SimpleConnect Email Marketing

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 > 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:

1. Establish the audience you want to send to.
2. Bring any images and documents into the File Manager.
3. Create and test your template.
4. 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.

Email Marketing won't send any email to an address on that list. The list doesn't change anyone's opt-in status in SimpleConnect or SimpleConsign, so a suppressed customer can still show as opted in on their profile. They just won't receive your emails.

Click through and the system gives you a sample CSV. The only thing required is the email address. Choose your file and upload it. You can have one suppression list at a time, and uploading a new file replaces the old one. To add people later, add them to your original file and upload the whole file again.

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.

To opt someone out of marketing email everywhere, update the Communication Preferences on their customer or consignor profile in SimpleConsign. That change syncs to SimpleConnect.

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.

What Store Credit includes

The Store Credit filter in List Builder means customer store credit at this location only. It doesn't include consignor balances, and it doesn't include credit from your other locations, even if store credit is shared across locations.

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.

The unsubscribe link: every template's footer has an unsubscribe link tag. Leave it as it is. It adds "No longer want to receive emails? Unsubscribe" for you, so don't type that wording yourself or it will show up twice. If a template doesn't have the tag, the unsubscribe line is added to the bottom of the email automatically.

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.

Adding preview text

Preview text is the short line most inboxes show next to or under the subject line. Email Marketing doesn't have a separate field for it yet, but you can add it to a template with an HTML block.

1. In the template editor, add an HTML block at the very top of the template, above everything else.
2. Paste in this code:

<div style="display:none; max-height:0px; overflow:hidden;">Your preview text goes here.</div>

3. Replace Your preview text goes here. with your own wording. Leave the rest of the code as it is.
4. Save the template and send yourself a test to check it.

The text only shows in the inbox preview. It won't appear in the body of the email.

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 common one is Days Last Purchase, which wins back customers who haven't bought anything in a while. Days Last Consignment does the same for consignors who haven't brought in items.

From there:

1. Establish the subject line.
2. Determine when you want the campaign to run.
3. Set the number of days. For Days Last Purchase or Days Last Consignment, enter any number, such as 60 for customers who haven't bought anything in 60 days.
4. Attach the template you want it to send, and make sure that template is current.
5. 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.

How many automations you can have? You can set up one automation per trigger. Once you create one, that trigger's tile is greyed out in the Add new list. There are nine triggers, so you can have up to nine automations running at once. To change one, edit the automation you already have.

Review Us and first-time visits. If you set the Review Us automation to only for first time visit, it emails customers making their first purchase ever at your store, based on their full history in SimpleConsign. It doesn't count from when you started using SimpleConnect. A longtime customer won't get it, even if it's their first purchase since you added SimpleConnect. It sends only once per customer. Each day it runs at the time you choose and picks up purchases from the previous 24 hours.

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.

Turning an automation off. Click the pencil icon next to the automation, change Status to Inactive, and click Update. Change it back to Active when you want it to start sending again.

Testing an automation before you turn it on. There's no test mode, so the safest way to test is with a customer only you would match. For example, create a test customer with your own email address, make sure they're opted in to marketing email, and give them an amount no real customer has, such as $100,000 in store credit. Then set a Store Credit automation to that amount. Only your test customer qualifies, so you'll get the email and no one else will. When you're done, set the automation to the amount you actually want.

Seeing who will qualify. Automations don't show who qualifies ahead of time. To get a count, build a list in List Builder using the same criteria. The number it returns shows roughly how many people the automation would reach.

Seeing who received it. Click the clock icon (View runs & statistics) next to an automation. Each run shows its statistics and the people it emailed. Everyone on that list matched the criteria you set in the automation.

Looking for a welcome email? There isn't a welcome automation yet, and the request has been passed along. We don't recommend using another automation, such as Review Us, in its place, since that automation's settings decide who receives it and when.

Standard campaigns

A standard campaign is a one-off send to one or more of your lists. 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 filled in with your location's name in SimpleConsign. If customers know your store by a different name, change it here before you send. Right now this needs to be changed on each campaign. The only way to change the default is to rename the location in SimpleConsign, which changes it everywhere else that name appears too. Your from email is set up for you during onboarding.

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.

Check the reply-to address carefully. It fills in from the default reply-to set under Email Marketing > Email Domain, and it should be an email your store reads. If it shows your @mysimpleconnect.com sending address, use the edit option to change it, or customer replies will bounce.

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.

You don't need to add an unsubscribe link. Every campaign automatically ends with "No longer want to receive emails? Unsubscribe."

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.

Do I need to add an unsubscribe link?

No. Every campaign automatically ends with "No longer want to receive emails? Unsubscribe." Anyone who clicks it is unsubscribed for you.

Customers say their reply to my email bounced

The reply-to on that campaign or automation is probably your @mysimpleconnect.com sending address, which can't receive mail. Change it to an email your store reads. To fix it for future campaigns, automations, and one-to-one emails sent from a customer's profile, set your default reply-to under Email Marketing > Email Domain.

The unsubscribe line shows up twice

The template has the unsubscribe wording typed in as well as the unsubscribe link tag. Delete the typed wording and leave the tag.

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.

A trigger is greyed out when I try to add an automation

You already have an automation for that trigger, and each trigger allows one. Edit the existing automation instead.

A regular customer didn't get my Review Us email

If Review Us is set to only for first time visit, it only goes to customers on their first purchase ever in your SimpleConsign history. Customers who shopped with you before you added SimpleConnect don't count as first-time visitors.

Someone on my suppression list still shows as opted in

That's expected. The suppression list blocks emails to those addresses without changing anyone's opt-in status. To change a customer's status, update their Communication Preferences in SimpleConsign.

My emails show my location name instead of my store name

The from name comes from your location's name in SimpleConsign. Change it on the Setup step of each campaign before you send.

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• Reputation Management
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• SimpleConnect FAQ: How do I...?
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