Create a Broadcast
Instructions on how to create and send a broadcast.
Create a Broadcast
A Broadcast lets you send a single message to many customers at once. You can send Broadcasts over two channels:
Channel — posts to your customers' Slack channels (and Microsoft Teams channels, where connected).
Email — sends an email to a list of contacts.
Every Broadcast is created through the same three-step flow — Message → Audience → Review — and when you're ready you can Send now, Schedule for later, or Save as a draft.
Always Send a Preview before sending a Broadcast to ensure correct formatting.
Go to the Broadcast Page
Navigate to the Broadcasts Page and click the Create button at the top right.
Set a Title
Every Broadcast has a Title. The title is only used to help you find the Broadcast later — it is never shown to recipients and is not part of the message.
Create a Channel (Slack/Teams) Broadcast
Use a Channel Broadcast to post a message into your customers' Slack channels. If an account also has a connected Microsoft Teams channel, the message is delivered to both.
Broadcasts only work with Teams channels (part of a Team workspace), not with Teams chats.
Step 1 — Write your Message
Set Send broadcast in to Channel, then compose your message.
Slack message etiquette is very different from other mediums like Email. When writing your Broadcast, follow these tips:
Keep it short
Use emojis
Attach an image or link
Type your message into the text editor on the left, and see a live preview on the right. We support the following content types:
Bold
Bold the text
⌘B
Italic
Italicize the text
⌘I
Code
Add code formatting
Emoji 🙂
Add an emoji
🌐
Strikethrough
Strikethrough text
Header
Add a header
Subheader
Add a subheader
Image
Add an image
Emojis can be added either as raw emojis like 🎉 or in raw string form like :tada:. Custom emojis are supported via the latter method like :custom_emoji:.
Personalize with Variables
Channel Broadcasts can insert per-account values so each channel receives a tailored message. Type {{ in the editor to see the available variables, including:
{{account.name}}
The account's name
{{account.owner}}
The account owner
{{slack.pylon.mention}}
Tags the Pylon bot in the message — useful when broadcasting usage instructions
Account custom fields are also available as variables.
Personalization variables are only available for Channel (Slack/Teams) Broadcasts. They are not available for Email Broadcasts.
Show or Hide Link Preview
When you send links on Slack, a link preview image is typically shown below your message. You can manually enable or disable this preview after adding a link.
Choose Sender
You can choose to send the Broadcast either as yourself or as the company.
Step 2 — Select your Audience
On the Audience step, choose which channels receive the Broadcast. A preview of the selected channels stays visible on the right.
You can build your audience in several ways:
Filter — narrow the list by account filters (for example, account ownership or account tags). Tags can be set in Pylon on the Accounts Page or synced from your CRM.
Select manually — check individual channels and click Add to Audience.
Select all matching a filter — add every channel that matches your current filter in one action.
Upload a CSV — match accounts by
account_id, external ID, or a custom field.
Deselect a Channel
There may be cases where you want to send to all channels matching a filter, except for a few. Filter to the set you want, then click a channel under the preview to remove it. You can also use Clear all or Clear unhealthy to quickly adjust the list.
Pylon flags channels that may not receive the Broadcast (for example, where the Pylon bot isn't present) so you can address them before sending.
Step 3 — Review and Send
See the Review and Send section below, which is shared by all Broadcasts.
Create an Email Broadcast
Use an Email Broadcast to send a single email to a list of contacts.
Email Broadcasts require a connected Email App, which provides the from-address. The email sender options only appear once an Email App is configured for your organization.
Step 1 — Write your Message
Set Send broadcast in to Email, then fill in the email fields.
Subject — required. This is the subject line recipients see.
Send broadcast from — choose the Email App whose address the email is sent from.
Send as — send as the company (the app's default sender name) or as yourself (your name).
Reply to — where replies are routed: your email, the app's receiving email, or none.
Compose the email body in the rich-text editor. Email Broadcasts support formatting, bullet and numbered lists, inline images, and file attachments.
Step 2 — Select your Audience
Email Broadcasts are sent to individual contacts (by email address), not to accounts or channels. On the Audience step you'll see a searchable table of contacts, showing their Account, Contact name, and Email. Only contacts that have an email address appear.
Build your recipient list in any of these ways:
Filter — narrow the contacts list using contact filters.
Select manually — check individual contacts and click Add to Audience.
Select all matching a filter — add every contact that matches your current filter.
Upload a CSV — add existing contacts by email, and optionally create new contacts that don't exist in Pylon yet.
Uploading recipients through CSV upload
Your CSV needs an email column (required). Include a name column too — it's required for any recipient who isn't already a contact in Pylon — and an optional accountID column.
When you upload, Pylon matches each email against your existing contacts (case-insensitive, including secondary emails):
Existing contacts are added to the audience as-is.
Emails with no match are shown as New. If the row has a name, Pylon creates a brand-new contact for it — but only when you send or save the broadcast, not at upload time.
Rows missing a name or with an invalid email can't be added and are skipped.
New contacts are created with the name and email from your CSV and associated to an account by the accountID you provide, or inferred from the email's domain. If neither matches, the contact is created without an account. New contacts are not automatically invited to your customer portal.
The upload previews how many recipients are existing vs. new before you add them. Max file size is 25 MB.
If your CSV includes many recipients who aren't yet contacts in Pylon, saving or sending the broadcast can be slow or time out, because Pylon creates a new contact for each one.
For large audiences, we recommend either:
Creating the contacts first on the Contacts page, then building your audience from existing contacts, or
Splitting the CSV into smaller batches and sending in groups.
Recipients who are already contacts in Pylon aren't affected by this.
Step 3 — Review and Send
See the Review and Send section below, which is shared by all Broadcasts.
Review and Send
The Review step is the final screen for every Broadcast. It shows your composed message alongside the resolved audience so you can confirm everything before it goes out.
Send a Preview
Before sending, always send a preview to check formatting.
For a Channel Broadcast, send the preview to yourself or to a specific channel.
For an Email Broadcast, send the preview to yourself.
Engagement Notifications (Channel Broadcasts)
For Channel Broadcasts, you can route engagement notifications (replies and reactions) to a Slack channel so your team can follow along.
Send, Schedule, or Save
When your preview looks good, choose how to send:
Send Now — sends the Broadcast immediately after a confirmation.
Schedule for later — pick a date, time, and timezone. The Broadcast moves to your Scheduled tab and sends automatically.
Save Draft — save your progress and finish later from the Draft tab.
Congrats, you've sent a Broadcast!
After Sending
Track Engagement
Once a Broadcast is sent, Pylon tracks engagement automatically.
Channel (Slack/Teams) — reactions, replies, link clicks, and an overall engagement rate, per message and per account.
Email — the contacts that were emailed, grouped by account.
Edit, Clone, or Delete
Edit — you can edit the message of an already-sent Channel/Teams Broadcast; Pylon updates the messages that were posted.
Clone — duplicate a Broadcast to use it as a starting point for a new one.
Delete — remove a Broadcast.
Example: Feature Launch Broadcast
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