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Call to Action

Mailing List

Marketing Wizard

Use the Marketing Wizard to create and send email marketing messages to your mailing lists. The wizard allows you to quickly set up and send call-to-action or messaging emails to predefined lists in the the system.

Accessing the Marketing Wizard

You can access the Marketing Wizard in two places within the netFORUM interface:

  • Overview Menu
    1. Mouse over the Overview tab in the Marketing module to expand the Marketing fly-out menu.
    2. Click the Marketing Wizard option to launch the Marketing Wizard.
  • Initiate Communication Link
    1. Click the Overview tab in the Marketing module to load the Marketing Overview page.
    2. Click the Initiate Communication link to launch the Marketing Wizard.

Step One: Define the Recipient List

Step one in creating your message in the Marketing Wizard is deciding who the recipients are that will receive the communication. Depending on the answer, the format that you will use to obtain them will vary. For example, notice in the screenshot below that there are six options you may choose from as a recipient type that will receive your message.

  • Query
  • Mailing List
  • Registrants
  • Members
  • Committee Participants
  • Audience

The middle of the Message Setup form changes as well depending upon the Recipient Type you select because you will be required to specify an exact recipient once you have narrowed down your type. For example, notice in the screenshot above an example recipient type of Mailing List is selected. Therefore, you are required to specify which Mailing List you want to send a communication to in the Mailing List drop-down menu.

If, however, you were to change to a different recipient type, as noted in the new screenshot above where a recipient type of Members is selected, notice that you must then also specify the member types along with the association code and other member specific data.

Finally, the last step in the message setup is to decide if you want to include a seed list in your communication. Recall that when you set-up your mailing lists you are able to specify if the list is a seed list. This means that it has two attributes:

  • It will be available in all seed list type drop-downs such as the one indicated on this form so that it can be included in a communication being sent
  • It will be sent regardless of any communication opt-outs specified by the user

So, in the example above, the NATW Member Mailing List will be included on the mailing in addition to the NATW Newsletter Seed List. Individuals on the seed list will receive the mailing regardless of their communication preferences.

Clicking the Next button will advance you to the next step in the wizard.

Clicking the Send to Real Magnet button will take you to the Magnet Mail site where you can continue to customize your messaging job.

Step Two: Select the Template

Once you have defined your recipient list, you must then decide which template you will use to send your message. As you can see in the screenshot above, you may choose to create a new template or to use an existing template.

Step Three: Customize the Template

If you use an existing template, the fields that you defined when you created the template are already in place in the HTML and Plain Text areas as you can see in the sample template above (or if you use a baseline template the fields that the baseline template uses are already in place as well).

Further, the template name, template format, and subject line fields are pre-selected though you may modify them if you choose. You may also add additional fields and modify the text of the template as well by selecting the drop-down fields below the subject line.

If you choose to create a new template, the same screen will appear and you must create a new template from scratch, including specifying which fields you want to use. For more information about using fields and templates, view the topic on adding a template.

Step Four: Choose a Messaging Campaign

If this message is part of a Messaging Campaign you are able to add it to a new or existing campaign in step four. Just as with template selection, you are able to specify a new or existing campaign.

Notice that if you choose a new campaign, it is similar to when you add a campaign in that you are asked to provide a name, goal, and start and end dates. You are also given the option of sending a message that does not belong to a specific campaign.

Step Five: Set-Up Messaging Job and Scheduler

In Step 5, the following options are set:

  • Mailing Type
  • Promotional Code (if desired)
  • Description of the mailing type
  • Delivery Method - how the message will be sent
  • From - who the message will appear to be "from"
  • Reply To - if individuals reply, the email address that will receive the replies
  • Send with high priority? - flag this message as high priority
  • Scheduling Options - choose from One-time - Immediate, One-time - Scheduled, or Recurring.

Note: It is important to set your mailing type for opt-out and reporting purposes. Remember that if a member's record has opted-out of certain mailing types, they will not receive e-mails.

Step Six: Confirm Settings and Save Message Setup

You will receive a message that your setup is complete. Click Finish. Notice that a Call to Action Profile has also been created.

Technical Information

The TemplateBaseUrl system option builds the full absolute links used in the copy-paste link builder page.