Newsletter Overview

Getting Started

Before sending newsletters with Helios Calendar we recommend you review the Email Guidelines.

Process Overview

The complete process of sending email newsletters with Helios Calendar consists of 3 steps. Depending on the type of newsletter you are sending, and what step of the process has been completed previously, some steps may be optional.

Step 1) Composing (or Updating) a Draft

A draft consists of settings used to create newsletters. Once a draft is saved it can be reused (with or without modification) to send multiple future newsletters.

Reference Compose Draft, for details on this step.

Step 2) Creating a Newsletter

A newsletter can be created with a new or previously saved draft. When creating a newsletter admin users will be able to review the settings configured in the draft prior to approval.

Reference Create Newsletter, for details on this step.

Step 3) Sending Newsletter Emails

Once a newsletter has been created from a draft it is added to the Newsletter Queue. Newsletters present in the queue can be sent, or resumed if they were previously paused.

Reference Sending Newsletters, for details on this step.

Completion

When sending of the newsletter is completed it will be moved to the Complete section of the queue and, if the draft settings permit, added to the public newsletter archive.

A newsletter report (including inbox & archive views) can be accessed within the Newsletter Queue.

Sending Test Newsletters

Due to the variation in mail clients and web mail services you may wish to send one or more test mailings prior to conducting a full, public, newsletter mailing.

Test Subscribers

Because the full subscriber base can be segmented into smaller Subscriber Groups Helios Calendar includes, by default, a Test Subscribers group. This allows admins to create test subscribers and when beginning a new mailing this group can be used to select only internal test accounts to send the newsletter to, for review, prior to completing a full mailing to all subscribers.

Recovering From a “Crashed” Sending

In the event that there is a “crash”, the sending of emails is interrupted, while sending a newsletter caused by:

• Browser Session Timeout
• Accidental Tab/Window Closing or Log Out
• Lost Internet Access
• ...or any other loss of access to the Helios Calendar admin console.

No further emails will be sent. Helios Calendar requires that an admin user monitor the sending of a newsletter until completion. While you can work in other windows or tabs while newsletters are being sent the Sending Newsletters screen must remain available in your browser for the newsletter emails to be sent.

If a “crash”, or service interruption, occurs the following steps should be performed:

• Sign back into the admin console.
• Navigate to the Newsletter Queue.
• Pause the newsletter that was being sent.
• Resume the newsletter that was being sent when ready to continue sending newsletter emails.

This will resume the newsletter from the previous in progress batch. Depending on the specific progress point duplicate emails may be sent to a limited number of recipients. The maximum possible number of duplicate emails will be limited to the batch size configured within the admin console Preferences.