Every campaign on Pledge It includes a built-in Message Center to help you communicate with your supporters via email. It allows you to quickly and easily message donors, participants, team captains, silent auction bidders, sponsors, and more without having to export email addresses. Messages can be sent immediately, drafted to finish later, or scheduled to send at a time you determine.
Your Message Center will show a record of what messages have been sent along with their open rate. Peer-to-peer campaigns will include message templates to help you maintain communication with fundraisers throughout the campaign.
Tip: Use the Preview button or Send Test button at any time when crafting your message to see how it looks before sending.
Steps
Add Content
From your campaign Dashboard, select Messages.
Select New Message to open the message editor.
Begin building out the body of your message in the drag-and-drop builder. Use the Add Section button to indicate if you'd like to add a text box, button, image, or divider.
Add as many sections as desired. To re-order sections, grab the left handle of the block and drag-and-drop to the preferred position. To delete a section, simply click the Trash Can icon in the right corner of the section.
Stylize Message
Stylizing your message is optional, but you can include a custom header and change the colors of the email background, text, and buttons. If you do not include a header, your campaign's logo will be displayed instead.
Click on the header option to include a custom header. The dimensions for the header are 600x125 pixels. If you upload an image outside of those dimensions, you will be required to crop it to size.
If desired, you can change the colors of the background, text, and buttons that appear in your message. Choose from the preset colors or copy in a HEX code for your color of choice.
Note: Keep web accessibility standards in mind when setting your custom colors and avoid hues that will make text illegible. Consider testing your colors in a color contrast checker to see if they pass Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) international standards.
Message Settings
Include the Email Subject for your message. This field is required before saving or sending your message.
If desired, you can include Preview Text that will display in the inbox after the subject line.
If you need to schedule your message to send later, turn the toggle on and choose the date and time you'd like to send the message.
Note: Message send times will follow the time zone set on your campaign.
Set Audience
Choose who will receive your message. Audiences are additive. As you select more categories, you are broadening the number of people you are reaching, not narrowing your selection. Browse the category of audience groupings and check the box next to the group you want to contact.
Note: The audiences you see will be determined by your campaign style and settings. For example, if you don't have the Sponsors feature or Silent Auction feature enabled, you won't see categories for sponsors or bidders.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find and edit my draft or scheduled messages?
There are tabs at the top of your Message Center that allow you to switch between Sent, Scheduled, Draft, and Template messages (if applicable). Select Draft or Scheduled to find the message you need to update. Simply re-open your message and begin editing. Scheduled messages can be edited up until their send time.
Is it possible to just send a copy to myself and not to any audiences?
Yes. When editing a message, use the Send a Test button in the lower left corner. You can also use the Preview button in the top right corner to preview your message without sending a test.
Who does the email come from? What happens if someone replies?
When supporters receive a message from the Message Center, the "sender" name will be the name of your campaign. The reply-to email address will be the contact email you have provided under Settings > General Settings > Contact.
Can I attach files to my messages?
At this time, the Message Center does not support attaching files directly. If you have a file you’d like supporters to download, you can link to the file’s URL by using the hyperlink option or adding a button that links to your file. Your file will need to be hosted online, such as on your website or uploaded to Google Drive with a public sharing link.
I need to contact just participants who have received a certain ticket. Is that possible?
Yes. Go to the Audience tab when creating your message, scroll down to the Ticket Option category, and check the appropriate box for the ticket holders you would like to contact.
I'm scheduling a message but the times I'm seeing are in the wrong time zone. How can I update them?
You can change your campaign's time zone by visiting Settings > General Settings. This will update the time zone options for things like scheduled messages, silent auction start/end times, and more.