HOWTO Create the Monthly Newsletter

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AHA sends two types of emails:

  1. Marketing Emails: Sent to members and non-members, and take one of two forms:
    • Monthly Maker Newsletter: Includes classes, events, and news for each month.
    • Fundraising Emails: Includes details about the EOY Fundraiser.
  2. Members List Emails: Sent to members only (paid or volunteer). Used to disseminate information about policy changes, special information, board elections, etc.

Marketing Emails

Marketing emails are currently sent via Mailchimp. When you sign up for our mailing list, you are automatically subscribed to both the Monthly Maker Newsletter and our Fundraising Email. Since December 2023, everyone who signs up for our mailing list has had the option to manage their Marketing Email preferences (e.g., to only receive the newsletter, or only receive the fundraising emails, or to unsubscribe to all emails). We currently do not have the option to offer other kinds of preferences management, like newsletter bundling.

Signing Up

People can join the Monthly Maker Newsletter mailing list by either:

  1. Signing up on our website, or
  2. Having their email manually entered to our audience by the Newsletter Gnome from the Newsletter Sign Up form near the entrance.

Note for Volunteers: When giving tours of the space, please encourage visitors to add their names and emails to the Newsletter Sign Up form near the entrance. If you need more pages, you can download the form from the Google Drive and print out more.

Managing Preferences

At the bottom of your Monthly Maker Newsletter or the End of the Year fundraiser emails, there is a link to edit your preferences. When you click that link, Mailchimp will send you another email with a link to the form where you can select which emails you would like to no longer received. We do not know why Mailchimp mails you a link; it is one of their many mysteries.

Unsubscribing

At the bottom of your Monthly Maker Newsletter or the End of the Year fundraiser emails, there is a link to edit your preferences. When you click that link, Mailchimp will take you to a website where you can click a button that says "Unsubscribe." Please be aware that if you unsubscribe this way, you will no longer receive any marketing emails.

If you are a member and unsubscribe this way you will also be removed from the Members Mailing List. We cannot re-add you. If you unsubscribe this way and need to regain access to the Members Mailing List, you will need to sign up again. Make sure to use the preference management instructions if you only mean to unsubscribe from the monthly newsletter and/or the fundraising emails.

Member Mailing List

The Member Mailing List is not for marketing purposes. The emails sent to members include: policy updates, board election ballots, membership rate or requirement changes, etc. We do our very best to minimize the amount of email that we send to Members.

Getting Added

Members are manually added to the Member Mailing List using the email they give us when they purchase a membership or complete their volunteer requirements. To get added to the Member Mailing List

  1. Sign up on our website using the email you wish to receive our email from
  2. Once you have done so, contact the Board and request to be added to the Member Mailing List

Being Removed or Requesting Removal

Inactive members are removed roughly once a quarter. We will attempt to reach out if your membership becomes inactive prior to removing you from the Members Mailing List. Members who no longer wish to be members can also request that they be removed from the Members Mailing list by contacting the Board.

Note: If you use the Unsubscribe link in Mailchimp, please be aware that you will be removed from ALL emails, including important Member Mailing List updates. Use the "update preferences" link in the emails if, instead, you would like to be removed from fundraising or newsletter emails.

HOWTO: Make the Newsletter

The Monthly Maker Newsletter is generated from events and news listed on AHA's Meetup page or in AHA's Matrix Server. Make sure to post events and news to the Meetup or Matrix by the dates listed in the Schedule to have them added to the Newsletter.

Newsletter Gnome: SarahB currently generates the newsletter. Tag @sarah on Matrix to get her attention.

Newsletter Schedule

  • 22nd of the month: Newsletter is generated and posted on Matrix in the Operations and General channels for review. People are given until the 29th of the month to request corrections or additions.
  • 29th of the month: Newsletter is scheduled to be sent. No more changes or additions will be made, except emergency announcements or egregious errors (e.g., incorrect event dates/times).
  • 1st of the month: Newsletter is sent to the mailing list.

Create a Newsletter Email

  1. Log in to Mailchimp (if you need access, contact the Board)
  2. Click on your name in the upper right of the page and click the yellow button for "Mailchimp Home"
  3. In the left navigation pane, click "Content" and then "Email templates"
  4. Next to "Monthly Maker Template," click the drop-down arrow (do not click "Edit") and select "Create Email"
  5. Rename the email by clicking "Edit name" under "Untitled" and entering the month, followed by the year, and the word Newsletter (e.g., June 2024 Newsletter) - then click Save
  6. "Recipients" defaults to the correct mailing list section; make no changes there
  7. Make sure that the "From" is coming from "AHA Monthly Maker" and the email info@allhandsactive.org
  8. Change the "Subject" to include:
    • Subject: AHA's [Month] Classes and Events! (you can add one or two appropriate emojis)
    • Preview Text: Read about our upcoming classes, events, and news in this month's Monthly Maker Update!
    • Note: These are not set in stone, they just get green check marks on Mailchimp's recommendations
  9. Change the following "Send Time" settings:
    • Delivery Date: 1st of the month or, if you're sending the newsletter out late, select the next day
    • Delivery Time: Select "Send at a specific time" and choose 10 am
  10. Skip "Content" for a sec and scroll to "Email Link" and click "Edit" next to the campaign's email link. In the pop-up, enter [month]-[yyyy]-newsletter (e.g., june-2024-newsletter) and click "Save"
  11. Scroll back up to "Content" and click "Edit Design." The Newsletter Gnome has put all the evergreen content in here, and you only need to update things in brackets - [] - or that they have indicated need updating!
    • Under "Upcoming Events"
      • Change "[Month] [Year] Newsletter" to the current Month and Year
      • Use the duplicate button to add any non-evergreen event content (instructions are in the placeholder event block)
      • Update the meetup links, event details, and descriptions as noted by the Newsletter Gnome
      • Remove any pre-set classes or events that aren't happening that month
    • Under "News"
      • Add any news items - you will need to duplicate the heading block and the description block if there is more than one piece of news
    • No other sections will need to be modified
  12. When you have finished your modifications, click "Continue"
  13. Click "Schedule"
  14. Confirm the details and click "Confirm Scheduling Email"
  15. Copy the campaign preview link by clicking "View email in browser" - then paste the link into the #operations channel on Matrix and request people check for typos, event detail errors, and broken links

Editing an Email After Schedule

If there is an issue with an email that has already been scheduled, you will need to pause the email before editing.

  1. Log in to Mailchimp (if you need access, contact the Board)
  2. Click on your name in the upper right of the page and click the yellow button for "Mailchimp Home"
  3. In the left navigation pane, click "All Campaigns" under "Campaigns" (it is generally open by default, whereas the rest of the sections in the nav pane are closed by default)
  4. Click the "Pause and Edit" button next to the campaign you need to edit
  5. In the popup, click "Pause"
  6. Make the edits you need to make to the email in the "Content" section (or other sections if necessary)
  7. When done, click "Schedule"
  8. Confirm the details and click "Confirm Scheduling Email"

Creating a Draft

Any time you want to stop editing a campaign and come back to it later, even a campaign you had to pause to edit, just click "Finish Later" instead of "Schedule." The email will be put into draft mode, and you can work on it again later by clicking the "Edit" button next to the email you want to work on in the "All Campaigns" view.

Adding Events to Meetup

Only members who have been granted the Event Organizer role on AHA's Meetup (aka, the "Leadership Team") can add, edit, or cancel events. If you do not have the Event Organizer role on Meetup, contact one of the current Leadership Team to have your event added.

Create a New Event

  1. Click the red "Create Event" button.
  2. Fill out the event details (see also the Meetup Event Creation Guide).
  3. Select whether the event will be in-person or online.
  4. Click "Publish" (but do not click "Announce" - to announce your event, post it to the general channel and any other appropriate rooms on matrix)

Copy an Existing Event

  1. Navigate to the event you want to copy
  2. Click the "Organizer Tools" drop down at the top-right
  3. Click "Copy Event"
  4. Change/verify event information as needed
  5. Click "Publish" (but do not click "Announce" - to announce your event, post it to the general channel and any other appropriate rooms on matrix)
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