Hearth Bulk Email System Divisional Secretaries Briefing 2011

What is the Hearth bulk email? The Hearth bulk email system allows you to send emails with or without an attachment to a large number of recipients. It was designed exclusively for use by divisional secretaries

How do I access the bulk email tool? Log in to Hearth, on the left hand menu under ‘Email Toolbox’, click on ‘Bulk email’

Where do I begin? Before sending a bulk email you will need to upload or import a mailing list.

What type of mailing lists can I use? The bulk email system is compatible with any Comma Separated Values (.csv) file but the following fields and headers must be included and populated: NAME EMAIL ADDRESS MEMBERSHIP NUMBER

What is a .csv file? A .csv file is similar in appearance to Excel Lists obtained from the reporting tool on Hearth are in .csv format Lists obtained from RSS are in .csv format Alternatively you can create your own mailing list in Excel and select .csv from the drop down menu when saving it

How do I upload a mailing list to the bulk email system? In the blue toolbar, click on ‘upload list’ which will take you to this screen:

Enter your list name e.g. Full Members List 01 October 2011. Click the browse button to find and select the file on your PC, then click ‘Upload mailing list’

You will need to refresh the page to see when the list has become available; this will vary depending on the size of the file, but should not take long. TIP: As you will see from the diagram, available lists are in blue, queued lists are in italics and rejected lists are in red italics.

You can also import contact groups from your main Hearth email address book. Go to ‘Lists And Addresses’, where you will see your contact groups listed. Simply click on ‘Import’ next to the required contact group.

How do I create a contact group in my Hearth officers’ email account? Instructions on how to do this can be found on Hearth at Help/Support > Officers Email FAQ> My address book.

I would like to email non- members, how can I do this? It is possible to use the Bulk email system to contact groups that include non-NUT members, for example all head teachers. To do so you would need to create a contact group in your Hearth email and then import it into the Bulk email system.

Why can’t I do this directly to the Bulk email system? Bulk email software requires a unique identifier field, for un-subscription purposes (in this case a membership number). But we have worked around this by enabling you to import lists from your Hearth officer email account.

Creating and Sending an Email Go to ‘New message’ and check the box next to the list you wish to send an email to.

Enter the email subject, and then type your text in the body of your email. You can use the basic formatting tools at the bottom of the page to format your email.

Tip: Try to avoid copying and pasting text from Word, as Word contains hidden coding which can corrupt the formatting. Tip: Avoid using all CAPITALS in the subject header as this scores high on spam filters and will stop your email reaching your members.

Attachments Attachments appear as an embedded link within the body of your email.

You can attach an image or a document, within your email. If you wish to attach a file into your email click the browse button next to ‘Upload a new image/file’ once you have selected it from your PC, ensure you click ‘Upload’ to add the file. NOTE: Changes made to attachments, including removing attachments from an email, are not permanent until you save the draft.

If you would like to send a test copy to yourself to see how it looks to recipients, check the ‘Send a test copy’ box. By default a test copy will go to your generic officer email address. Alternatively you can enter any email address you wish to use.

Click on ‘Preview’ to preview and edit your draft, ensuring you click on ‘save draft’ when you have finished. This saves your email to the drafts folder. If you are happy to send your email, simply click on ‘send bulk email’. Or you can leave it in your drafts folder to send or edit later.

Your email will be queued for sending, and sent shortly Your email will be queued for sending, and sent shortly. Click on ‘Sent’ to view your sent items and check progress.

I don’t get any replies from members! To avoid your inbox becoming full, bulk emails are sent from a ‘do not reply to’ email address. This means any replies, out of office, or delivery failure notices go to a separate, unmonitored inbox. In the recipients inbox it will simply say From: NUT - Division News <do-not-reply-to@para-mail.co.uk>

How will my members reach me then? We suggest including a message similar to the following at the bottom of your email. “The mailbox this mail is sent from is unmonitored, so please don't reply to this email address. If you'd like to get in touch, or unsubscribe please contact me at youremailaddress@association.nut.org.uk”

Do I have to provide recipients with an option to unsubscribe? It is advisable to include an option for members to unsubscribe. You could suggest they forward the message to your generic email address with ‘Unsubscribe’ as the subject. NOTE: It is important to let RSS know of any changes to members email addresses.

Tips for getting through firewalls and spam filters Ask to be ‘whitelisted’ (added to address books). Check content to ensure it doesn’t look like spam . (example: all capital subject lines) Avoid trigger words where possible. Avoid large image sizes.

Tips on succeeding at email campaigning Put in place a system for collecting email addresses. Grab attention with your subject line. Deliver relevant content. Have the most important part at the top. Link to your website. Keep the email concise.

Readers tend to read 30 per cent slower online and on emails – they skim and scan. Many readers are overloaded by the information they have to deal with on a daily basis. They do not have the time to digest any more. Help readers to understand what your message is about in less than one minute of opening the email.

Managing your mailing lists To view people in a mailing list, or to delete one from the system simply click on its title. You can also export individual contacts to your generic email address book by clicking on ‘Export’.

Any lists uploaded will remain in ‘list and addresses’. These lists can be deleted at any time and new lists can be uploaded. Please note that the data in the reports from the Officer Reporting Tool changes frequently.

I have a query - who do I contact? Please use the Hearth ‘Feedback’ facility which is available at the bottom menu of every page on Hearth.