Overview
You can use WildApricot to manually send bulk emails, email blasts, or newsletters to multiple people in your contact database. You can choose to deliver your email immediately, or schedule it to be delivered later at a particular date and time.
There are two main ways to manually create and send an email to multiple contacts:
- Compose a new email and then select the recipients
- Select the recipients first from your Contacts list and then compose the email
Option 1: Start by composing the message
To create the content for the email first, then select the recipients, follow these steps:
1. Select Communication from the admin sidebar menu, then select Email from the top menu.
2. Click Compose email.
3. Select a template for your email. To create a plain email message, select the Basic > Simple template. 
4. After you have selected a template, the email editor will open. Click anywhere within the body of the email to open the text editor toolbar. Add gadgets, located in the left panel, if desired. Change the settings for the text and other content by using the settings panel on the right of the screen.
5. When you have finished composing your email, click the > arrow in the top left corner to proceed to the Preview screen.
6. The preview displays how the email will appear to recipients, but if you want to view the email in your own inbox, click Send a test.
7. Click the > arrow in the top left corner to proceed to the Recipients screen.
8. Use the + Contact or + Contact list buttons to select recipients.
9. Provide the Subject line. Type { or click the { } symbol to open the macro menu, if desired.
10. Verify the Reply to address and then enable tracking if desired. Click the > arrow to proceed to the next screen.
11. Finally, configure the delivery for the message. Choose Send it now, or select Schedule for later and choose the delivery date and time.
Note: If you select Send it now, when you click Send, the email is added to the email queue and may take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to be delivered to all recipients.
Option 2: Start by selecting the email's recipients
To create an email by first choosing the contacts or members you want to email, follow these steps:
1. Navigate to Contacts > List.
2. Use the search and filter options to create a recipient list.
3. Click Email contacts at the top of the screen to create an email that will be sent to all contacts on the recipient list you have created.
4. Select a template for your email. To create a plain email message, select the Basic > Simple template.
5. After you have selected a template, the email editor will open. Click anywhere within the body of the email to open the text editor toolbar. Add gadgets, located in the left panel, if desired. Change the settings for the text and other content by using the settings panel on the right of the screen. 
6. When you have finished composing your email, click the > arrow in the top left corner to proceed to the Preview screen.
7. Click the > arrow in the top left corner to proceed to the Recipients screen.
8. Use the + Contact or + Contact list buttons to select any additional recipients.
9. Provide the Subject. Type { or click the { } symbol to open the macro menu, if desired.
10. Verify the Reply to address and then enable tracking if desired. Click the > arrow to proceed to the next screen.
11. Finally, configure the delivery for the message. Choose Send it now, or select Schedule for later and choose the delivery date and time.
Note: If you select Send it now, when you click Send, the email is added to the email queue and may take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to be delivered to all recipients.
Other ways to create emails
In addition to using the Compose email button to create a new email message, you have other options for creating a manual email.
Use a previously created and saved email
To use an existing email as the basis for a new email message, navigate to Communication > Email. Click on the name of the email, and it will open in the email editor, where you can make changes, choose new recipients, and schedule its delivery.
Use a previously drafted email
To use an email saved in the system as a draft, navigate to Communication > Email and click Drafts. Click on the name of the email draft you want to use, and it will open in the email editor.
Creating mailing lists
Create a mailing list with Advanced Search
1. Navigate to Contacts > List and select the Advanced search tab.
2. Use the criteria and filters to create your list.
3. Name the search and click Save, at the bottom of the screen.
4. To use the search results as the recipient list for an email, navigate to Contacts > Saved searches and click the name of the saved search.
5. Click Email contacts at the top of the screen.
6. Complete the steps to compose the email content and schedule its delivery.
Saved searches are always available for selection from the + Contact list menu when creating emails.
Create a mailing list using Member Groups
- Create a member group containing the members you want to email.
- When you want to email the members, go to the advanced member or contact search, choose the Group participation criteria, and select the member group.
- Click the Search button.
- Click the Email contacts button.
Using an email subscription form
- Add an email subscription form to your site, allowing visitors to opt into your mailing list.
- When you want to email those who chose to opt in, go to the advanced member or contact search.
- Choose Email preferences as the search criteria.
- Click the Subscribed to emailing check box.
- Click the Search button.
- Click the Email members or Email contacts button.
Additional facts about manual emails
Saving an email and exiting the editor
- You can exit the email editor at any time by clicking the SAVE & EXIT option in the upper right corner. You can save your draft at any time by clicking the Save link in the upper left corner.
- A draft of your email is automatically saved every 30 seconds.
Notes on email content
- Designing the content of your message is like using building blocks: select layouts to form the structure of your message, then add your content by inserting different email gadgets into the various layout cells.
- For more information on designing your email content, see Using the email editor.
- For guidelines on designing emails that are successfully delivered and not blocked by spam filters, see Best practices for composing emails.
Notes on email delivery
- Only one email is sent to each unique email address, even if you add a recipient multiple times.
- Recipients will not see the names or email addresses of other recipients.
- If you select Send it now, when you click Send, the email is added to the email queue and may take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to be delivered to all recipients.
- If you select Schedule for later, the delivery date and time corresponds to your organization’s timezone. To learn more, view Scheduling manual emails.
Sending follow-up emails based on email tracking
To learn how to send a follow-up email to recipients who didn't open your message or didn't click any of its links, view Tracking emails.
Attaching files to an email
You cannot attach files (like PDF files) to an email, but you can include a link to a file that has been uploaded to your WildApricot account's file management system.
For more information, see Inserting documents and files.
Linking to the web version of an email
WildApricot does not provide an option to archive a newsletter or other manual email by creating an online version of the message. However, you can create one yourself by following these steps:
- Create your email and send it only to yourself.
- Save the email as an email template by opening the message within the email log and clicking the Save as template button.
- Within the Website module, select the Files option.
- From the Files management screen, expand the EmailTemplates folder and select the subfolder with the name of the email template you just created.
- Within the email template folder, right click over the index_preview.html file and select the Properties option.
- Copy the portion of the file location beginning with /resources and ending with index_preview.html.
- Return to the email log and open the email you sent to yourself.
- Click the Save as new email button.
- Within your email message, enter some link text. You could, for example, have the link text read "Having trouble viewing this message?".
- Select your link text then click the Link icon and select the Insert link option.
- In the Website URL or email field, paste the file location you copied earlier then click Insert link.
- Select the recipients for your message, then review and send it.
You can also create an email archive page, then create a new email template for each email, and link to each of them from the archive page.
Email blocklists
An email blocklist is a list of email servers considered to be sources of unsolicited emails (aka spam). If an email server ends up on a blocklist, the delivery of its emails can be affected or even blocked.
There are, however, both reputable blocklists, and bogus blocklists set up by opportunistic organizations attempting to extort funds from legitimate organizations like WildApricot.
WildApricot regularly checks to make sure that we are not included on any reputable blocklists, and in the rare occasions when we have been erroneously added, we have taken the necessary measures to immediately rectify the situation.
Variations in email clients
- On Apple iOS devices, content will automatically reflow from multiple columns into a single column when the screen width is less than 480 pixels. On all other mobile devices, multiple columns are maintained but the columns will be narrowed.
- Background images are not normally displayed when messages are viewed on Yahoo and Outlook 2007/2010/2013 (though Outlook provides an option to view the message in a web browser). Recipients can enable the display of background images in Outlook by unchecking the Don’t download pictures automatically in HTML email messages or RSS items option within their Trust Center Settings.
