Once a campaign exists you will want to tell people about it. Argenta sends campaign email in three steps: build the list of who gets it, build the template, then send. Everything you send this way reports back on the campaign, so you can see opens, bounces, and unsubscribes next to the money raised.

Step 1. Build the mail room list

A mail room list is just the group of constituents you want to email. You can build one from almost any list page in Argenta (constituents, donors, leads, members, event guests). Starting from your constituents:

1. Go to Constituents (CRM) > Constituent List.
2. Filter or search down to the people you want, then tick their checkboxes. To take everyone matching your filter, open - Choose Bulk Action - and pick Select All Records That Meet The Current Filter Criteria.
3. In the same dropdown choose Create A New Mailroom List With Selected Records, then click Run Bulk Action. (Adding to a list you already have? Choose Add Selected Records To An Existing Mailroom List instead.)
4. The Create A New Mail Room List window opens. Switch on the list type you need, Email, Text (SMS), or Postal Mail (you can pick more than one), give it a Mail List Title, and click Add This List.

Name the list something you will recognize in six months. More on lists in How to Create and Manage Email Lists in the Mail Room and Add Constituents to the Argenta Mail Room.

Step 2. Build the template

Two ways in. From the campaign, open the Email Batches tab and click Pick A Template & Send Email. Or go straight to Communication > Email Templates.

On the templates list, Start From A Template opens the gallery of finished designs, Add New starts you on a blank one, and clicking an existing template's open icon reuses it. Any of the three opens the Email Template Workspace, which has three tabs.

On Template Details, give the template a Template Name and set Associated Campaign to this campaign. That link is what makes the send report back on the campaign, so do not skip it. Chapter, Division, Department, and (for political organizations) District and Precinct are optional and tie the template to one part of your organization. Click Save All Changes.

On Template Design, write the email:

• Subject. Required. This is the line people decide on. Improve Subject with AI will rewrite it for you in a friendly, formal, or brief tone if you want a second opinion.
• From Email Address. Required. If you have validated the address with us, it shows as the from address. If not, the email goes out from our mail server with your address as the reply-to. See Validating An Email Address.
• Copy All Selected Team Members. Anyone here gets copied on the send.
• The editor. Write the body, add images, links, and attachments. The merge tag button personalizes it, so you can open with the recipient's first name instead of "Dear Friend". See Complete Guide to Using Email Merge Tags in Argenta.

One thing to avoid: do not copy and paste an image into the body. Use the image button in the editor and upload it, or it will not arrive.

Step 3. Send it

Both send buttons sit at the top of the Template Design tab. Either one puts a green confirmation bar on screen showing exactly who is about to receive it, and nothing goes out until you click SEND.

• Send To A Single Recipient. Search a constituent, click Continue. Use this to send yourself a proof first and read it in a real inbox before the whole list gets it.
• Send To A Mail Room List. Search your lists by name, set the Scheduled Send Date/Time, and click Select. Leave the date alone to go now, or set it ahead to schedule the send.

What happens after

The send becomes a batch on the campaign's Email Batches tab, with the template name, subject, and who sent it. The campaign's Analytics & Metrics > Email Marketing screen then tracks emails sent, opened, not opened, bounced, unsubscribes, and spam reports, with a per-batch breakdown so you can see which subject line did best.

Worth telling your constituents once: ask them to whitelist argentasoftware.com so your email does not land in spam. More on batches in Working with Email Batches.