Writing static newsletter issues

After you create a static newsletter and acquire subscribers, you can send out individual newsletter issues. The following steps demonstrate how to create a sample newsletter issue:

1. Open the Newsletters application.

2. Edit () a newsletter.

3. Click Create new issue. A New issue dialog opens.

4. Fill in a Subject.

5. Fill in your text into content.

6. (Optional) Add a condition, such as the reader’s first name, using the Insert macro button in the editor toolbar.

   1. An Insert Macro dialog opens.

      

      The system automatically replaces the {% FirstName %} macro expression with the e-mail recipient’s first name.

      

      Newsletter templates

      The overall structure of this issue is defined by the default Newsletter issue template, which you can edit under the Templates section of the left menu. See Preparing newsletter templates.

      Newsletters can have multiple issue templates assigned. In this case, the wizard has an additional step where you can choose a template for the new issue. You can also change the template by clicking Show advanced properties next to the Subject field and selecting a different option through the Template selector.

7. Click Save.

   Once you save the issue, you can manage it using the following actions:

   • Send draft - allows you to send a test draft of the newsletter issue to any e-mail address. Draft e-mails do not correctly resolve newsletter macros (such as unsubscription links), since the recipients are not linked to subscribers in the system.
   • Preview - opens a dialog window where you can view how the issue will appear to specific subscribers.
   • Attachments - allows you to attach files to the issue, such as images, an event agenda, white papers, etc. The attachments will be included in the issue e‑mails when they are sent out. Please note that other attachments may already be included in the newsletter template on which the issue is based.
   • Create A/B test - may be used to prepare an A/B test for the issue. This allows you to create several different versions of the issue, evaluate them on a test group of subscribers and then send out the most successful one. Clicking this button adds the first testing variant of the issue. See A/B testing newsletter issues.

Previewing and sending the issue

1. Click Preview.

   • This opens a dialog where you can see how the content of the issue will appear for each subscriber.
     

2. Close the preview dialog.

3. Click Next.

   • This automatically saves the content of the issue and moves you to the final step of the wizard.

4. Choose when the system sends out the newsletter issue:

   • Send now to all subscribers - the newsletter issue is sent out immediately to all subscribers.
   • Schedule newsletter mail-out - the issue will be sent out on the specified date and time.
   • Send the newsletter manually later - the issue will not be sent for now and you can decide on the mail-out time later.

5. Click Finish.

On the Issues tab, you can review the statistics and details of the newsletter’s issues. You can modify issues that are scheduled to be sent out in the future by clicking Edit ().