iModules Training Manual for UH by University of Houston

Training Manual

Table of Contents Introduction.…………………………………………………………………………………..3 Opting in to Email…………………………………………………………………….3 What is iModules? …………………………………………………………………………..4 UH iModules Team ………………………………………………………………….4 Rules & Regulations ………………………………………………………………………...5 Training………………………………………………………………………………………..5 UH e-Communications Policies & Procedures General………………………………………………………………………………..6 Scheduling Emails…………………………………………………………………...6 Email Content………………………………………………………………………...7 Email Branding……………………………………………………………………….8 Email Audience Lists…………………..…………………………………………….8 Email Reviewer Group…………………..…………………………………………..8 Logging in to iModules…………………..…………………………………………………..9 iModules Terminology…………………..…………………………………………………...9 Email Calendar…………………..………………………………………………….............10 Creating a Custom Email…………………..……………………………………………….11 Skin Builder…………………..…………………………………………………..................16 Creating Custom Content…………………..……………………………………..………..20 Pasting Outside Text………………………………………………………………...21 Uploading and Inserting Images..……………………………………………….....21 Image Properties/Formatting Images………………….…………………………..23 Creating Hyperlinks…………………..…….………………………………………..24 Creating Anchor Links…………………..…………………………………………...25 Creating Email Links…………………..……………………………………………..26 Format Stripper…………………..…………………………………………………...27 Using the Token List…………………..……………………………………………..27 Forward to a Friend………………..…………………………………………………32 Building a Query…………………..…………………………………..……………………...34 Creating a New Query…………………..…………………………………………...35 Use a Saved Query…………………..………………………………………………41 Use a Criteria Template…………………..………………………………………....41 Power User Program…………………..………………………………………………….....44 iModules Email Audience Groups Advance Data…………………..………………………………………………….......45 Interest Groups…………………..………………………………………………….....45 Email Categories…………………..………………………………………………......46 Multiple Constituents with Same Email Address…………………..…………..…...46 Subscription Page…………………..……………………………………….………………...47 Email Marketing Reporting…………………..…………………………………………….....48 FAQʼs…………………..……………………………………………………………..………...55

Introduction In order for email to remain an effective means of communication, the university must be strategic in its use of broadcast email messages. Using email impersonally or indiscriminately will harm the credibility of the entire university and make alumni, students, donors, faculty, staff, parents and friends of UH less likely to welcome email that would be of interest to them. Broadcast email is any message or group of messages intended for an audience greater than 100 people. All broadcast email to UH System alumni, donors and friends should be created and sent using iModules, an email marketing tool. iModules is administered through the UH Marketing & Communication Department. Click here to find your Community URL to log-in to iModules. Emails to current students, faculty and staff should be requested through IT at ecomm@uh.edu.

Opting in to Email Opt-in email campaigns are based on permission-based marketing. If constituents give you permission to communicate with them, then they are more likely to be engaged. The email list you are sending to consists of only constituents who have agreed to receive a particular message. The email content is more personal and relevant to the interest group to which it is being sent. An opt-in email address is one in which the owner has agreed to receive future email communications from you. This is done through an email subscription form that allows the constituent to sign up for emails they would like to receive. This eliminates unsolicited messages, which enables safer email campaigns and lessens SPAM complaints. Click here for UH email subscription form.

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What is iModules? iModules is the leading constituent engagement management provider for educational institutions. Encompass Enterprise is designed for large organizations with multiple business entities, such as departments, regions, chapters, or clubs, that have unique needs but also share constituent data. With Encompass Enterprise, each business entity can manage and execute its email marketing and social networking integration. This enterprise platform allows an organization to share only relevant data with each entity and maintain better data integrity, while also allowing each entity to operate with its unique set of administrative tools. Email is the most powerful marketing tool you can use today to communicate your message and get the results you want from your audience. In fact, iModules clients who send an average of at least one email per month see an increase in engagement, event participation, and donations. It's easy, effective, and cost-efficient. iModules brings you: • • • • • • • •

Easy, yet dynamic, email creation Personalized messaging Effective targeting and segmentation through list management One-time and recurring email frequency Ability to reuse design templates or create new ones Email preview for reviewing purposes Extensive tracking and reporting tools Dependable email delivery with accreditation from Return Path's Sender Score Certified™ program

UH iModules Team UH iModules Administrator– Site Administrator – imodules@uh.edu Kimberly Davis (interim) – Site Administrator – kdavis9@central.uh.edu

Rules & Regulations All UH System colleges and departments should become familiar with applicable rules and regulations related to broadcast email, including: o The CAN-SPAM Act: http://www.business.ftc.gov/documents/bus61-can-spamact-compliance-guide-business • To comply with this Act, iModules email footers are pre-populated with your valid physical postal address and an opt-out method for your constituents. • iModules works with the leading ISPs to ensure that your emails are white listed and are not treated as spam. o Web Content Accessibility Guidelines in the Rehabilitation Act (Section 508 Amendment): http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/guide/act.htm o Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) guidelines: http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html o iModules Statement of Responsibility: (PDF link)

Training Only trained email administrators can build email messages using iModules. Training for iModules is located in the iModules Client Community. In order to access the live online training sessions in the Client Community you must have a valid username and password. Please email imodules@uh.edu to request log in information for the Client Community. The mandatory training courses, which are hosted online with a live instructor, are Email Marketing and Query Building. These online sessions must be complete in order to receive a username and password to login to the email marketing tool, called the prototype. The username and password for the prototype is different from the username and password used to login to the Client Community. Please email imodules@uh.edu to receive your first time log-in instructions for the prototype after training is complete. Even after you have started building emails in the prototype, be sure to make use of the iModules Client Community as it offers many tutorials, videos and how-to documents.

UH e-Communications Policies & Procedures General o UH Marketing only builds email messages in iModules for the Presidentʼs Office or the UH Marketing & Communication Department. Each college is responsible for building their own messages. o Any member of a natural constituency (alumni, donors, parents and friends) for whom University Advancement has a valid email address will receive email communications from UH unless he/she requests otherwise. o University Marketing reserves the right to cancel messages if branding policies and guidelines are not followed. o University Marketing reserves the right to reschedule messages if email volume to a particular audience is high. o University Advancement reserves the right to determine the appropriate audience for any message being sent. o University Advancement reserves the right to approve or decline a message request. o University Advancement reserves the right to prioritize outgoing messages based on email volume or solicitation requests. o Broadcast email may not be used for: • Solicitations without prior approval by University Advancement • Gathering contact information on alumni, donors, parents or friends without the approval of University Advancement • Political solicitations • Merchandise sales (exception: links to Athletics and UH Arts ticket sales) • Service sales

Scheduling Emails o All UH broadcast email to alumni and donors is scheduled on the universal email Google calendar. o Emails can be scheduled for any day of the week using the Email Project Request Form. • A member of the iModules team will confirm or provide feedback on the date requested. • Email project request forms should be submitted at least three full business days in advance of when you would like the message to launch.

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Once confirmed, the email will be added to the calendar, viewable here: https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=imodulesuh%40gmail.com& ctz=America/Chicago

o If sending to only UH interest groups: • Interest groups can be queried in iModules. • Emails can be scheduled any day of the week. • Emails can be sent multiple times in one week. o If sending to audiences other than interests groups: • Can be queried in iModules or requested from Advance. • Emails will be scheduled based on other messages scheduled for that week. • Each community will be able to send one message per week. o Power Users will be granted access to approve and release email messages. o Sometimes emails will need to be rescheduled at the last minute if a priority message, such as an email from the President, needs to be sent on a particular day.

Email Content o Use of the UH/UHS president and chancellorʼs image or name must have written approval from the AVC/AVP of University Marketing & Communication before an email can be launched. Use of a signature image is not permissible. Send requests to imodules@uh.edu. o To maintain compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act, UH General Counsel has approved a blurb, which must be placed in the footer of every email. This footer can be found as an iModules content block called, “Mandatory UH Footer”. o The “reply to” email address will always be ecommunications@uh.edu. A member of University Advancement checks this inbox daily and sends necessary responses/comments to each email administrator. o State the purpose of the email in the first few lines. o State the name of the person or organization providing the information. No UH email should ever ask for a constituents username or password. o Emails cannot contain attachments. It is advisable to include a hyperlink to the document or information on your website. o Every email must have a corresponding text-only version. o Do not include hyperlinks to web pages that request user information. o The University of Houston name, logos, marks or other branding elements cannot be used in the promotion of tobacco products, alcoholic beverages or firearms/firecrackers.

Email Branding o All emails being sent through iModules are reviewed for UH branding. o UH System policies regarding governing communication, graphic standards, computing and privacy should be applicable to broadcast email. o Emails must include an approved UH word mark. o If a hyperlink in an email message sends a constituent to a UH web page, the web page must have an approved UH word mark in the header.

Email Audience Lists o Constituent data in iModules is populated with information from the Advance database maintained by University Advancement. o Constituent interest group information is also maintained in Advance. o Data is synced nightly between iModules and Advance. New graduate data is uploaded six to eight weeks after graduation. o All audiences can be queried in iModules, except for groups based on donation information or solicitation emails requesting funds. o Any email requesting funds must have an appeal code associated with the audience, which is provided by Annual Giving in University Advancement. These groups will be uploaded to iModules separately by UH Marketing. o Emails requiring audiences based on donation information must have a corresponding data request. Advance data requests can be submitted through the UA Intranet. A cougarnet username and password is required to access the Intranet. • Advance Data Requests must be submitted at least two weeks in advance of the email launch date and the output can be sent to imodules@uh.edu. UH Marketing will upload the group to iModules. o Colleges, departments and UH System members may only send broadcast emails to alumni, donors, friends, constituents who have opted in and full time faculty or staff affiliated with their college of department. o Files of email addresses will not be released internally or externally. All broadcast email will be sent by University Marketing personnel or designated power users.

Email Reviewer Group o Preview emails must be sent to UH Marketing for all outgoing emails. o All preview emails will be sent to imodulesreview@uh.edu. This iModules Reviewer Group consists of members of the Marketing & Communication team, Annual Giving and various members of University Advancement. o Emails should be reviewed and approved internally before sending to the iModules Reviewer Group. o Include your name in the “comments” section and your email in the “reply to” section, so we know who is sending the preview email.

Logging In to iModules iModules is a web based email marketing tool. The system can be accessed from any computer with connection to the internet.

iModules Terminology Community: A UH entity, i.e. College of Business or Honors College Custom Email: Can be sent on a one-time or recurring basis. Allows you to use multiple templates, reuse saved custom templates or reuse saved content. Recurring Email: Emails sent on multiple occasions over a specific period of time automatically. Email Template: The layout and design template of your email. Customizable. Email Skin: The look and feel of your email. Customizable. Content Blocks: Custom blocks of content used to create an email message. Can be based on various audiences and saved as editable or non-editable. Data Roles (interests): Customize what constituents see in an email message based on interests. Data Tokens (personal information): Special data fields used to personalize a message, i.e. “Dear (First Name),” Query: Pull audience based on data fields or interest codes in the Data Viewer. Uploaded File: List pulled from Advance, then uploaded to iModules. Custom List: List that cannot be queried and entered manually into iModules. Releasing: Launching the email to a specified audience. Email Category: Group in iModules that corresponds with related UH interest group.

Email Calendar The Email Marketing Calendar in Google allows you to see all the upcoming emails for your community and other communities at a glance. The calendar can be located here: https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=imodulesuh%40gmail.com&ctz=America/ Chicago

Calendar Items Your emails will display in the calendar with the Email Name (Community Name). Click on an email calendar item to see the details of the email, which include the subject of the message, the Community and the audience for that message. Views Click the buttons on the top right to view the calendar by Month or Week. Click the arrows to see the previous or subsequent Month, Week or Day.

Creating a Custom Email Custom emails provide flexibility by allowing you to use multiple templates, reuse saved custom templates and reuse saved content. Custom emails can be sent on a one-time or recurring basis.

On the iModules homepage hover on “Email” in the gray bar at the top of the screen. There will be a drop down for different options. Click on “Email Home”.

After clicking on “Email Home”, you will be directed to a screen showing the Saved Drafts, Released Emails and Email History for your community. On this screen click “One-Time Custom Email” under “Create New Email” to begin building your email message.

After you click on Email Home, you will be directed to the Email Builder screen where the Email Checklist/Wizard will appear. This will guide you through creating your email. Each step will receive a green check mark when the step is completed. Click NEXT to save changes on each step or Save & Close to save changes and go back to the email home page.

1. The first step is Email Details. Enter the Email Name, Email Description, From Name, Subject and Email Category. The Email Name will be pre-populated with todayʼs date and your name, but should be edited to reflect the content of your message. •

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The From Email address will display in the email header, associated with the From Name above. This is a required field, and defaults to the email address on file of the admin creating the Email. The Reply To email address will ALWAYS be ecommunications@uh.edu. This is a required field, and defaults to the email address on file of the admin creating the Email. Be sure to change. Select your Community Email Footer from the drop down menu. Select an Email Category from the dropdown list depending on the subject/audience of your email. The default category is General Information. You will need to change to the email category that reflects the content of your message. 12

Click Save & Continue.

2. The next step is to choose your Email Template. You have the option to select a Layout and a Design Template or create a new template. In this section we will choose an existing template to build the email message. Creating email templates is covered in another section. Several Layouts and Design Templates are available to use. First, Select Layout and then Select Design Template from the thumbnails provided. NOTE: Once you choose the template you will not be able to change it. To change the template, you would need to cancel the current email and start again with a new template.

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Click Save & Continue.

3. Next, use the various modules to build your Email Content using DRAG AND DROP content blocks, an item from the left column under the Custom Content area. Create custom content for your email using the content editor. This content can be role-based to show different content for different audiences. For each piece of role-based content enter a name for the content this audience will receive. (Only you will see this name; it is helpful to reflect the audience in the name.) Detailed instructions on creating custom content are covered in a different section.

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Click Save & Continue.

4. The next step is to Send a Preview. Send Preview allows you to send a test copy of your email to yourself (at the email address on file for the account under which you are logged in), and / or to any other additional addresses. For example, if you have an AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail, MSN or other non-academic or work email account, you may want to test how the message will look when received by your members who subscribe to similar mass market email services. • •

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Add recipients to receive the preview email and select the options whether to Customize email content based on Roles and/or Date. Customize email content based on roles: Click this box to view the email with content specific to a particular Community role. For example, you might want to see what the email sent to Students will look like. Customize email content based on date: Click this box to view the email with content specific to a particular date. For example, you might want to see what the email sent on a particular date will look like, as by that date certain News articles (or other dynamic site content) might have expired or become active.

Email messages should be reviewed and approved internally before sending to the iModules Reviewer Group. Messages should be sent to imodulesreview@uh.edu by noon the day before your scheduled launch. Emails that are not ready for review at the appropriate time will be rescheduled. Be sure to include your Community, email name and date the email is scheduled in the Comments section when sending emails to iModules review. After your message has been reviewed/approved, you will receive a confirmation that your message is scheduled that will look like this: 5. The last step is to Choose Recipients. This is where you will create a query to pull the constituent information you need for your email audience. Data Viewer allows you to create a list of people who are in your community. If you have a special custom list that is stored in iModules (only University Marketing can upload Custom Lists), you can combine this with a queried list for your total audience. Check that the box is green before clicking “Done”. Detailed instructions on building queries are in another section. Once your audience has been created, please wait for confirmation that your email has been reviewed and is approved to release.

The iModules Review Team will be responsible for releasing ALL emails. (Exception: Power Users)

Skin Builder The Skin Builder option allows you to customize the look and feel of your email. The body and text colors are customized for each campaign. Before using the Skin Builder you must choose a template and layout for your email.

Click Save & Continue. In the next step, under Build Content, you will see Customize Design. Underneath it says Launch Skin Builder. Click here.

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Once you click on the Skin Builder button, you should see a pop screen like below. By default, Skin Builder starts on the Base tab.

Base Tab: Allows you to set the options for the body of the email. • • • •

Center Email Body: This option centers the email within the viewable area for a recipient. Body Color: Select the color for the background of your email. Main Table Width: 600 pixels is the default and best practice used for email width, but you can enter your desired width here. Column Widths: Select the column widths for the table. You can set the width using percentages (30/70 for a two-column table) or pixels (200/400) 18

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Allow other emails to copy this skin: Check this option to allow other email administrators to select this skin from a dropdown list. Click here to load an existing skin: Check this link to make use of a previously saved skin. The Load Skin window will open. From the Available Skins dropdown list, select the skin you wish to use and click load. Click Save.

Cell Tab: Allows you to set options for individual cells (columns, headers, footers) in the email. Highlight the cell to select it and customize the settings for that cell. (The cell will change from blue to yellow when it is selected) *You can refer to the Email Policies & Style Guide when choosing options for this tab. • • • • • • •

Font Family: Select the font for the cell. Font Size: Select the font size for the cell. Text Color: Select the color for the text. Cell Color: Select the color for the cell. Padding: Set the padding (in pixels) around text so that there is space between the text and the border of the column/pages. Border: Select the style, color and width for the cell border. Align: Select how you like your Text to be aligned; Left, Right or Center.

Link Tab: Allows you to set the options for the display of links. • • •

Link Color: Select the color for your linked text. (UH Branding is for all links to be Red - #CC0000) Bold: Select this option if you would like the linked text to be bolded. Underline (Default): Select this option if you would like the linked text to be underlined. (It is best practice to keep linked text underlined)

Header 1, Header 2, Header 3 Tabs: These tabs allow you to set options for the different headers you can use in your email. Each Header can be formatted differently. Font Size: Select the font size for the Header. Text Color: Select the color for the Header text. Background Color: Select the Background Color for the Header. Text Align: Select how you would like your Header to be aligned. Bold: Select if you would like the Header to be bolded. Italic: Select if you would like the Header to be in italics. Underline: Select if you would like the Header to be underlined.

Click Save.

Now you will have either created or chosen an existing Skin for the Custom Email message you are building.

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Creating Custom Content Create custom content for your email using the content editor in the Add Custom Content, Create New Content tool. This tool is a Drag & Drop feature. This content can be role-based to show different content for different audiences and can be personalized using data tokens.

Click on Create New Content and drag into your email message where you would like the content to be placed. A screen will pop up to edit this piece of content.

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The Content Editor Toolbar for creating Custom Email consists of a WYSIWYG editor, a Token List, Custom Link creation, etc.

Pasting in Outside Text: When bringing in content from outside the Content Editor (like Microsoft Word), you should first put it in Notepad to remove all of the formatting. Then copy the text from Notepad and paste it into the editor.

The best option to bring in text from an outside source is “Paste plain text” option in the WYSIWYG. Uploading and Inserting Images: Click on the image button . The Image Manager window will open. Images are organized based on a folder system. Folders will be set up for your community. You are welcome to create new folders to reflect the different images that will be in your email messages.

To upload a new image, click Upload Image. Click Select to browse the images on your computer. Once you have found the images you would like, click Upload Image. The file size limit for images is 10MB and the acceptable file extensions are given on the upload page. You can load up to 3 images at a time. Be sure to resize your image BEFORE uploading it to iModules.

To select an image that has already been uploaded, look for it in the appropriate folder to the left. Click Insert. The image will display in the Content Editor.

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Once you have selected an image, you can go to the Properties tab to select different options.

Image Properties: Or you can change these properties after you have inserted your image by right clicking on the image.

Click on Properties and a pop up box will appear.

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Image Size: Use the constrain option to keep size in proportion. Click the chain icon to be sure chains are connected – this means the size will stay in proportion. Border Color: Select a border color for your image. Border Width: Select a border width for your image. Alternate Text: Fill in with alternate text for your image that your audience will see if the image does not load in an email message. Long Description: Include a long description of your image. Image Alignment: Select the dropdown box and you will have several options: Left, Right, Center. Image Source: This is the web link where your image is hosted. Margins: Create space around your image on the top or bottom and right or left. Use the arrows to choose how much space you would like.

Creating Hyperlinks: Highlight the text or image that you want to be linked in the content editor. Click

A URL pop box will appear – The Hyperlink Manager.

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URL: You can either type or paste in the URL. Link Text: The actual text in the email message that is being linked. Target: Where you would like the link to open.

Creating Anchor Links: (links within a document) Highlight the destination of the link (the area of the document referenced in the link). Generally it is the beginning of a paragraph of additional information on the same page. Click

. Click the Anchor Tab in the Hyperlink Manager.

Enter a name for the anchor in the area provided. Enter a name that is easy to remember or is related to the subject of the link. Click OK.

Highlight the text that will be the actual link. Click

On the Hyperlink tab in the Hyperlink Manager, go to Existing Anchor and click the dropdown to find the anchor you just named. If the anchor you created does not appear in the dropdown, simply enter #anchorname as the URL. Creating Email Links: The email link will open up a blank email with the “To” address and the “Subject” already populated. Highlight the text that will be an email link. Click Hyperlink Manager.

. Click the E-mail tab in the

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Address: Enter the email address that the message should go to. Link Text: The text that will appear in the content of the message. Subject: Enter the subject that the email message should have.

Format Stripper: The Format Stripper will remove formatting from text you have pasted into the document. Highlight the text that has the formatting you want to remove and click the dropdown arrow of the Format Stripper removed.

. Click the format that you want to be

Using the Token List: The Token List displays the available tokens (personalization options) for your community. Tokens allow you to personalize the communication you send to your constituents. Click the dropdown arrow of the Token List.

The list is alphabetized and can also be viewed in a Tree View. Scroll down to the token you want to use and click on it. The token will appear in the Content Editor. Example: ##First Name##

Once you are done formatting/creating a content block, click Save Version.

The initial content version you create will be forced to an audience of Everyone by default. The audience selection tool wonʼt be displaced. The Version Name will be Default for Everyone. It will be automatically placed at the end of the Display Priority and cannot be moved or deleted. Click Create New Version to create a different version for different audience groups based on roles (interests). You do not HAVE to create different versions of content; you can use one content block for everyone.

Enter a name for the content this audience will receive. Only admins will see this. Select the audience who will receive this content (since the first piece of content is automatically defaulted to Everyone). • • • • • •

Choose from the list of roles (interests & biographical information). Use the arrows to select. Only members who fit the criteria for a certain role will be able to see this content. Roles customize what people see. When you choose a role you are indicating that only that group of people will be able to see/not see. It also lets you target a specific group in your system based on a value they have for a particular field. Recipients will see the content for the first role they meet. Deny Access: You may also exclude certain groups from the Audience by using this checkbox. Use the arrows to select.

Create your custom content in the editor. See instructions for creating custom content. Click Save Version.

Create as many different content versions as you wish depending on how many different audiences you have. You can update the priority in which people will see the content under Content Version Display Priority. You can also select a content block in the priority and Save Content for Reuse.

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You can find Saved Content items in the following areas: • •

Saved Content Editable: You can allow other admins to make changes to Editable content after it is placed into a message. Saved Content NOT Editable: You can deny access to make changes to Not Editable content after it is placed into a message.

Once you have created as many necessary versions of content you need for your email message, update the priority for the audiences and saved content accordingly you can click, Save and Load Content. In the Custom Email Builder you will see your new email message that includes the updated content.

You can always go back and edit your custom content by clicking on the Pencil symbol.

Forward to a Friend: There are many different options in iModules to make your email viral. One of them is the Forward to a Friend option. This allows your constituents to forward the message to someone else. Tokens and role-based content will be removed from the forwarded message.

Drag and drop the Forward to a Friend in the left menu to your email message content. A pop up box will open to edit your Forward to a Friend content block.

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Click Next. Then, Save Changes and Load Content. You should see the Forward to a Friend content block in your email message.

Building a Query: Any time you are building a query, you will use the Data Viewer functionality. That Data Viewer resides in the Choose Recipients step of creating your Custom Email. After you send a preview email to the iModules Reviewer Group you will create/query your audience using the Data Viewer.

Click on “Configure” under the Data Viewer and a screen will pop up with different options to begin your query.

1. Create a new query: Allows you to select specific fields or apply roles to create a query. Once you choose Create a new query you can select Apply Community Roles. This allows you to only pull the data for constituents who fit the criteria for a certain role. Mark the necessary boxes based upon how you need to query. You do not HAVE to select Apply Community Roles and can just query based off of data fields and interest codes.

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Combine roles with data fields and activity filters: Selecting this option will allow you to filter the data using a combination of data fields and roles (interests) that have been created. For example, you could filter the constituents who are Chemical Engineering alumni and live in Houston.

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Include these roles: Choose from the list of roles in the list box. Use Ctrl or Shift to select multiple items.

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Exclude these roles: You may also exclude certain groups by using this checkbox. Choose from a list of roles to select a group to exclude. Use Ctrl or Shift to select multiple items.

Click Next. Add Fields:

Once you click on Add Field you will be presented with options to add selected fields. Here you will choose the criteria to build your query.

You can select from: • •

Quick Field List: Select from an alphabetical listing of existing fields. Click on the fields you want to use. Search in Available Fields: You can search specific fields to include in your query.

The selected fields will show up on the right side and you may select as many fields as you like to create your query. Click Add Selected Fields. Define Criteria: After you have selected the fields you would like to use in your query, you will define the criteria for those fields.

Filters can be created in the following ways (depending on the data field chosen): • •

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Equals: Allows you to search for criteria that match exactly what is typed into the box or what is selected from the dropdown box. Null Query option: For checkbox field types (Boolean fields), which only have the single operator option of “equals,” there is also an option to “Include blank values.” Use this option to include those constituents who have not yet responded to the field (null values). Not equal to – Searches for entries that do not match what you have typed into the box or selected from the dropdown list. Null Query option - For all field types that provide a "Not Equal To" option, there is also an option to "Include blank values". This enables you to construct your query so that constituents that have not responded to the particular field (therefore have a null value) can also be included in the query. Does not have a value – Allows you to search for entries that do not have value in that field (it has been left blank). Has a value – Searches for entries that have any data in that field, regardless of what it is. Search multiple values - Enter multiple values for your search. Each value must be on a separate line. Not in Multiple Values: Allows you to search entries that are not across multiple values. 39

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Contains, Does Not Contain, Starts With, Ends With are other filter options that may be available depending on the type of field. Does Not Start With - Searches for entries that do not start with what is entered into the value box. Ends With - Searches for entries that end with what is entered into the value box. Does Not End With - Searches for entries that do not end with what is entered into the value box.

Define Query Logic: After you have defined all of your necessary fields for your query, you will define your Query Logic. If you select more than one filter field, then you will need to specify where the query should be built with “AND Statements” or “OR Statements” or both. •

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AND Statements – This option will apply the filters to your data so that each set of data must have a match for everything for which you are filtering. For example, if you are filtering for members from California AND for Teachers, only Teachers who live in California will be pulled. OR Statements – This option will apply the filters to your data so that each set of data only needs to have a match for one of the fields for which you are filtering. For example, if you are filtering for members from California OR for Teachers, all members from California (regardless of occupation) and all Teachers (regardless of where they live) will be pulled. Custom Where Logic - This option allows you to create your own complex query logic by writing out the query string using the letters A through Z which have been assigned to the criteria/field. Parentheses are used for grouping and the following operators can be used in the query: o AND = For a row to be selected all the specified conditions must be true. (This= would be the default.) o OR = For the row to be selected at least one of the conditions must be true. o For example, if you are looking for constituents with Class Years of 1980-1985=(A) that live in California (B) or that have a Chemical Engineering degree (C). The query would be A AND (B OR C).

A preview of your query results will be shown in a table at the bottom of the page after you have defined your criteria and query logic by clicking, Apply Query. You can check the box in the Exclude column to exclude a memberʼs data from the report/export. Click Next.

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If you want to save the query, select the Save Query option.

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You can also select the Save as Criteria Template option to save criteria values so that it can be used for future reports/exports. A criteria template saves the fields but not the specific filters. For example, if you queried on members with the Home State of California, the criteria template would be saved as a query for Home State. When you use it again you would specify the state you needed.

Once you save a query, the Data Viewer box will turn green and display how many constituents were pulled in that query.

This is the last step you will take when building a Custom Email. Once the iModules Reviewer Team has reviewed your email you will be notified of the approving, audience confirmation (pulled from your query) and confirmation of release date. 2. Use a saved query: Select from the list of saved queries to use a previously created query. You can also modify a saved query before running it, or delete the query.

The saved queries you can choose from will be displayed in a grid. Click run the query.

Once you run the query, the Data Viewer box will turn green and display how many constituents were pulled in the saved query. 3. Use a criteria template: Select from the list of previously created templates to load a criteria template.

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The criteria templates you can choose from will be displayed in a grid. Click select a criteria template.

In the next step you will be asked to specify the criteria for your export. You can also delete the query. For example, if you are searching for members from certain states, a criteria template for "Home State" allows you to specify different state(s) for your search each time you use it. (Criteria templates save the fields, but not the field values.)

Select the value(s) for the field(s) being used by the criteria template. You also have the option to select additional fields. Click Apply Query. A preview of your query results will be shown in a table at the bottom of the page. You can check the box in the Exclude column to exclude a memberʼs data from the report/export.

Click Next. •

If you want to save the query, select the Save Query option.

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You can also select the Save as Criteria option to save criteria values so that it can be used for future reports/exports. A criteria template saves the fields but not the specific filters. For example, if you queried on members with the Home State of California, the criteria template would be saved as a query for Home State. When you use it again you would specify the state you needed.

Once you save a query, the Data Viewer box will turn green and display how many constituents were pulled in that query.

Only Super Users in University Marketing will be able to upload excel files of constituent information. Email administrators will not use this step.

Power User Program When email administrators meet the criteria established by the Power User Program, they gain additional access to functionality in iModules. Power users are able to attach their audiences, release emails after being approved by University Marketing and view special reports. Criteria: Procedures: • Two-month period of accurate use of Email Project Request Form, scheduling emails at least three days in advance of launch date • Punctuality with sending messages to the iModules Reviewer Group, by noon the day before the message is scheduled to launch • Understanding when a message is approved and when to release an email Consistent Quality: • Appearance of strategic email campaigns and University branded emails • Enticing and descriptive subject lines • No spelling or grammar errors • Accurate dates and times • Functional hyperlinks Data: • Segmented and targeted audience lists by querying audiences for emails based on interests; does not blast entire audience list • Two-month period of accurate use of Advance Data Request Form, requesting data only for solicitations or very specific audiences that cannot be queried Communication: • Consistently sends email questions to imodules@uh.edu • Reliable and consistent use of primary contact with a backup secondary contact Permissions: • Ability to attach audiences to emails • Ability to release emails • Ability to run specialized reports Power User Memo of Understanding: Each person eligible to become a Power User must sign a memo of understanding. If requirements listed in the memo are not met, permissions will be reverted to a lower level of access. If permissions are revoked, the admin is placed on a one-month probation period until all criteria are met again.

iModules Email Audience All broadcast email to UH System alumni, donors and friends should be created and sent using iModules. All audiences can be queried in iModules, except for groups based on donation information or solicitation emails requesting funds. Any email requesting funds must have an appeal code associated with the audience, which is provided by Annual Giving in University Advancement. University Marketing will upload these groups to iModules separately. Emails requiring audiences based on previous donation information must have a corresponding data request. Advance data requests can be submitted through the UA Intranet and must be submitted at least two weeks in advance of the email launch date. The output can be sent to imodules@uh.edu for upload in to iModules by University Marketing. Files of email addresses will not be released internally or externally. All broadcast email will be sent by University Marketing personnel or designated power users. Advance Data: Constituent data in iModules is populated with information from the Advance database maintained by University Advancement. Constituent interest group information is also maintained in Advance. Data is synced nightly between iModules and Advance and new graduate data is uploaded six to eight weeks after graduation. Each community (college or department) email administrator will receive a list of data fields that will be used to query specific biographical or personal information from Advance. You can request this list by emailing imodules@uh.edu. Interest Groups: Opt-in email campaigns are based on permission-based marketing. An opt-in email address is one that the owner has agreed to receive future email communications from you by indicating their interests via an email subscription form. Each community (college or department) email administrator is given a list of their interest group codes that are used to query audiences in iModules. You can request this list by emailing imodules@uh.edu.

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Email Categories: Email categories are set up in iModules that match the interest categories that reside on the UH Email Subscription page. Email categories are used to group emails according to subject and allow members to opt-out of specific categories. General information is the default category. Only University Marketing email administrators will be able to remove and create email categories. Please email imodules@uh.edu if you would like your email categories updated.

Multiple Constituents with Same Email Address: The rules that are followed by the Email Marketing system are implemented in the following order of preference when dealing with multiple constituent records with the same email address: 1. If there is only one record that is a constituent, that record is used. 2. If there are multiple records that are constituents and only one has a Constituent ID, that record is used. 3. If there are multiple records that are constituents and have Constituent IDs and only one has both First and Last Name, that record is used. If needed, there are optional 4th and 5th criteria to narrow down to the final sending email address: 4. If there are multiple records that are constituents, have Constituent IDs, and have First and Last Names, the most recently updated record is used. 5. Lowest / Oldest Member ID (internal iModules system ID) is the final tie-breaker: If there are multiple records that are constituents, have Constituent IDs, have First and Last Names, and have the same last updated date, the lowest Member ID is used. If there are multiple records that are constituents, have Constituent IDs, and have First and Last Names, the lowest Member ID is used.

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UH Email Subscription Page Anyone can sign up to receive email from the University of Houston via the online email subscription page. This page is located here: www.uh.edu/news-events/mailinglists/iModules-Interests/index.php First name, last name, email address and zip code are mandatory information needed to sign up for email. Graduation year is not necessary, but helps locate the constituents record in Advance if they are a UH alum or donor. After clicking on a Community, a list of interests for that category is displayed. Constituents can sign up by checking the radio buttons for email campaigns they would be interested in.

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Email Marketing Reporting Reporting is your way to quantify the effectiveness of your email marketing strategy. Email marketing reporting is located in the top under Email.

On the Reporting homepage, you will see tabs for the different detail levels available.

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All Campaigns Tab: Click on the More Actions for this Data dropdown and you can select Print view a printer friendly version of this report page with the Email Metrics table and any available Chart Reports. Or you can select Export to .csv file to export these Email Metrics to Excel as a CSV file. Click on the right side of the screen to view the email content. If there are multiple recurrences of the message, then you must open up that email campaign (by clicking on the name of the campaign in the table) in order to see the option to view the message. To view the detail report for a Campaign or Message, click the Campaign or Message name. The metric information in the Campaign Metric Table provides you with a “snapshot” of the success of the email. You may sort by any of the column headers by clicking on the column header name. • • •

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Community: Community or sub-community from which the email was sent. Category: Email category that was selected when the email was created. Campaign Name: This is the name of your Email Campaign. A Campaign is an email communication effort which may consist of a single one-time message (such as an invitation to Homecoming or a solicitation for donations) or multiple (recurring) messages (such as a monthly Newsletter). Last Run: This field shows you the date on which the message was sent, or the date on which the last recurrence of the message in the campaign was sent. Hover over the clock symbol to see the exact time the message or the last message in that recurring email campaign was sent. Sent: This number tells you how many actual messages were sent out in the course of your mailing Campaign. In the case of a single one-time message, this total will reflect only the number of people who were sent that message. In the case of a recurring campaign, the displayed total will reflect the number of messages sent during the course of the entire campaign, with each individual message's total recipient list added to the overall grand total of campaign recipients. To see a breakdown of recipients for each message within the campaign, click the "Plus" sign (+) to the far left of the campaign's Name. Kickbacks (Delivery Rate): This number represents the total number of "kicked back" (returned) messages that were generated by the mailing. Delivery Rate: This number represents the percentage of your total sent messages that reached the intended recipients. The number is obtained by subtracting the total number of kicked back messages from the number sent and then dividing that total by the number sent. Thus, if 250 messages were sent and 10 were returned, then 240 were actually delivered. By dividing 240 by the original number sent, we discovery that our delivery rate for that mailing is 96%. 50

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Opens (Open Rate): This is the number of messages that the system detected were opened, images were allowed and/or a link was clicked on. Click on the underlined number to see who opened the email, allowed images or clicked on a link. For recurring emails, you'll need to click on the email name to see the detail for each email. Open Rate: Percentage of the total messages sent that were opened, images were allowed and/or a link was clicked on. Unopened (Unopened Rate): This is the number of messages that the system detected were NOT opened (See Opens above for more info). Click on the underlined number to see who did not open the email. For recurring emails, you'll need to click on the email name to see the detail for each email. Unopened Rate: Percentage of the total messages sent that were NOT opened. Clicks: This number demonstrates the total number of in-message links back to the site that were clicked by readers. Clicks are tracked at both the Message and Campaign level. If John clicks on 3 links in an email, Mary clicks on 4 and Dan clicks on 2, the total number of Clicks recorded for that message would be 9. Click on the underlined number to see who clicked on links in the email. For recurring emails, you'll need to click on the email name to see the detail for each email. Unique Clicks (Unique Click Rate): This number represents the total number of unique member clicks were generated within a particular message or campaign. Using the same example as above, if John clicks on 3 links, Mary on 4 and Dan on 2, the total number of Unique Clicks recorded for that message would be 3 one for each unique member who clicked a link within the email. Unique Click Rate: The number of unique clicks divided by the number of messages delivered. This tells you relative effectiveness of your campaign / message in generating a click response from each recipient - i.e., a 22% Unique Click Rate means 22% of the recipients of the email clicked on at least one link. Forwards: The number of recipients who used the Forward to a Friend custom content option, if enabled, to forward the email to a friend. This does not count users who just did a forward in Outlook or other email client. Unsubcribes (Unsubscribe Rate): The number of recipients who unsubscribed from the category associated with the sent email. Unsubscribe Rate is the number of unsubscribes divided by the total sent.

The Reporting Tools column on the left side are used to further filter the data visibly in the Campaign Metrics Table and to create charts based on the email data.

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Date Filters - Use the Date Filtering, in the left hand panel to choose a specific date range for which to display these Email Metrics (and the Chart Reports below). These filters enable the reporting window for both the metrics and the chart reports (and their related data) to be focused on a particular period of time. Either the Quick Date Range or the Manual Date Range will cause the Metrics grid and the Chart Reports to recompile based on the selected period of time.

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Filter - To include only specific Campaigns, indicate by checkbox the Campaigns you want to include, then click the Compare Selected Items button to view only those campaigns in the Email Metrics grid, as well as in the Chart Reports below.

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Search - To more quickly locate a particular Campaign, enter a search term in one of the text boxes, click the funnel, and then in the dropdown select how you would like to structure your search. (To clear the search and see the full set of campaigns, select the funnel again and click No Filter.)

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Tracking Reports: You can see graphical representations of the data by using Tracking Reports. The Tracking Reports may be viewed as either a Pie or Bar chart. “Drag and Drop” Tracking Reports and Conversion Reports from the left portion of the screen into the areas labeled Drop Chart Here to Add.

Drag the green arrow button to one of the below:

Once you drag different tracking reports, you will see bar graphs and charts appear that reflect the metrics you are looking for.

You can click on a slice of the pie to get more information about that email. Â

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Campaign Detail, Message Detail and Tracking Detail Tabs To move to the Campaign Detail or Message Detail, you can either click on the name of the email or click on a “slice” of the pie chart. You will have Tracking Reports and Conversion Reports available to you at both of these levels. When you are at the Message Detail level, there are Tracking Reports available to you that will allow you to see member names.

In order to see all of the names of members who were sent an email, click on This will take you to a screen that looks like this:

FAQʼs Why hasnʼt my email or import processed yet? Our email application runs at the top of every hour, so if you send an email at a high traffic time, it could take up to or over an hour to process depending on the size of the queue. The constituent meets the query parameters, but didnʼt receive my email. • Have they opted out of that email category? • Are they marked as invalid? • Do they have a valid email address? • Are they marked as disabled, privacy protected or deceased? Why does reporting for my email show 0 recipients after sending? The data in the email marketing reporting grid is updated nightly in overnight processing. What can I do about a bad link in an already delivered email? Our email marketing system is designed to track each link that is clicked on. To enable this, the link temporarily redirects to your iModules site before sending the user to the final destination of the link. This allows iModules to change an email-marketing link after the email is sent. In order to do this, call Application Support, and they can open up a high priority ticket to fix it. iModules should be able to fix it within a few minutes. Can I embed videos in an email? You can embed videos in an email, but nearly all major email clients will automatically block them. As a best practice, you can provide a link back to your site to view the video - which has an added bonus of driving traffic to your site. How do I make sure my email is going to the right people when I build the query for my distribution list? When you build an email marketing query using data fields from the site, there are certain data fields the system will look at regardless of whether or not you add them manually. Your email marketing email will automatically strip out the following records when sending: • Unverified accounts • Privacy protected accounts • Accounts with invalid email addresses • Deceased accounts • Disabled accounts • Accounts who have opted out of general emails or the specific category of email being sent