Kavi® Members Help

Chapter 150. Schedule an Email

Overview

Use the Schedule an Email tool to schedule new template-based email messages that will be sent out whenever a certain kind of event occurs. Each Scheduled Email requires its own Email Template. If you haven't had much experience with the email scheduling tools and email templates, you may want to create your new email template through the Add an Email Template tool before attempting to schedule it, but this tool does give you the opportunity to add an email template if you have not already done so.

This document assumes you are familiar with concepts discussed in the Scheduled Email Concepts document.

Use the Schedule an Email tool to:

Add a new template-based email to the schedule.

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How to Schedule an Email

About

The first step is to select the entity that the email is about. In Kavi Members, this can be a company or a user; company representatives (if this is a company-based or mixed organization); and memberships (if the membership feature is enabled). The entity that the email is about determines what type of events are available for use as triggers and what kinds of variables can be included in the email template. If you are not sure, think about the event that you want to use as the trigger, then read the instructions under each entity in the Email is About section to see which entity offers that triggering event.

When

Set these options to determine what event triggers your email and whether the email goes out exactly when the event occurs, or before or after (if available). The options on this step appear in the order in which they will be displayed in the 'When' field in the Email Schedule tools. You might find it easiest to select the event first, then set the schedule in relation to this event.

For more information, see The Zen of 'When'.

Details

Set details including the template, limitations on the conditions under which the email will be sent, and recipient types. Press Next when you are satisfied with your settings.

Set Sending Details
When

The 'When' information set in the previous step is displayed.

Email Template

Select the template for this scheduled email. If you haven't added a template yet, select the 'Add a New Template' option, which allows you to create a template on the next step. If you select an existing template, a preview of this template is displayed on the Template step.

Conditions

The conditions available here depend on what the email is about.

Conditions

Set any options if desired.

  • If this is about a membership pending start date, you can set whether this message is sent to new members only or to renewing members only. If both check boxes are empty or both are selected, the Email Scheduler doesn't check whether the member is new or renewing when sending the email.

  • If this is about a membership entering the archived state, which is frequently used to trigger "last chance" renewal reminders, you may opt to selectively withhold the notice based on the member's renewal intentions and whether the membership renewal process has been initiated.

Types

The types vary according to the entity the email is about (e.g., if the email is about Users, these are User Types; if the email is about Company Representatives, these are Contact Types). Leave this option set to 'Any type' if you want the message sent to all types. If you want the message sent to specified types, select those types only.

Purpose

This option is displayed if this email is about Companies or Users. If this email is about a User, these are User Purposes; if this email is about a Company, these are Company Purposes. Leave this option set to 'Any purpose' if don't want to filter the message based on purpose. If you want the message sent only to companies or users with specific purposes, select those purposes only.

Recipients
To

Select the type of recipients to whom this email should be addressed. If you don't specify a 'To:' address, the first address in the Cc: field is copied into the To: field.

CC

Select the types of recipients you want CC'd on this email. You may also type or paste plain-text email addresses into the 'Email Addresses' text box.

Template

Select an existing email template or configure a new email template. When you are satisfied with the template, press Preview to see how your template looks with data drawn from the database. For more information, see the page help for Add an Email Template.

When

The 'When' information shows when the email is scheduled to be sent out.

Template Name

The name of this email template.

Recipients

The recipients you selected on the Details step are displayed.

From

The From address set for this email template.

Subject

The Subject line for this email. You may use any of the variables listed in the 'Variables' section of the page, but remember to keep the subject brief.

Text

This appears as the message body when the email is sent. You may use any variables listed in the Variables section at the bottom of the tool. On the Preview set you can see how these variables will look when filled with values from the database. For more information, see Kavi Members Email Template Variables.

Preview

Review information about your scheduled email and template, and set whether it becomes active immediately or not. If you want to edit any of your settings, press Back. When you are ready to save your scheduled email, press Save. If you added or edited an email template, your template is saved at this time.

Fields:

Schedule Details

Your settings are displayed for you to review before saving your scheduled email.

Email Template

The template name is displayed along with a preview of how the email will look when the variables are populated from the database.

Status
Active

Set this option to 'Active' if you want the scheduled email to go into effect immediately.

Inactive

Set this option to 'Inactive' if you do NOT want the scheduled email to go into effect immediately. No email will be sent for an inactive scheduled email but Admins can use it to send email blasts.

Done

You've just added a scheduled email. If it is active, the new scheduled email goes into effect immediately. If you added an inactive scheduled email, no email will be generated until the scheduled email is activated. If you added a template, it is now available for use.

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