"Whoa, this is better than Hubspot."

That was my first reaction when Product Manager Dan Bonville and Director of Product Lauren Barth called me over to the Development Department to check out the new eNotify editor.

As a marketer who plans and builds a lot of emails (anywhere from 5-20 on any given week), I was ecstatic to see the simplicity and functionality of the new eNotify, which trumps the email platform I currently use to build and send Finalsite's emails.

We'll be unveiling the new eNotify editor in detail at this year's FinalsiteU — so be sure to register to be one of the first Finalsite schools to get a look at the new tool. We'll also have three sessions — including a hands-on workshops — to get you geared up and ready to use the new editor for all your back-to-school campaigns.

To get you excited about the grand unveiling, here are a five of the email platform's most exciting features:

1) Emails are automatically responsive.

(via GIPHY)

Cue the round of applause — we know, it's about time. Every email you build in the new eNotify will automatically resize and reorganize itself to fit every device.

2) The drag-and-drop, WYSIWYG interface makes building emails easy.

The new eNotify has two separate components: a template builder and an email builder — both of which are a completely drag-and-drop WYSIWG interface. While the template builder will work best on your laptop or desktop, it will also work well on a full-sized tablet.

While in the template builder, you can drag and drop structural blocks to design how you'd like your email to look.

Then, drag and drop the type of content (text, image, call-to-action, divider, or social media buttons) you'd like to fill those content areas.

My personal favorite is the social media button element, which automatically brings in links to your school's social media accounts — no styling required.

You can also clone and delete elements with a single click.

3) Foolproof templates make recurring emails easy.

While the new eNotify comes equipped with a few "best practice" templates, you can build your own without any HTML knowledge. Templates are great for recurring emails — like a weekly athletic wrap-up or monthly newsletter.

When you're building your templates, you can bring in content you'd like to appear in every single email —such as a Give Now CTA or header image — making it easier than ever before to update.

Templates also allow you to standardize your school's colors and fonts, so if you have multiple email contributors, you won't have to worry about non-school colors and fonts sneaking into emails.

4) Files are managed in a separate file manager.

The new eNotify's images are cloud-based, meaning anyone with access to eNotify can access them. This is great for schools who want to give constituents the rights to send emails, but don't want to provide the rights to File Manager.

Images are uploaded by simply dragging and dropping an image from your desktop to the email template.

5) There's a device preview tool.

Because we know that "responsive" doesn't always mean "it looks perfect on every device," we've included a device preview tool to ensure your email puts its best pixel forward, every time.

A new email-creation system has been long-awaited by Finalsite users — and we promise, it was worth the wait.

The Platform is currently in its Beta stage, and is being used by about 40 Finalsite schools to work out any final kinks before its big release at this year's FinalsiteU. The new eNotify will be released to all users after FinalsiteU at no additional cost.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

As Finalsite's Content Marketing Manager, Mia plans and executes a variety of inbound marketing and digital content strategies. As a former TV and news reporter, freelance cinematographer and certified inbound marketer, Mia specializes in helping schools find new ways to share their stories online through web design, social media, copywriting, photography and videography. She is the author of numerous blogs, and Finalsite's popular eBook, The Website Redesign Playbook.