Omnilert allows your institution to send special emails to invite subscribers to download the Omnilert app and receive push notification alerts directly to their iOS or Android devices.
To send out app invites, go to the Invite tab in your Omnilert App endpoint settings.
Valid email addresses are required
This feature requires each subscriber to have a valid, active email address in his/her Omnilert subscriber account. If a subscriber does not have an email address in their subscriber account, they will not be included in this invitation process.
Sending app invites to subscribers
Please Note: Before sending any invites to subscribers, please be sure to configure your invite template and test (see sections below).
An "App Invite" can be sent to subscribers to invite them to install the Omnilert app and enter their personal access code (PAC).
To send out app invites, click the Send invitation email button. Omnilert will display a confirmation box as shown below:
Click Yes to launch emails to those subscribers.
Once launched, Omnilert will email an invite to any subscribers (with valid email addresses) that haven't already installed the app and entered their Personal Access Code.
A summary report of the emails sent will be created and posted to the Downloads page for your reference.
Selecting Groups to send targeted invitations
You may also opt to select one or more Groups to target only those subscribers with the selected group(s) who have not activated their PAC.
This can be useful if you only wish to send out invites to a specific subset of your Omnilert subscribers, such as a 'staff' group or those registered to a specific location group.
If you select "All Subscribers", then this invite will be sent to every subscriber with an email address in your Omnilert system.
Creating custom Omnilert app invite emails
You'll need to set a custom template for your app invitations. This is the email template that will be sent to each subscriber, inviting them to download the app from either the Google Play or Apple App Store.
There are several fields:
- Reply-To Email: The email address that will receive replies to the app invite emails. (Should be a local email address in case your subscribers reply with questions!)
- From Name: The text label on your outgoing email address. (e.g. "Sample University Alert System")
- Subject: The subject line for your app invite emails.
- Message: You must include message content. This should be used to inform subscribers of why they're receiving this email and what you'd like them to do (download and install the app on their devices.)
Note: Make sure and "save" your edits and changes to the template before sending the email.
To help you get started, here is a sample template that you can use:
Hi {{firstname}} {{lastname}},
This is an important message regarding campus safety.
You've been invited to receive alerts on your mobile device via the new campus safety app! Please complete the sign up by downloading the app on your phone and entering your registration code.
This app will only be used in emergencies to send you critical alerts!
Thank you.
{{from_name}}
Campus Safety Director
Sample Univerity
{{replyto_email}}
{{mobile_app_download_link}}
Of course, you may wish to customize the content to meet your institution's needs. If you need some help customizing your app invites, let us know at support@omnilert.com
Rich formatting in the invite emails
Your outgoing email template can include some basic rich formatting. The editor will allow you to format the text and even insert basic links into your invite email template.
Note: This invite email does not allow attachments or other HTML code in it.
App Invite Email Text Variables
The following variables can be used in the Message to be replaced by the data from each record as well as the fields you fill in below.
Use whichever variables may be appropriate for the message you wish to send, they are:
{{username}}
- Inserts the subscriber's username.{{firstname}}
-Inserts the subscriber's first name.{{lastname}}
-Inserts the subscriber's last name.{{email}}
-Inserts the subscriber's email address.{{from_name}}
-Inserts the 'From Name'{{replyto_email}}
-Inserts the 'Reply-To Email'{{personal_access_code}}
-Inserts the Personal Access Code of the recipient subscriber.{{personal_access_link}}
-Inserts the link to open the Omnilert app which includes the Personal Access Code embedded into it. This can help the subscriber input his/her access code. (Note: The subscriber must have already installed the app on their device for this link to function properly.){{mobile_app_download_link}}
- Inserts links/graphics to download the Omnilert App from the Google Play and Apple App Store for mobile alerts. (This variable is recommended for all invite emails!){{desktop_app_download_link}}
- Inserts links/graphics to download the Windows PC and Apple macOS installers for Omnilert Desktop Alert v2.
Simply insert the corresponding text variable where you'd like that piece of information to appear in your outgoing app invite.
Omnilert's invite emails will automatically include some key contents below your custom text content:
- Personal Access Code: The subscriber's Personal Access Code will be inserted automatically. They'll need to enter this code to link their Omnilert Subscriber app to their personal subscriber profile.
Which text variables should you use?
At a minimum, we recommend including {{mobile_app_download_link}}
and/or {{desktop_app_download_link}}
to provide a link to download the mobile and/or desktop app.
Naturally, you aren't required to use all of the text variables. You may not need more than the download links, depending on your preferences. Pick and choose the variables that best suit your template.
Testing your app invite template
The Send Sample Email button can be used to send yourself a sample of your app invite email template. This is a convenient way to see what the template will look like before sending emails to subscribers.
Omnilert will then send you a sample of what your notice will look like.
Please note: This sample email will use sample subscriber information, not "live" subscriber data. As such, the personal access code displayed in the sample email will not work in the Omnilert App.
What happens next?
Once you launch your invites by clicking the Send invitation email button, Omnilert will email each subscriber with an unused Personal Access Code in their account with instructions.
From this point, the subscriber must take action to complete the process, of course.
Hopefully, each of your subscribers will follow your instructions, install the app on their mobile phone, and enter their app registration code (aka "Personal Access Code").
Those that follow the instructions will receive alerts via push notification whenever you target messages to your app.
Tips and Notes:
- View a report: After the invitation process has finished, a report will be generated and placed in the Downloads area.
- Email sender: The email sending will be no-reply@omnilert.com (Replies will go to your "Reply-to Email" address.)
- This is a "self-cleaning" list: Once a subscriber activates a mobile device with their Personal Access Code, their address is removed from this list of un-activated subscriber apps.
- Please don't "spam" your subscribers: After sending out invites be sure to allow time for subscribers to receive your email and act upon it before sending another invite. Sending too many invites too quickly will frustrate your subscribers and they will likely just unsubscribe or block you.
- Create your template first: Before sending app invites, be sure you've configured your invite email. The test button is useful to make sure your template layout looks good.
- "Can we force a phone to install the app?" There is no method to force someone to install and app via the standard App Store or Google Play. Unless your institution has a proprietary device system, you'll need to rely on subscribers to actively choose to install the Omnilert app and enter their personal access code. They'll also need to allow the app to send them push notifications to receive alerts.
- Don't share Personal Access Codes! Each subscriber should use his/her own Personal Access Code with the app. Otherwise, the system won't be able to link apps to subscribers.
- Email Format: If enabled, your invitation emails will use the Settings > Email Format configuration for header and footer information in the outgoing email.
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