Messages

What Is a Message

A message is a communication sent to an individual (subscriber) or a collection of individuals (list, group, or data extension). The system supports the following channels of messages:

• Email Messages
• SMS Messages

Messages give you the ability to select from a variety of channels through which to communicate with your subscribers. Together with activities and programs, messages can perform many of your recurring processes automatically, freeing you to focus on other tasks.

A message send can be user-initiated or triggered:

• A user-initiated message send goes to your selected subscribers you identify at a specified time. For example, you can send a monthly newsletter to a list of newsletter subscribers. You can manage the entire process of a user-initiated email message through the application interface.
• A triggered send goes to customers in response to a subscriber action. For example, you can send a confirmation message after a customer makes a purchase. You can define the content and interaction for a triggered email message through the ExactTarget application interface, and you can also use the application to send out the following triggered sends:
  • Welcome email
  • Triggered Send via a Smart Capture Page

  All other events that trigger the interaction must be defined using API calls outside of the application.

If your account is integrated with Salesforce and your application user is mapped to a Salesforce user, you can select a Salesforce campaign or report as the audience of your email message interaction.

You can associate one or more user-initiated message sends with zero or more activities to make a program.

Messages Scenario

A marketer at Northern Trail Outfitters sends a welcome email message to subscribers who opt-in to the newsletter mailing list through their web page. This process would be extremely time-consuming to complete manually, so the marketer creates a triggered email message interaction to contain the welcome message and automate the process.

First, the marketer creates the email message content. The process for creating the email message content for a triggered send interaction remains the same as for creating the email message content for a user-initiated interaction or a single send through the send wizard. As with any email message, the marketer can optionally use advanced features, such as dynamic content, personalization, and international character encoding.

Next the marketer creates the send classification. The send classification contains the CAN-SPAM classification, sender profile, and delivery profile that will be used for this triggered email interaction.

 
After creating the email message content and send classification, the marketer brings them together into the triggered email interaction.

The marketer associates a send classification with the interaction. The marketer still has the option to override the sender profile or delivery profile for this triggered email interaction.

The marketer also chooses the email to be sent when this interaction is triggered. The marketer can optionally update a mailing list with subscribers who trigger this interaction as well as to throttle sends through this interaction.

Finally, the marketer starts the email interaction to make it available to be triggered by customer activity.

NOTE: The events that trigger this interaction are determined using the API to create code outside of the application interface. The marketer coordinates with the IT department to put the necessary API components into place in order for the triggered email interaction to work correctly.

Now the interaction is available to send the email message when triggered. When a customer subscribes to Northern Trail Outfitters monthly newsletter via the website, they receive the welcome email.

How to Start a Message Interaction

Before you begin this procedure, you must create a triggered send interaction.

After you complete this procedure, you can pause the interaction.

Use the following steps to start a message interaction:

1. Click the Interactions tab on the navigation bar.
2. Click Messages.
3. Click Email.
4. Click Triggered.
5. Select the checkbox next to the message interaction to start.
6. Click Start/Restart on the toolbar. The system changes the status of the message interaction to Running.

How to Pause a Message Interaction

Use this procedure to stop the triggered send interactions from sending messages while you make changes to the content. Subscribers who trigger the message interaction will be placed in queue to receive the message after you publish changes.

Before you can perform this procedure, you must start the message interaction. After you complete this procedure, you can

• Publish changes to your message content
• Archive the message interaction

Use the following steps to pause a message  interaction:

1. Click the Interactions tab on the navigation bar.
2. Click Messages.
3. Click Email.
4. Click Triggered.
5. Select the checkbox next to the message interaction to pause.
6. Click Pause from the toolbar. The system changes the status of the message interaction to Paused.

How to Archive a Message Interaction

Use this procedure to stop the system from sending the triggered send permanently. Before you can perform this procedure, you must pause the message interaction. You can still view tracking information for a message after you complete this procedure.

Use the following steps to pause a message   interaction:

1. Click the Interactions tab on the navigation bar.
2. Click Messages.
3. Click Email.
4. Click Triggered.
5. Select the checkbox next to the message interaction that you want to archive.
6. Click Archive from the toolbar. The system changes the status of the message interaction to Archived.