Overview

Our Marketing Automation feature is a powerful tool for connecting with people who submit entries to your lists via forms on your ShortStack campaign. With Marketing Automation, you can send emails to your list, schedule those emails to send now or in the future, set up autoresponder emails which send immediately after someone submits an entry to a ShortStack form, and create follow-up emails that are sent automatically a certain number of days after someone subscribes to your list.

This article covers setting up emails to send to your list, sending those emails immediately and scheduling emails to send on a specific date/time. If you are looking to create an autoresponder email to send to entrants after form submission, check out this doc. If you are interested in creating follow-up emails that are sent automatically a certain number of days after someone subscribes to your list, learn more in this doc.

Contents

Getting There

Set Up a Scheduled Email

Step 1: Choose a Company Profile
Step 2: Choose a Recipient List
Step 3: Filter List
Step 4: Choose Email Template
Step 5: Customize Email in Designer
Step 6: Add Email Details
Step 7: Schedule Email
Step 8: Review Email

Edit a Scheduled Email

CAN-SPAM Act Compliance

Adding/Editing the SPF Record

Getting There

There are two ways to access to the Email Builder -- via the Emails link in in the main menu or via the Campaign Builder. 

Via the Main Menu:

1. Log in to Shortstack.
   
2. Click Emails in the main menu/navigation bar.
   
3. Click New Email within the My Emails area.
   
4. Choose the Scheduled Email option.
   

Via the Campaign Builder:

1. Open the Campaign Builder.
2. Click the Email icon  in the upper right corner of the Campaign Builder.
   
3. Click the + NEW EMAIL icon to the right of the list for which you wish to create an email. NOTE: If you have added multiple Form Widgets to your campaign, there may be more than one list displayed.
   
   
4. Choose the Scheduled Email option.
   

NOTE: If you are looking to create an autoresponder email to send to entrants after form submission, check out this doc. If you are interested in creating follow-up emails that are sent automatically a certain number of days after someone subscribes to your list, learn more in this doc.

Set Up A Scheduled Email

There are several, easy-to-follow steps in the scheduled email setup process. Follow the process below, and you'll setup your first email in no time.

Step 1: Choose a Company Profile

A Company Profile is necessary for CAN-SPAM Act compliance (learn more here). The Company Profile consists of the business name, the business address and the business industry. On our Agency Plan and higher plans, you can create multiple Company Profiles under one account.

To setup your first Company Profile:

1. Click the Create a Company Profile button.
   
2. Enter the Company Profile details.
   
3. Click the blue Save & Select button.
   
4. Click the blue Continue button.
   

To use the current Company Profile:

1. Verify that the details on display are accurate.
   
2. Click the blue Continue button.
   

To update the current Company Profile:

1. Click the Edit button.
   
2. Update the Company Profile details.
   
3. Click the blue Select button to save your changes and use this Company Profile.
   
4. Click the blue Continue button.
   

To choose a different, existing Company Profile:

1. Click the Choose Another button.
   
2. Click the Company Profile you would like to use.
   
3. Verify that the Company Profile details are correct.
   
4. Click the blue Select button to use this Company Profile, or click All Profiles to choose a different profile and repeat steps 2-4.
   
5. Click the blue Continue button.
   

To add a new Company Profile:

1. Click the Choose Another button.
   
2. Click the blue Add New Profile button.
   
3. Enter the Company Profile details.
   
4. Click the blue Save & Select button.
   
5. Click the blue Continue button.
   

Step 2: Choose a Recipient List

Next, you will choose the recipient list to send your email to. You can combine entries from multiple ShortStack lists collected through different forms, or you can choose to send to one list. 

To select a list:

1. Check the box beside the list you wish to select.
   

To deselect a list:

1. Remove the check from the box beside the list you wish to remove.

To select/deselect all of the lists:

1. Click the checkbox beside Select All Lists.

To proceed, click the blue Continue button when you have finished choosing your list(s).

NOTE: If you choose more than one list, only the fields all of the forms/lists have in common will display as merge fields when creating your email.

Step 3: Filter List (Optional)

Filtering your recipient list is optional, but it can be helpful if you wish to target your emails to specific entrants within your list. You can filter recipients by the date their entry was received, whether or not the entry has been approved and the presence of an image in the entry. You can choose more than one filter to apply to the list.

To filter by the entry received date:

1. Click the Enable box beside Filter entries by date received.
   
2. Enter the earlier date in your date range in the From box.
   
3. Enter the later date in your date range in the To box.
   
4. Optional: By default, your date received filter will include only the entries submitted within the date range you select in your list. Click the Include text, and it will change to Exclude, which will exclude the entries submitted during the date range you select from your email list.

 

To filter by approval status:

1. Click the Enable box beside Filter entry by approved status.
   
2. Optional: By default, your approval status filter will include only the approved entries in your list that have been approved. Click the Include text, and it will change to Exclude, which will exclude the approved entries from your email list.
   

To filter by presence of an image in the entry:

1. Click the Enable box beside Filter entries by image presence.
   
2. Optional: By default, your image presence filter will include only the entries in your list that include an image. Click the Include text, and it will change to Exclude, which will exclude the entries with an image from your email list.

Once you have finished setting up a filter, or if you do not wish to add a filter, click the blue Continue button.

Step 4: Choose Email Template

Email templates help to reduce the amount of time you spend setting up your email. We offer several types of templates for a variety of email uses. You are not required to use a template. If you do not wish to use a template, follow the directions for creating an email from scratch.

To create an email from a template:

1. Search through the available templates.
   
2. Find the template you wish to use.
   
3. Click the blue Use This Template button associated with your desired template.
   

To create an email from scratch:

1. Click the Skip link.

Step 5: Customize Email in Designer

You can customize your emails as much or as little as you would like. Our templates include sample text, images and merge fields based on best practices for the type of email you wish to send. You can use the WYSIWYG editor and the merge fields we provide to update your email. The WYSIWYG editor also includes a Source Code option under Tools for people who are comfortable using HTML.

To add text:

1. Click on the box where the email preview is displayed.
   
2. Start typing.
   

To add an image:

1. Click the Insert/edit image icon on the right side of the toolbox.
   
   
2. Click the Find Image icon  in the Source field. This will open your Media Manager.
   
   
3. Locate the image you wish to use within your Media Manager, or upload a new one, and click it so it is highlighted.
   
4. Click the blue Select button. The Source field will now include the image URL.
   
5. Optional: Add a description to the Image Description field.
   
6. Optional: Adjust the size of the image by changing the dimensions in the Dimensions field.
   
7. Click the blue Ok button.

 

Available Merge Fields:

Merge fields are a neat tool you can use to include details the recipient included when they submitted their entry. They are a great way to add a personal touch to the email. Only fields you included in your form will display in the Merge Fields section of the Email Designer. If you are sending emails to recipients gathered by more than one form, only the fields the forms have in common will display as merge field options.

To add a merge field:

1. Find the merge field you wish to add within the Available Merge Fields section.
   
2. Click the merge field button.
   

Step 6: Add Email Details

The Add Email Details step is one of the most important parts of your email setup process. In this step, you will name your email, add an email subject, set the sender name for the email and choose a from address.

To add Email details:

1. Click on the box you wish to add information to.
   
2. Click the blue Continue button when you are finished filling out the boxes.

Note: Due to DMARC restrictions, you will not be able to set the From Email Address to a @yahoo.com, @ymail.com, @rocketmail.com, or @gmail.com address. You can read more about this here and here.

Step 7: Schedule Email

There are two options for scheduling your email. One option is to sent the email now, and the other is to send the email at some point in the future.

To send the emailnow:

1. Choose the Send now option below When would you like to send this email?
   
2. Click the blue Continue button.
   

To schedule the email for sometime in the future:

1. Choose the Schedule option below When would you like to send this email?
   
2. Enter a date and time in the Schedule at box -- you can use the calendar and clock icons to help.
   
3. Update the timezone -- it is (+00:00) UTC by default.
   
4. Click the blue Continue button.
   

Step 8: Review Email

The last step in the email setup process is to review your email. The Review page allows you to do just that--review the email. Here, you can review the settings you have applied to the email, along with the email itself; make changes to the email; send a test email; and save and send the email.

 

To edit the email:

1. Location the email content you wish to update.
   
2. Click the content you wish to update, and you will will be sent to that part of the email setup process.
   
3. Make your changes.
   
4. Click the blue Continue button to return to the Review page.
   

To send a Test Email:

1. Click the Send Test Email button.
   
2. Enter the email address you wish to send the test to in the box below Send To Email Address -- the email address associated with your account will display by default.
   
3. Click the blue Send Email button.

Once you are satisfied with your email, click the blue Save & Send button. After you click Save & Send, you're all set! Your email has either been sent or will send at its scheduled time.

Edit a Scheduled Email

You can only edit scheduled emails that have not been sent. This means you would not be able to edit an email that you set to Send Now, or an email the you had previously set to send in the future, but the date/time for the email to send has already occurred.

You can tell if an email has sent by looking in the Status column of the My Emails area. Unsent emails will show the text Scheduled in this column.

To edit a scheduled email: 

1. Click the pencil icon beside the email you wish to edit.
   
2. Find the email content you wish to update.
   
3. Click the content you wish to update, and you will will be sent to that part of the email setup process.
   
4. Make your changes.
   
5. Click the blue Continue button to return to the Review page.
   
6. Click the blue Save & Schedule button.
   

CAN-SPAM Act Compliance

The United States CAN-SPAM Act created a set of rules for entities sending commercial email. One part of the CAN-SPAM Act requires companies sending commercial emails to tell users where they are located, which is why we ask you to choose a Company Profile for your email. The name and address from the Company Profile you choose will appear at the bottom of your email. To comply with the portion of the CAN-SPAM Act where users must be given the ability to opt-out of emails, we also include an opt-out link at the bottom of the email.

Adding/Updating the SPF Record

If you are having deliverability problems ("Unverified Sender" error, email goes to junk, etc) when you try to test your email for the first time, it's likely because your email domain has not given our servers permission to send emails on its behalf. To fix this issue, you need to add or modify an SPF record on your domain. You will need to go into your settings and add the following domain:

 campaign-mail-1.com

For more information on how to add an SPF record, here are the help docs on how to do so for some common domain providers:

GoDaddy
Bluehost
HostGator
1and1