Email & Communication

Sending Your First Newsletter

Your email builder creates mobile-responsive emails that look great on any device. Here's the complete send flow from scratch to delivered.

Creating a new email

1. Go to Email in the sidebar.
2. Click + New Email.
3. Give it an internal name (e.g., "Weekly Update — Apr 28"). This is for your records only — subscribers don't see it.
4. Write your subject line. Keep it under 50 characters — longer subject lines get cut off on phones. Avoid spam trigger words like "FREE," "WINNER," and excessive capitalization.
5. Set your preview text (also called preheader). This is the grey text that appears next to the subject line in the inbox. Use it to add context: "This Sunday: Easter recap, picnic signup, and a word from Pastor James."
6. Select your audience:
   • All Contacts — everyone in your People database
   • Members Only — contacts with the Member or Volunteer stage
   • New Visitors — contacts in the New Visitor stage
   • Custom Segment — filter by tag, stage, or event attendance
7. Click Design Email to open the builder.

Building your email content

1. Drag blocks from the left panel into your email (see the Blocks article below).
2. Click any block to edit its text, color, or alignment.
3. Use the Preview button (top right) to see how it looks on desktop and mobile.
4. When finished, click Continue.

Scheduling and sending

1. Choose Send Now or Schedule for Later.
2. If scheduling, set the date and time. The system uses your church's timezone (set in Settings → Church Profile).
3. Click Send or Schedule. Done.

Using Email Blocks

Email blocks are drag-and-drop content modules. You build emails by stacking blocks — no design experience needed. Each block is mobile-responsive by default.

Available block types

• Heading — a large title line. Use for section titles like "This Week's Announcements" or "A Word from Pastor James." Keep headings short — 3 to 6 words.
• Text — body paragraph content. The core of most emails. Keep paragraphs short — 2 to 3 sentences max. Shorter paragraphs get read; long blocks get skimmed or skipped.
• Button — a call-to-action link styled as a button. Use for RSVPs, giving links, event registrations, and anything you want people to click. One button per email section is best practice.
• Image — a full-width or constrained photo. Use for event photos, speaker headshots, or the week's cover art. Always add alt text for accessibility.
• Divider — a horizontal rule to separate sections. Use between major content blocks to give the email visual breathing room.
• Spacer — adds vertical whitespace without a visible line. Use when sections feel too tight together but a divider feels too heavy.
• Two-Column — splits a row into two side-by-side content areas. Good for comparing two events side by side or showing a photo alongside text. Collapses to single column on mobile automatically.
• Video Thumbnail — displays a linked video thumbnail with a play button overlay. Links to YouTube, Vimeo, or any URL. Actual video doesn't embed in email — this is a click-through to the video page.

Editing blocks

1. Click any block to select it — a blue outline appears.
2. Edit the content directly in the block (for text blocks) or in the right-side settings panel (for images, buttons, colors).
3. Drag the handle on the left side of any block to reorder it.
4. Click the trash icon on a selected block to delete it.
5. Click the duplicate icon to copy a block — useful for repeating the same layout for multiple announcements.

Building an Automated Welcome Email

Automations send emails automatically based on a trigger event — like someone submitting a connection card. A 3-email welcome series is the single highest-ROI automation for visitor retention.

Creating the automation

1. Go to Email → Automations.
2. Click + New Automation.
3. Name it "New Visitor Welcome Series."
4. Set the trigger: Connection Card Submitted.
5. Click Add Step → Email to add your first email.

Email 1 — Immediate welcome (send immediately)

6. Subject: "We're so glad you visited, {{first_name}}!"
7. Body: A short, warm message from your pastor. Thank them for connecting, share something genuine about your community. Under 150 words — this gets read on a phone right after church.
8. Set delay: Send immediately after trigger.

Email 2 — What's happening (3 days later)

9. Click Add Step → Wait → 3 days, then Add Step → Email.
10. Subject: "Here's what's happening this week at [Church Name]"
11. Body: 2–3 upcoming events or ministries with brief descriptions and links. Keep it visual and scannable — bullet points or short paragraphs with buttons work better than one long paragraph.

Email 3 — Personal invitation (7 days later)

12. Click Add Step → Wait → 4 days (4 days after Email 2 = 7 total), then Add Step → Email.
13. Subject: "Have questions? We'd love to meet."
14. Body: A simple, personal note inviting them to coffee with the pastor or a meet-and-greet after Sunday service. No graphics or event lists — just a genuine invitation.
15. Click Activate Automation. Every future connection card triggers the full sequence automatically.

Tracking Open Rates & Engagement

After sending an email, your analytics tab shows exactly who opened it, who clicked, and who unsubscribed. Understanding these numbers helps you write better emails over time.

Finding your email stats

1. Go to Email and find the sent campaign in your list.
2. Click View Report.
3. You'll see: Opens, Clicks, Unsubscribes, Bounces, and Complaints.

What the numbers mean

• Open Rate — percentage of recipients who opened the email. For churches, 30–40% is good; 50%+ is excellent. Below 20% means your subject lines need work or your list has gone stale.
• Click Rate — percentage of openers who clicked a link. 3–5% is typical; 10%+ means you hit a topic people care about. Always include at least one link — emails with no CTA get no clicks.
• Unsubscribes — people who opted out. Under 0.5% per send is healthy. A spike above 1% signals the content wasn't relevant to the segment you sent to.
• Bounces — emails that couldn't deliver. Hard bounces (invalid addresses) are removed from your list automatically. Soft bounces (inbox full, temporary outage) retry for 72 hours.
• Complaints — people who marked your email as spam. Even 1–2 complaints per send matters — too many damages your sending reputation and causes future emails to land in spam for everyone.

Viewing individual opens and clicks

1. From the report, click Opens to see a list of every contact who opened.
2. Click Clicks to see which links were clicked and by whom.
3. Click any person's name to jump to their contact record in People.

Resending to Non-Openers

Your most important announcement might not have been seen by 60–70% of your list on the first send. Resending to non-openers — with a different subject line — is one of the highest-leverage moves in email marketing. It effectively doubles your reach with one extra send.

How to resend

1. Go to Email and open the report for the campaign you want to resend.
2. Click Resend to Non-Openers.
3. Write a new subject line — this is the only thing you need to change. The body content stays the same. Try a different angle:
   • Original: "Easter Sunday — April 20"
   • Resend: "This Sunday is going to be special — we hope you can join us"
4. Set a send time — wait at least 48 hours after the original send. Resending too quickly feels spammy even to people who didn't open it.
5. Click Schedule Resend.
6. Only contacts who did NOT open the original receive the resend — openers are automatically excluded.

When to resend

• Always resend for: event invitations with a registration deadline, giving campaigns, major announcements (pastoral transition, building project launch)
• Skip the resend for: weekly newsletters, routine updates, content that's time-sensitive and already passed

Setting Up SMS (Twilio)

SMS lets you reach your congregation directly — event reminders, giving nudges, and urgent announcements that land in their pocket within seconds. GrowCongregations uses your own Twilio account so you pay carrier rates directly with no markup from us.

Connecting your Twilio account

1. Go to twilio.com and create a free account.
2. From your Twilio Console dashboard, copy your Account SID and Auth Token.
3. In the Twilio Console, go to Phone Numbers → Manage → Buy a number. Search by your area code. Numbers cost approximately $1.15/month.
4. Copy the phone number in E.164 format — it looks like +12145550123 (+ sign, country code, then number, no spaces or dashes).
5. In your GrowCongregations portal, go to Settings → SMS / Twilio.
6. Enter your Account SID, Auth Token, and From Number. Click Save.
7. Click Send test SMS — enter your own cell number to confirm it's working.

US A2P 10DLC registration (required for US numbers)

US federal regulations require businesses sending SMS at any scale to register through Twilio's A2P 10DLC (Application-to-Person) program. Without it, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile silently filter your messages — they won't arrive. This is a one-time setup entirely inside your Twilio account.

1. Register your Brand: In Twilio Console → Messaging → Regulatory Compliance → Brands → Register. Enter your church's legal name, EIN, website, and a contact person. One-time fee is approximately $4. Approval takes 1–3 business days.
2. Register your Campaign: After brand approval, go to Campaigns → Register. Select use case: Customer Care or Notifications — both are appropriate for churches. In the description field, write something like: "Event reminders, service updates, and ministry notifications sent to congregation members who provided their phone number." Monthly fee is approximately $10.
3. Link your number to the Campaign: In Phone Numbers → Manage → click your number → Messaging section → assign it to your registered campaign.
4. Once approved (typically 1–5 business days), your number is fully verified and messages will deliver to all US carriers.

Sending Event SMS Reminders

Once Twilio is connected, you can send SMS blasts to all event registrants who have a phone number on file — manually from the event, or automatically via the platform's scheduled reminder system.

Manual SMS blast from an event

1. Go to Events and open an event.
2. Click the Attendees tab.
3. Click Send SMS Reminder.
4. Write your message — keep it under 160 characters to avoid it splitting into two messages on older phones. A good template: "[Church Name]: [Event] is [tomorrow / in 2 hours]. We hope to see you there! Reply STOP to opt out."
5. Click Send. The platform sends to every confirmed attendee who has a phone number on their contact record. You'll see a summary: sent / failed / no phone on file.

Automatic SMS reminders (set and forget)

The platform automatically sends SMS reminders to event registrants at two intervals — no action required from you after the event is created:

• 24 hours before — sent the day before to all confirmed RSVPs with a phone number
• 2 hours before — sent the morning of (or afternoon, depending on event time) as a final nudge

Each reminder only fires once per event per window — the system stamps the event after sending so it never double-sends even if the cron runs multiple times.

Which attendees receive SMS

SMS reminders go to confirmed RSVPs who have a phone number stored on their contact record. Waitlisted registrants do not receive SMS. If a contact has no phone number, they receive only the email reminder. Encourage your connection forms to collect phone numbers — even an optional field significantly increases your SMS-reachable audience over time.

SMS Best Practices

SMS is the highest-engagement channel available — but it's also the most personal. The rules for good SMS etiquette are tighter than email because it lands in the same place as messages from family and friends.

Keep it short and specific

160 characters is one SMS segment — stay under this whenever possible. Longer messages split into multiple parts and can arrive out of order on some phones. The anatomy of a great church SMS:

• Who it's from: "First Community Church:" — always identify yourself in the first few words. Numbers are unfamiliar to most recipients.
• What and when: "Easter Service is Sunday April 20 at 9 AM and 11 AM."
• One action or link: "Invite a friend: [link]" — don't include multiple CTAs.
• Opt-out: "Reply STOP to opt out." — required.

Timing rules

• Send between 9 AM and 8 PM in the recipient's local time. Texts arriving at 6 AM or 10 PM are intrusive and generate opt-outs.
• Don't send more than once a week for non-emergency communications. Frequent SMS is the fastest way to generate opt-outs and complaints.
• Event reminders are expected — people who RSVP anticipate a reminder. General "weekly update" texts are not — stick to email for those.

What SMS is good for

• Event reminders (24h and 2h before — built in automatically)
• Service time changes or cancellations due to weather
• Giving campaign push during the final days ("3 days left to reach our goal")
• Pastoral emergencies or urgent congregational announcements

What SMS is not good for

• Weekly newsletters or sermon recaps — use email
• Long announcements with multiple details — use email with a link
• Anything where you don't have explicit opt-in consent from the recipient