Email The Class Feature Updated

The Email The Class Feature has been updated with:

1) Better method of selecting/deselecting Classmates
2) New Preview option
3) New Self Test option (to ensure email is how you want it prior to sending)
4) Sent email repository
5) Updated preselect options

and more... Kudos belong to Rick Root for this one. Check it out.

THX ~ now to test and learn all the updates . . . .

OOH RAH! Kudos to Rick for Root-ing out these great improvements!

you're welcome!

RICK: Outstanding job; I have used twice already and like it.

Brad Switzer wrote:

This is a terrific update..Thanks so much,Brad and team...My,how CC has grown..I love it!!! Thank you all!!!!

Thank you for answering all of my prayers for a new and wonderful "email the class" feature. I sent out an email blast today and was able to test drive to many of the new options.

It's terrific!!!!

Thanks Rick.
Love it! Love it! Love it!

Brad...as usual..YOU AND YOUR BUNCH ROCK!!!
Thanx Rick!!!! I can't wait to try the new stuff!!!

GREAT IMPROVEMENT! This is why I will continue to recommend CC.

LOVE these new features! I just used them this morning on a blast I needed to send. I LOVE seeing what the blast will look like before I hit the mighty "send" button. SO HELPFUL!

Something weird has happened, and I am not sure why... All of the blasts that went to AOL email accounts were blank. Any idea what would cause this?

I don't see how it's even possible. Please forward a blank one to brad@classcreator.com I'd like to examine it.

A major improvement -- thanks to Rick, Brad and the whole Class Creator Team.

I believe a significant improvement is the ability to include personalization of emails -- with inclusion of codes to place first names and last names in the greeting and body of the email.

$first_name$ - inserts the first name of Classmate.
$last_name$ - inserts the last name of Classmate.
$school$ - inserts the name of your school.
$year$ - inserts "Class of XXXX" - where XXXX is your graduating year.
$homepage$ - inserts a link to your home page.
$ca_first_name$   - inserts Administrator's first name.
$ca_last_name$ - inserts Administrator's last/maiden name.
$ca_married_name$ - inserts Administrator's married name.

Great new feature Brad and Rick but I still don't see a filter to e-mail only those who have said Yes or No to attending the reunion. Am I missing something?

Bonnie,

You have to have an active reunion for that e-mail filter to make sense. Just activate your reunion for a few minutes and then e-mail the class, then you can deactivate it again.

I ran a test of John's inclusion codes above by sending just that list in an "email the class" email to myself.

One didn't work--classmate's last name.

The Class of XXXX on this multi-year site didn't get the classmate's graduating year but the website's class year description, "Classes of 1907-2010". That's useful, but what would be the code to get the individual classmate's year?

The Administrator turns out to be the root admin, not the co-admin who was sending it out--in this case, me. What would the codes be for sender's names & class?

Anyway, it was an interesting exercise and needs that one little adjustment for last name. I don't remember if it's different on the email-writing page. What should it be?

This is what got sent to me:

Mary - inserts the first name of Classmate.
$last_name$ - inserts the last name of Classmate.
South Pasadena High School - inserts the name of your school.
Classes of 1907 - 2010 - inserts "Class of XXXX" - where XXXX is your graduating year.
http://www.sphsaa-classmates.org - inserts a link to your home page.
Bruce - inserts Administrator's first name.
Eskander (Administrator) - inserts Administrator's last/maiden name.
- inserts Administrator's married name.

Thanks, John! And Brad or Kyle, in advance, if you chose to speak up.

Mary,

I have a programmer checking $last_name$ out to see why it isn't working.

I love this feature especially being able to put in the first name. It makes it so much more personal.

Only one problem with the first name... some people have changed names or put in a nickname and it goes out as
Hi Mahlon "Benny"
Hi Jacqueline (Jackie)
Hi Barbara Joan
Hi Ethelyn R. (Lyn)
HI M. Jane
Hi J. Stephen
Hi Lawrence G.
Hi John Richard
Hi Harry 'Skip'
Hi Janet (Jan)

Instead of Hi Benny... Hi Jackie...Hi Barbara etc.

I know that Brad has avoided having a nickname field, but this seems to me to need some way to use the part of the first name so it can be used as an email field.

If we can't have a greeting name / nickname field... how about a way to indicate what part of the first name field gets used in the email greetings.

Maybe have the field set up like this

Benny | Mahlon
Lyn | Ethelyn R.
Skip | Harry

with the name before the | used in the email?

Or maybe there is something else you can suggest.

Sending a mass email with the first name really personalizes the mailing and I'd really like to get a way for this to work correctly. On the email I just sent out, I got emails from some of the classmates thanking me for the communication as if I sent it them only so it's important to try to work something out.

Perhaps what is needed is a "Greeting Name" field. So the e-mail the Class could have $greeting_name$ and it could insert the greeting name.

I like that!

Would that be a Detail Field or a Profile Field, Kyle? And maybe the system could be taught that IF there is a $greeting_field$, use that; otherwise use $first_name$???

Nicknames is on the list for "Advanced Options". So many things are ahead of this that all I can say is Advanced Options will likely make the system sometime in 2011. If we put in a Nicknames option for those who wish to enable it, do we need a Greetings field? Presumably with a Nicknames field the first name should only be the first name, which would make the greeting work fine. My only real hesitation about the Greetings field is many Admins won't ever fill it in for everyone. It adds more required work, when having it automated would be better and easier for everyone.