Scheduling emails is a feature in Certain Platform. Scheduling emails allows sending to a filtered set of registrants at a later date. This document explains how to perform scheduling using the Promote > Communication > Email Templates page. The path is the same location used for non-scheduled email templates.
You can schedule emails to be sent at:
- a selected number of months, days, or hours before or after the event Start Date
- a selected number of months, days, or hours before or after the event End Date
- a specified date and time
Contents
- Enabling Scheduled Emails
- Setting up a Scheduled Email
- Seeing What Emails Have Been Scheduled
- Tips and Tricks
Enabling Scheduled Emails
The Scheduled Emails feature is enabled for all Certain accounts. To enable it for an event, follow these steps:
- In the event, go to Plan > Configure > Options.
- Under Functional Areas Needed by This Event, select the Scheduled Emails checkbox under the Event Module.
Setting up a Scheduled Email
You schedule an email in the same place you set up other email templates. The location is Promote > Communication > Email Templates.
- Set up the email with a Subject and Body. The Body can include dynamic data fields.
- If the Scheduled Emails sub-module has been enabled, the last section on the Email Templates page is the Schedule Settings section.
- In the Schedule Settings section, you can choose to schedule the email and configure its schedule details.
Schedule Settings
- When adding a new template, the Schedule Settings section contains a "Schedule this Email?" checkbox.
- If the checkbox is selected, all the remaining fields are displayed.
- Code – (Required). This value must be unique within the event. The Code tracks the individual emails sent in the scheduled email.
- Schedule – (Required). Choose one of five options:
- Before Event Start Date
- After Event Start Date
- Before Event End Date
- After Event End Date
- At a specified time and date
- If you select one of the first four options, three extra fields appear to specify Months, Days, and Hours to add or subtract from the event start date or end date.
- If you select the fifth option, two extra fields appear to specify the date and time.
Note: The Schedule Date is in the Time Zone specified for the event on Plan > Event Setup > Details.
- Filters: Under FILTERS at the end of the Schedule Settings section, define the filter to determine the registrations to which the scheduled email will be sent.
- Select a value in each of the three fields to build a simple filter.
- The default is "Complete = Yes" so the email would be sent to all complete registrations.
- Optionally, you can add one or more extra conditions to build a more complex filter.
- Columns: Select the column (field) to be evaluated.
- The list from which to choose is a long one, including (standard and custom) profile fields and registration fields, event fields, etc.
- Operator: Select the operator to apply to that column, for example "=" or "contains".
- Value: Enter the value to be compared. For some columns, a magnifying icon is shown, which you can click to display a Pick List from which to select a possible value.
- For example, if the Column is "Complete", the list of values is "No", "Yes", and "Null".
- Optionally, select and/or add further conditions to the filter.
- After setting FILTERS, there is a Preview Records button to check the list of attendees who will receive the Scheduled Email.
Seeing What Emails Have Been Scheduled
Promote > Communication > Scheduled Emails displays a List of Active Scheduled Emails. The details shown for each one include:
- Template name
- Code
- Date Scheduled
- Scheduled By
The page includes these columns:
- Status – The current status of the email, e.g. "Queued" or "Complete".
- Action – Click to delete a queued email, or to see a list of the recipients of a completed one.
Tips and Tricks
Editing or Rescheduling a Scheduled Email
To change a scheduled email, open Plan > Communication > Email Templates. The email will already be in the schedule queue. If you change the Schedule Settings, the existing job will be altered. The changes to the Date Scheduled appear in Communication > Scheduled Emails.
If a scheduled email has status Complete, the Schedule this Email? checkbox must be cleared. The email will not be resent unless the checkbox is selected again.
Copying Email Templates
An email template can only be scheduled once, but a copy can be created. The copy can be scheduled for a later date/time. Go to Promote > Communication > Email Templates and click (copy) in the Action column for the original template to create a copy. Give the new copy a Name and change its Code (under Schedule Settings). Edit Schedule Settings as necessary.
Changing the Start or End Dates of an Event
If the event start date or end date changes, any scheduled emails based on that date are automatically rescheduled accordingly. For example, an email scheduled to be sent three days before the start date will now be three days before the new start date.
Copying an Event
If an event includes scheduled emails and the user copies the event, the new event includes copies of those emails. The copied emails have an On Hold status. To send the emails, click On Hold and change the status to Queued.
Deleting an Event
If the user deletes an event that includes scheduled emails, the status becomes On Hold. If the email remains relevant, click its status and change it to Queued to send it.
Knowing that Emails have Been Sent
The user who schedules an email receives a confirmation when the scheduled email has been sent. The confirmation includes the number of emails sent. The user can also go to Promote > Communication > Scheduled Emails to see the list of recipients.