Overview

The email blast feature allows you to compose and send an email using images and variables to communicate with several customers at once! After clicking send, the task will be sent to the Background Task to complete.

When the emails are finished sending, a report will be available in your background tasks with a copy of the email you sent and a detailed list of emails it was sent to. It will also tell you which email addresses may have opted out of your email blasts and which emails were not valid.

Be sure to browse our Templates to see if one is already designed for what you need.

Sending Email Blasts

From the FAMILIES, STUDENTS, CAMPS, or STAFF pages, open the Email Blast window by first selecting who you want to email from the list, then clicking the email button as shown below.

Notes:

- Enrollment type filters (ACTIVE, WAIT, MAKEUP, TRIAL) are available when sending email blasts from the STUDENTS page.  The system will use the "On Date" specified in the filters to determine who is eligible.

- Attendance status filters are also available on the STUDENTS page.  These will reflect students who were PRESENT or ABSENT on a particular date (along with Tardy/Left Early options for PRESENT and Excused/Unexcused for ABSENT).

Next, from the Email Blast window, follow these steps to send:

1. If presented with the option to do so, choose your options for how to send the emails (One per enrollment, One per family, etc.).  (These options will vary depending on which page you are sending the Email Blast from.)
2. Optional: Select a predefined Email Template to use. (Selecting a template will automatically fill in the Subject and Email Body.)
3. Enter a Subject for the email.
4. Add your message (text) in the Email Body.
   • Using the “Variables” menu option in the Email Blast composition window allows you to select an email variable from there and insert it into the Email Blast. 
     
   •  When entered, it will display a “friendly” name reflecting the kind of information that will be inserted rather than the variable itself. The variables displayed are contextual based on which page you are on when composing the Email Blast. (That is, only variables available from the STUDENTS page will show for Email Blasts composed there, only variables available from the FAMILIES page will show there, etc.)
   • Variables that are manually typed will automatically reformat to the “friendly” name when you press the space bar after entering the variable.
   • NOTE: if you manually enter a variable and it displays bad_var instead of the “friendly” name, then you have either entered the variable incorrectly, or it is not available from the page you are on. You can use the Variables menu to select the correct entry if needed.
   • Using the "Variables" menu will also allow you to insert data from Custom Fields as email variables. These can be selected from the “[Page] Custom Fields” submenu of the "Variables" menu.

• Click Send.
• Note: While sending, the email will turn into a background task at the bottom left of your screen.
  
  Emails sent through iClassPro will be delivered from our servers (not your inbox), using the email address (under Settings>Locations) for the toggled location as the "reply-to" address. The "from" address in the email will be noreply@ses.iclasspro.com, and your customers may choose to add that contact to their address book to ensure that they get emails and to prevent them from going to their spam folder. For more best practices and troubleshooting steps for email delivery, click here.

Email Attachments

We understand that sometimes you want to send out documents to a large group of customers. That's why you can now upload documents in iClassPro for use in email blasts!

Customers can access these files by simply clicking on a link inserted in the email which directs them to the uploaded document.

First, select your intended audience, then click the email icon.

Next, select the Attachment icon within your email toolbar.

Upload or Select your attachment from the most recently uploaded list provided. You can select from any of your previously uploaded files by clicking the Show More button.

And you're done!

Your attachment will be created in the form of a clickable link.

Managing Your Files

You can manage your files by clicking Settings, then Uploaded Files. You are given 1GB of FREE Storage!

The following file types are accepted in iClassPro:

Email Report

When your email has finished sending, you will find a document labeled "Email Blast :: SUBJECT OF YOUR EMAIL"  in your background tasks. This document will contain information about what was included in the email and who was contacted (as well as any unsubscribed or failed email addresses).

Note: You may wish to download and save this document for your records. This document will remain in your background tasks until it is deleted or 60 days pass, at which point it will be automatically cleared.