Web Office

1. Fill out a brief. Cover the goal (announce, promote, nurture, inform), target audience or list segment, desired action (click, register, inform), key message, tone and brand voice, and any must-include or must-avoid items.
2. Set the timeline. Give the desired send date and time, plus your internal review and approval deadlines. Most agents want content 5 to 10 business days ahead for a newsletter and 2 to 5 days for a simple blast.
3. Gather the content. Send your copy or talking points, headlines, and calls to action. Include links (with UTM parameters if you / redirects, vanity URL track campaigns), and offer details such as dates and terms.
4. Provide assets. Send logos, images, and brand guidelines. Confirm you have usage rights for any photos or graphics, and include alt text if you have it.
5. Use a clear format and channel. Send content in a shared doc (Word, Notepad++) or the portal rather than scattered emails. Label each section by where it goes (subject line, preheader, body, CTA button).
6. Review the proof. Check copy, links, images, mobile rendering, and personalization fields, and consolidate your feedback into one round if possible.
7. Give written approval. Confirm sign-off in writing before scheduling. Then ask for a post-send report (opens, clicks, conversions) to guide the next campaign.

WordPress first, then a short Constant Contact, Outlook email that links back) works well, because the website is the home for the content and the email is a teaser. Here is a submission procedure built around it.

1. Set a recurring schedule.
   Pick a fixed submission deadline, a proof date, a WordPress publish date, and a send date. Publishing to WordPress before the email goes out is essential, since every link in the email needs a live destination.
2. Have each office or department submit through one intake form or template.
   Each submission should include:

• Headline and full article text
• A 1 to 2 sentence summary or teaser for the email
• Author or contact name and department
• Featured image, with credit and alt text
• Any dates, deadlines, registration links, or event details
• Category or audience tags (students, faculty, alumni, community)
• Requested publish and send dates

3. Submit the full article for WordPress. Web Request form through Asana
   Send it as a shared doc or through the intake form, with headings marked (headline, subhead, body, call to action). Plain text or Word Docs is fine, but avoid pasting from formatted PDFs or emails, which carry hidden formatting into WordPress.
4. Send the email version as a separate summary.
   Please cut down the article on your own. Provide:

• Subject line (and one or two alternates for testing)
• Preheader text
• Teaser copy for each article, ideally 40 to 75 words
• Button or link text such as “Read the full story”
• One image per article, sized for email (about 600 px wide)

5. Handle links carefully.

• Link each teaser to the WordPress post’s permalink, not the homepage.
• Add vanity URL’s so you can see in analytics which articles drive traffic.
• Confirm the post is live and the links work before scheduling.

6. Include required email elements.
   Include the college’s mailing address and the sender name and reply-to address. Constant Contact adds the footer automatically, but check that it is correct. Also confirm you have permission to email the list you are using.
7. Review two proofs.
   Check the WordPress draft first (copy, images, formatting, accessibility). Then check the Constant Contact, Outlook test email (mobile rendering, links, subject line, sender name). Consolidate feedback from all offices into one round.

8. Approve in writing, then send.
Get sign-off from the office head or communications lead before publishing and before scheduling the send.

After the send, look at open rate, click-through rate by article, and unsubscribes. Use that to decide which stories to lead with next time.