E-mails

Basic information about e-mail sent from CampSite

All e-mail generated from CampSite is sent from the sender address "services@mail.campsite-mail.com". Having a consistent sender address on mail generated from CampSite helps ensure a high deliverability reputation for your camp.

The From: name and Reply-To: address on e-mail from CampSite is determined by the admin user sending the message. For mail generated on our e-mail composition page, this defaults to the name and e-mail address of the logged-in user sending the mail, but can be changed as needed.

To learn more about composing emails, click here.

Outbound Email Policy

CampSites outbound email service is designed to allow a camp to communicate with its campers, families, staff and alumni via automatic notifications, mass emails and personalized individual emails.

One of the biggest challenges that all outbound email providers face is having their email flagged as spam, before it reaches its intended recipient. Worldwide, spam represents over 72% of all email sent, and as such, email providers (such as Gmail, Yahoo! and Apple) implement certain measures to prevent spam from reaching its users inbox. Each email service looks at a different set of criteria when determining whether mail from a sender is legitimate, most of which can be anticipated by CampSite.

In order to increase the deliverability of email sent from CampSites outbound email service, the following policies and procedures are in place:

  • All email sent through CampSite will come from services@mail.campsite-mail.com. Please note, that while this is the address your email will be coming from, to the email recipient (your client), it will still appear as if the email is coming directly from you. The From name and Reply-To email address are set by you, prior to sending out the email.
  • CampSites outbound email service is not designed as a mass marketing tool and should not be used as such. This service is provided as a means of staying in touch with your current clientele. If you are interested in mass email marketing tools, please contact us and we will be happy to help you identify a third-party provider.

In addition to the policies and procedures mentioned above, CampSite continually stays up-to-date with all new developments as it relates to outbound email. Should you have any questions regarding this policy, please do not hesitate to contact the CampSite support team.

Parents are Not Receiving our Emails

In the event that a parent (or staff member) has not been receiving outbound email from CampSite, we recommend that you take the following steps:

  1. Ensure that the parent (or staff member) has a valid email address on file and knows which email they should be checking.
  2. Ask the parent (or staff member) to check their spam folder to see if the email was flagged as spam.
  3. Add services@mail.campsite-mail.com to their "safe senders list".

We strongly recommend that your client use a personal email address (Gmail, Yahoo! or Apple) and NOT a corporate, government or university email address (.org .gov .edu) as these organizations tend to implement certain measures to prevent spam from reaching its users' inbox.

Learn more about CampSite's outbound email service by reading the "Outbound Email Policy" FAQ above.

Types of e-mail and marketing e-mail opt-out

Maintaining a good e-mail reputation means not delivering e-mail to recipients who dont want to receive it. CampSite makes it easy to allow those recipients to opt out, while still ensuring important information about camp gets delivered.

When you send an e-mail from CampSite, you'll be asked to categorize it as Marketing or Informational.

Marketing e-mail is promotional e-mail sent to leads or existing customers or staff. Recipients can 'unsubscribe' from this e-mail by clicking a link on the bottom of the e-mail or by unchecking a box on their Dashboard. Once unsubscribed, they will no longer receive marketing e-mail from your camp. Examples of marketing e-mail include early registration discount promotions and e-mail newsletters.

If a recipient has accidentally opted out, you can send them a re opt-in message from their profile page, which will allow them to opt back in to receiving marketing e-mail from your camp.

Informational e-mail should only be used to send updates/information to existing customers (i.e. enrolled campers; registered guests; hired staff), regarding a service that they purchased/are registered for. These emails should not be sent to individuals who are not currently enrolled/registered/hired. Examples of informational e-mail include bunking assignments; staff applicant hiring details; camper bus reminders; etc.

Informational emails are sent to all recipients, even if they've unsubscribed from marketing e-mail.

If you're not sure which category your e-mail falls into it, you should select Marketing.

How do I attach multiple files to an email?

Each email message can have a maximum of (1) file attached to it.

However, you can also embed files behind links within the body of your email. When linking attachments, there's no limit on file size or to the number of attachments you can include in an email, so you can use linked attachments to send recipients with more than (1) file along with your message. 

To embed a file behind a link, click to create a hyperlink in the body of your email, select the upload tab, choose the file from your device and send it to the server, then submit. For more detailed  instructions, please read our How do I "attach" a file behind a link? article.

To access your attachment, your recipient(s) will simply click the link to open/download your file on their device.

How do I attach a file larger than 1 MB?

Embed the file within a link in the body of your e-mail instead (embedded files have no size limitations). Recipients will simply click the link to open/download your file on their device.

For step-by-step instructions on how to embed a file within a link, please read this support article.

How do I "attach" a file behind a link?

Follow the steps below to embed files from your device behind a link. This method can be used in emails; custom text on your dashboard; Camp Today text posts; and more.

1: Type & Highlight the Link Text

To begin, type the text you wish to turn into a link (e.g. "Click here"; or the file name, etc.) and then highlight the text.

In the example above, the words Parent Handbook will be turned into a link containing the parent handbook file.

3. Upload the File

In the pop-up window that opens:

  1. Click the Upload tab
  2. Click Choose File and select the file from your device

Next, click to Send it to the Server.

Finally, click the green OK button.

The highlighted text will turn into a link. When the link is clicked, the file will either open within the user's browser or get downloaded to their device (depending on their web browser settings).

How do I send a mass e-mail?

Send a mass email by generating all of your intended recipients onto an advanced report and then emailing everyone in your report results.

For step-by-step instructions on how to send a mass e-mail, please click here to read our support article.

I copy/pasted content into an email and it doesn’t look right. How can I fix it?

To preserve any styling that was applied to content created in a third party application (e.g. Microsoft Word, another email client, etc.), paste the content into CampSite using the "Paste" tools in the text editor toolbar.

There are 3 different Paste tools depending on the desired result.

  1. Paste: Paste will preserve as much of the original style/structure as possible, so the content most closely resembles how it appears in the application where it was originally created.
  2. Paste as Plain Text: Pasting as "plain text" will remove all special formatting (font type, font color, bullet points, images, tables, etc.) so your content appears as completely "plain" text.
  3. Paste from Word: Use the Paste from Word tool specifically for content that was originally created in Microsoft Word. The Paste from Word tool will preserve as much of the original style/structure as possible, so the content most closely resembles how it appears in Word.

Note: Some third party applications allow for advanced styling/customizations that can't be recreated in CampSite, even with the Paste tools. That said, whenever possible, we recommend create content from directly within CampSite, using the inherent styling and formatting options within the text editor toolbar. 

After clicking the appropriate Paste button depending on your desired results, a pop-up window will open.

Paste your content into this pop-up window as instructed, and then click OK.

The pasted content will now appear in the body of your email.

To continue stylizing the content, use the additional tools within the text editor toolbar.

How do I schedule an email?

CampSite's email scheduling feature allows you to send a mass e-mail automatically at a date + time of your choosing, using the new 'Schedule e-mail' button on a saved Advanced Report.

To schedule an email, follow these steps:

  1. Create and save the e-mail message you wish to send via the 'Saved e-mails' tab on the 'Admin' page.
  2. Create a report that contains your intended recipients and save it.
    You cannot schedule an e-mail unless your report is saved first.
  3. After the report has been saved, scroll down and click the "Schedule e-mail" button (right above the report results).

CampSite will automatically send the saved e-mail you selected at the day/time that you specify. Please note: sending may take up to 15 minutes to complete. 

To review, edit or cancel upcoming scheduled e-mails, go to the 'Saved e-mail's tab of the admin page and use the 'Scheduled camper e-mails' link.

Where do I edit the automatic email that's sent when a camper submits the enrollment form?
  1. Go to Admin
  2. Under Campers, select Saved E-mails on the left
  3. Find and click the email that's designated to send when the enrollment form is submitted*
  4. Edit the email contents as needed and click Save Changes at the bottom of the page when finished

*To verify which email is designated to send when the enrollment form is submitted:

  1. Go to Admin
  2. Select Step 8: Enrollment Form Setup of the Camper Setup Wizard
  3. Under General Options, refer to "Enrollment form processing mode" to determine if you're using manual or automatic mode
  4. Select Automatic e-mail responses on the left
  5. Select the tab that corresponds with your enrollment form processing mode (Manual or Automatic)
  6. Refer to the name of the email listed in the dropdown for "Enrollment form submission confirmation"

Note that the automated email serves as a confirmation that the enrollment form was submitted. The same (1) email message will be sent to all campers when they submit the form, regardless of what they enroll for or whether they're waitlisted or enrolled.

Where do I customize the email that's sent for waitlisted requests?

There isn't a separate email notification for waitlisted requests vs. non-waitlisted requests. You can automate a custom "enrollment form submission confirmation" email to send each time a camper submits the entire enrollment form successfully, regardless of how many/which options the camper selected (and if they're waitlisted or not).

Note that CampSite will automatically append your custom email message with a bulletpointed list of all the options requested by the camper. For example:

To designate your "enrollment form submission confirmation" email, create a new saved camper email, then go to Admin > Campers > Setup Wizard > Step 8: Enrollment form setup > Automatic emails. To learn more, click here.

How do we remove a family from receiving emails from us?

Provided that your camp is labeling emails with the correct "type", parents should only wish to opt out of "marketing" type emails. An admin user cannot edit a parent's marketing email preferences on their behalf. Parents can opt out of receiving marketing emails from your camp by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any marketing email they receive, or by updating their Email Preferences from the "My Account" page of their parent dashboard.

If your camp is mis-labeling promotional emails as "informational", the recipient will not be able to opt-out/unsubscribe, in which case they may mark your messages as spam. This will prevent the recipient from receiving ANY emails from you moving forward - including potentially important emails about their camper's enrollment.