The Inbox brings all of your contact conversations into one place, including email. From a single thread you can compose a message, personalize it with merge fields and trigger links, attach files, add images and emojis, drop in a saved template, request a payment, and copy additional recipients using CC and BCC. This guide walks you through sending an email from a conversation and covers everything the email composer can do.
Sending an email in Aesthetix CRM starts from the contact's conversation in the Inbox. Follow these steps to compose and send.
Step 1: Open your Inbox. Navigate to the Inbox to see your conversations.
Step 2: Choose a contact to message. Select the contact you want to email so their conversation thread opens.
Step 3: Click the 'Email' tab. Above the message composer, switch to the Email tab so your message is sent as an email rather than another channel.
Step 4: Craft your email content. Enter your subject line and type your message in the body. The composer supports rich text, so you can format your message as you write it.
Step 5: Personalize your email. Insert merge fields (also called custom values) to pull in contact details such as first name, so each recipient gets a message tailored to them.
Step 6: Add a trigger link. Use the Trigger Links option to insert a trackable link. Trigger links let you monitor clicks and can be used to fire automations when a contact clicks.
Step 7: Configure formatting options for your email. Use the rich-text toolbar to style your message, including bold, italics, lists, alignment, and other formatting controls.
Step 8: Attach required files. Add attachments to your email when you need to send documents or other files along with your message.
Step 9: Incorporate a link into your email. Add a hyperlink to your message where you want the recipient to click through.
Step 10: Select and finalize your link. Confirm the link text and destination URL, then apply it to your email.
Step 11: Add an image. Insert an image directly into the body of your email.
Step 12: Provide the required image details. Supply the image source or upload the file, along with any details the composer requests, then insert it.
Step 13: Add emojis to your email. Use the emoji picker to add emojis and give your message a friendlier tone.
Step 14: Add a predefined template to your email. Insert a saved email template so you don't have to write repeat messages from scratch.
Step 15: Choose your preferred template. Select the template you want from the list to load it into the composer.
Step 16: Access 'Email Payment Links'. Open the Email Payment Links option to request a payment directly within your email.
Step 17: Submit the necessary details for the payment request. Enter the amount and any other required information for the payment request, then add it to your email.
Step 18: Clear all changes to start fresh. If you want to discard your draft and begin again, clear the composer to reset it.
Step 19: Send the drafted email. When your message is ready, send it to the contact.
Step 20: Schedule your email for a later time. Instead of sending immediately, schedule the email to go out at a later date and time.
Every email you send from the Inbox includes a subject line and is sent from a connected sending address. Enter a clear subject in the subject field so recipients know what the message is about. The email is sent from the address associated with your account's connected email channel. If you have more than one sending address available, confirm the correct one is selected before sending.
The email composer is a full rich-text editor. In addition to typing and formatting your message, you can:
Apply rich-text formatting such as bold, italics, lists, and alignment.
Insert trigger links to track clicks and power automations.
Add standard hyperlinks to any text in your message.
Attach files so documents travel with your email.
Insert images inline within the body.
Add emojis for a more personal tone.
Insert a saved template and personalize it with merge fields.
Add an email payment link to request payment from the contact.
The email composer includes CC (Carbon Copy) and BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) capabilities so you can involve additional recipients in a single thread while controlling who sees whom. This lets you engage multiple stakeholders at once while preserving individual confidentiality where needed.
Please note: CC and BCC are available in the New Message Composer, which can be enabled via Labs.
The CC and BCC capabilities in the email composer enable you to send emails to additional recipients beyond the primary contact.
The CC function lets you email additional recipients beyond the primary ones in the 'To' field. When you use CC, the email addresses of all recipients (primary and CC'd) are visible to everyone who receives the message.
The BCC function also lets you send to additional recipients, but in a more private manner. When you use BCC, the email addresses of the BCC'd recipients are hidden from all other recipients. People who receive the email will not know that the BCC'd recipients are also receiving it, keeping their addresses private.
Project Updates: If a team is working on a project and the project manager wants to send an update to the team members and keep higher management or other departments in the loop, they can use CC. The team members go in the 'To' field, and higher management or other departments go in the 'CC' field, so everyone shares the same information about the project's progress.
Customer Communication: In customer service situations, a representative might communicate directly with a customer (the 'To' field) while also CC'ing their manager or another team (like the technical team) to keep them informed or gather their input on the conversation.
Confidential Matters: If a manager wants to email a staff member but also inform the HR department without the staff member knowing, they can use BCC. The staff member's email goes in the 'To' field and the HR department goes in the 'BCC' field, so HR stays informed without the staff member knowing.
Mass Email without Revealing Addresses: If you want to send an announcement or newsletter to multiple recipients without each recipient seeing the others' email addresses, use the BCC field. Each recipient receives the email without seeing who else it was sent to.
Vendor Communication: If a business communicates with various vendors or suppliers and needs to send a similar message to all, put the primary vendor in the 'To' field and CC the rest. All vendors know about each other, promoting transparency, while the main communication is addressed to the primary vendor.
Step 1: Access the feature. Open the email composer by clicking the New Email button or Reply in an existing email thread.
Step 2: Locate the fields. You will see the CC and BCC fields alongside the regular 'To' field, integrated directly within the composer interface.
Step 3: Add recipients. Click the CC or BCC field to expand it, then enter the email addresses of the recipients you wish to CC or BCC. You can select an email address from the dropdown list (which contains all of your contact emails) or manually type in a new email address.
Step 4: Collapse the fields. After adding recipients, click the CC or BCC field again to collapse it. The added recipients will be saved.
Step 5: Understand syncing. CC and BCC support 2-way sync. Any changes to the email recipients (added or removed) in Aesthetix CRM are reflected in Gmail/Outlook, and vice versa.
Step 6: Reply to emails with CC or BCC. You can only do a "reply all" to any email that has CC or BCC recipients. Note that you cannot remove CC/BCC recipients in the middle of a thread.
Will a new contact be created if I add an outside email to the CC/BCC fields?
No. A new contact will not be created if you add an outside email to the CC/BCC fields.
What happens if I add an existing contact's email address in the CC/BCC fields?
If you add an existing contact's email address in the CC/BCC fields, the conversation will only show under the primary contact's thread (the 'To' recipient), not under the thread of the CC/BCC contact.
Is the CC/BCC feature available for all email channels?
Yes. CC/BCC is compatible with all email channels, including Mailgun, 2-way sync with Gmail and Outlook, SMTP email, custom providers, and custom conversation providers.
How can the CC/BCC feature improve my email communications?
By using CC/BCC, you can efficiently manage your email communications by involving multiple parties, either openly or confidentially. This offers flexibility and keeps all relevant parties in the loop.
To create and reuse saved email templates, see the Message Templates collection.
To improve inbox placement, sender reputation, and open rates, see the deliverability guidance in Email Marketing.
