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How to Send a Massmail

CITES > Massmail > How to Send Massmail

Massmail messages go through three major steps before delivery: Submission, Approval, and Release. Each step requires an action performed by either the Sender (the person who submits the request, and who releases the finalized message) or the Approver (the person who reviews and either approves or rejects the message).

Step 1: Submision (via Sender)

Go to the Massmail Submission web page at: https://broadcast.uiuc.edu/massmail/. Then click on "Submit Massmail Request."

1. The first page asks for information on the mailing itself: the audience categories who will receive the message, the name and email of the person and/or department this message is from, and an email address to send replies to.

   The "From Name" field can be the name of a person, department, unit, or administrative office. Be sure the "From Name" and "From Email" fields belong to the same person or unit; a disparity here may raise suspicions in some readers. In many cases the "From Email" and the "Reply-To" addresses may be the same email address, but both fields should be completed with a valid email address. Only the "Reply-To" address will be used when a recipient replies to the Massmail.

   The Subject of the message is limited to 50 characters, and it should be carefully chosen. The Message itself is limited to 150 lines, and it should be preformatted in ASCII text that is designed to wrap at 75 columns.

   It is strongly recommended that you first compose the message on a word processor with spell-check and grammar-check, then proofread by hand. Before copying and pasting the message into the Massmail webpage, be sure to reformat the message in plain-text or ASCII format. After pasting into the webpage, check the message again for any small formatting errors, such as apostrophes (') being converted to question marks (?).

   If your message includes URLs, enclose each URL in greater/less-than braces: < >. This assures that normal punctuation such as trailing periods or commas are not included in the URL when the reader's email program converts the URL into a hyperlink or when a reader copies and pastes the URL into web browser.

2. The second page asks for a University account number and name (sometimes known as a Banner CFOP), the administrative office who will review your request, and what you want to do with undeliverable and bounced messages. Opting to receive bounced messages may result in receiving more than 100 messages.

3. The third and final page is a summary page. This is your last chance to go back and change anything. If all looks good, you can submit the mailing request.

Step 2: Approval (via Approver)

4. After the request is completed, an automated email message is sent to the chosen administrative office, notifying them that there is a submission awaiting review. They will go to the Massmail webpage, review the message, accept or reject the request, and optionally provide comments. Allow up to three business days for the selected administrative office to act on your request for approval.

5. If the mailing is rejected, a notification email is sent to the "From" address, the "Reply-To" address, and the person who made the submission. This message will contain any comments provided by the approver.

Step 3: Release (via Sender)

6. If the mailing is accepted, a notification email will be sent only to the "Reply-To" address. This email message will include a Tag Number, a Passcode, and more detailed instructions. To activate the mailing's delivery, you must release it by returning to the Massmail home page and entering the Tag Number and Passcode. If you do not release the mailing, it will not be sent out.

7. Before releasing, check the message one last time to catch any errors. If you find any errors in the message, you can still permanently abort the message at this point and re-submit a corrected version by beginning the entire process anew. (If you need to re-submit a message that had already been approved, you'll need to contact the approving administrative office to explain why you are re-submitting the message.)

8. Once a message has been released, the mailing will take place early the next morning when network traffic is low. The exact time cannot be determined.