Triggering a Mailing
A triggered Mailing allows you to set up a mailing to send e-mails in response to a specific event.
When you send a regular Mailing, the e-mail is sent to a list of Contacts contained in the Distribution List(s) you specified in the Mailing. At the moment the Mailing is sent, or scheduled to be sent, the list of Contacts is fixed. 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.
While a triggered Mailing is active, Outbound E-mail regularly checks the Distribution Lists specified in the triggered Mailing for members who have not yet received the Mailing and sends the e-mail message to these members. Outbound E-mail therefore sends e-mails as and when Contacts are added to the Distribution List. A triggered Mailing can remain active indefinitely, or you can schedule the Mailing to send e-mails during a specified period.
The following are examples of situations when you would use triggered Mailings:
- Contact registration—a typical example of a triggered Mailing is a welcome e-mail. When a Contact registers on your Web site, they receive a welcome e-mail confirming their registration.
- Clicking a link—if a registered user receives a regular Mailing listing a new line of products with links to the various product pages, clicking one of these links triggers the sending out of a special e-mail for that product offering a discount.
These examples require implementation on the Presentation Server (Web site), or in the templates used in your Mailings using the available Content Delivery APIs for Outbound E-mail.