Creating Follow-Up Emails

This feature available on All Plans (except where noted)

Contents

Getting There
Setting Up a Follow-Up Email
Edit a Follow-Up Email
Stop/Delete a Follow-Up Email
CAN-SPAM Act Compliance
Adding/Updating the SPF Record
Updating DMARC To Prevent Emails From Going to Spam

Overview

Our emails feature is a powerful tool for connecting with people who submit entries to your lists via forms on your ShortStack campaign. You can send emails to your list, schedule those emails to send now or in the future, set up autoresponder emails that 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 follow-up emails that are sent automatically a certain number of days after someone subscribes to your list. If you are looking to create emails to send to your list which send immediately or at a specific date/time, check out our Scheduled Emails doc. If you are interested in creating autoresponder emails which send immediately after someone submits an entry to a ShortStack form, learn more in the Autoresponder doc.

 

Getting There

There are three ways to access the Email Builder - using the button on the Dashboard, via the Emails Manager, or via the Campaign Builder. 

Via the Dashboard:

1. Log in to ShortStack.
   
   
2. Click the Email button in the Create section in the top right.
   
   
   
   
3. Choose the Follow-Up Email option.
   
   
   
   

Via the Emails Manager:

1. Log in to ShortStack.
   
   
2. Click Emails in the main menu at the top.
   
   
   
   
3. Click New Email within the Emails Manager.
   
   
   
   
4. Choose the Follow-Up Email option.
   
   
   
   

Via the Campaign Builder: 

1. Find the campaign to which you'd like to attach a scheduled email, and open it in the Campaign Builder.
   
   
2. Click the envelope icon in the upper right corner of the Campaign Builder.
   
   
3. Click the New Email link to the right of the list for which you wish to create a scheduled email.
   
   Note: If you have added multiple Form or Entry Widgets to your campaign, there may be more than one list displayed.
   
   
   
   
4. Choose the Follow-Up Email option.
   
   
   
   

Setting Up A Follow-Up Email

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

Choose a Company Profile

A Company Profile is necessary for CAN-SPAM Act compliance (learn more here). A Company Profile consists of the business name, the business address, and the business industry.



Note: On the Free Trial and Business Plan, you will be limited to a single Company Profile. On the Agency Plan or higher, you'll be able to create as many Company Profiles as needed.

To set up 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.
   
   

Select a List

Next, you will choose the entry list(s) to send your email to. You can select multiple ShortStack lists, or you can choose to target a single list. 

To select a list:

1. Click the box(es) to add a checkmark beside the list(s) you wish to select. The total number of recipients your email will send to is displayed in the bottom-left.
   
   

To deselect a list:

1. Click the box(es) to remove the checkmark from the list(s) you wish to remove.

To select/deselect all of the lists:

1. Click the box beside Select All Lists.
   
   

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

Note: This step will not display if you started setting up the email in the Campaign Builder, as you chose the list to attach to the follow-up email at the very beginning.

Add Codes

If you are attaching a single code or code list to your email, this is where you'll do so. For a more thorough walkthrough of using codes in emails, check out our Adding Codes to Emails help doc.

Once you've got your code settings where you want them, click the blue Continue button.

 

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, click Continue to move forward without one.

To create an email from a template:

1. Find the template you wish to use, and hover your mouse over it.
   
   
2. Click the blue Use This Template button that appears on the template's thumbnail.
   
   
   
   

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 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 toolbar. 
   
   
   
   
2. If you have the image stored elsewhere online, you can paste the image's URL in the Source field. If you'd like to upload the image, click the Find Image icon . 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 Use Selected 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.
   
   

To add 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 Available 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.

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

To add custom HTML code:

1. Click on the Source code icon in the toolbar.
   
   
   
   
2. Type (or paste in) your custom code into the text field.
   
   

When you're finished building and designing your email, click Continue.

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.

By default, the from address will be set to no-reply@campaign-mail.com - feel free to use that if you don't have a more specific email address to use.

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.

Set the Email Trigger

This step is where you set up when you want the email to automatically send. The trigger is the number of days after someone subscribes (submits the form) that they will receive the email.

To set the number of days:

1. Click on the Number of Days box.
   
   
   
   
2. Enter the number of days after someone subscribes that you wish the email to send. For example; if you enter 2 in the box, then an email will be sent to your subscriber two days after they subscribe to your list. If you were to enter 15 in the box, then the email will be sent to the subscriber 15 days after they subscribe.
    
3. Click the blue Continue button when you are finished.
   
   

Select the Date/Time to Begin Sending the Follow-Up Emails

The When do you want to start sending these emails? step allows you to set a date for the follow-up emails to begin sending to your subscribers. This would come in handy if you want to change your messaging so only folks who subscribe after a certain date will see the content. 

To change the date: 

1. Enter a date and time in the Start at box - you can use the calendar and clock icons to help.
   
   
2. Update the time zone -- it is (+00:00) UTC by default.
   
   
3. Click the blue Continue button when you are finished.
   
   
   
   

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 schedule the email. 

 

To edit the email: 

1. Locate the email content you wish to update.
   
   
2. Click the content you wish to update, and you will be sent to that part of the email wizard.
   
   
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 test email - 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 & Schedule button. After you click Save & Schedule, you're all set! 

Edit a Follow-Up Email

Editing a follow-up email will change the content that subscribers who haven't received the email yet will see. People who entered before the edits were made will not receive a new email with the updated content.

To edit a follow-up email: 

1. In the Emails Manager, click the name of 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 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.
   
   

Stop/Delete a Follow-Up Email

There may be a point where you want to stop a follow-up email from sending to your subscribers. To do this, you will delete the follow-up email.

From the Emails Manager: 

1. On the Dashboard, click the Emails link at the top of the screen.
   
   
2. Find the name of the automated email you wish to stop, then click the down arrow (v) on the right side of the email's info pane.
   
   
   
   
3. Select Delete from the dropdown.
   
   
   
   
4. To confirm deletion, click the Delete button.
   
   
   
   

From the Campaign Builder: 

1. Click the email icon in the top right corner.
   
   
   
   
2. Click on the trashcan icon to the right of the email you'd like to delete.
   
   
   
   
3. A browser notification will pop up asking you to confirm that you'd like to delete the email. Click the OK button. Once that's done, you'll see the email disappear from your list!
   
   
   
   

CAN-SPAM Act Compliance

The United States CAN-SPAM Act created a set of rules for entities sending commercial emails. 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:

 email.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

SPF is currently the only email protocol we support, as no changes are needed on ShortStack's end. We don't support changing DKIM or DMARC natively, as it would require configurations to our email servers - though this may be added in the future.

 

Updating DMARC To Prevent Emails From Going to Spam

If you're using your own email domain but running into an issue where all the sent emails are going to the recipients' spam/junk folders, the culprit is likely the domain's DMARC settings - what's called the "domain alignment" is likely failing. In short, the from email address domain (your company's domain) does not match the domain from which the emails are being sent (email.campaign-mail-1.com, our domain). Because of this failure, the email provider checks the policy specified in the DMARC settings to determine what to do - if the value is p=quarantine - that means that when DMARC fails, the email will be put in the user's spam/junk folder.

Currently, the only real workaround to fix this would be to change the DMARC policy on your domain's side to p=none - this will prevent the sent emails from going to spam. Once your campaign is over, you could safely switch it back to p=quarantine.

Note: If you do update your DMARC policy, you will have to wait for the change to propagate across the Internet before testing new emails. Most changes go into effect within an hour or two, but can take as long as 24 hours.