Note: SimpleConnect is currently in Beta, and we're not adding more stores at this time. Watch the What's New section at the top of SimpleConsign for updates on availability.
Applies to: SimpleConsign accounts with the SimpleConnect add-on. US customers only.
Email Marketing lets you build targeted lists from your store data, design emails in a drag-and-drop editor, and send them as one-off campaigns or as automations that trigger on customer behavior.
You will find it in SimpleConnect under Marketing > Pistachio Email Marketing.
Through the integration, the platform pulls your client profiles, the email addresses associated with them, and whether each person is opted in or opted out from receiving email. That is what powers the list capabilities described below.
Video walkthrough
In this article
- The order to work in
- The dashboard calendar
- Uploading a suppression list
- Your audience
- Lists and the List Builder
- File Manager
- Template gallery
- The template audit
- Automations
- Standard campaigns
- Campaign statistics
- Tracking your email usage
- Troubleshooting
The order to work in
The platform has a natural sequence, and following it makes everything smoother:
- Establish the audience you want to send to.
- Bring any images and documents into the File Manager.
- Create and test your template.
- Decide whether you want an automation or a standard campaign, and set it up.
The dashboard calendar
The platform opens on a general dashboard, which is a calendar view. As you create campaigns and automations, the calendar shows what is upcoming and scheduled for sending. Once time passes, you can look back at what has already gone out or forward at what is still scheduled.
This is a viewing capability only, so you can see what you have running. To change a campaign, reschedule it, or cancel it, work in the Campaigns module.
You can switch the calendar between month, week, and day.
Uploading a suppression list
Use this if you were previously sending email from a different platform and already have a list of people who asked not to receive email from you.
Uploading that list marks those addresses as opted out or unsubscribed inside the platform, so they are excluded going forward.
Click through and the system gives you a sample CSV. The only thing required is the email address. Choose your file and upload it. Once the import completes, every address on it is unsubscribed.
Most stores never need this. Through the integration the platform already reads opt-in and opt-out status directly from your client and consignor profiles, and as you send campaigns, anyone who chooses to unsubscribe is marked automatically without you doing anything.
Your audience
The Audience module opens on an overview showing:
- Your total number of subscribers opted in to receive emails, with a percentage of active contacts
- Unsubscribes, whether they came from a suppression upload or from someone unsubscribing from a campaign, with a link to view the full list of unsubscribed contacts
- Audience growth over time, tracking opt-ins against unsubscribes
Lists and the List Builder
Under Audience, the Lists area holds every list you build or upload. You start with one you did not create.
CRM clients is your entire opted-in list. It updates automatically over time as new profiles are added to your system and as people unsubscribe, so you never have to maintain it.
List statistics
Once campaigns have been sent to a list, you can view statistics for the list itself: activity, average unsubscribe rate, total unsubscribers, and unconfirmed contacts. You will rarely see anything unconfirmed, since opt-ins are pulled directly from your system.
Further down you get drill-down data on how each subscriber ended up in the list, whether through the List Builder, by being added, or through campaigns sent to them.
Uploading your own list
If you have an exported CSV and want it as a specific list, something the List Builder cannot produce on its own, name your list, use the sample CSV to format your file, and import it.
Anyone already unsubscribed in the system will not be brought back in by an upload.
Quick lists
The List Builder gives you a set of predetermined quick lists. These are individual, meaning each one uses a single criteria. It works the same way as the List Builder in the texting platform.
Name the list, set your criteria, and click to search. The system pulls every customer or consignor who meets that criteria and shows you how many there are. Create the list when finished. If you want to start over, Reset clears your filters.
The new list becomes available to select during campaign creation.
Advanced
The Advanced tab lets you stack criteria rather than using just one.
Start by choosing whether you are looking at clients or consignors, then add a condition. From there you can layer on more: clients who have a store credit, or who bought a specific brand using Is, Is Not, or Contains, and so on. Keep adding conditions and the system finds everyone who meets all of them.
Once a condition has been added, a Remove option appears next to it if you change your mind.
When your filters are set, tell the system to build the list.
Why your count may be lower than expected
Whichever way you build a list, the system also cross-references that each person has a valid email address on file and is opted in to receive email. Someone who matches your criteria but fails either of those checks will not be included.
How many lists you can have
There is no limit on how many lists you can upload or create with the List Builder. Build as many as your business needs.
File Manager
If you plan to edit an existing template or build one from scratch, bring your images and documents into the File Manager first. The template editor pulls from here.
Documents
Supported formats include PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and plain text. Choose the file from wherever you have it saved and upload.
Images
Supported formats include JPG, PNG, GIF, and SVG.
There is a maximum of two megabytes per file. If you get a notification that a file is too large, that usually means the image needs resizing before you bring it in.
Collections
If you upload a lot, you can organize files into collections. Create the collection first, give it a name and a description, and you can even set up parent and child collections, which effectively gives you folders. That makes finding a specific image or document much easier later.
If you have already uploaded images and want to organize them afterward, check them and move them to a collection.
AI image generator
The AI image generator produces stock images. Enter a prompt describing what you want, choose a collection to store it in, and set the size you need.
Other file actions
You can re-download a file if you have lost your own copy, which is handy if you need the same image for something else such as a Page Builder page in the texting platform. You can also delete files you no longer need or that were only used for testing.
Filter between gallery and files, sort newest to oldest or the reverse, and search by name. Searching only works well if you name your files sensibly before uploading, so that is a habit worth building.
Template gallery
There are two areas. Marketing Templates holds the templates that come pre-created with your account, and there are a great many of them. My Templates holds templates you build from scratch. Both live under Marketing, with My Templates separating out what you created yourself.
Many of the supplied templates are largely plain text, and you have complete freedom to edit and modify all of them.
Template actions
- Preview to see what a template looks like.
- Change thumbnail if you want a different image representing it in the gallery.
- Delete a template you never plan to use.
- Edit, which is where most of your work happens.
Editing a template
Some templates contain links that are auto-inserted and coded specifically for the system. If you do not want one, you can delete it. But if you do want that information included, leave the tag alone and edit the text around it instead.
To add to a template, use the content options. You can drag in an image, another paragraph of text, buttons, dividers, columns, and different headings. Under blocks you will find things like a countdown timer and your social media handles. It is a straightforward drag-and-drop editor, and you can position multiple images wherever you want them.
Images
To change an image, choose Upload image, which links straight into your File Manager, then Use image to bring it into the template.
If you want that image to be clickable, copy and paste the full URL, whether it points to a video, your website, or your social media.
Every template is set to default image sizing so that it stays mobile responsive. That matters because a large share of your customers open email on their phone, and it means everything aligns correctly when they do.
Social handles
Choose which social handles you want to use, and delete any platform you are not on. If you want to add one that is not there, such as TikTok, you can.
Follow the common theme here: you need the full HTTPS URL for the page, not just the handle.
Body settings
You can set text color, font family, and font size for the template as a whole.
Creating your own template
Use the Create option. Pick an existing template as your starting point and choose Start design. That creates a brand new template for you, carrying across whatever the base had, such as columns, paragraphs, and social handles, and it does not overwrite or destroy the original.
Name the title of the new template, then edit it however you like. All the same functionality is available.
There is no limit on how many templates you can have.
Save and test
Always save so you keep the work you have done. Once saved, send yourself a test email by entering your address. You will receive it as a customer would, so you can check how it looks on your desktop and on your phone and decide whether anything needs adjusting.
The template audit
As you build a template, watch for a small red circle with a number in it. That is the audit tool, and it has AI functionality that checks your template as you work.
It flags things like:
- A button or image added without a clickable URL attached
- An image that is too large
- Missing alternative text
It is there to give you suggestions that make the template better and reduce the risk of the email landing in spam or junk. It is worth clearing before you send.
Automations
Automations are built on triggers. Rather than you sending something, the system scans your data every day and sends on your behalf to anyone who newly meets the criteria.
To set one up, choose Add new and pick from the predetermined automations. A we miss you win-back, for someone who has not been in for a period of time, is a common one.
From there:
- Establish the subject line.
- Determine when you want the campaign to run.
- Set your day range. For a last visit trigger, the predetermined ranges are 30, 45, 60, and 90 days.
- Attach the template you want it to send, and make sure that template is current.
- Confirm.
Once confirmed and active, the system scans daily and sends automatically, as long as the person meets the criteria, has a valid email address on file, and is opted in to receive email.
Automations can be paused or disabled at any time. If you leave one on, it keeps scanning and sending until you make it inactive. That means it is worth checking your automations periodically, because a template referencing a specific season, sale, or price will keep going out after it stops being accurate.
Standard campaigns
A standard campaign is a one-off send to a list or segment you choose. Do the prep first: establish your audience, create your template, and test it. Then the campaign itself is quick.
Step 1: Audience
Choose your list from the dropdown. Use your entire opt-in list for a general announcement, or pick one of the specific lists you created.
You can choose multiple lists. The system combines them, sends the same content, and filters out duplicate email addresses automatically, so nobody receives the campaign twice even if they appear on more than one list.
Save and next.
Step 2: Setup
Name the campaign. Some stores add a date to the name. This is internal only, and it is what you will use to find the campaign later when you want to look at its statistics.
Then write your subject line. Two tools help:
- An AI tool that suggests better subject lines, both for deliverability and for standing out in a crowded inbox.
- A spam score check, which estimates the probability of hitting spam or junk based on your subject line. Green is good. Yellow-orange means you need to make modifications. Red means a very high probability the email goes straight to spam or junk.
As a general rule, all capitals and a lot of extra punctuation will earn you a bad spam score. Keep it simple and keep it clever, and use the AI tool if you are stuck.
Your from name is your business name and your from email is your established business email, both set during onboarding. There should be nothing to change here.
Step 3: Template
Choose to create from an existing template and select the one you built. You can still make edits here if you need to, though ideally your template is already tested and ready. If you picked the wrong one, you can change it.
If the template contains tags, you will see an identifier prompting you to copy and paste a URL for anything missed during template creation.
Save as draft appears on every screen. If you get pulled away for a phone call, save and come back to it.
Step 4: Delivery
Pick your delivery date and time, or choose to run it immediately. Scheduled times reflect your local time zone, based on how your dashboard was set up during onboarding.
There is also an AI check here. Ask it for the best suggestion based on the date you plan to send, and it will tell you when you are likely to get the strongest deliverability and open rates. If you like the suggestion, adjust your time to match.
Step 5: Final check
The last screen is your chance to check everything before it queues. Even choosing to run immediately brings you here first.
You will see your list name, subject line, reply-to address, and whether it is set to run immediately or scheduled. Anything you want to change has an edit option that takes you back to the right step.
From here you can preview the template and send yourself one more test email, so you receive it with the exact subject line and content your customers and consignors will get. If you are still not ready, save as draft. When you are ready, schedule to send.
After you send
If you chose run immediately, it starts batching pretty quickly. You have perhaps a minute or two if you need to shut it down.
If you scheduled it, the campaign shows as scheduled, and until it hits that date and time you can go back in and make edits through the appropriate tabs. Once the time arrives it begins processing and sends on behalf of your location.
Campaign statistics
Once a campaign has sent, click into statistics and you will see open rate, click to open, delivery rate, bounce rate, and opt-outs. Below that, an overview of unique opens, unopened, clicked emails, and unsubscribes, all of which you can click into to view the logs.
If your email contained links, you can see which links were clicked most. You can also see every subscriber who opened it, all your sending logs for opens, clicks, unsubscribes, unopened, and bounces, and a preview of the email itself if you need reminding what went out.
Statistics keep running. Every time someone opens that campaign, the numbers update.
Deleting a campaign deletes its reporting. If you send a campaign and then remove it from the list, you lose the statistics with it. If you run seasonal or quarterly promotions and want to compare performance against last time, keep those campaigns. For a genuine one-off where you have already reviewed the numbers, deleting is fine.
Tracking your email usage
In the upper right of the platform you will see your email count based on the package and plan you purchased: how many you have used, how many remain, and your total. As you keep sending campaigns, outbound emails track here.
See SimpleConnect Billing and Top-ups for more.
Troubleshooting
My list came back with fewer people than I expected
Each person needs a valid email address on file and an active opt-in on top of matching your criteria.
My email went to spam
Check the spam score on your subject line before sending and aim for green. Avoid all capitals and excessive punctuation. Clear the template audit warnings as well.
My image will not upload
There is a two megabyte maximum per file. Resize the image and try again.
My buttons or images are not clickable
They need the full URL. The audit tool flags this while you are still building.
My social links do not work
Social handles need the full HTTPS URL for the page, not just the handle name.
I sent to two lists and someone is on both
They receive it once. Duplicate filtering is automatic when you combine lists.
I need to stop a campaign I just sent
A campaign set to run immediately begins batching within a minute or two, so act fast. A scheduled campaign can be changed any time before its send time.
My statistics disappeared
Deleting a campaign removes its reporting. There is no way to recover it.