Automated weekly newsletter distribution

Purpose

 1.1. Deliver weekly church newsletters to members via multiple channels (email, SMS, app notifications) to keep members informed about services, events, volunteer needs, devotionals, and updates.
 1.2. Automate content collation from staff submissions and ministry groups to ensure cohesive communication.
 1.3. Improve member engagement by regular, structured touchpoints and reinforce church community links.

Trigger Conditions

 2.1. Scheduled weekly—e.g., Friday at 5 PM server time.
 2.2. Manual trigger by communication staff for urgent notices.
 2.3. Content submission deadline met by ministry contributors.
 2.4. External data input detected (e.g., new event added in calendar).

Platform Variants

 3.1. Mailchimp
  - Feature/Setting: Campaigns API, create and schedule newsletter; configure with list segment for Alliance members.
 3.2. SendGrid
  - Feature/Setting: Marketing Campaigns API, schedule batch send; use dynamic templates.
 3.3. Outlook 365
  - Feature/Setting: Graph API /createMessage, schedule send; upload member contacts group.
 3.4. Gmail
  - Feature/Setting: Gmail API /users.messages.send, draft and send HTML email; configure for church account.
 3.5. Brevo (Sendinblue)
  - Feature/Setting: SMTP API, campaign scheduling; segment audience by tags.
 3.6. Constant Contact
  - Feature/Setting: Email Campaigns endpoint, schedule send; update contact lists.
 3.7. Twilio
  - Feature/Setting: Messaging API, SMS sends for brief newsletter; set recipient opt-in group.
 3.8. Slack
  - Feature/Setting: chat.postMessage API, scheduled message to 'newsletters' channel.
 3.9. Discord
  - Feature/Setting: Webhook, automate message to designated server channel.
 3.10. WhatsApp Business API
  - Feature/Setting: SendMessage endpoint, weekly message broadcast to group.
 3.11. Facebook Messenger
  - Feature/Setting: Send API, automate newsletter snippet to subscribers.
 3.12. Telegram
  - Feature/Setting: Bot API sendMessage, schedule weekly post to group/channel.
 3.13. Flocknote
  - Feature/Setting: Automated email/text feature, set up recurring sends to church list.
 3.14. ChurchSuite
  - Feature/Setting: Communication feature, automated group emails per schedule.
 3.15. Elvanto
  - Feature/Setting: Newsletter automation, configure volunteer team for newsletter role.
 3.16. Planning Center
  - Feature/Setting: Services email notifications, schedule to all group members.
 3.17. Zapier
  - Feature/Setting: Scheduler action plus Gmail/Outlook/Mailchimp actions for newsletter workflows.
 3.18. Microsoft Power Automate
  - Feature/Setting: Scheduled flow, mail send action with HTML template to contact base.
 3.19. Google Sheets
  - Feature/Setting: Sheets API to collect and merge newsletter input from ministry leaders.
 3.20. Airtable
  - Feature/Setting: Weekly automation, aggregate content in grid, trigger send via email integration.
 3.21. Salesforce Marketing Cloud
  - Feature/Setting: Journey Builder, schedule send of newsletter to relevant church segment.
 3.22. Klaviyo
  - Feature/Setting: Flows automation, set trigger for weekly batch to Alliance group.

Benefits

 4.1. Ensures reliable, timely communication to all church members across preferred platforms.
 4.2. Reduces manual workload for staff; increases consistency and accuracy of information.
 4.3. Improves engagement and inclusivity for diverse member preferences (email, SMS, app).
 4.4. Enables content tracking, analytics, and follow-up on engagement for future planning.
 4.5. Scales easily for special events, seasonal campaigns, or emergency communications.