To start, click on Automations -> New Drip Campaign from the navigation menu (Fig 1).
Fig 1
On the Create New Automated Drip Email page, you'll see a list of your databases (Fig 2).
Fig 2
Drips are initially based on a single database.
After selecting the database you wish to target, click the Next button.
On the next page, you'll give your drip email a name (Fig 3).
Fig 3
Since this will likely to be the first of a sequence, remember to name it something that will includes where in the sequence this campaign is. For example, you might name it "Fall Drip Campaign 01".
Now, we're going to set the basic filter rules for this specific drip email. The default filter is set to Confirmation Status is Confirmed which should include 100% of your eligible contacts that can receive an email. This works as a placeholder when you want a drip to target any addition to your database, or when you want to target all existing contacts in the database and any new additions.
When finished, click the Next button.
You can choose to refine your audience by targeting only those contacts in the selected database who belong to one or more lists (Fig 4). You can toggle if the filters can be linked by AND or OR by clicking on the operator.
Fig 4
Filters can contain any number of contact attributes, such as the city a contact is in, or behaviors, such as has who has NOT opened a certain email.
After clicking the Next button, you'll get to add the final details (Fig 5).
Fig 5
As this page has quite a bit of important content on it, we will break it down into sub-sections below.
The top section of this page is called Automated Email Details. It shows the basic information regarding the database that was selected.
A very important element, however, is the Send to Existing Contacts toggle button at the bottom. Be default, the system will NOT include existing contacts already in the database, but you can include them by toggling the button to On.
Some users only want new additions to their database / list to start on a given drip sequence, whereas other users want to include all existing contacts plus any new additions.
Whenever you edit an existing drip campaign, the Send to Existing Contacts toggle button is automatically reset back to Off, so if your intention is to continue to include existing contacts after editing, please remember to toggle the button back to On before you exit this page (Fig 6).
Fig 6
The next section is Sending Options. Please note the two toggle button options, which are mutually exclusive. The top button allows the user to specify that this particular drip campaign should go out as soon as a contact joins the target database.
The second button allows the user to instead select some time delay before it sends the drip campaign (Fig 7).
Fig 7
Toggling the delay button to On lets you pick different intervals before the campaign goes out (Fig 8).
Fig 8
NOTE: The default setting for Drips is to use the date a contact joined or joins the database. When creating a drip for only new additions, this does not cause an issue. However, when including existing contacts, this can cause unintended consequences.
For example (assuming you are including existing contacts), you create a series of three drips.
The first drip email goes out as soon as a contact joins your database
The second drip goes out three days later (so three days after joining).
The third goes out one week after a contact joins.
If john.doe@acmeinc.com joined your database two months ago, he would satisfy all three time interval criteria, hence, he would get all three drip emails at the same time. Obviously, this is not the desired result.
To eliminate this problem, Pinpointe allows the user the create a custom date field that can be applied to all contacts in a database. This custom date field is created using the Custom Fields feature found under the Resources tab. The user selects the Custom Field Type of Date Field, gives it a name, then clicks Next (Fig 9).
Fig 9
On the next page, the user then selects the date unit order (month-day-year being the default). When finished, click the Next button. Apply the new custom date field to the database you are targeting with the drip sequence, then click the Save button. Remember, to see the new date field when you view contacts in this database, you'll need to edit the database and select the new date field as viewable (Fig 10).
Fig 10
Now, the user needs to export all the contacts for the target database. The easiest way to add the new drip trigger date is to delete all columns in the exported CSV file except for Email Address.
In the second column, name it the same name that you gave your custom date field, such as Drip Sequence May 2021. If you want your drip to start firing off the next day, you'll want to assign that date to the column cells for every contact. The suggested format (assuming you choose a M-D-Y structure) would be 05/21/2021 as an example, but other formats will work as long as the structure matches the order you assigned to your custom date field.
Now the user will import this file back into their target database in their Pinpointe account, making sure to check the "overwrite" option during import. This is very important. The user should then check their database to confirm success of their import.
All contacts in the the database will now have the same start date for the new drip sequence regardless of when they actually joined the database (Fig 11).
Fig 11
NOTE: The feature to use a custom date field as a drip launch point is not enabled by default in a user's account. Please contact Pinpointe Support to activate this feature.
In the Advanced Options section, we recommend leaving the default settings as is with the exception of the fourth option, "Track with Google Analytics?"
If you track various UTM tags using G.A. or via some other tool, and wish to track these tags when sending out drip emails, then toggle this button to "On". Otherwise, we suggest leaving it in the default "Off" setting (Fig 12).
Fig 12
The final section on this page is the Automated Email Content (Fig 13). This is where you can either copy an existing email template to use as the basis for creating your drip email, or you can create one from scratch.
If you choose to create a template from scratch, you will be taken to the Choose an Automated Email Editor page where you can then select either the DND Builder or the Basic Editor. If you choose to copy an existing template, the system will redirect you to either the Builder or the Editor, depending on which tool was used to create the original template you are using as the basis.
Fig 13
You will now be on the View Automated Emails page. There will be a wide orange bar which will list the database (note it will call it a "List") being targeted by this drip email (Fig 14).
Various pieces of information will be provided:
- Name of the drip email
- Creation date
- When it is to be sent
- Number of Recipients who have recived it after it starts sending
- Any recorded bounces or unsubscribes after it is sent
Fig 14
The second-to-last column is the Active column. All drip emails are set to inactive by default denoted by a red "X". You may activate a drip by either clicking on the "X", which will turn it into a green check mark, OR, you can select the drip by clicking the box to the left of the name column, click into the "Choose an action" field, select "Activate the selected drip email sequence(s)", and then clicking the "Go" button.
Deactivating a drip and then reactivating it will NOT result in the drip relaunching from the beginning again (Fig 15). Note that the drip time trigger clock continues to run. For example, if you have a second drip that is supposed to launch in three days, and a third drip launches in five days, if you leave the drip inactive for six days and then reactivate it, both drip emails will launch at the same time since five or more days have passed.
Fig 15
The final column is the "Action" column.
Actions:
Pause - You may "Pause" a drip email, but please note that the drip time trigger clock continues to run. For example, if you have a second drip that is supposed to launch in three days, and a third drip launches in five days, if you leave the drip paused for six days and then "Resume" it, both drip emails will launch at the same time since five or more days have passed.
View - Will render the drip email content within your browser window.
Edit - Allows you to edit the drip email for both rules and content. Editing a drip email will automatically deactivate it and will require reactivation.
NOTE: Editing an activated drip and then reactivating it WILL cause the drip to launch from the beginning again, resulting in some contacts possibly getting the drip emails again.
Copy - Allows a user to make a copy of an exiting drip and use this copy as a basis to create another drip email.
Delete - Delete the selected drip.
NOTE: A user may also click the blue "Add New Automated Email" button to create another drip from scratch targeting that same database.
Drips can be simple or complex and may be challenging to set up for the first time user. Pinpointe encourages any user that feels unsure of how best to set up their drip sequence based on their email goals to contact Pinpointe Support. Support will be happy to assist any user in setting up and testing their drip sequence prior to sending to a live audience.