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Creating a Triggered Mailing

A triggered Mailing allows you to set up a mailing to send e-mails in response to a specific event. The event results in a Contact being added to the Distribution List specified in the triggered Mailing, and this acts as the trigger to send a Mailing.

Before you begin

  • To set up a Triggered Mailing, you need Mailing Execution and Mailing Management rights and Write permissions for the Outbound E-mail Folder.
  • You must have created and tested a Mailing.
  • Contacts are typically added to a Dynamic Distribution List when the Contact's Keywords are updated—the mechanism that performs this update (outside of the Content Management System) requires implementation (programming).

About this task

The following example describes how to set up a Triggered Mailing for sending Welcome e-mails when someone registers on your Web site:

  • Identify a Contact detail, or create a new Keyword, whose value you want to use as a filter for a Dynamic Distribution List—for example, create a new Keyword Classic Car Fair.
  • Create an empty dynamic Distribution List that uses this Contact Detail or Keyword—for example, create a new Dynamic Distribution List Classic Car Fair which filters Contacts on the Keyword Classic Car Fair
  • Create a Mailing and specify the Dynamic Distribution List Classic Car Fair
  • Test the Mailing.
  • Select the Triggered Mailing check box and specify a start date.
  • Set up a Subscription Page on your Web site for customers to subscribe to Classic Car Fair Mailing. When the customer subscribes, the Contact's Keywords are updated resulting in the Contact being added to the Distribution List used in the triggered Mailing.

Procedure

  1. Open the Content Manager Explorer.
  2. Navigate to the Publication > Outbound E-mail node.
  3. Select the Outbound E-mail Folder in which your Mailings are stored. In the list view, select a tested Mailing you want to set up as a triggered Mailing and choose Open from the context menu.
  4. To turn the Mailing into a Triggered Mailing, at the bottom of the General tab select theTriggered Mailing check box.
  5. Specify the Start date and optionally an end date (to send the e-mail during a specified period, or indefinitely).
    • Click the Calendar button next to Start date to select the date and time on which you want the trigger to be activated (mandatory).
    • If you want the trigger to expire at some point in time, click the Calendar button next to End date and select the date and time on which you want Outbound E-mail to stop sending e-mails.
    • To leave the trigger activated indefinitely, for example for a welcome e-mail, leave the End Date empty (click the Clear End Date button top empty the field).
  6. Click Save and Close to save your changes.

Results

From the time indicated by Start Date, Outbound E-mail sends an e-mail message to any Contact who sets off the trigger. The trigger becomes inactive again at the time indicated by End Date (if any).

What to do next

To trigger a Mailing being sent in response to a specific event taking place requires you to implement an event on your Web site.