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Creating an Email Template in the Dashboard

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Angela Ortner

Emails are a great way to engage your patients by sending regular newsletters, communicating changes to your practice, and crafting custom communications that fit your patient base.  In this article, we'll go step-by-step through the process of creating a new email template.  Before attempting to create one, we recommend you refer to Introduction to Enhanced Email Templates to make sure you understand the components of YAPI's Email Template Editor.

Table of Contents

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Creating a Basic Email Template

  1. From the YAPI Dashboard, click Setup & Manage Setup_and_Manage.png and select Manage Documents and Templates.

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  2. When prompted, enter your YAPI password and click Ok.

  3. Once the Manage Documents and Templates window opens, click New.

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  4. Select Enhanced template and click Ok.

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  5. Once the Edit Enhanced Template window loads, enter the template Name, Type, Subject, and Theme on the right-hand side.
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    Name Name your template something memorable that will help you remember why you're sending the email and who it's for. (Patients won't see this.) For example, Christmas Office Closure, August Newsletter, or Child Birthday Card. 
    Subject

    Enter the subject line for the email that patients will see in their inbox. Use a creative hook to make the email stand out and encourage the reader to open it.
    Type

    Select the type of email this is. Use Generic if the other types don't fit for the template you're creating (this is common).
    Theme

    Select the theme you'd like to use. We recommend YM_T_Basic for most emails. Each theme offers slightly different margin sizes for the body of the email (and the YM_T2 and YM_T_LILAC have a purple background) so play around with each to determine which one you'd like to use. 

  6. Recommendation: Click Save here so you don't lose your work!

  7. In the Body Text & Body Text 2 boxes, enter the text of your email:

    Why two boxes?  This separates the text into sections so that any link buttons you're using appear in between (Body Text shows up above them; Body Text 2 displays below them.) If you're not adding links to your email, just use the top Body Text box.

    • Simple Method: Type in your text.  Then, select Wrap each paragraph in HTML <p></p> checkbox:

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    • Advanced Method: If you want to be able to format the text of your email (for example, making the text bold, changing its color, or changing the font size) click the HTML Editor button.  In the browser window that opens, type in the text of your email and format it using the tools in the top toolbar. 

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      Once your formatting is finished, click the <> button.  Highlight and copy everything in the Source Code window that pops up:

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      Return to the Email Template Editor and paste what you copied into the Body Text box(es):

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  8. Click Save.

  9. Next, go to:

 

Additional Options for Your Email Template

All new templates automatically contain your practice's logo at the top (unless it hasn't been uploaded to YAPI yet), but if you want to change this or add additional items to your email like links or an image, see the options below.

Moving or Hiding Your Practice's Logo

In the Logo section, if you'd like your practice's logo to appear below the text of your email, select At the Bottom from the Position pulldown menu.  If you want to hide your logo from appearing in this email, select Hidden.

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Note: If your logo doesn't appear in this section, use the instructions in Adding & Changing Your Practice Logo to upload it.

 

Adding an Image

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You can add the link for a web-hosted image in the Image section and select where it appears in the Position pulldown menu.  If you're not familiar with web-hosted images, we've got instructions for you!  Check out Adding Images to an Email Template (Hosting Images Online).  

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Adding Link Buttons (Action Buttons)

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If you want to add a button that patients can click on to get to a link (like the link to your practice's website or the links to forms or paperwork packages): 

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  1. In the first Action Button tab, click into the Text box and enter the text you want to appear on your button:

  2. In the URL box, enter the web address for your link.

  3. From the Color dropdown menu, select the color for your button.

  4. Optional: Repeat Steps 1-3 with additional links in the Action Button 2 and Action Button 3 tabs.

 

Including Email, Website, and Facebook Icons

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In the Communication Icons section, select whether to include icons at the bottom of each email that link to your email, practice website, and practice Facebook page (Google+ is no longer supported). 

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Note: Your email, practice website, and Facebook page must be entered in Global Setup to use these options.  If you see an error message like "Invalid or Missing Facebook page," follow the steps in Changing Practice Contact Information Within YAPI to add the missing information.

 

Adding a Thumbnail that Links to a Video

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While videos are unable to play within an email, you can use the Advertising section to add a thumbnail of a video that links to a video you've uploaded to YouTube, Vimeo, or any other publicly available video site.  The thumbnail that links to your video will then show at the very bottom of your email:

  1. In the URL box in the Advertising section, enter the web address of your video. 

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  2. In the Image URL box, enter the web address for your thumbnail image.  If you don't have a web address for your image yet, you can host it online using our instructions in Adding Images to an Email Template (Hosting Images Online).

 

Adding a Link to Google Reviews

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If you want to add a link at the bottom of your email so that patients can easily review you on Google, select the Add Link to Google Review checkbox in the Google section:

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Unsupported Features

There are a couple settings in the Email Template maker that are no longer supported: 

  • Share 
  • Add Map with Directions - This feature is currently disabled due to changes in the Google Maps platform. Make sure you have this deselected or the email will display with a missing image icon.

 

Sending a Test Email

Once you've composed your template, use the Test button to send yourself a test email. This way, you can see how everything is formatted and make adjustments in the Template Editor before sending the email to your patients:

  1. Click Test.

  2. Enter your email, first name, last name, and a preferred name (this can be the same as your first name).

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  3. Click Send.  When the test email is successfully sent, you'll see a “Bon Voyage, test email!” message. 

  4. Check your inbox for the test email and open it up.  Look it over and make any adjustments in the Template Editor; then click Save.

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  5. Once your email template is finished, check out Sending a Mail Blast to send a mass mailing to your patients.  To send this to patients one at a time, see Sending Individual Emails from the Dashboard.

 

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