How to Inform Residents About Community Updates via Email

In Communicate, you can turn any Content Page project into a self-service newsletter via email sign-ups: residents opt in directly on the page, and every new update you publish can be emailed straight to that list. This walkthrough covers setting up a sign-up page and sending your first update.

Before you start, you'll need:

• Access to the Communicate package
• Permission to create and edit Content Pages
• Permission to create and manage Contact lists

If you do not have access or would like to inquire about this package, please reach out to support@zencity.io. 

Step 1: Create or choose a project

Go to Content Pages and create a new project, or use an existing one if you already have a page dedicated to this initiative. For this example, we'll create a new project called Community Newsletters.

Step 2: Build the page

Choose to build from scratch or use an automated setup, then select a brand and save. From here, the page layout is flexible — add a hero image, title, and keep your Updates feed section (this is what will display your published updates). You can also add other content, like a call-to-action or a secondary column, to fit your project.

Step 3: Add a sign-up widget and create a contact list

Add a Notification Sign-Up widget to the page. 

When prompted, create a new contact list (for example, Community Newsletter List). If you want to subscribe residents to All Pages you can, but it is recommended to keep sign-ups relevant to one project only, so residents only hear about what they signed up for. Pro tip: Use a dedicated list per project or topic rather than subscribing sign-ups to all pages — this way residents only receive updates they've actually asked for. Once the page and list are set up, you can reuse this same flow for every future update without rebuilding it from scratch.

Note: When you Create New List, the list is set up in your Contacts section of Communicate. If you go to Contacts at this point, you should see your new contact list there. 

Step 4: Publish the page

Publish your page. Residents can now visit it and sign up with their email address to be notified about future updates.

Step 5: Create an update

From the project's Updates tab, click Create New Update. Give it a title and set a release date- the project will be auto-filled to the project you are creating the update from. Once you create, add content blocks — text, images, video, or an accordion — to share the details of the update. 

Make sure in the Settings that your Update is set to Advertise On the project and publish the update when ready.

Step 6: Confirm it appears on your page

Return to the project page and republish it if needed. Your new update will appear in the Updates feed, and you can switch between list or grid views depending on how you want it displayed.

Step 7: Email the update to your list

From the update, go to the Share tab and click Create Email. 

Under Send To, select the contact list you created (e.g., Community Newsletter List) and you will see the number of Contacts who will receive the email in parenthesis. At any time you can view the list to see the Contacts. 

Customize the email text Body and call-to-action button label, preview email and send. Recipients will receive the email, and clicking the CTA takes them straight to the update page you created. 

Step 8: Review Performance with Email Stats 

For each Update you send, you can check the following Email Invites stats from the Share tab.

• Delivered 
• Opened 
• Clicked 
• Click Rate