What this helps you do
A message goes to one audience and reaches each person there by email, or on Blasts if they connected. Most of what a membership organization sends falls into four kinds. The whole: what every member needs to know, sent to All Members. Your part: a chapter meeting, a committee's papers, a cohort's session, sent to that part by the person who runs it. Open to you: an event, a program opening, a member-rate deadline, sent to the lists members chose. Where you can take part: a committee seat, a nomination window, a call for mentors, speakers or reviewers, sent to Get Involved or to the part it concerns. The composer supports formatting, links and images, attached files for people on Blasts, and Send a test to me. You can send now, schedule for later, or repeat weekly.
When to use it
Use it whenever something concerns members: the annual member meeting, a change for members, a chapter meeting that moved, a committee's papers for Thursday, a program that opens, a member rate that ends, a seat that is open.
How to do it
- Open Send, or start from a template. There are three for each kind: Annual member meeting, Member update, Standards or field update; Chapter meeting change, Committee or section working notice, Cohort or program logistics; Member event, Program or course opening, Member rate or registration deadline; Committee seat open, Mentors, speakers or reviewers wanted, Nominations window.
- Pick the one audience it concerns.
- Write what it is, who it's for, what to do, and link to where the details live on the member site. An attached file reaches people on Blasts only, so members receiving by email need the link.
- For an ask, invite an ordinary reply: the person who asked reads each answer in Conversations.
- Read the Delivery panel: one Blasts credit per person on Blasts, one email credit per email.
- Click Send a test to me, then Send now, Schedule for later or Repeat weekly. A send to All Members asks for your passkey first.
Example
Two seats open on the Awards Committee. The committee chair sends one message to Get Involved describing the seats, the term and the time it takes, and asks interested members to reply. Six members reply; the chair reads each answer in Conversations and follows up with them one by one.
Good to know
- An immediate send is held for about a minute so you can cancel it from Sent & Scheduled; nothing is charged for a cancelled Blast.
- A YES / NO question is counted against your organization's most recent YES / NO message from the last three days, whichever audience it went to, so two asks in the same week can be mixed up. For an ask, invite an ordinary reply instead: it reaches the person who asked.
- A message here is communication. It is not the official or statutory notice of a meeting, a ballot, or a record that a member was told; those stay where your bylaws and your membership system put them.
- If a Leader's Blasts need approval (Settings), their send waits under Sent & Scheduled until an administrator approves it.