Access My Activities:
Click the Campaigns tab.
Click the My Activities option.
Find the Email Distribution panel.
Click on the Create New button.
This will begin the step-by-step process of crafting your email for release. At any time during this process, you can save your progress as a Draft by clicking on the Save button at the top right of the distribution wizard.
Distribution Settings
To start, give your distribution a name for internal reference; it is not seen by your recipients. Be as descriptive as possible so you can easily remember what was sent at a later date.
You can customize the “from” name and address that recipients will see in the Sender Information section. By default, the system will use the information of the logged in user.
Choose whether or not you would like a copy sent to you.
Click the Next button in the bottom right.
Distribution Recipients
Since you have already selected the Contacts or Outlets to whom you will send the distribution, you will see this Recipient screen already populated. Specifically, you will see the number of Media Contacts or Outlets selected and “from Search” indicated.
You have the option to send the distribution to any additional saved Media Lists as well at this point. To do this, click into the Media Contacts or Outlets field and check the lists to whom you would like to distribute.
You can also add individual recipient email addresses by typing them in and hitting the Enter key on your keyboard.
Click the Next button to move on to the next step.
Select a Template
You can choose to either work with a blank HTML slate, or you can choose one of our pre-designed templates to help you get started.
On the Default Template Page , you will find templates provided to you by Cision. If you would like to use a template shown here, simply click the template that best suits your communication.
If you, or other Cision users within your organization, have saved any of your own templates, click the Custom Templates heading to select from those options. Saving a Custom Template will be covered in the Design Your Email section.
Click the Next button to begin writing your email distribution.
Design Your Email
Now it’s time to craft your communication.
Enter a Subject for the email. This is the title the recipients will see. It should stand out and grab the reader’s attention and be about 55-75 characters in length.
Add the body of your release by importing, pasting or typing.
Importing the Email Body as a Word Document
If you have already constructed the body of your release in Word, you can simply upload the Word document using the Import Word Document link. Any images and links existing in the document will also be uploaded. You can edit the body of the email further once it has been imported.
Designing the Email Body using the Editor
If you have not already created the body of your release in Word, fill out the body by typing in the text or you can use the paste text buttons to paste sections of text from a word processing application.
You have the ability to format your release using the Toolbar:
Save the body of your email as a Custom Template if future emails will have a similar appearance.
Upload an image from your computer to the Image Library or add an image already uploaded to the Image Library, such as your company's logo.
Paste text as Plain Text. If the HTML email is blocked by the recipient’s server, a text version will be sent automatically. You can customize the plain text by selecting the Manual option.
Tip: You will want to edit the plain text version if you are using links or images in your release to clean it up for the recipients.
Text formatting options.
Insert a link.
Color text or background text.
Insert a personalized field such as: Contact First name, Formal Name or Outlet Name.
Note: The personalization option will be greyed out if you have included Additional Email Addresses on Email Recipients page as these two features cannot be used together.
Insert an image using an URL.
Once you have constructed the body of your email, you will have the option to modify the plain text version of the email and add an attachment if desired.
If the HTML email is blocked by the recipient’s server, a text version will be sent automatically. You can customize the plain text by selecting the Manual option. Tip: You will want to edit the plain text version if you are using links or images in your release to clean it up for the recipients.
Click Attachment to upload an additional file. The file must be smaller than 3 MB . It is intended to be purely supplemental information and your most important points should be in the body of your release. Also be sure to review pitching profiles to make sure your recipients are OK with receiving attachments.
If are using Google Analytics, you can use these fields to track the traffic driven by links added in the body of the email. In order to accomplish this successfully, one of the links in your email needs to be for the site you are monitoring. Click here to learn how to integrate Google Analytics with the platform.
The following is an example of the fields that will appear for Google Analytics. Note that the fields that appear are based on the system that is selected:
Web Tracking: Select the Marketing Automation System from the list you are using to track your website. (Ex: Google Analytics) If your system is not listed, you have the option of selecting Other from the list. An example of the Other fields appears below.
Source: Source will define where this referral traffic came from (EX: Cision).
Medium: Medium will define what Medium the referral traffic came from (EX: Email Distribution).
Campaign: Campaign will group several releases about the same topic together so that you can report on the overall campaign performance (EX: Spring Promotion).
Term: Optional parameter suggested for paid search to identify keywords for your ad.
Content: Optional parameter for additional details for A/B testing and content-targeted ads.
The following is an example of the field that will appear if Other is selected.
Web Tracking: If your system is not listed, you have the option of selecting Other from the list (Ex: Select Other for SalesForce).
URL Parameters: Enter the UTM code generated by your system exactly as it should appear when appended to all URLs in your email body. Following is what an example UTM code might look like: utm_source=Cision&utm_medium=Email& utm_campaign=Cision%2BFeature%2BUpdates
Before clicking the Next button for the Confirmation screen, use this as an opportunity to Preview your email. You may also click on the Save link in the upper-right to save as a draft or click Exit to discard this draft and exit the Email Distribution wizard. Click on the Next button when you are ready to proceed to the final step.
Confirmation
You can review your information and schedule or send your email distribution on the Confirmation step.
Click any of the Edit links to make changes to the choices you made in the previous sections.
Use the Send Preview button to send a preview of the release to yourself or colleagues.
An Opt-Out language is required. This is the language that will be used to generate the required Opt-Out information that appears at the bottom of the email.
An Opt-Out address is required, and you can change the address and company name displayed by clicking on the Override Address box. When adding or editing opt-out information, the state field is optional for all countries except the United States and Canada.
If you would like to add the Email Distribution to a Campaign, select the Campaign name from the drop-down.
You can have the email sent Now, or schedule it for a future time and date. Emails scheduled for future distribution can be modified before the send date.
Click Submit when you are satisfied with your choices. If you selected the "Now" option for Schedule, your email distribution will be sent to all recipients.
Working with Email Bounce Backs
When you view the Email Analytics & Statistics Report that is available after an email has been sent in the Cision Communications Cloud, you may notice you have some emails that have bounced back from members of your media lists. You have the ability to see who has not successfully received your email distribution and work with these bounce backs in the system.
If your email distribution has not been successfully received by members of your media list, you will see this initially indicated in the Bounced section of your Email Analytics and Statistics Report.
Examining & Working with Bounce Backs
On the right-hand side of the Email Statistics & Analytics Report, you can easily see which members of the media have not successfully received your email and then take action for each of these intended recipients.
Click the upside-down arrow next to All Recipients.
Select the Bounced Emails option.
For each individual whose email bounced, you will see the Email Bounced indicator as well as a reason code for why the email bounced.
Hover over the reason code to see a more specific explanation for why the email bounced.
If the bounce back message indicates that the recipient email address has been rejected, click on the media contact’s name to open their profile.
If the media contact’s profile indicates that they are a Private Contact, you will have the option to edit and update the email address.
Click the Three Ellipses button to access options for working with bounce backs.
Click Edit Private Contact Info to change the contact information for a Private Record.
Select the Request Update option for Public Contacts who do not have the Private Contact label.
Public Contact records are maintained by Cision, Requesting an update will let our media research team know that they should reach out to the media contact in an effort to update their contact information.
While our media research team contacts each member of the media in our database multiple times each year, requesting an update is extremely valuable as information can change ahead of our team reaching out.
Selecting all of your bounce backs and adding them to a list (once you have corrected any Private Contact email addresses) is beneficial so that you can easily send the distribution to them again.
Send Again to Bounce Backs
You can easily send the email distribution again to any bounce back contacts using the Replicate option. To use this option effectively, you will first want to update any email addresses for private contacts and then add the individuals to whom you want to send again to a media list. Sending the email again is also beneficial for bounce backs resulting from Media Contacts that previously had an out of office reply on or where there were intermittent server connection issues.
Click the Ellipses button in the upper right-hand corner of the Email Statistics & Analytics screen.
Select the Replicate option. You will be guided through the familiar steps for creating an email. When using the replicate option, the system will pre-populate the body content from the previously sent email.
Using BCC Email Functionality
By using a special email address in the BCC field of an email, a user can create a log of messages sent to media contacts without having to manually create Activities in the Cision system. This is especially helpful for users who prefer to send messages to journalists using their own e-mail software such as Outlook, Yahoo, Gmail, etc.
Contact Cision Support for further information.
Using a Cision BCC Email Address
Begin by creating a new message in the email software of your choice. Prepare the email as you normally would by entering an address in the “To” field, a subject and a message body. In the “BCC” field, enter the special email address given to you by Cision. When the message is complete, send the email.
Viewing a BCC Email in My Activities
An email sent using your Cision BCC email address will automatically be converted into an Activity in the system. The BCC email activity can be view either from the My Activities page or from the Media Contact or Outlet’s profile to whom it was sent.
Access My Activities:
Click the Campaigns tab.
Click the My Activities option.
My Activities Page
When you visit the My Activities page you will be presented with several panels designed to help you efficiently and effectively manage your interactions with media contacts and outlets. All Activities such as BCC emails, email distributions, social posts, and user-created activities will be presented in a grid view at the bottom of the My Activities page.
Locate the BCC Email
One of several options for finding a BCC Email is to use the keyword search. To use the keyword search, enter a word or phrase enclosed in quotations, or a combination of words and phrases connected using simple Boolean Terms. Boolean Terms accepted by this field are OR, AND, and AND NOT all of which must be capitalized when used.
NOTE: The keyword search looks through the Title and Notes fields of logged interactions.
Another option for finding a particular email is to use the Title column in the center of the My Activities page to find the email.
If you have trouble locating the distribution, you can also use the Filters on the left side panel to sort Activities by Type and Status
To View the Contents of the BCC email,
Click the upside-down triangle beside the Title (Subject line of the BCC email).
Select the View Details option.
A new window will open with the details of your BCC email.
Note: The Contact or Outlet you sent the BCC Email to will be listed here.
To Delete the Record of the BCC Email in the Platform
Click the upside-down triangle beside the Title (Subject line of the BCC email).
Select the Delete option.
Viewing BCC Email on Media Contact or Media Outlet Profile Records
If the recipient’s email address is in the Cision database, Cision will match the email address to the related Media Contact and/or Media Outlet record. If the sender of the email is a Cision user, it will also match the address in the “From” field to the Cision user’s e-mail address. This will identify who created the Activity.
To see the BCC email on the Media Contact or Outlet to whom you sent it:
Access Influencers Search
Click on the Influencers tab.
Click on the Search option.
Search for Contacts or Outlets
Select to Search Media Contacts or Outlets based on to whom you sent the BCC email.
Use the Contact Name or Outlet Name field to type in the name of the Media Contact or Outlet to whom you sent the BCC email.
Select the appropriate Media Contact or Outlet match.
Click the Search button.
Review Activity History in the Contact or Outlet Profile
When the Media Contact or Outlet record appears, locate the History panel.
There, you will find record of the BCC email sent to the Media Contact or Outlet.
Note: If the recipient’s e-mail address is not present in a Media Contact/Outlet/Individual/Organization record, or if it is associated with more than one Media Contact/Outlet/Individual/Organization record, the e-mail still becomes an Activity in your system. However, it will be an orphan record which means it is not linked to a Media Contact/Outlet/Individual/Organization. The same is true if the sender’s email is not associated with a User Record. The Activity can be edited and linked appropriately.