Creating Newsletter Content
First, go to "Manage"->"Content" and click "Add Content" and then choose "Newsletter" as your content type.
Newsletter Components:
The newsletter content type will allow you to build your newsletter using four different component types:
- Article List
- Events Block
- Formatted Text Block
- Photo-and-text Item
For a refresher on what these component types do (and examples of each), refer to the Drupal User Guide
In the content of a newsletter, the main difference between a formatted text block and a photo-and-text item, is that the formatted text block should be used for a section with text only. Use the photo-and-text item if you want to have a header image above the text.
Photo-and-text item in newsletter (text with header image):
Formatted text block in newsletter (text only, no image):
The Events Block and Article Lists function similarly in a newsletter as they do on other pages on your website.
The major difference with a Article List in a newsletter is that there is a single display/layout option, both to differentiate article lists from other newsletter content, and also to ensure a consistent viewing experience for recipient of your newsletters.
To ensure article lists display property, when you add or edit one in your newsletter, scroll down to the "List and item display settings" field and ensure that "Display items as" = "newsletter" and "Display list as" = "Table"
Exporting Your Newsletter into Email Apps
Remember that when you build it on your website, your Drupal newsletter only exists as a "web page", so to speak,. You can link to it directly if you wish, but our websites do not send newsletters. The content must be copied into an email distribution app in order to send it to your recipient lists.
As of summer 2026, the university has removed access to Lyris, the email and list management platform many of us used previously to send e-news to recipient lists. E-lists are now managed via SimpleLists, but that platform is only used for management of your lists, not for actually sending emails/newsletters to the lists. Your options for sending newsletters are explained below.
Option 1: Outlook (for sporadic, plain text emails)
If you only send e-news updates infrequently (once per semester or less) and your newsletters are mostly plain, un-styled text without images, you can create a newsletter in Drupal as described above, but using only the "Formatted Text Block" content type.
You can then paste the newsletter text into Outlook to send it to your lists. This method is not recommended if your newsletters contains lots of images, or requires branded headers or department logos.
Option 2: New Email App (for frequent Drupal newsletter users with formatted content)
If you send newsletters more frequently (several times per semester, or at least every month) and your newsletters have lots of images or require consistent styling/branding/logos, we are currently testing a new email app created by CIT staff that replicates much of the functionality of Lyris, so that the source code of a Drupal newsletter can be pasted into a rich text editor and then sent to your established SimpleLists groups.
If you would like be to added to the testing group and granted access to the app, please email us as as-web@cornell.edu. Be aware that the access to this app does require training and consultation with our team, so if you are not a frequent Drupal newsletter user (i.e. if you only use it once a year on Giving Day), this is not the best option for you.
Option 3: Existing subscriptions to 3rd-party apps (Mail Chimp, Constant Contact, etc.)
If your department already maintains a subscription to 3rd-party email apps like Mail Chimp or Constant Contact, you can continue to paste the source code of Drupal newsletters into those text editors as before. Please keep in mind that the university does not officially support these apps, and if procurement policies change such that departments are no long permitted to subscribe to these services, you may need to switch to Options 1 or 2 in the future.
Exporting Newsletters to Email Distribution Apps
When you build it on your website, your Drupal newsletter only exists as a "web page". You can link to it directly if you wish, but our websites do not send newsletters. The content must be copied into an email distribution app in order to send it to your recipient lists.
As of summer 2026, the university has removed access to Lyris, the email and list management platform many of us used previously to send e-news to recipient lists. E-lists are now managed via SimpleLists, but that platform is only used for management of your lists, not for actually sending emails/newsletters to the lists. Your options for sending newsletters are explained below.
Option 1: Outlook (for sporadic, plain text emails)
If you only send e-news updates infrequently (once per semester or less) and your newsletters are mostly plain, un-styled text without images, you can create a newsletter in Drupal as described above, but using only the "Formatted Text Block" content type.
You can then paste the newsletter text into Outlook to send it to your lists. This method is not recommended if your newsletters contains lots of images, or requires branded headers or department logos.
Option 2: New Email App (for frequent Drupal newsletter users with formatted content)
If you send newsletters more frequently (several times per semester, or at least every month) and your newsletters have lots of images or require consistent styling/branding/logos, we are currently testing a new email app created by IT staff in the College of AAP that replicates much of the functionality of Lyris. In this app (like before in Lyris), the source code of a Drupal newsletter can be pasted into a rich text editor and then tested/sent to your established SimpleLists groups.
If you would like be to added to the testing group and granted access to the app, please email us as as-web@cornell.edu. Be aware that the access to this app does require training and consultation with our team, so if you are not a frequent Drupal newsletter user (i.e. if you only use it once a year on Giving Day), this is not the best option for you.
Option 3: Existing subscriptions to 3rd-party apps (Mail Chimp, Constant Contact, etc.)
If your department already maintains a subscription to 3rd-party email apps like Mail Chimp or Constant Contact, you can continue to paste the source code of Drupal newsletters into those text editors as before. Please keep in mind that the university does not officially support these apps, and if procurement policies change such that departments are no long permitted to subscribe to these services, you may need to switch to Options 1 or 2 in the future.