This article provides a comprehensive guide on creating and managing email communications using Tivian Communicate XI (CXI). It covers the process of creating an email, including setting up the message, configuring properties, and adding content. The article also explains how to test emails, create email signatures, choose layout options, and set up delivery methods (manual or automatic). Additionally, it touches on personalized greetings, resending emails, and tracking email performance through analytics.

Note: You must be added to the Communicate Journey team and hold the permission status of Owner or Editor to create new messages. Read more about team access and permissions here.

Introduction

Note: You must upload a CSV file with employees’ email addresses or use our Public API in order to use advanced features. You can download a CSV file template here.

Email is the preferred communication method for most enterprise companies. You can create and send engaging, branded emails from Tivian Communicate XI (CXI) that can cut through the noise and reach your employees via desktop or mobile device. Your audience’s engagement can be measured and viewed in the Analytics section.

Create an email

1. From the Campaign section, click Add New.
2. A pop-up window will appear.
3. Select Email from the Type options to the left, and click Create.

4. A new blank email entry will appear in the timeline, automatically opened to the Status tab.
5. Click on the Notes tab and fill out the following fields:

• Message Title: This is the title you will see in your campaign overview, as well as what will appear in the Analytics section for tracking purposes. The title can include the message or the content you are communicating about. Only visible to team members.
• Notes:  A place to give additional context for the asset. These notes are only visible to team members. Other teams may view the notes in the Communicate Planner section.

6. Then, click on the Properties tab and confirm the following fields:

• Date: Select the date when the email will be delivered.
• Reminder: Set a date you’d like the system to email you and any assigned Notification Recipients a reminder about this message.
• Destination: This is the media or URL your email will be linked to. Usually a piece of content in the Experience section of that Communicate Journey.
  1. The image that serves as the thumbnail in the content experience will serve as the image in your email.
  2. If you choose not to link to content within the experience but choose a different link, you will be prompted to upload an image.
  3. If you choose not to include a destination, your email will be sent without an image or Call to Action button.

7. At the bottom of the entry, click on the Edit pencil, then fill out the following fields:

• Subject: The email subject line, and will also be formatted as a title.
• Message: The email message body text. You can format the text (bold, italicize, underline). You can also add web links into the message body of your email.
• Call to Action: The text that will appear in the Call to Action button that links to the Destination set above. Leaving it blank will result in not having a Call to Action button appear, however, users can still click the thumbnail image to enter the journey experience. We recommend configuring a clear Call to Action to direct your employees to take action.

8. Click on the View eye once you are finished.

Note

A preview of your message will appear to the right of the timeline. Click it at any time to preview what your email will look like. You can send it to yourself or a colleague as a test to see how it will look when mailed.

Testing

1. In the edit window of the email, click on the preview to the right.

2. Click Enter Emails… at the top of the preview.

3. Enter the email addresses that you would like to send a test email to. A copy of the email will be delivered to their inbox.

Email signature

You can create an email signature that will appear at the bottom of all email messages sent from CXI. Email signatures can be leveraged across all your Communicate Journeys in the platform, though they must be manually selected for each journey.

1. Go to the Preferences section. Under Email Preferences, click Signature, to the right side of the drop-down menu.

2. Click Add a New Signature, from the pop-up window.

3. Fill out the fields and upload a PNG file to go with the signature.

4. Once you’ve finished, click the check icon in the bottom right corner to save it. It will now appear at the bottom of your email messages for this Communicate Journey.

Layout options

The default layout is Branded Background, a template that displays your company logo and colors. The other layout option is Clear Background, which removes your brand color from the sides of the email. (Clear Background has a left-aligned text or center-aligned text option to choose from.)

 Delivery options

There are two email delivery method options: manual delivery or automatic delivery. These are configured in the Preferences section.

Manual Delivery

Manual Delivery is the default method if you have no Targeted Audiences uploaded. The system will send out a single email to be forwarded to employees by you or someone in your company.

If you’d like to obtain the email immediately for distribution, you may do so at any time:

1. Open the email from the Campaign timeline.
2. Click on the Actions tab.
3. If Require approvals for messages is enabled in Settings, for messages In the Campaign timeline, review each message and click on the toggle for Approve message so that it is active (right/green).
4. Click on Send Now.
5. An email will be sent to you for forwarding.
6. Follow the instructions listed in the email to forward the message to your employees.

Automatic Email Delivery

Automatic Delivery requires that a distribution group, or Targeted Audience, be uploaded to CXI. The system will automatically send scheduled and approved emails to your employees.

1. Confirm the Targeted Audience you will be using for this Communicate Journey. If you already have a Targeted Audience configured, make this your Active Audience. If you need a new Targeted Audience, read our Creating and Managing Audiences article to learn how.

Note: If you are using the Public API, your audience list should automatically update daily. If you are using a CSV file, upload the newest version of that audience list over the existing one to update it.

1. From the Preferences section, in Email Preferences, click the pencil icon next to Manual and select Automatic Email Delivery.
2. Verify and confirm the Sender email address. You will be sent a verification email through Postmark, our email service provider, which needs to be verified in order for the email to be used.
3. If Require approvals for messages is enabled in Settings, for messages In the Campaign timeline, review each message and click on the toggle for Approve message so that it is active (right/green). (Messages that are not approved will not be delivered.)
4. Approved messages will automatically be delivered to your audience on the scheduled date at the time defined by your platform administrator. (You can check this by clicking on the Delivery Times button in the upper-right of the screen.)

Send Now

If you need to deliver an email message in real-time from CXI to your Targeted Audience, follow these steps:

1. Select the email message within your Campaign timeline.
2. Click on the Actions tab.
3. Click Send Now.
4. A dialog box will ask you to confirm recipients. Click on Send.
5. You and any assigned Notification Recipients will receive a confirmation email once the email message is successfully sent. (This may take a few minutes.)

Resending

In order to prevent sending duplicate emails to your employees, a dialog box will appear if you click “Resend” your email in the campaign timeline.

The dialog box will inform you of:

• The last time the email send process was triggered
• The length of time the email has been processing (if the email is still processing)
• The number of emails that were delivered

If you want to re-send the email message, you will need to unlock the “Resend” button by entering a 4-digit code that appears in the dialog box into the text field. Once correctly submitted, the Resend button will be unlocked and you can select it.

If you need to generate a new 4-digit code, click on the refresh arrow next to the 4-digit code.

Personalized greeting

You must have Automatic Email Delivery enabled and include a column entitled “First Name” in your employee list CSV, Public API data feed for the system to generate the first name personalized greeting in your emails. (“Hello Name,”).

If you choose not to personalize the greeting with “Hello [Name]”, there is an option in your audience filter to select “not applicable” when identifying the employee name. For more information, read about CSV best practices here.

Tracking your email

Look for the email icon in the Analytics Page to see how each of your campaign emails perform.

FAQ

How do I create an email in Tivian Communicate XI?

To create an email, go to the Campaign section, click Add New, select Email from the Type options, and click Create. Fill out the Notes and Properties tabs, then edit the email content including subject, message body, and call to action.

What are the delivery options for emails in CXI?

There are two delivery options: Manual Delivery and Automatic Email Delivery. Manual Delivery sends a single email for you to forward to employees, while Automatic Delivery requires a Targeted Audience and automatically sends scheduled and approved emails to your employees.

How can I track the performance of my email campaigns?

You can track email performance in the Analytics Page. Look for the email icon to see how each of your campaign emails performs, including metrics such as open rates and click-through rates.