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Yodel is currently in early release and only available within Indiana.

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Creating a Message

Any registered user can view the sending page within their account. This area is where you can create drafts of messages to send, get initial pricing for your audience size, or find previous messages that have already been sent. When drilling into a previously sent message, you also have visibility to reaction and reply responses from your audience and to message analytics.

Creating a New Draft Message

From your account sending page, press the "Create New Message" button. This will open a new blank message for you to start drafting your communication. By default this draft will only be visible to you.

You have three options for saving your draft.

  1. Quick Save — This option will save your current draft and reload the message so that you can keep working on it.

  2. Save & Exit — This option will save your current draft and return you to your account sending page to view other messages.

  3. Finish & Schedule — This option is used when your draft is complete and you are ready to submit for Yodel approval. All required information must be entered, and the target date must be set with allowance for proper lead time of printing and sending.

View & Edit Mode

When opening a previously saved but unsent message, you can toggle between view and edit modes. Click or tap the toggle button to easily switch. View mode is the default state to prevent accidental editing.

Message Name & Subject

Within the "Message" tab, there are two fields used to name and make it clear what the subject of the message is. The name field is private and will not be seen by your audience. The subject field is public and will be used as the main headline for printed pieces or the subject line of the digital versions of your message. Some of your audience may have set their preferences to receive messages via email or SMS text.

Sometimes, you may want the name and subject fields to match. Yodel provides easy-to-use links to help you match the name and subject fields if you want them to be the same. If they are an exact match, the page will indicate this.

Message Format

The first thing you’ll see when creating a new message is the “Format” tab where you select the type of postcard format for your message. The majority of messages sent through Yodel go out as postcards, unless a user has explicitly set their receiving preferences differently.

There are four formats to choose from which also sets the price per recipient:

You can see current pricing for these on our pricing page.

This selection also affects your options available for entering body content.

Body Content

For all message types other than Fully Custom, Yodel uses a simple RTE (rich text editor) for the main body content of the message. It provides a toolbar with some basic formatting options such as font size, font color, bold, italic, underline, or lists.

With Text Only format, this RTE will be the only content to add, and the formatted text can fill the front side of the postcard.

Selecting Single-Sided or Double-Sided formats reduce the size of the text area. The body content then is expected to be short and succinct. A message of this type can be formatted in multiple ways for print and digital delivery. For postcards, the message's image is expected to be the largest part, while the body content briefly explains details of your communication. Short and simple is better.

You'll notice the text editor does not allow the creation of links, because for printed pieces they would not work. You can share a URL or email address in your body content, but it must be typed out so that it can be read when printed.

When choosing the Fully Custom format type, there will be no RTE text box, instead you’ll be able to upload or create an image for both sides of the postcard.

Uploading an Image

Every message should have an image associated with it, unless you selected the Text Only format. Fully Custom format will allow two images to be uploaded. This can be done by uploading your own image. You can do this by using the "Upload Image" button on the message edit screen.

Your file should be:

Creating a Map with Annotations

You don't have to upload your own image. Yodel provides a means to create one within the message edit screen. Just click the "Create Map" button.

Since Yodel is ideal for local area communications, a map is commonly useful as the message image. This tool allows you to pan and zoom on a map to find the exact area you want to focus on. You can also toggle between standard map graphics or satellite imagery.

You can draw basic shapes on the map like polygons, lines, or place map points. These all come with several color options. Simple shapes are the best. If you spend more than a few minutes trying to perfect your shapes, then you may be getting too detailed.

Once you have it the way you like, click the "Continue" button and Yodel will generate an image for your message based on your annotated map.

Setting a Target Date

Within the "Settings" tab, there are several areas to update. The first is setting your "Target Date". Clicking or tapping this box will open a calendar control.

The earliest available date will be displayed. You cannot pick a date earlier than this as it will not allow the proper lead time for printing and sending. Some dates may be unavailable due to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) delivery schedules.

Please remember that a selected target date is not a guarantee that all messages will be delivered on that date. Your target date is a desired delivery date and Yodel will do everything we can to match various delivery methods such as postal mail, email, SMS text, and online delivery to the same date. Due to delivery factors outside the control of our company, we cannot guarantee exact delivery date for all recipients. Please review our Terms of Purchase and Disclaimers for more details.

Choosing the Sender or Group

Clicking or tapping the box for "Sender" will show your available options for controlling which sender name your recipients see. There are three possibilities:

  1. Send as yourself

  2. Send as one of your groups

  3. Combination

If you do not belong to any sending groups then your only option is to send as yourself, which will display your real name to recipients. Your audience will not be able to see your personal contact information like email, phone, or primary address.

If you belong to one or more sending groups you have a couple more options for selecting how the sender name appears to your audiences.

You can send as one of your groups, where your individual name will not appear to the recipients at all. The message will appear to come from your business or organization. The company's logo and website may appear to recipients.

Or you can choose to use a combined sender name, where your individual name will appear with the group name showing in parentheses after your name. Your audience will not be able to see your personal contact information like email, phone, or primary address. But the company's logo and website may appear to recipients.

If you select a group as your sender name, the message will become visible to other group members who may be able to edit, schedule, and approve the message. Selecting a group as sender will also trigger any new or edited message notifications to other members if they are set up to receive them. You can learn more about managing groups.

Keep in mind that reactions and replies from recipients are sent through Yodel services, where you or your group members will receive notifications based on your individual account settings.

Choosing Audiences

Another message settings box is for "Audiences." Clicking or tapping this will open an area where you can select the available addresses or areas that have been created within your sending locations.

"Saved Areas" and "Saved Addresses" are the locations you've previously created and are available audiences for you to use. If you have none, there is an "Add New Audience" link where you can set them up.

You also have the option to include your primary address, at no additional cost. This can be a nice feature to use as a quality and timing check for your message send. If you include your address as part of the audience list, then during the final send, Yodel will follow your preferences for notification settings in your account for how you receive your copy.

If you are a member of one or more sending groups, there is a possibility that the message includes saved locations from another group member. If this is the case, you'll also see a section called "From Another User" with call-outs for the areas or addresses that they have added to this message.

Addresses listed here are simple, single address locations.

As you select audiences on this screen, Yodel will total up the amount of estimated addresses in your full audience list and will display it on screen after you are finished making selections.

Recipient Filters

You can modify your audience list by limiting which types of recipients are to be included.

By default this is set to “all recipients”, which will include all matching street addresses and units (apartments and suites) within your audience list.

You can limit your send to just residential or just business addresses. This allows you to reduce your total message sends and thus your total cost to send as well.

Some address within your sending area may not be labeled as either residential or business. These will be included when you choose “all recipients”.

Reviewing Initial Estimate

Yodel pricing is driven by two factors. Your selection of the mailing format/style and audiences are used to calculate an initial estimate. This will be shown on screen after you have made your selections for both settings, and modified by your recipient filter selection.

This is only an approximation of the final price. Costs and pricing can change as your target date approaches. Before Yodel prints and sends, you will have to review the final price and approve it. Your approval will need to be timely in order to not risk your target date.