What's a Message?

Messages are how Donut interacts with new hires, participants, and others on Slack. Each Message has content, a recipient, and scheduling.

Jeff Manian (he/him) avatar
Written by Jeff Manian (he/him)
Updated this week

Messages are the building blocks of all Donut Journeys. They determine how and when Donut will interact with your new hires, participants and other stakeholders on Slack. You'll create Messages, and build them into Journeys, to create your desired experience. All Messages consist of three main components that you get to set:

  1. Content β€” the message Donut will send via Slack or email. Certain special types of Messages also have other details to set (see below).

  2. Recipient β€” who Donut sends the Message to

  3. Timing β€” when Donut sends the Message. Note: This is scheduled around either a New Hire's Start date or a Participant's Anchor Date. You can not choose calendar dates for messages.

Message Timing

A Message occurs at a particular time and day

Depending on the type of Donut Journey that you set up, your message will be anchored around a new hire's start date or a participant's anchor date.

For example: If you are using one of Donut's pre-built Mentorship Journeys, you might have a message scheduled on Work Day 5. This means that your message will be delivered on the 5th work day (M-F) from the participant's chosen anchor date.

πŸ’‘ Looking to reschedule messages, without editing your Journey completely? Learn how to reschedule individual messages here.

Message Recipients

Messages in Donut Journeys also have a recipient. This designates which Role, person, or channel will receive the Message.

Editing the Body of a Message

Go to the All Journeys tab and select the Journey you want to edit. Once you're in the Journey, click the message on the calendar you'd like to edit. Β 

Write the message you want the recipient to receive in the purple Message text box. You can include information, tips, links, or anything else in the Message text box. Don't forget to hit "Save" so you don't lose your updates.

Pro Tip: Need to make something bold or italics? Use the suggested formatting tips at the bottom of the message box to further customize the text.

Test All Messages

If you'd like to see what messages in a Journey will look like to the recipient, you can test all messages on yourself. Go to the Journey you wish to test, and click the purple button in the upper right that says, "Test Messages."

A message will pop up letting you know that you're about to test all of the messages in the Journey, so you know how many to expect in Slack. Hit "Send all messages now" to continue β€” you'll receive all of the messages immediately in a DM from Donut.Β We promise this won't send your messages out to everyone!

Selecting "Try it as a New Hire" allows you to simulate your New Hire's onboarding experience. You will be enrolled as a New Hire and other relevant roles.
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Message Formatting, @ Mentions, and Channel References

Messages support all standard Slack formatting, like bold and italics. As you type the message there will be a preview on the right showing how it will appear in Slack. You can also:

  • @ mention specific users (like @john or @jane) by typing "@" and using the autocomplete

  • @ mention Roles (like new hire or manager) by typing "@" and using the autocomplete. You'll get a placeholder like "@{new hire}."

  • reference channels by typing "#"

  • include emoji by typing ":" and using the autocomplete after you start typing

Other Types of Messages

In addition to basic Messages, there are several other types of special Messages:

  • Task β€” Donut sends a Message with a task for the recipient to complete, and Donut will remind them about it until they hit the "Complete" button.

  • Poll β€” Donut asks a question and provides buttons for multiple choice answers.

  • Intro β€” Donut will send a message to two people together in a group DM to introduce them or ask them to schedule a meeting. The first person is the new hire/participant or any Role of your choosing. The second person can either be a second Role of your choosing (e.g. the new hire's buddy), or a person selected randomly from a channel of your choosing.

  • Intros selected by manager - This allows managers to intentionally build internal networks for their new hires by specifying teammates they should meet, providing context, and automating scheduling those meetings.

  • Group Message - Group messages allow you to create a group DM between up to 8 recipients. This allows you to ensure everyone is in the loop when they need to be.

  • Channel Messages - In addition to messaging a channel to announce things like a new hire starting, you can also have Donut create your Cohort channels automatically for you.

Creating a New Message

  1. Go to the All Journeys tab and select the Journey you wish to edit. Once you're in the Journey, click "Add Message" on the date you'd like the message to send. Β 

  2. Choose the type of message you would like to create.
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  3. ​Next, you'll choose "Who's it for" (who should receive the message) by selecting the Role(s) or channel you wish the message to be sent to. You can also add the message to multiple Journeys of the same type. Note: If a user is subscribed to multiple Journeys that include this same Message they will only receive the Message once.

  4. You'll then choose what time the Message will be sent under "When's it for." Update the day if you need to, and choose what time the Message should send.

  5. Finally, you'll write the message you want the recipient to receive in the "What is it" section. You can include information, tips, links, or anything else in the Message text box. If you want to use one of the special Message types, you select that here as well β€” see above for more info on those.


Have questions or feedback? Just click the purple intercom button in the bottom right of your screen to open up a chat with our support team!

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