Newsletter Tool

Owned by Ruben Rivero
Last updated: Nov 27, 2019
5 min read

The newsletter tool, available in the newsletter.miami.edu Cascade CMS site, can assist in the creation of branded emails, with a variety of layout options.

Table of Contents

 

Overview

Creating a custom, branded email requires three basic phases:

  1. Create the content for the email. For example, write the text in a text editing program like Microsoft Word, and prepare any images using Adobe Photoshop.

  2. Use the newsletter tool in Cascade CMS to add content, build email, and generate the HTML code for the email.

  3. Copy and paste the HTML code into a mass email tool like Listserv, Mail Chimp, or Constant Contact.

The newsletter tool does not send emails, it simply builds the HTML. Additionally, you can not use Outlook to send emails built by the tool. Trying to paste in HTML to Outlook will break the design of the email, therefore you need to use a mass email tool that supports HTML emails.

 

Masthead

The masthead section consists of two subsections, the sliver and the header.

  1. Sliver: The sliver element is a standard page element that allows users quick access to the main University website. Choose to Show Sliver (or hide it) in this section. You can also set the View in Browser Link in this section.

  2. Header: Display (or hide) your Masthead Logo. You can also add a Dateline and Slogan for your newsletter/email from this section. The colors for the Masthead background and Header Bar are predefined to match your website’s color scheme.

 

Section Types

Story

The stories in each story section can be configured to display in multiple ways using the Story Layout drop-down.

 

PRIMARY FEATURES, FULL-WIDTH, W/ GUTTER

With an Activated Gutter, this view displays a gutter on the right hand side which contains three types of configurable sections, a list of links, a social icon bar, and contact information.

  1. Link List: If you select Link List from the Section Type, you can add several links (e.g. Related Links) by adding text in the Link Text field, and using either the Internal or External link.

  2. Follow Us: If you select Follow Us from the Section Type, you can add your social media accounts by selecting an icon from the drop-down, and using the External link.

  3. Contact: If you select Contact from the Section Type, you can add your basic contact information, including name, address, phone, and email.

 

PRIMARY FEATURES, FULL-WIDTH

If the gutter is disabled, then the story content will display full width.

 

STACKED W/IMAGES AND LEAD-INS, 2-COLUMNS

Display two stories side-by-side by choosing Story from the Section Type drop-down, and Stacked w/images and lead-ins, 2-columns from the Story Layout drop-down.

 

STACKED W/LEFT-HAND IMAGES AND LEAD-INS

Display a thumbnail image with text to the right by choosing Story from the Section Type drop-down, and Stacked w/left-hand images and lead-ins from the Story Layout drop-down.

 

THUMBNAILS WITH TITLES

Display a small thumbnail image with a title to the right by choosing Story from the Section Type drop-down, and Thumbnails with titles from the Story Layout drop-down.

 

THUMBNAILS WITH TITLES, 2-COLUMN

Display two columns of a small thumbnail image with a title to the right by choosing Story from the Section Type drop-down, and Thumbnails with titles, 2-column from the Story Layout drop-down.

 

LIST OF TITLES, FULL WIDTH

Display a list of titles (full width) by choosing Story from the Section Type drop-down, and List of titles, full width from the Story Layout drop-down.

 

ICONS WITH TITLES, 3-COLUMN

 

Event

The events section has two layouts, full-width or 2-column layout.

 

EVENT FULL-WIDTH

 

EVENT 2-COLUMN

 

Pullquote

Pullquotes are short excerpts from the presented text and help emphasize important phrases.

The pullquote section has two layouts, full-width or half-width layout.

 

PULLQUOTE FULL-WIDTH

 

PULLQUOTE HALF-WIDTH

 

The navigation section has two layouts, primary and connect with us layouts..

 

CONNECT WITH US

 

PRIMARY

 

Social

The Social section has two layouts, full-width and 2-column layout.

 

FULL-WIDTH

 

2-COLUMN

 

Letter

The letter section type has a single layout, with the following available fields:

  1. Title

  2. Dateline

  3. Body

  4. Signature

  5. Social Share

 

The Footer contains three configurable sections, Contacts Column, (right) Column, and Bottom Links.

Contacts Column

In the Contacts Column section, you can fill out basic contact information, such as the Organization Name, Address, Phone, and Email Address.

 

Column

In the (right) Column section, you can add a column Header, as well as custom links (e.g. Related links to your organization.) To add more links, click on the on the right of the Link section.

 

In the Bottom Links section, you can add custom links (e.g. Terms, Privacy, Unsubscribe, etc.) To add more links, click on the on the right of the Link section.

Leave the Link Text field(s) empty (in the the Link section) to hide the Bottom Links.