Messaging a Client: How it Works

Sometimes a document you download doesn’t come with all the information you might need to complete the edit. In the past, you’d have to get in touch with an admin so they could email the author to ask your question or get clarification. The whole experience was one big game of telephone. 

But not anymore! Your feedback helped us create the “send message” feature, which eliminates unnecessary back and forth for simple doc questions. (Find examples of when you should and shouldn’t message a user here.)

How it works

Once you’ve downloaded a document and it’s locked in your queue, you’ll see a “Send Message” icon at the bottom of the doc details modal: 

Clicking the envelope icon opens up the modal where you’ll type up your message:

Note that the messaging guidelines linked above are also linked at the top of this modal for easy access. 
If the user has shared their first name, it will appear in the messaging modal (seen above). If not, the name will be replaced with “the author.” Of course, feel free to address them by their name when given. 
Click submit and your message will zip off through the interwebs directly to the author’s inbox. A copy of the message is also sent to team@kibin.com so we know to look for responses to outstanding messages. 

The client's response is sent back to the Team Kibin inbox. An admin or CHC will forward the response to you as soon as we receive it. We'll try our best to reach out if we don't hear back from the customer, but that's not always possible before a turnaround expires. If you have a pending message and haven't heard from an admin, it's likely the author has not responded (unless it's outside support hours). 

What the user sees when you send a message

Subject line: New message from your Kibin editor

Important note about message formatting

The messaging email template is set up using HTML. This means that hitting enter in the messaging modal will not insert a line break into your message when it’s sent to the user. 

To add line breaks to your message, you’ll need to use the HTML code for a line break -- <br> for one line break and <br><br> for two -- wherever you’d normally hit the return key. 

For example, if you want your message to look like this...

You’ll need to include <br> after the comma in your message, which looks like this in the messaging modal: 
Hi there, <br>Should this document be edited in UK English or American English? 
If you want an extra bit of space between lines in the message so that it looks like this...

You’ll need to include two line breaks where you want the space:   

Hi there, <br><br>Does your character count for this admissions essay include spaces?
If those HTML line breaks aren’t included, the message sent to the user will look like this: 
Hi there, Does your character count for this admissions essay include spaces? 
For the record, sending a message without line breaks is absolutely fine. But if we know anything about editors, sending a message without formatting might drive some of you crazy. ;)

Other things to keep in mind

  • ALWAYS be polite and professional. 
  • Turnaround time. Have a backup plan because users don’t always respond (or they may not see the email before the turnaround expires). If you don't receive a response before the document is due, trust your editor gut. 
  • When asking questions or using “technical” terms, keep in mind that some of our users are not as fluent in English or may not be familiar with what you’re asking about. Keep your language simple and consider your audience. 
  • Try to keep inquiries to a minimum; we want to avoid this feature becoming a replacement for using your best editor judgment. :) 

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