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. Messages consist of various components that you get to set, some of which are:
Content — the message Donut will send via Slack or email. Certain special types of Messages also have other details to set (see below).
Recipient — who Donut sends the Message to
Timing — 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.
💡 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.
Message Types
In addition to basic Messages, there are several other types of Messages:
Task — 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 — Donut asks a question and provides buttons for multiple choice answers.
Intro — 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 - Message an entire channel announcements such as new hires starting, upcoming holidays, and more.
Cohort Channel Messages
Cohorts are groups of individuals who share a common anchor date, such as new hires, or participants in a mentorship program. A cohort channel seeks to bring them into a shared channel to facilitate communication and engagement. The following message types only apply to cohort channels:
Create an automated Cohort Channel - Donut will create an automated Cohort channel. You pick what to name the channel, who gets to join, and when.
Schedule a Message to a Cohort Channel - Schedule messages to Cohort channels, ensuring that your communications are relevant and timely for your program participants.
Schedule Cohort Events - Create calendar events for an entire cohort, such as trainings, in-person events, and more.
Creating a New Message
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.
Choose the type of message you would like to create.
Choose the recipient(s):
Select the role(s) or channel(s) to determine who should receive the message. You can also add the message to multiple Journeys of the same type.
Note: If a user is enrolled in multiple Journeys that include the same message, they will only receive it once.
Choose the timing:
Under "When's it for," choose the date and time you'd like the message to be sent. Adjust the day if needed and select the specific time.
Write the message content:
In the "What is it" section, compose the message for the recipient. You can include tips, information, links, or any other content. For instructions on editing the content of other message types like tasks and polls click here for more details.
✨NEW✨ You can now add attachments to some message types including Individual Messages, Group Messages, Tasks, and Polls. Click here to learn more.
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 "#" (Currently Private channels aren't supported)
include emoji by typing ":" and using the autocomplete after you start typing
Changing Calendar Views:
To assist with planning and organizing your messages, we offer the ability to change your calendar views. Your start date can be viewed as:
A Weekday: Preview your Journey's start date as any particular day of the week. This view can help plan recurring events or Journeys with varying start dates, such as New Hire Onboarding.
Specific Dates: Preview your Journey's start date as a specific date.
This view is recommended for Journeys with a specific start date, such as a
company retreat.
Using this feature to change your calendar view is only intended to help plan. You can choose the start date for each new hire or participant when they're enrolled in the Journey.
Test 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 — you'll receive all of the messages immediately in a DM from Donut. 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.
Test Individual Messages
You can also test messages individually! If you don't want to test everything at once or you make a simple change and want to test things out, you can select the 3 dots on the message card and select "Test On Yourself"
If you have any questions or feedback, click the purple Donut button on the bottom right of your screen to open up a chat with our support team!