How to Send News Alerts

News alerts allow you to send email notifications to your subscribers about breaking news or important updates. This feature enables you to instantly reach your audience with timely information, helping maintain engagement and drive traffic to your website.

Use news alerts when you have urgent news that can't wait for your regular publication schedule, or when you want to highlight particularly important stories to your subscriber base.

Prerequisites:

• Active eType Services account

• At least one publication configured

• Subscriber list or news alert registrations

• Image hosting service (if including images in alerts)

Limitations:

• Forms must be completed quickly due to session timeouts

• Images must be hosted externally and accessed via URL

1. Login to your account at etypeservices.com

2. Hover over REPORTS AND SUPPORT in the main navigation

3. Select "News alerts" from the dropdown menu

1. Click "Send New Alert" button

2. Important: Prepare your email message content in advance in a separate document, as the form has a session timeout that will prevent sending if you're idle too long

Complete the following fields:

Publication:

• Select the title of your main publication from the dropdown

Alert On:

• Select "Email" as the alert method

Alert To: Choose your target audience:

• "News Alerts" - Send to users who have specifically registered for news alerts

• "Subscribers" - Send to your current active subscriber list

• "Expired Subscribers" - Send to your expired subscriber list

Once selected, the email list will populate below the message area. You can manually select/deselect specific recipients or send test alerts to specific addresses.

Title:

• Enter the subject line for your email alert

Email Message:

• Copy and paste your pre-written message into the text area

• To add images: Click the "Image" button and enter the URL of your hosted image

• Note: Images must be hosted on an external service with a direct URL

1. Review all fields for accuracy

2. Scroll down and click "Mail Alert" to send

Q: Why didn't my news alert send? 

A: The most common cause is session timeout due to being idle too long while filling out the form. Always prepare your content in advance and complete the form quickly.

Q: Can I include images in my news alerts? 

A: Yes, but images must be hosted externally (like on your website, image hosting service, or cloud storage) and accessed via direct URL. You cannot upload images directly through the alert form.

Q: How do I know who will receive my alert? 

A: After selecting your target audience in "Alert To," the system will display the email list below the message area, showing exactly who will receive the alert.

Q: Can I send a test alert before sending to everyone? 

A: Yes, you can deselect recipients from the populated list to send test alerts to specific email addresses first.

Q: What's the difference between "News Alerts" and "Subscribers"? 

A: "News Alerts" targets users who specifically signed up for breaking news notifications, while "Subscribers" includes all current subscribers to your publication.