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ModulesEmail CampaignsConfiguring a comms style

Configuring a comms style

A comms style declares which consent gate a campaign requires. Every campaign must pick one, and you cannot compose a campaign until at least one exists.

The page states it plainly: “A comms style declares which consent gate a campaign requires — marketing (newsletters, fundraising appeals) or campaign (proactive contact about future needs). Recipients are always filtered to contacts who granted the relevant consent.”

Where it is

Comms styles is a card at the top of the Campaigns page, above the campaign list. It is not a tab and not a separate screen.

Adding one

  1. Click + New style. The window is titled New comms style.
  2. Fill in:
    • Name — e.g. Quarterly Newsletter.
    • Key — a snake_case identifier, e.g. newsletter. The form warns: “Snake_case identifier. Fixed once created.” You cannot change it later.
    • Description (optional) — a one-line note for your team.
    • Required consent — the whole point of the style. Two options:
      • Marketing — newsletters, fundraising appeals
      • Campaign — proactive contact about future needs
    • Active — new campaigns can target this style — a checkbox.
  3. Click Create style. When editing an existing style the button reads Save changes.

Each style’s row offers Edit and Delete.

That is the entire form: five fields. This page previously listed a from name, a reply-to, a signature block and a footer block. None of those exists on a comms style. The sender is set per campaign — see Sender and replies — and there is no signature or footer feature at all; write your signoff into the body.

This is the decision that matters, because it determines who can legally receive the campaign.

  • Marketing — anything promotional: newsletters, appeals, event invitations, year-end asks. The narrower gate; fewer contacts will have granted it.
  • Campaign — proactive contact about future needs, for people who agreed to be contacted about the work rather than to receive marketing.

If a campaign’s audience comes out far smaller than you expect, the comms style’s consent tier is the first thing to check.

Deleting a style

Delete asks on the page before it does anything. A style that any campaign uses, sent or draft, cannot be deleted: the refusal says how many campaigns use it. Untick Active instead to stop it being chosen. An inactive style is not offered when you create or edit a campaign, and a campaign cannot be saved or sent on it.

Common issues

  • + New campaign is disabled. No comms style exists yet. The empty state says “Create a comms style first.”
  • You need a different tone per programme. A comms style does not carry tone, signature or sender — those are per-campaign or not features at all. Create a second style only when you need a different consent gate.

See admin → Comms styles for how consent is captured in the first place.

Last updated: 2026-09-15 · Applies to: CartonCrew v1.563+

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