Communications Guide

Purpose

Use this guide to create email templates, launch campaigns, and monitor message delivery from the Communications Hub. If your tenant does not have CommsSuite (full) access, you will see a basic “upgrade” view instead of the hub.

Who should use this guide

• Comms operators creating and maintaining template assets
• Campaign managers sending operational messages
• Support teams troubleshooting delivery and template issues

How to do it

• In Dashboard, click Communications and confirm you are in the correct tenant context.
• If you see an upgrade prompt instead of the hub, your tenant likely does not have CommsSuite (full) access.
• Open Templates → Browse and click Create New Template (or clone an existing template).
• In the full-screen builder (`/email-templates/builder`), edit blocks, upload/select images as needed, and Preview to validate variables.
• Save the template, then open Campaigns → Audiences to define who should receive messages.
• Open Campaigns → Campaigns to create/send a campaign using your template and audience.
• Monitor Messaging (Inbox/Scheduled/Failed) for delivery outcomes, and use Reports for summary/exports.

Email template library (browse, clone, delete, preview)

Where: Dashboard → Communications → Templates → Browse

Used for: Managing reusable email templates (tenant templates plus optional base/platform templates) for campaigns and module workflows.

Configure

• Open Dashboard → Communications → Templates → Browse.
• Use My templates / Base templates (and Platform templates if you are a platform admin) to find the right starting point.
• Click Create New Template (or clone/customize an existing template, if available).
• Use category filtering and search to keep the library organized.

Use day-to-day

• Use Preview to validate variables/tokens and layout before any send.
• Use Edit to open the full-screen builder for changes.
• Delete obsolete templates to reduce operator error and speed up search.

Pro tips

• Keep template names aligned to workflow (e.g., RSVP Invite, RSVP Reminder, Ticketing Ops).
• Always preview after edits; token mistakes are the most common cause of send failures.
• If you have “Base templates”, customize by cloning so you keep the original intact.

Full-screen email template builder (create / edit safely)

Where: Dashboard → Communications → Templates → Builder (opens `/email-templates/builder`)

Used for: Editing templates in a dedicated full-screen canvas with safe/advanced authoring modes, layout controls, and safe return to the originating workflow (via history or `returnTo`).

Configure

• Open Communications → Templates and click Create New Template (or Edit an existing template).
• In the full-screen builder, set template metadata first (name, category/type, subject).
• Start in safe authoring mode for basic edits; switch to advanced mode only when you need structural control.
• Build layout sections with block controls (add, move up/down, wrap, duplicate) and keep content modular.
• Insert approved variables/tokens from the token tools (avoid manual token typing where possible).
• Size and align images for email-safe rendering, then use Preview (with sample data where available) to verify variables render correctly.
• Save; use Back to return to where you started.

Use day-to-day

• When launched from another workflow (e.g., an RSVP or admin send flow), rely on Back/return to avoid losing context.
• After saving an important template change, re-open the template from the library and preview once more before sending.
• For high-impact edits, perform a 3-check release sequence: token preview check, mobile-friendly layout check, then send-flow check.

Pro tips

• Keep one canonical template per workflow and clone from it for variants to reduce drift.
• Use keyboard shortcuts for faster block authoring and reordering when handling urgent comms updates.
• If Back does not return you to the expected screen, you can safely navigate to Dashboard → Communications and continue from the hub.

Template images (upload + reuse via the builder asset manager)

Where: Email Template Builder (`/email-templates/builder`) → Image block → Assets

Used for: Uploading and reusing images inside email templates via the builder’s asset manager (Cloudflare-backed when enabled).

Configure

• Open the full-screen template builder for a tenant template.
• Add/select an Image block in the canvas.
• Open the asset picker and upload images (if uploads are enabled for your environment).
• Select an uploaded image to insert it into the template.

Use day-to-day

• Reuse uploaded images across templates to keep branding consistent.
• If an image breaks, replace it in the template and save; then re-preview before sending.

Pro tips

• If uploads are disabled in your environment, use stable, approved hosted image URLs instead of ad-hoc links.
• Keep image dimensions reasonable for email (wide images should still render well on mobile).

Campaigns + Audiences (build segments, send to the right people)

Where: Dashboard → Communications → Campaigns → Campaigns / Audiences

Used for: Creating audience segments and sending campaigns to those segments with traceability across active, scheduled, and archived campaign states.

Configure

• Open Communications → Campaigns.
• Use the Audiences tab to create or edit an audience segment (who should receive messages).
• Return to Campaigns and create a campaign (choose channel, content/template, and audience).
• If available, use Active / Scheduled / Archive tabs to understand campaign lifecycle.

Use day-to-day

• Use consistent naming so operators can find and report on campaigns later.
• After launching, monitor outcomes in Messaging (Inbox/Scheduled/Failed) and Reports (Analytics/Exports).

Pro tips

• Double-check tenant context before sending; most “wrong recipients” incidents are tenant-context mistakes.
• Treat Audiences as reusable building blocks: keep them small, named, and aligned to real operational cohorts.

Messaging delivery health (inbox, scheduled, failed, retry)

Where: Dashboard → Communications → Messaging → Inbox / Scheduled / Failed

Used for: Tracking message queue outcomes, rescheduling/cancelling scheduled sends, and retrying failed recipients after fixing root cause.

Configure

• Open Communications → Messaging → Inbox to review recent messages and filter by channel/status.
• Use Compose to create a message; closing the composer returns you to Inbox.

Use day-to-day

• In Scheduled, use Send now, Reschedule, or Cancel to control timing safely.
• In Failed, open details (where available), capture the error reason, and Retry only after correcting the underlying issue.
• Refresh after actions to confirm the queue state updates.

Pro tips

• Avoid blind retries; they create duplicate noise and can trigger throttling or spam flags.
• If you are troubleshooting recipient-specific failures, fix the data (or template variables) first, then retry a small batch.

Credits (balances, purchase, usage, billing)

Where: Dashboard → Communications → Credits → Balances / Purchase / Usage / Billing

Used for: Tracking remaining credits (where applicable), reviewing transactions/usage, and purchasing credits when enabled.

Configure

• Open Communications → Credits → Balances to see what is available by channel.
• Open Purchase to buy credits (if enabled), then confirm the balance updates.

Use day-to-day

• Use Usage to understand recent sending patterns and cost drivers.
• Use Transactions/Billing when reconciling spend or investigating credit anomalies.

Pro tips

• If balances appear as 0 unexpectedly, refresh and verify tenant context first.
• Treat credits as an operational dependency: validate availability before large sends.

Reports (analytics, exports, scheduled reporting)

Where: Dashboard → Communications → Reports → Analytics / Exports / Scheduled

Used for: Reviewing delivery success rate and cost summaries, and exporting communication activity for reconciliation or support investigations.

Configure

• Open Communications → Reports → Analytics to review totals (sent/delivered/failed) and cost summaries.
• Use Scheduled/Exports (if configured) to generate recurring or on-demand output.

Use day-to-day

• Use reports during handover to document what was sent, when, and at what cost.
• Cross-check spikes in failures with Messaging → Failed for the underlying recipient-level errors.

Pro tips

• If you do not see analytics yet, try Refresh or send a small test message to generate baseline activity.

Runbook

Daily checklist

• Validate tenant context before sending any campaign.
• Use approved categories/types for each workflow.
• Confirm the full-screen builder returns safely to the prior flow (Back/return).
• Audit Failed and Scheduled queues for unresolved exceptions.
• Check Credits before large sends (where applicable).

Troubleshooting

• If you only see the basic “upgrade” view, your tenant may not have CommsSuite (full) access.
• Template save issues: verify tenant context, then re-open the template from Templates → Browse and confirm changes persisted.
• Asset upload failures in the builder: uploads may be disabled by configuration; use stable hosted image URLs as a fallback.
• Missing templates: check My vs Base vs Platform templates and category/search filters.