the body of the template on the left. The contents of each widget type are explained below.
1. Button: Button linking to a URL of your choice
2. Divider: Horizontal line to divide sections
3. Image: Image only
4. Image Text Button: Image, text box, and button
5. Social Media: Icons linking to your organization’s social media accounts
6. Text: Text box only
7. Two Column: Text box that appears in two columns
3. After a widget is added to the template, an edit menu will appear at the right of the screen.
• To edit the widget now, follow steps 2-4 from the Edit Widgets tutorial below.
• To edit the widget later, click Close in the edit menu.
4. Continue adding widgets to the template as desired.
5. To copy a widget: Hover over it and click the copy icon in its toolbar.
6. To delete a widget: Hover over it and click the trashcan icon in its toolbar.
7. To change the order of the widgets: Click and hold the toolbar at the top of a widget, drag to the desired location, and release.
   
   
8. When done, continue below to begin editing.

Edit Widgets

• Periodically save your work by clicking Save at the bottom of the widget menu. Click Restore to undo changes made since you last saved your work.

1. To edit a widget that has already been added to the template, hover over it and click the edit icon in its toolbar.
   
   
2. Each widget type has different formatting options. The following options appear in the edit menu’s “Content” tab for various widgets.
   
   
1. Button Align: Align button to the left, center, right, or default
2. Button Link: Enter the URL you wish a button to link to
3. Button Text: Enter the text you wish a button to display (e.g., Read More, Register)
4. Facebook/Linked In/Twitter: Add URLs that link to social media accounts
5. Image: Add an image from your computer and edit it with the “Photo Editor” window
6. Image Align: Align image to the left, center, right, or default
7. Image Alter Text: Enter the text you wish to appear in place of an image that doesn’t load
8. Image Height/Width: Adjust the height and width of an image
9. Image Link: Enter the URL you wish an image to link to
10. Left/Right Column Width: Adjust the left and right column width
11. Left/Right Content: Enter and format the text to appear in the left & right text columns; Use placeholders to auto-populate the text with information specific to each recipient
12. Swipe Column: Affects formatting on mobile devices
13. Text Content Align: Align text to the left, center, right, or default
14. Text Content: Enter and format the text to appear in the text box; Use placeholders to auto-populate the text with information specific to each recipient
3. The following options appear in the edit menu’s “Style” tab for various widgets.
   
   
1. Align: Align content to the left, center, or right, or justify
2. Background Color: Set the color to appear in the background of an image or text
3. Border Color: Set the color of a border or divider
4. Border Style: Set a border or divider as solid, dotted, dashed, or none (remove)
5. Bottom/Top/Left/Right Space: Adjust the amount of space around the text in a button
6. Border Width: Adjust the width of a border or divider
7. Corners Radius: Adjust the roundness of a button’s corners
8. Font: Set the font of text
9. Font Color: Set the color of text
10. Font Size: Adjust the size of text
11. Height: Adjust the height of an image
12. Margin: Adjust the amount of space around a button
13. Padding: Adjust the amount of space around content
14. Width: Adjust the width of an image
4. When done editing a widget, click Close in the widget edit menu.

Edit Layout

1. To edit the layout of the template, click Layout at the right of the screen.
   
   
2. Set the layout for the frame, including background color, width, and border preferences.
3. Set the layout for the page, including background color and font preferences.
4. When you are done creating this template, click Save.
5. To return to your list of communication templates, click the return icon.