Comms Packages — How-tos & Workflows
Step-by-step guides for creating packages, managing schedules, and working with recipient groups
Creating a Package
- Navigate to Comms Package Center from the left-hand navigation.
- Click New package.
- Work through the five-step form:
Step 1: Select artifacts
Browse or search your available artifacts. Artifacts are grouped by type — Roadmaps, Releases, Strategies, Bento Grids, and Documents. Select each artifact you want to include.
You can include multiple artifacts of different types in a single package.
Step 2: Order artifacts
The selected artifacts are listed in the order they will appear in the email. Use the Up and Down controls next to each artifact to adjust the sequence. Place the most important or contextually first artifact at the top.
Step 3: Add recipients
Enter the email addresses of your recipients. Press Enter or comma after each address to add it to the list.
If you have a saved Recipient Group you want to use, select it from the group picker. The group's addresses are loaded into the recipient list automatically. You can add or remove addresses after loading a group.
To save the current recipient list for future reuse, enter a name in the Save as group field before submitting.
Step 4: Choose cadence and schedule
- One-time: The package sends once. Choose Send now to deliver immediately, or pick a specific date and time to schedule it.
- Recurring: Choose Weekly, Biweekly, or Monthly. Select the day or date for the first send — subsequent sends follow automatically from there.
Optionally add a Package name (for your reference only, not visible to recipients), a Subject line, and an Intro message that appears at the top of the email before the artifact links.
Step 5: Review and submit
- Review the summary and submit. Lodestone creates the package and either sends immediately or queues it for the scheduled time.
Pausing a Recurring Package
If you need to temporarily suspend a recurring package without cancelling it:
- On the Comms Package Center main page, find the package in the list.
- Click Pause. The package status changes to Paused and no further sends occur until resumed.
Pausing is useful when the content is temporarily outdated or you're going through a communications blackout period. The cadence and recipient list are preserved.
Resuming a Paused Package
- Find the paused package in the Comms Package Center list.
- Click Resume. The package returns to Active status and resumes sending on its cadence from the next scheduled date.
Cancelling a Package
Cancelling permanently stops a package. It will not send again.
- Find the package in the Comms Package Center list.
- Click Cancel. The package status changes to Cancelled.
Cancelled packages remain visible in the list for reference. They cannot be reactivated — create a new package if you want to restart the same communication.
Managing Recipient Groups
Recipient Groups are saved distribution lists you can reuse across packages.
Creating a group
Groups are created during package creation. In the recipients step, after entering your addresses, type a name into the Save as group field. The group is saved when the package is submitted.
Using a saved group
When creating a new package, open the group picker in the recipients step and select the group. Its addresses are loaded automatically. You can add or remove individual addresses without changing the saved group.
Deleting a group
On the Comms Package Center main page, find the group in the Recipient Groups section and use the delete action. Deleting a group does not affect packages that were already created using it — their recipient lists are independent copies.
Next: Advanced Features & Customization — snapshots, artifact ordering, cadence strategy, and designing effective packages.