If all of your press releases and pitches to the media will have similar formatting, you may want to create a template. This document will describe how you can either build a template in the Cision Communications Cloud from scratch or build a template based on an existing word template you may already have.
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.
Importing an Existing Word Document as a Template
Within the Cision Communications Cloud, is the ability to import an entire Word document inclusive of the text it contains, live links, and images. If your template is already a Word document, we recommend trying this import option first. Once you have imported the document, you have the option to further revise it within the Cision Communications Cloud if you prefer. Further revision using the strategies described below is also beneficial if a particular element of the document does not import properly.
To import a template from a Word document, go theDesign page of Create New Email wizard.
Click the Import Word Document link.
Click the Browse button to see documents on your computer or in directories to which you have access.
Locate and click on the Word document that you want to upload as a template.
The entire Word document will be imported inclusive of text, images, and links.
NOTE: All elements of the imported document can be revised once imported. As well, additional images, text, and links can be added.
Adding/Editing a Logo or Images
Do you want an image at the top of your template? If so you can add an image using the Insert Local Image button described below. You have the ability to add multiple images to your template if you desire; each time using the process described below. In terms of best practice, we recommend at least one image to maintain the attention of your media recipients. For every image you add, you always have the ability to edit it further once inserted.
To add an image:
Once the Image Library opens, you can use the Add Image Upload option if you want to upload and use an image that has not been used in previous email distributions or click on an existing image in the gallery view.
When uploading images, remember that only image files can be uploaded to the gallery. Each image must be 4 MB or smaller.
The image you have either selected or uploaded will be inserted in the email body editor.
Right click on the image to access the Image Properties button or click on the image and select the Mountains and Sun icon to open the properties menu which will enable you to change the image.
Within the image properties menu, you can resize the image and change its alignment to left or right. NOTE: The left and right alignment choices here will result in a text wrapping effect.
Adding Media Contact Information
There are a few strategies you will want to use when adding media contact information to your template. You can initially add media contact information as part of your imported document as discussed earlier on this page. You can also paste in the media contact information using common paste options such as Paste from the right-click menu, CTRL+V (PC) or CMD+V (Mac). If the Media contact information imports or pastes to your liking, you are set and ready to continue building your template! If the media contact information does not import or paste in properly, follow the steps below to ensure proper formatting.
If the media contact information does not import or paste in properly (example: the info is double-spaced instead of single-spaced), you will want to first type the media contact information into WordPad, Notepad, or a program with little or no formatting support first. Then, within WordPad or Notepad, remove any extra spaces.
Once the information appears properly in WordPad or Notepad, copy the information.
Paste the media contact information into the Cision Body editor. This process should remove additional space and unwanted formatting.
Once you have pasted the contact information into the Cision Body Editor, you can use the font type, size, and color buttons on the toolbar to make the text match the rest of the body text.
Adding Headline and Subheadline Text
If your template follows a release format and will need a place for a headline and subhead line, follow the steps below to create placeholders in your template for this information.
You can add a placeholder for this information by either typing or pasting in a previous headline you have used or the word “Headline”. Repeat the same process for the Subhead line.
If your headline and subhead line need to be center aligned, highlight the text with your mouse.
With the headline and subhead line highlighted, click the center alignment button.
Use text formatting buttons on the toolbar such as bold to achieve the desired formatting for your headline and subhead line.
Adding Body Text
The body of the template and any boilerplate text below the body can be added by:
Importing a Word document (addressed earlier in this document)
Pasting in text previously typed in a word processing program. Pasting can be achieved using the paste option right-click menu, CTRL+V (PC) or CMD+V (Mac).
Typing the text directly in the editing space.
Saving Your Template
Once you have created the template to your liking, click the Save Template button in the upper right-hand corner. You will have the option to give the template a name of your choosing.
Accessing, Editing and/or Deleting Your Template
To access your template for subsequent use, you will find it stored on the Custom Templates page which is part of the step by step guide presented when you Create a New Email.
Access the Template:
Click on the Custom Templates option in the Select a Template step of the Email Distribution wizard.
Click on the template you want to use for your email.
Alternately:
To Delete the Template: Click on the Trash Can icon.
To Edit the Template : Click on the Pencil icon.
A message will appear indicating that the template will replace/overwrite any current contents of the email body.
When you move to the next step, which is Designing your email body, you will be able to add to and modify the template to meet the needs of the specific release or pitch.
