connect by Databank Getting Started Guide – thedatabank Support Center

1. Set up CallHub and connect integration

Log into your connect account
Click on Communications > CallHub Set up for instructions on getting your CallHub account created and synced with your connect system.
Once you have input your CallHub credentials into connect you should move to step 2 below.
More information on setting up CallHub and connect by Databank can be found in the Support Center here https://support.thedatabank.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/360000612823-How-to-integrate-your-Databank-with-Callhub
- Visit CallHub.io for more information on how to set up SMS text and voice broadcasting campaigns

2. Upload Your List(s) to connect by Databank

Select Contacts > Upload
To upload a list, select the + sign on the upper right side of the screen

Give your list a name and choose a text delimited or Excel file from your computer to upload, then click the "Upload File" button

Note - An optional source code can be used for future segmentation

For example: You have a “Newsletter” list in Constant Contact. When you import that list into connect use “Newsletter” as the source code.
If you are importing more than one subscriptions (contact) list, it’s a good idea to write down the names of your existing subscription lists before beginning the upload process, and check them off as you import them into connect.
For each of the fields in your uploaded file, select an available "Destination" field in your connect database.

Click "Save & Finalize" to import the new records into your database
- The Import function gives you two options:
  - "Merge to Existing Records" which will automatically combine the new records with existing records, or
  - "Import as New Records" which will create new records for each record in the list without any deduplication.

More information on importing records into connect can be found in the Support Center here https://support.thedatabank.com/hc/en-us/articles/204696590-Self-Service-Upload-Tool

3. Create a Publication

Publications represent different types and channels of communications. For example: a publication could be a monthly "Newsletter", or it could be an "Update from the Executive Director". You can subscribe contacts in bulk, and/or your supporters can manage their own subscriptions to these publications online.

Click on Communications in the menu, then click Publications.

Under "Contact Publications" enter in the name(s) of the publications (newsletters, alerts, etc.) that you will be sending out and that your contacts will subscribe to. Remember to click "Save Contact Publications" each time you add a new publication.
If you plan to send the same type of communication through multiple channels (email, text, direct mail, etc.) you should set up a publication for each channel. For example: Newsletter - email; Newsletter - SMS Text; Newsletter - Direct Mail. This way when it’s time to send out the newsletter you will be able to select the correct list for the correct distribution channel.

Now that you've created your publications it's time to subscribe contacts to the publications.

Select Search > Personal in the connect menu
In the "Personal Criteria" section go to the "Source(s)" field, select “Contains” in the drop down, then enter the source code for the desired list you’ve imported, and click the "Find" button. For example: If you’ve imported your newsletter list using “Newsletter” as the source code, enter “newsletter” in the text box and click the Find button. The resulting list will be all records in the database that contain a source code of "Newsletter".

Once you’ve selected the contact records that should be subscribed to publication, select Communication > Publications in the menu
On the "Publications" page check the “Subscribe Contact Selection” box for the publication you wish to subscribe these contacts to, then click on the "Save Contact Publications" button. These contacts are now subscribed to that publication.

Follow the same process for each of the subscription lists you’ve imported into connect.

You can now send communications and search for contacts based on the publications they are subscribed to.

More information on subscriptions and publications can be found in the Support Center here https://support.thedatabank.com/hc/en-us/sections/200838530-PowerMail-Subscriptions

5. Create a PowerMail

PowerMail is connect’s email creation and publication tool. PowerMail can also post communications to a web page and to various social media sites (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter). The steps below will help you get started with PowerMail. There is an extensive collection of articles on PowerMail in the Support Center https://support.thedatabank.com/hc/en-us/categories/200285850-PowerMail-

There is also a "PowerMail User Guide" available by clicking on Help > User Guides in the menu. Finally, free PowerMail trainings are available each month. You can register for these at any time by clicking on Free Training Signup under Help in the menu.

To begin creating a PowerMail issue, click on Communications > PowerMail in the menu
Select a pre-built template from the "Templates" folder or create your own design using the + (plus) sign in the upper righthand corner.

Note - Clicking on the Subject line of each template will give you a preview of what that template looks like. You will be able to customize the template after you select it.

If you decide to use a template as you starting point, from the "Preview" page of that template click on the Properties link.

On the Properties page click on the Duplicate button to create a duplicate of this template that you can now customize with your content.
On the Properties page for this new PowerMail issue, enter the Subject line and other properties

The Publication drop down on the Properties page lists all of the publications you’ve set up . Select the publication subscriber list you want this PowerMail to be sent to. Leave it blank if this is a one-time message and you do not want the PowerMail issue associated with any publication.

Note - Make sure to click on the "Submit" button to save your changes.

You can now edit the design and content of the PowerMail issue by clicking on the Design link.

Please refer to the additional support and training resources for information about the other PowerMail functions: https://support.thedatabank.com/hc/en-us/categories/200285850-PowerMail-.

6. Send a PowerMail

Now you're ready to send your first PowerMail publication!

Select the PowerMail that you wish to send
Select the Publish link located at the top of the PowerMail screen

Once in the Publish page you have several options.

The first is to send a test message to an email address. We highly recommend that you do this before sending the PowerMail to the subscriber list. You can send as many test messages as needed to make sure everything is looking good and working properly.
The next option is to also "Publish" this message to a webpage.
"Publish to Social" makes it easy for you to post the message to your social media properties.

Once you are ready to send the PowerMail, go to the "Publish Live Message" section of the Publish page. If you have ascribed this PowerMail to a publication on the "Properties" page this will automatically show you which subscription list this will be sent to.
You can then send the PowerMail to that subscriber list immediately, or schedule it to be sent at a later time.
Click on the "Send to Contacts" button to publish the PowerMail issue.

The "Results" link will show real-time results of the sending when it has been sent.
"Send a PowerMail to a Selection of Contacts" - In addition to sending a PowerMail to a subscription list you can send to a selection of contacts.

7. Set up an online form

Your connect account comes with three preloaded forms: a "Profile" form, a "Signup" form, and a "Citizen Request" form.

To edit these forms select Forms then select the Edit box next to the form you wish to edit

From this screen the top navigation allows you to work with various aspects of the form.

For detailed help with Forms please refer to the "Form User Guide" which is found under Help then User Guides. Or go to the Form Builder section in the Support Center here: https://support.thedatabank.com/hc/en-us/categories/200285840-Form-Builder

Happy Communicating! – thedatabank, gbc Team