Creating an electronic newsletter through your Faithlife church group strengthens your congregation’s connection through prayers, events, and information on community events. (Learn more about Faithlife church groups.) Faithlife newsletters are easy to create and formatted for both desktop and mobile devices.

Skip ahead to:

• Create a Newsletter
• Add Sections
• Publish a Newsletter
• Edit a Newsletter
• Delete a Newsletter
• Duplicate a Newsletter
• Create a Newsletter Team
• Manage Subscribers

Create a Newsletter

1. Navigate to Faithlife.com and sign in using the same credentials you use to sign into Proclaim.

2. Select your church group on the left side of the screen.
   
   

3. Expand Content and select Newsletters.

   This tab displays a list of all your draft or published newsletters from the past.
   
   

4. Click the Create newsletter button to get started.

   The newsletter opens in Edit mode. Preview your newsletter at any time by clicking Preview at the top of the screen. To Edit a previous newsletter, read more in the section below.
   
   

5. Set your cover image at the head of the newsletter.

   Use your church logo, photo, or other graphics. Upload files to use in your newsletter from your local device by clicking Upload files or choose Upload from URL for files stored online. Click Insert to place the image in your newsletter. (Learn more about uploading and using images.)
   
   

6. Give your newsletter a title in the header box and a subtitle in the subheader beneath it (optional). Change the size and layout of these text boxes by dragging the lower right-hand corner of each box.
   
   

Note: Depending on your vision, you may want the newsletter title/subtitle to remain constant to provide unity from issue-to-issue or you may want your title/subtitle to be different with each issue (i.e. using the newsletter date for the title/subtitle).

Add Sections to the Newsletter

Once you’ve established your header image and text, start adding sections from the right column to your newsletter.

Each section has a heading and unique elements listed below:

• Text: This basic section is for items using only text. Insert hyperlinks into the text as well.
• Media: Add images and .gif animations. All media is playable directly in the newsletter by the recipients, or in preview mode.
• Prayers: If you have configured the Prayers widget for your group, you can add prayer requests directly into your newsletter. Check as many requests as you want to appear in the final version. Prayer requests added as posts to your activity newsfeed can be displayed in the News widget below.
• Events: Add Faithlife calendar events to your newsletter with a single click. Newsletter recipients can add published events to their personal calendars by clicking a download link in the newsletter.
• Members: Highlight members of your church group and add a heading to explain why you’re recognizing them. Clicking on the member’s name in the newsletter takes the reader to that member’s profile page on Faithlife.com
• Groups: Highlight another Faithlife group (e.g., the Youth Group) by adding it from this section. Clicking on the group in the newsletter takes the reader to the group’s page on Faithlife.com.
• Verse of the Day: Add daily verse art from Faithlife with a beautifully illustrated, memorable passage.
• Community Notes: Import entries from the Notes tab on your church group’s main page.
• News: Select any post published in the church group’s news feed to highlight it—like previous sermons recorded in Proclaim and published to Faithlife Sermons.

1. Add a section by clicking the desired icon.
   
   • The new section is added below existing newsletter elements.
     OR
   • Drag and drop your desired element to the location in the newsletter where you want it to appear.
     
     
2. Add content based on the type of section selected.
   For example: Choosing Events displays upcoming events on your Faithlife calendar for the next month.
   
   
   Select which events you want to include in the newsletter by checking the box. Event details are pre-populated from the event details your Faithlife Calendar. For recurring events, select how many events to communicate in your newsletter. (Selected events publish to your newsletter in the order that they occur not by the type of the event.)
   
   
   
   
3. Click Preview at any time to see how your newsletter displays in its published form.
   
   
   
   Click Back to Edit to keep working or Done if you are ready to exit your newsletter.
   
   
4. Click Save to save changes to your newsletter.

Note: Faithlife Newsletters does not autosave. Make sure you save your work, especially if you navigate away from the newsletter or wish to complete it at a later date.

Publish a Newsletter

Once you’re satisfied with the way your newsletter looks, you’re ready to publish.

1. Make sure your newsletter is in Edit view.
2. Choose the publication date by clicking the link above the Sections menu.
   The default setting is Immediately–which means the newsletter will be sent out to your subscribers the moment you click Publish. Choose a different date by selecting your desired publication date on the calendar.
   
   
   
   (Tip: You can even schedule the newsletter to auto-send to new members and followers upon joining your group. Create an introductory newsletter and choose this setting to introduce new subscribers to your newsletter.)
   
   
3. If you want to see how your newsletter appears in an email, click Send Test. An email is sent to the email address associated with your Faithlife account.
   
   
   
   
4. Click Publish to send out your newsletter.
   
   

Note: You can update your newsletter post-publication. If you make changes, the Publish button will change to Update. The new changes will be visible to members who access the newsletter on Faithlife.com.

Now that your newsletter is published, you can immediately view the number of recipients, as well as the open rate, by navigating to the Newsletters tab.

Edit a Newsletter

To make changes to an existing newsletter:

1. Navigate to Faithlife.com, select your group, and open the main newsletters menu.
2. Click the hyperlink of the newsletter you wish to edit. The newsletter opens in edit mode.
   
   
3. Make changes to the newsletter and click Save or Publish when you’re finished.
4. Re-order your sections by grabbing the top portion of the panel indicated by the Grid icon . Drag the section to your desired location.
   
   
   
   

Delete a section by clicking the X in the upper right-hand corner of the section.

Delete a Newsletter

To delete a newsletter, check the box to the left of the newsletter you want to remove and click the Delete button.

Duplicate a Newsletter

Duplicating a newsletter is a great way to save time by reusing items from a previous newsletter.

1. Navigate to Faithlife.com, select your group, and open the main newsletters menu.
2. Check the box to the left of the newsletter you wish to duplicate.
3. Click the Duplicate button. A copy of the selected newsletter opens for editing and the original remains unchanged.
   
   

Create a Newsletter Team

As an Admin, you can also create a Newsletter team within your church group to give others the ability to create and send church newsletters. Here’s how:

1. Scroll down to the Teams section of your sidebar and click the plus icon . This opens the Teams page.
2. Scroll down to the Add New Teams section and begin typing “newsletter” in the search field.
3. Check the box next to Newsletter, then click Add.
4. When your new team appears on the list, click Add members.
5. Add names to the People field, choose whether to limit your search to those who are connected to your church, select the role your new team members will have (Member, Moderator, Administrator), and if you want to assign these same people to any additional teams.
6. When you're done, click Assign.
   
   

Manage Subscribers

Everyone who is a part of your Faithlife group is automatically subscribed to your newsletter. You may add additional subscribers who do not have a Faithlife.com profile as well.

Add subscribers individually.

1. Navigate to the main Newsletters page by clicking Content, then Newsletters.
2. Click Edit subscribers.
   
   
3. Type the email address of the person(s) you want to add in the To box.
   
   
4. Click Add [email address] or Enter or Tab. To remove a subscriber, click the X to the right of the email address.
5. Click Save.

Import subscribers from a csv file.

1. Navigate to the main Newsletters page by clicking Content, then Newsletters.
2. Click Edit subscribers.
3. Click Import from csv.
   
   
   
   (Note: A csv file is a format containing lists of data that can be transferred between different applications. For example, an email list created in one application can be saved as a csv file and imported into another application. For more about creating csv files, click here.)
4. Select the file containing the list of email addresses you want to import and click Open.
   
   
   
   Email addresses from your csv file are imported automatically. Remove any addresses that you do not want to receive the newsletter by clicking the X to the right of the name.
   
   
5. Click Save.