# Write and send a message > Write an email to members in six steps (kind, who, message, check, test and send), saved as you go, then send it with a 30-second hold. Who this is for: Anyone with “Send communications” (by default: Administrator). Last checked in release 2026.10.23, on 23 October 2026. Source: https://sportsclubos.net/help/communications/write-and-send/ A message is written in six steps: **Kind**, **Who**, **Message**, **Check**, **Test** and **Send**. It is saved as you go, so you can leave it and come back. Nothing is sent until the last step, and even then nothing leaves for 30 seconds. ## Before you start - You need to be able to send communications. The Administrator can by default. Your club can give this to other roles on Roles & permissions. - To see the names of the people a message goes to, and to add or leave out people by hand, you also need to be able to see members. ## Start a message 1. Open Club > Communications > Send new. Or open Club > Communications > Previous and press **New message**. 2. A new draft opens at step 1, **Kind**. Its heading says **New message** until you give it a subject. The note at the foot of the page says **Saving…**, **Draft saved** or **Not saved yet**. Each change is saved a moment after you make it. The draft is listed under **Drafts** on Communications until it is sent. ## 1. Kind Choose what kind of message this is, by pressing its card. A new message starts as **Club news**. - Most kinds say **Follows email preferences**: the message goes only to people who have not switched that kind off. - **Essential notices** says **Overrides email preferences**. It goes to everyone you choose, whatever they asked for, with no unsubscribe link. The page says to use it only for facts people need: safety, closures, formal notices. Press **Next: Who**. ## 2. Who Choose who gets it: everyone, or members by status, type and tag, or one of your saved Members filters. The panel on the right, **Who gets it**, shows how many addresses it reaches and lists everyone left out, with the reason. See [Who a message goes to, and who is left out](https://sportsclubos.net/help/communications/who-gets-it/index.md). Press **Next: Message**. ## 3. Message An empty message opens on **How would you like to start?**: describe it and have a draft written, pick a template, or use a message you sent before. See [Start from a template or an earlier message](https://sportsclubos.net/help/communications/templates/index.md) and [Have a message drafted for you](https://sportsclubos.net/help/communications/draft-with-ai/index.md). The message is then shown as the email itself, and you change it in place: 1. Type the **Subject**. Under it, the **Preview line** is optional: the grey text an inbox shows after the subject. 2. Click any part of the email to change it. Text has a bar for bold, italic, links and lists. 3. To add a section, press **+** where it should go, or **+ Add a section** at the end, and choose: **Text**, **Heading**, **Picture**, **Button**, **Details box** (when, where, cost), **Highlight** (the thing not to miss), **Two columns** or **Line**. 4. A selected section has **↑** and **↓** to move it and **Remove**. 5. To put a person's own details in the text, click in the text where it should go, then choose from **Insert a name or detail…**: **First name**, **Full name**, **Member number**, **Membership type** or **Membership expiry**. It appears as, for example, `{{first_name}}`, and each person's email shows their own. A picture is chosen from your computer (a JPEG, PNG or GIF), and is made smaller before it is uploaded. Under **Describe the picture**, say what it shows, for people who cannot see it. Tick **Stretch it across the full width** to fill the email's width; a full-width picture placed first sits above the club's name as a banner. A **Button** needs its words and the web address it opens, starting with `https://`. The club's logo and name are at the top of every email. The club's address, why the person is getting the email, and the unsubscribe link are added at the foot. Essential notices have no unsubscribe link. Press **Next: Check**. ## 4. Check **As it will arrive** shows the email exactly as it will be sent, for the first person on the list. **Next person** and **Previous** step through the list, so you can see each person's own details filled in. ![The Check step. On the left, As it will arrive, 1 of 185 with Previous and Next person, the address it goes to, the subject Trivia night, Friday 13 November and the email as it will look, with the club's name at the top. On the right, Before you send lists warnings: a place for a picture is still empty, 23 of the addresses have never been asked, and you have not sent yourself a test.](https://sportsclubos.net/help/img/comms-check-1600.webp) *Red items stop the message being sent. Amber ones are worth a look. Shown in release 2026.10.29 · Communications · as an Administrator.* **Before you send** lists anything to look at: - Red items stop the message being sent until they are fixed: **Give the message a subject.**, **The message is empty.**, **Nobody would receive this. Choose who it goes to.**, a button without both its words and a web address, and an unknown merge field. - Amber items are worth a look: a place for a picture still empty (it is left out of the email), a picture with no description, a detail still in [square brackets], people with no value for a detail you used (they get its fallback, such as "Hi there"), addresses never asked, a long message that Gmail may cut short, and no test sent, or the message changed since the last test. When nothing needs attention it says **Nothing to fix.** ## 5. Test Press **Send me a test**. A copy goes to your own login's address only, as the first person on the list would see it, with [Test] in the subject. The page then says when the test was sent, and the button becomes **Send another test**. A test is not compulsory, but it is the best way to catch a mistake before everyone sees it. ## 6. Send The **Send** step sums up the kind, the subject, how many addresses and people it goes to, and whether you sent a test. 1. Read the summary. 2. Press **Send to 185 addresses**. The number is how many addresses it goes to. The button cannot be pressed while there is a red item. Who it goes to is worked out again at that moment. If it has changed since the page last counted, nothing is sent and you are told **The list has changed: it is now 186 addresses. Check who it goes to and send again.** ## What happens next - The page shows **Sending starts in 30 seconds** counting down, with **Stop: do not send**. See [Stop a message during its hold](https://sportsclubos.net/help/communications/stop-a-message/index.md). - After the hold, one email goes to each address. You can leave the page; sending carries on. - The page then shows what happened to each address. See [What happened to a message](https://sportsclubos.net/help/communications/results/index.md). - A sent message cannot be changed. To send something similar, press **Copy this message** on it, or **Copy** beside it on Communications. The copy is a new draft with the same kind, words and choice of who it goes to. ## Delete a draft On Club > Communications > Previous, press **Delete** beside the draft. It is deleted at once, without a question, and cannot be got back. The page says **Draft deleted**. Check the subject beside the button before you press it. ## If something goes wrong - **Click in some text first, where the detail should go.** You chose from **Insert a name or detail…** without first clicking in a piece of text. - **That picture is too large. Use one under 2 MB.** Choose a smaller picture. - **Use a JPEG, PNG or GIF picture.** The file was another kind. - **This message has been sent and can no longer be changed. Copy it to send something similar.** Someone sent it while you had it open.