govDelivery creates a static page for all bulletins that are made public. Subscribers can access this shared bulletin page via the links generated by a bulletin viewing macro or by clicking a bulletin that has been shared to a social networking site. This article provides steps for promoting your public shared bulletin pages.

Macros for Promoting Bulletin Content

When building your bulletins, you can use macros to personalize them and to pull in dynamic content. We offer a few macros that make it easier for your clients to promote and access your content (these macros are detailed in the next two sections on this page). These macros will work only for bulletins that have been made publicly visible. If you include them in a bulletin that is configured to be private, they will have no effect. For more information about public and private bulletins, see Multi-Channel Bulletins.

Sharing Macros

The SHARE_THIS macro encourages your subscribers to share your bulletins to their social media sites, helping you expand your reach and build your audience. When you include this macro in a bulletin, it resolves to a clickable Share button in the bulletin content when viewed by your subscribers:

ShareButton.png

Clicking the Share button opens the bulletin’s shared bulletin page in the subscriber’s browser. govDelivery shared bulletin pages include options to share the page with Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn as well as subscribe to updates from your account.
 

Viewing Macros

The bulletin viewing macros allow your subscribers to view your bulletin content in a browser. This is helpful in the event that your subscriber’s particular email client doesn’t render your bulletin content very well.

Both the VIEW_THIS and the VIEW_THIS_URL macros put a link to the shared bulletin page within the bulletin, allowing a subscriber to view the shared bulletin page if they have trouble viewing the bulletin in their email client.

  • The VIEW_THIS macro resolves to a "Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page" message with a link to the shared bulletin page.

    View_This_Resolved.png

  • The VIEW_THIS_URL macro resolves to the URL of the shared bulletin page. This gives you more control over the text that will direct the viewer to the shared bulletin page Learn more about customizing link text.

    View_This_URL_Resolved.png

Including Sharing and Viewing Macros in Bulletins

To include these macros in a bulletin, you can insert them in a bulletin’s header or body. If you want most bulletins sent from your organization to include these macros, you can also put them in a bulletin template or in a footer. To edit a footer, you must have appropriate access; Account Administrators can create and edit footers.

The sharing and viewing macros can be inserted by including the macro token surrounded by corresponding double-brackets, or select Share This from the Macros drop-down menu.

Customizing the Link Text for the VIEW_THIS_URL Macro

You can customize the link text for the VIEW_THIS_URL macro so that it’s not just the shared bulletin page’s URL.

To do so, follow these steps:

  1. When editing a bulletin, bulletin template, or footer, enter the text you want to appear for the link.
  2. Highlight the text and click the Link button.
  3. In the Link URL field, enter the URL.
  4. Edit the Target and Title fields as desired.
  5. Click Insert.

Viewing Shared Email Shared Bulletin Pages

The govDelivery shared bulletin page is 700 pixels wide, and content on the page is center-justified. The sidebar of shared bulletin pages feature the following social media buttons, enabling users to interact with or repurpose the Bulletin's content. 

Social Media sharing icons on a shared bulletin page: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and email

After sending a shared Bulletin, administrators can choose to un-publish or edit the shared bulletin page.

To view the shared bulletin page for a bulletin:

  1. In the left navigation menu, click Bulletins.
  2. Click the Sharing tab.
  3. Click View next to the appropriate bulletin. The shared bulletin page displays.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I turn on content sharing for some bulletins but not others?

A: Yes. You can choose to use content sharing on individual bulletins. If the macro is included in a bulletin, the bulletin can be shared. If the macro is omitted, it cannot be shared. If a macro is included in a footer or template, you might not notice it. To make sure that the bulletin will not be shared, set the Message Visibility field in the Bulletin Channels section to Private.

Q: Can I change/customize the Share graphic in the bulletin?

A: No, the graphic is standard across all accounts/clients.

Q: Is the share button included in digested bulletins?

A: No.

Q: Do I have any control over how/where users share bulletins?

A: No. Users can choose how and where to share the content and what headings to include with the bulletin. However, you can control the content of the shared bulletin page.

Q: If a subscriber forwards the original bulletin to a friend, will the Share button still work?

A: Yes.

Q: What if my content changes? Is there any way to remove it from a bulletin once it has been sent or prevent it from being shared?

A: Once a bulletin is sent, the bulletin content cannot be changed. However, you can modify the shared bulletin page content or remove the shared bulletin page at any time. For information about managing shared bulletin page content, see Navigating the Bulletins Pages.

Q: Can I customize the shared bulletin pages to match my branding?

A: Yes. You can provide a header image and choose the shared bulletin page colors. Your Account Manager or Implementation Manager can help you customize your shared bulletin pages. For more information about the header image that will appear in your shared bulletin pages, see Banner Images.

Q: Can a user access other accounts/content from a shared bulletin page by manipulating the URL?

A: No. govDelivery uses a hash to determine the URL.

Q: Can I link to a bulletin's shared bulletin page from my websites?

A: Yes. The URLs are static, so you can link to them.

Q: Will a shared bulletin page expire?

A: No. Shared bulletin pages remain published and accessible so long as your agency is active in govDelivery. 

Q: Why am I getting a Page Not Found error when I click the link to the shared bulletin page in my test bulletin?

A: If you choose to make the bulletin public and include either the VIEW_THIS or VIEW_THIS_URL macro in your message, the macros will generate a link for the test email, but the link will not work; the public shared bulletin page is not published until the message is sent to subscribers. To completely test all aspects of your message, you can create a test topic that contains a few test email addresses as subscribers. For more information on creating a new topic, see Creating Topics.