Write a Letter to a Constituent
From a constituent record, you can write a personal letter to the constituent.
When you write the letter, you can use a Microsoft Word document saved to the Letter Template Library or create a new Word document. Before you write the letter, you must complete several setup tasks in Marketing and Communications and Microsoft Word:
From Marketing and Communications, create a direct marketing export definition to determine the merge fields to use to include information specific to the constituent. On the Options tab of the Export Definition Properties screen, select Allow definition to be used by other areas of the application. After you create the export definition, generate a header file based on the definition.
In Word, create a document that contains the letter content and insert the merge fields from the header file.
From Marketing and Communications, in the Letter Template Library, create a letter template with a Constituent letter type and Export definition output type. In the Export definition field, select the export definition created for the letter. In the Letter field, select the Word document that contains the letter content.
When you use the Write a letter task for a constituent, you must specify which letter template to use. On the Letter Template Search screen, you narrow down your search by things like name or letter type. To select a letter template, select on the name.
Open the record of the constituent to receive the letter. For information about how to open a constituent record, see Constituent Search.
Note: To access the Write a letter screen from the Contact tab of the constituent record, under Contact information, select the address to which to send the letter and select Write a letter.
Under Tasks, select Write a letter. The Write a letter screen appears.
Under Letter, enter a unique name to help identify the letter and select whether to use a new or existing Word document to create the letter.
If you select Use an existing letter from the template library, search for and select the document to use from the Letter Template Library.
Note: To edit the selected document in Word, select Edit letter. After you save the document, you return to the Write a letter screen.
Under Address, select the addressee, address, and salutation to use with the letter.
Note: If you select a letter template based on an export definition, the Address section is diabled. The export definition provides the addressee, address, and salutation.
Under Details, enter the date you send the letter to the constituent.
To help categorize the letter with similar interactions, select its type, category, and subcategory.
To restrict use of the letter to specific sites at your organization, select the sites to manage the letter.
In the Comment field, enter any additional information about the letter.
Select Save. The Interactions page for the record appears. Under Pending and completed interactions, the letter appears with the selected mail date and interaction type.