Notifications

Notifications tell you when something happens that involves you: a comment on your design, a mention, a status change, a post that published or failed, or an invitation to a brand.

They live in the bell in the sidebar, called Notifications. A number on the bell shows how many are new.

You decide which kinds you get on My Account. Those settings only change what shows in the bell. Emails are separate.

Quick start (5 minutes)

1. Click the bell (Notifications) in the sidebar.
2. Read the newest notifications at the top. Unread ones are highlighted with a dot.
3. Click the link icon next to a notification to open the item it’s about.
4. Click Mark all read to clear the count.
5. To stop a kind of notification, go to My Account, scroll to Notifications and turn it off.

Open the notification bell

1. In the sidebar, click the bell (Notifications).
2. The panel opens. The header shows how many are new, like 3 new.
3. Click the x or anywhere outside the panel to close it.

The panel has two parts:

• Invitations: invitations to join a brand. See Answer an invitation.
• Activity: everything else, newest first.

When there’s nothing to show, you’ll see You’re all caught up.

Read and manage notifications

Each notification shows a title, a short message and the date. Unread notifications are highlighted and have a dot.

• Open the item: click the link icon next to the date. It opens in a new tab. Notifications about the brand itself, like a rename, don’t have a link.
• Mark one as read: click Mark as read under it.
• Mark one as unread: click Mark as unread to keep it as a reminder.
• Mark everything as read: click Mark all read at the top.
• See older notifications: scroll down and click the load more button.

The bell checks for new notifications every minute and again each time you open it, so you don’t need to reload the page.

You can also add the Notifications widget to Home. It shows the same notifications as the bell, unread first. See Your Home Page.

Answer an invitation

When someone invites you to a brand, the invitation appears under Invitations in the bell.

1. Find the card that says Invited to brand name by name.
2. Expires shows the last day you can answer.
3. Click Accept to join, or Decline to turn it down.

When you accept, you’ll see You’ve joined brand name, and the brand appears in your Brands list.

Answered and expired invitations stay in the list with a label: Accepted, Rejected or Expired. Expired invitations don’t count toward the number on the bell.

See Inviting Your Team.

What you’re notified about

You never get notified about things you did yourself.

Example: Jamie created a design. Sam comments on it and @mentions Jamie. Jamie gets one notification, You are tagged in a comment, not two.

Choose which notifications you get

1. Go to My Account.
2. Scroll to Notifications.
3. Turn off the kinds you don’t want:
   • Status changes: “Someone changes the status of content you created or are assigned to.”
   • New comments: “Someone comments on content you own.”
   • Social publishing: “A scheduled post is published or fails to publish.”
   • Signals: “New breakout posts or custom rule matches are found in Discover.”
   • Brand activity: “Brand name changes, invitation responses, removals and ownership transfers.”

Changes save straight away. There’s no Save button for these settings.

These settings are for you only and apply to every brand you’re in. They don’t affect anyone else.

Pick which status changes you hear about

When Status changes is on, a grid appears below it with the heading Notify when moved to.

• Each row is a content type: Designs, Documents, Transcripts, Marketing emails and Content ideas.
• Each column is a status: Draft, Edit, In Progress, Review, Approved, Published and Archived.
• A tick means you’re notified when that content moves to that status. Click a box to turn it on or off.

Example: a designer only cares when her designs are sent back or approved. On the Designs row she keeps Edit and Approved ticked and clears the rest.

Blogs follow the Documents row.

Notifications you can’t turn off

These always reach you, because they’re aimed at you personally:

• @mentions (You are tagged in a comment).
• Replies to your comments.
• Your AI Design and AI blog results.

Emails Orsa sends

Notifications in the bell aren’t emailed. Turning a notification off on My Account doesn’t change any email. These are the emails Orsa sends:

You also get account emails, like a verification code or a password reset link. See Signing Up and Logging In and Resetting Your Password.

Learn more:

• Review emails: Reviews and Approvals.
• Email delivery: Emailing a Design.
• Report summaries: Saved Reports and Notes.
• Test emails: Testing and Exporting a Marketing Email.

Ideas for managing notifications

Keep the bell for what needs you. If you’re in many brands, turn off Signals and Brand activity, and keep mentions and comments.

Example: a freelancer in eight client brands turns off Signals. She checks Discover once a week instead and keeps her bell for client feedback.

Only hear about the statuses you act on. An approver keeps Review ticked. A designer keeps Edit and Approved.

Example: the owner of a dental clinic approves every post. On each row she keeps only Review ticked, so the bell tells her exactly when something needs her.

Use Mark as unread as a to-do. Mark a notification unread when you’ll deal with it later.

Tips for the best results

• Clear the bell daily. Click Mark all read once you’ve caught up, so new notifications stand out.
• Mention people instead of hoping they look. Teammates who didn’t create an item only hear about its comments when they’re mentioned.
• Turn on Review Alerts for approvers. Review requests and digests are the only review messages sent by email. See Reviews and Approvals.
• Open the bell to check for new notifications. It also updates on its own every minute.
• Add Orsa’s emails to your contacts. It helps invitations and review emails avoid your spam folder.

Common questions

I’m not getting any notifications. Check My Account → Notifications to see if you turned a kind off. Remember you’re not notified about your own actions. Open the bell to check for new ones.

I don’t get status change notifications for a design. You’re notified about designs, documents, blogs, transcripts and marketing emails you created. Also check Status changes is on, and the box for that content type and status is ticked.

I turned off New comments but still get comment notifications. Mentions and replies to your comments can’t be turned off. New comments only covers comments on content you created.

Can I get notifications by email? No. Notifications only appear in the bell and the Home widget. Some things, like review requests and invitations, send their own emails. See Emails Orsa sends.

The number on the bell doesn’t go away. Click Mark all read. If it’s still there, you may have an invitation to answer. Open Invitations and click Accept or Decline.

An invitation says Expired. Invitations last 7 days. Ask the person who invited you to send a new one.

I see “Error handling invitation”. Try again. If the invitation has expired or the brand’s plan has ended, ask the brand’s Owner for help. See Inviting Your Team.

Do my settings affect my team? No. Notification settings are personal. Each person sets their own on My Account.

I stopped getting Review Alerts emails. Review Alerts are managed by the brand’s Owner and Admins, not on My Account. They’re only sent when something is waiting for your review.