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News Digest Simulator

Simulate, Sample, Content, Example.

Melissa Siegel avatar
Written by Melissa Siegel
Updated over a week ago

You may be wondering: What will Subscriber A's News Digest look like? What about Subscriber B? What will be different? What will be the same based on the selected Distribution Settings? Wonder no more! If you would like to see what a Subscriber’s next News Digest may look like based on the current state of your content, the Simulator is for you. To access the Simulator, go to Content > Simulator.

This is only a simulation. All aspects of the News Digest are subject to change.

How the Simulator Works

After choosing a Subscriber, we will create a simulation of their next News Digest using the content you have published and scheduled in the Content Hub. This is a projected preview of what they will receive, providing you an idea of what to expect. However, it can change.

The actual News Digest the Subscriber receives may look different if they adjust their preferences or if you make changes to content priority, publish more content, or change expiration dates on published content. You can make changes to the predicted Digest by taking one or more of the following actions:

  • Add more content to the Content Hub with eligible Publish and Expiration Dates for the upcoming Digest.

  • Expire old content by changing the Expiration Date to be before the next Digest.

  • Adjust the priority of a piece of content in the Content's Distribution Settings.

  • Target a piece of content to a Segment in the Content's Distribution Settings.

  • Change the headline, summary, or story image to alter the look inside the News Digest.

  • Add or remove Categories in the piece of Content.

  • Add an Important Day and turn the Skip News Digest toggle on. Only Administrators can create Important Days in Settings > Sending Options > Important Days.

Any change made could impact other Subscribers' News Digest.

To learn more about how News Digests work and what makes content eligible or ineligible for a Subscriber, please review News Digests.

How to Use the Simulator

To get to the News Digest Simulator, go to Content > Simulator. To search for a Subscriber, click Choose Subscriber either on the Simulator landing page or in the header row at the top of the page.

This will open a searchable drop-down of your Subscribers. In this drop-down, you can search for a Subscriber (name or email) or scroll through the first 100 to select a Subscriber to simulate for.

Successful Simulation

If the News Digest preview generates successfully for the chosen Subscriber, you will be able to scroll through the projected Digest.

In this simulation, you will see the projected Subscriber, their Subject Line, and the date they will receive their next News Digest. This simulated News Digest will be based on the current content, priority, chosen layout, and other Digest settings. The “i” icon will open the Subscriber Details modal for the chosen Subscriber.

If a subscriber's next News Digest send date falls on an Important Day with the Skip News Digest restriction turned on, the News Digest Simulator will simulate the News Digest for the next sending date, after the skipped Important Day.

If we are unable to generate a News Digest preview for a chosen Subscriber, an error page will show the reasons there’s no Digest preview. It includes options to change Subscribers and reset the Simulator landing page.


If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at support@cerkl.com or use the support Chat toward the bottom right-hand corner of any cerkl.com page.

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