Use templates to draft messages for the member audiences you can reach. Preview the text and check who will get your news, event update or follow-up message.
Member and community communications
Keep members informed about events and activities
With Open Communities, your committee can draft email and SMS messages and check who will get them. Use event confirmations and reminders once set up. Keep each message tied to the people and event sign-ups it concerns.
Check your message and who will get it
If you have access to send messages, you can use templates to draft them for members. In the email and SMS composer, you can preview the text and check the recipient list. This is the list of people the message will go to.
Your committee can use your organisation’s templates to give messages your own brand. You can also view send history to see which messages were sent.
AI can help you draft an email. Read and check the draft before you use it. See AI drafting and rules for follow-up messages, or learn about member groups and who can send messages or manage details.
Want to share news on your website instead? See website pages and announcements. Posting news on a page is a different task from sending a message.
Choose a channel for the task
Email, SMS and WhatsApp each have their own uses. Choose one that suits your message and the way your community is set up.
SMS
Draft and send SMS messages once the service is set up. Event payment reminders can use the mobile numbers you have for the people they concern.
These messages are separate from SMS codes used to sign in or verify details.
Once set up, WhatsApp can send event ticket confirmations. Your committee can also handle WhatsApp conversations in the admin area.
These tasks differ from drafting email and SMS messages. The channels do not all have the same tools.
What affects sending?
Your access rights and setup control who you can send to and which send tools you can use. The messages you can send also depend on contact details, verification and consent. Channel setup, templates and the state of an event sign-up matter too.
See the profile and contact-consent controls members can use. Optional messaging services can have usage charges. Check current messaging service costs when you choose your channels.
Keep event messages tied to each sign-up
For example, your committee plans a community gathering. Each event sign-up gives context for messages sent under your setup. An organiser can also draft a separate update when plans change.
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Publish the event
An organiser posts the gathering on your community website. People can then register to attend.
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Send event messages as set up
Ticket confirmations and payment reminders use details from the event sign-up. Which messages go out, and by which channel, depends on your setup and the sign-up’s status.
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Draft an update if plans change
If the start time changes, an organiser with send access can draft an update. They can preview the text and check the available recipient list before sending.
The update you draft is separate from the confirmations and reminders set up for the event. You can check a change before you send it. Set-up messages use the event sign-up they concern; not every sign-up uses every channel.
See how event registrations and confirmations connect, from signing up to tickets and arrival.
Portal notices and device alerts
Portal notices appear within the community portal. Alerts on a phone or other device depend on the device, browser and permissions. They are separate from email, SMS and WhatsApp messages.
Read about mobile access and device needs. Or see the platform overview to learn how messages fit with your website and committee tasks.
Plan how your committee keeps people informed
Compare current costs, ask about channel setup or start creating your community.