Forward to a Friend

When you send advanced mass email, you can include a link that enables users to forward the email with their personal details removed. The email format remains intact.

To include a forward to a friend link on a specific email, from the communication template, click Settings and select Include "Forward to a Friend" Link under Advanced Mass Email Options. Select whether the link should appear in the header or footer of the email.

When you edit the content of the template, include default values for any data merge fields. For example, if you include the Short Salutation field, enter a default value of "Friend." The default values are used in place of the original recipient's information on the forwarded copy.

When a recipient clicks Forward to a Friend, a forward page appears so the recipient can enter up to five email addresses and a brief message to include with the forwarded message. The recipient previews the forwarded email and clicks Submit to send the email.

Although the recipient could use their email program to forward an email, the forward to a friend link has several advantages.

• The recipient's email provider can't affect the email's content. Since some email providers may not render HTML correctly, using the forward to a friend link helps avoid passing those rendering issues to the friend's copy.

• Any information about the recipient that was entered as a data merge tag is removed and replaced with the default values. This enables the original constituent to maintain privacy while still forwarding the message. If the email includes financial information, this is especially important.

• If the original recipient uses their email program to forward an email, the friend could click the opt-out link in the original message and accidentally opt-out the original recipient, preventing your well-established constituent from receiving emails from your organization. When the original recipient uses the Forward to a Friend link, the opt-out link is not forwarded, so the original recipient’s email address is protected.