Promotional Messages vs Important Announcements

In this Article

• Promotional email Messages
• Important Announcement email Messages 

One of the features schools will notice in Messages is the Message types “Promotional" and "Important Announcement”. These two different Message types have very different purposes.

Note: This article specifically addresses email messaging. SMS and Voice messaging have different requirements and should be reviewed separately. 

Promotional email Messages

Promotional Messages will likely make up the bulk of what is being sent. These are your day-to-day Messages that you allow people to subscribe to and unsubscribe from as they see fit. For example, newsletters -- while they may contain very important information -- or fundraising pleas are considered “Promotional” Messages, and schools must legally respect users’ rights not to receive such communication should they so choose.

Send a Promotional email Message 

To send a Promotional email Message, ensure that you have selected the "Promotional" tab in the top left corner. Choose a Message list or lists you will be sending this Message to. 

In the Email Details section, use the "First Name" and "Last Name" buttons to personalize your subject line with your constituents' names. (Names must be saved in Constituent Manager for this feature to work.) 

Add a "From Label" in the field to indicate where the message originates from, and select a reply-to address from the dropdown list. (See Set reply-to addresses for more information about setting up the addresses that appear in this list.) 

The "Internal Use Only" fields help you keep your Messages organized and easy to find again. Enter some notes to describe the message for other Messages admins. Add tags to quickly categorize the message and search for it in Messages, or to display in the Messages element.

See Edit new or existing Message details to find out more about the Message Details screen.

Important Announcement email Messages

Important Announcement emails are “required to fulfill a contract” and will ignore global unsubscribes, and will also not contain an unsubscribe link. Critical Messages that all parents MUST see qualify as “Important Announcements,” such as a deadline for re-enrollment or a school closing. Since Important Announcement Messages will ignore unsubscribe requests and send a message to everyone on the list, the Messages should only include information that is necessary for recipients to interact with the school (such as information about weather delays, critical announcements, etc.). Sending non-essential information as an Important Announcement (that is, ignoring users’ contact request settings for non-critical purposes) may open your school up to legal liability.

Send an Important Announcement email message

To send an Important Announcement, first create your message and give it an internal name. Then, on the Message Details screen, select the "Important Announcement" toggle. Two select buttons will appear next to the "Message To" field, one for groups and one for constituents.

To send the message to a group or groups that you have created in Group Manager, click "Select Groups." You can also select individual constituents using the "Select Constituents" button.

Continue to complete the Message details and compose your Message as usual. Important Announcements may be sent by email, SMS, or Voice channels.