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Documentation Wiki > Solution Guides > Using Attachments with eStatements Solution Guide
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Using Attachments with eStatements Solution Guide

Table of contents
  1. 1. About This Guide
  2. 2. Prerequisites
  3. 3. eStatements Solution
    1. 3.1. What Is the eStatements Solution
    2. 3.2. Why Use an eStatements Solution
  4. 4. Scenario
  5. 5. How It Looks
  6. 6. How It Works
    1. 6.1. Creating the Subscriber List
      1. 6.1.1. How To Create a List
      2. 6.1.2. How To Import Subscribers Into a List
      3. 6.1.3. How To Create Profile and Preference Attributes
    2. 6.2. Creating the Sendable Data Extension
      1. 6.2.1. How to Create a Data Extension
        1. 6.2.1.1. How to Create a Data Extension with a Template
      2. 6.2.2. What Fields To Include
      3. 6.2.3. Populating the Data Extension
      4. 6.2.4. Using Publication Lists
        1. 6.2.4.1. How to Create a Publication List
        2. 6.2.4.2. How to Apply a Publication List to a Send
    3. 6.3. Creating the Attachment
    4. 6.4. Creating the Email
      1. 6.4.1. Personalization
      2. 6.4.2. Email Attachment AMPscript
        1. 6.4.2.1. AttachFile(S1,S2,S3,B1,S4,S5,N1)
          1. 6.4.2.1.1. Arguments
          2. 6.4.2.1.2. Examples
      3. 6.4.3. Account or Identification Numbers
        1. 6.4.3.1. Substring(S1, I1, I2)
          1. 6.4.3.1.1. Arguments
          2. 6.4.3.1.2. Example
    5. 6.5. Tracking Your Sends
      1. 6.5.1. Who Received and Opened the Email
    6. 6.6. Summary Module
    7. 6.7. Send Performance Module
    8. 6.8. Open Performance Module
    9. 6.9. Inbox Activity Module
      1. 6.9.1. Current Activity
      2. 6.9.2. Activity Over Time
    10. 6.10. Unengaged Subscribers Module
    11. 6.11. Forward to a Friend Activity Module
      1. 6.11.1. Following Up with Bounced Emails
    12. 6.12. Reply Mail Management
    13. 6.13. Best Practices
      1. 6.13.1. Manage Sign-up on Authenticated Pages
      2. 6.13.2. Recreate View of Paper Statement
      3. 6.13.3. Choose Bulk or Single Sends
      4. 6.13.4. Always Keep Deliverability In Mind
      5. 6.13.5. Track Unsubscriptions
      6. 6.13.6. Use Reply Mail Management to Monitor Replies
      7. 6.13.7. Avoid Inserting Marketing Messages in Transactional Sends

About This Guide

This solution guide contains conceptual, scenario, and procedural information about sending eStatements as file attachments within an email send. You can use these eStatements to inform customers about bank accounts, billing cycles, or other legally required notices. 

Prerequisites

In order to send eStatements, you must have the file attachment feature enabled on your account. Please contact your ExactTarget service representative if you have any questions about enabling this feature. You should also be familiar with AMPscript in order to attach the correct files and personalize the emails send out as part of your eStatement sends.

eStatements Solution

This section describes exactly what the eStatements solution provides and why you should integrate this solution into your email sends.

What Is the eStatements Solution

The eStatement solution attaches personalized account information from bank accounts, credit cards, and other financial services as documents (such as PDF or .xls files) to an email. Your customers opt in to receive these statements either via email or on your website, and these sends are handled as transactional sends. Each file belongs to individual customers, so no two customers would receive the same information. These files are uploaded to an FTP site and attached to the email as part of an email send. These sends use either a subscriber list or a sendable data extension to conduct the sends. These information sources contain the account information and send information necessary to pair up the correct statement to the correct email message in the send. The customer then opens the eStatement and reviews the information.

Why Use an eStatements Solution

You can use eStatements to provide personal or legally mandated information to your customers in a timely manner. Depending on the format of your eStatement, your customers can import the information into third-party programs to review their financial information, giving them more flexibility and convenient access to your eStatement information. This kind of communication can also be used to replace paper statements to your customers, although those customers who don't receive the eStatements may require paper follow-up communication, depending on your legal requirements. Replacing paper communication can help you realize a savings in your customer communication budget.

Scenario

Northern Trail Outfitters issues and maintain credit card accounts for its customers, and thus must send regular monthly statements to its customers. While these statements have been printed on paper and sent via the mail in the past, Northern Trail Outfitters wants to offer their customers the choice of eStatements sent via email. A monthly email send includes an attached eStatement customers can use to review their account and maintain their financial records. Northern Trail Outfitters wants to use their ExactTarget account to send these eStatements, which are created as PDF files and uploaded to their website.

Northern Trail Outfitters uploads customer information including account ID information to a sendable data extension and places the eStatements in their enhanced FTP site. AMPscript within the email refers to the last four digits of the account number to attach the eStatement to the email and includes those digits in the email itself. Email sends go out monthly with these statements, and Northern Trail Outfitters uses measures and data filters inside a monthly program to regularly review bounces and send follow-up paper companies.

How It Looks

First, you must create your subscriber list or sendable data extension. The example below shows the creation of a sendable data extension:

DE.png

Then, you must conduct an import activity to place subscriber information inside the sendable data extension:

DEImport.png

You can view the data inside the data extension once the import is complete:

DEViewData.png

Once your subscriber lists or sendable data extensions are populated, you can create the email you wish to send to you customers. This example HTML email shows some of the personalization and the AttachFile() AMPscript function you can use to send the attached eStatements:

eStatementsCorrectAMPscript.png

In this case, the AMPscript combines the customer's account number with the extension .csv to find the correct eStatement in the ExactTarget Enhanced FTP site. The ExactTarget application joins the attachment to the email at the time of the send.

How It Works

The flowchart below describes the overall process of sending eStatements via an email send:

eStatementFlowchart.png

Creating the Subscriber List

Before you can import subscribers into your subscriber list, you must first create the list as shown in the following steps.

 

How To Create a List

You can create public and private lists by following these steps:

  1. In the navigation pane, click Subscribers.
  2. Click the My Lists folder.

If you've created a list subfolder under My Lists in which you want to create this new list, click that subfolder.

  1. In the My Lists (or whichever list folder you selected) toolbar, click the Create List button, which opens the Create Subscriber List wizard.
  2. Click Next in the wizard's introductory dialog box.
  3. Complete the Identify Subscriber List dialog box that appears next, as follows:

 

Field Description
Name

Enter a name for the list. This name identifies the list in the Send Email wizard. If you make this list public, this name appears in the Subscription Center.

Your list name cannot contain the # symbol.
 
Description Enter a brief description of the list. This description appears in the list workspace. Additionally, if you make this list public, this description appears in the Subscription Center.
Public To make this list public, select (check) the Public check box. A public list appears for all subscribers in the Subscription Center, where a subscriber can choose to subscribe to or unsubscribe from the list.
  1. Click the Next button in the Identify Subscriber List dialog box.
  2. In the Place Subscriber dialog box, choose the list folder in which to create this list. (If you haven't created any additional list folders, select My Lists.)
  3. Click the Finish button.

Your new list is now ready for you to add subscribers to it. You can add subscribers manually or you can import subscribers.

Once you've created the list, you can add subscriber information to the list. Be sure to include fields for all of the applicable send information, including name, account number, email address, and any other pertinent information.

 

How To Import Subscribers Into a List

Before you can import a file, you must first create a list and create the import file.

To import the subscribers from your import file, follow these steps:

  1. In the navigation pane, click Subscribers.
  2. Click the My Lists folder.

If you've created a list subfolder under My Lists in which you want to import the new subscribers, click that subfolder.

  1. In the list workspace, double-click the desired list (or select the list and then click the Open List button in the toolbar).
  2. In the selected list's toolbar, click the Import button, which opens the Import Subscriber wizard.
  3. Click Next in the wizard's introductory dialog box.
  4. Read the content of the Opt-in Certification dialog box that appears next. If you have verified that every subscriber in your import file has agreed to receive emails from you, select the I agree check box, and click Next.
  5. Complete the Identify Source File dialog box that appears next, as follows:
Field Description
Upload Source

The FTP option shows you two options: Your Computer and FTP. To use a file that you've uploaded to the FTP site, type the filename in the FTP field. See the Enhanced FTP Guide for details on using the FTP option.

If the file you want to import is located on your hard drive, click the Browse button and locate the import file on your computer.

Only files located on a locally mapped drive are supported ( C:\, D:\, etc.). You cannot upload a file from a UNC path (such as \\ abcfiles\).
 
Data Format

Select one of the following :

  • The CSV radio button
  • The Tab Delimited radio button
  • The Other Delimited radio button. If you select this value, you must enter a 1-character delimiter in the field.
File is encrypted If the advanced feature for encrypted imports is enabled in your account, you'll see this check box. Select the check box if the import file you're using has been encrypted.
Updated Options

Add new subscribers and update subscribers that already exist

Add new subscribers but do not update subscribers that already exist

Update existing subscribers but do not add subscribers that do not exist
 
  1. Click the Next button in the Import Subscriber Wizard dialog box.

The application reads the import file, which may take several moments depending on the size of the file.

Note: The data in the import file is not yet brought into your account.

The Map Attributes dialog box appears next. This dialog box consists of two sections:

Section Description
Source

The Source section lists the data found in the first row of your import file. Labels that are grayed out have been mapped to attribute fields by default; labels shown in black font have not been mapped.

If the first row of your import file is a header row, you'll see the column labels from your import file shown in the Source section. In this case, make sure that the First row is header check box is selected so that the application does not attempt to import that row as subscriber data.

You can view all the data in your import file by means of the buttons below the Source section. Click the Next button below the Source section to view the next row of data in your file. Click Previous to go back to the row that was just displayed.
 
Destination

The Destination section lists the profile and preference attributes currently defined in your account, separated into those that have been set up as required and those that have not.

If the header row in your import file contains labels that exactly match attribute names, the application has mapped those labels to the attributes for you. The Mapped From column in the Destination section shows the label from your import file that's been mapped to the attribute shown in the Attribute column.

As you scroll through the rows of data in your import file by using the Previous and Next buttons, the Destination section updates to show how the data is mapped to the attribute fields.
 
  1. If a field from your import file has not been mapped for you to an attribute, map it as follows:
    1. Click the field in the Source section. (Whether you're viewing the header row labels or a row of actual subscriber data in the Source section when you click the source field is unimportant. In either case, you're mapping all data from that column of your import file to the attribute.)
    2. Click the corresponding attribute in the Destination section.
    3. Click the Map button.

The column of data is now mapped to the attribute, as indicated by the grayed-out value in the Source section and the Mapped From value in the Destination section.

You also have these additional options:

  • Remove a single mapping: To unmap an attribute from the import file field to which it's currently mapped, click the attribute row in the Destination section and then click the Unmap button.
  • Remove all current mappings: If you want to remove all the current mappings (that is, delete all values from the Mapped From column in the Destination section), click the Clear Map button.
  • Return to the original mappings: If you want to undo all changes you've made to the default mappings (the mappings that were in place when you first opened this dialog box), click the Default Map button.

Any fields still displayed in black font rather than gray in the Source section represent data that isn't imported.

  1. When satisfied with your mappings, click the Next button at the bottom of the dialog box.

Note: Any attributes that have been defined as required must be mapped to fields in your import file. You can't continue with the wizard until these fields are mapped.

The Confirm Mappings dialog box appears next, summarizing your selected mappings and the number of columns (fields) and records (subscribers) in your file that the application attempts to import.

  1. If you want to be notified when the import is complete, select the Email me upon import completion check box and enter your email address in the Email address field. Your email notification also includes a log of any subscriber records that could not be imported.
  2. Click the Begin button.

The application begins the process of importing your data. How long the import takes depends on the size of your import file.

The final dialog box of the wizard appears.

If you chose to be emailed upon completion:

This dialog box appears immediately and confirms that the import has begun. Click Finish to exit the wizard.

After the import is completed, you'll receive an email with the results of the import (if the file does not exceed 5MB in size).
 
If you did not request an email upon completion:

The dialog box appears after the import process has been completed. The text of the dialog box shows you the results of the import and includes a Download report button for you to view the details behind the records that could not be imported.

Click Download report to open the log file showing the results.

You also have the option of opening the list into which you imported the new subscribers. Select the Take me to my list check box, and the list opens when you click Finish.
 

For best practices and tips on creating and executing the import file, see Imports.

You will also need to create additional attributes for your subscribers in order to use information like account numbers and addresses.

 

How To Create Profile and Preference Attributes

Every account includes a standard set of basic profile attributes. You can create a number of attributes (your limit is specified in your account contract) and manage them in the Profile Management and Preference Management sections.

The steps for creating a profile preference attribute are the same. Profile attributes are created and accessed from the profile management workspace, and preference attributes are created and accessed from the preference management workspace, both of which are in the Subscribers area of the application.

Note: If the attribute is a yes or no value, create a preference attribute. If the attribute requires more complexity, create a profile attribute.

Follow these steps to add a new profile or preference attribute to your account:

  1. In the navigation pane, click Subscribers.
  2. In the Subscribers area of the navigation pane, click Profile Management or Preference Management.

Remember: If the advanced profile/preference management feature is not enabled in your account, you can't see these sections in the navigation pane.

If you're creating a profile attribute, all profile attributes defined in your account appear in the profile management workspace on the right. If you're creating a preference attribute, you see the preference management workspace on the right, with all preference attributes that are defined in your account.

  1. In the profile/preference management toolbar The action buttons displayed above the workspace. The toolbar is specific to the active workspace. at the top of the workspace, click Create Attribute, which opens the Attribute Properties dialog box.
  2. Define the properties for this attribute.

Note: In addition to basic alphanumeric characters, certain special characters can be used in the values that you enter as a subscriber value for an attribute. The special characters represented by the ASCII decimal ( dec) codes 32 through 254 are supported.

  1. Click OK in the Attribute Properties dialog box when done.

This attribute is now available for use in defining groups, dynamic content, and personalized substitution strings.

Note: If you marked the new attribute as a required field, all subscriber imports now must include this field. You may want to include a default value so that records can be saved even if a value isn't provided.

If you use the ExactTarget integration with Salesforce, see Attributes for Salesforce Leads and Contacts for details on setting up your ExactTarget attributes.

Creating the Sendable Data Extension

You can also send eStatements to your customers using data extensions. Data extensions contain information not defined in subscriber attributes, and you can use them to include additional information in your sends.

 

How to Create a Data Extension

Use the following steps to create a data extension. After you complete this procedure, you can import data to the data extension and create a data relationship.

1.    Click the Subscribers tab from the navigation bar.

2.    Click Data Extensions.

3.    Click My Data Extensions.

4.    Click the Create button.

5.    The New Data Extension screen appears.

6.    Complete the information in the Properties section:

  • Name - Name of the data extension. Use this name to identify the data extension in the  ExactTarget application.
  • External Key - A unique value that identifies the data extension. Use this value to identify the data extension with an API call.
  • Description - Description of the data extension. Use this description to further help identify the data extension within the ExactTarget application.

7.    Complete the information in the Type section.

  • Used for Sending checkbox - Indicates whether you intend this data extension to have messages sent to it. This checkbox determines whether the data extension is available to select in the message send wizard.
    If you select this value, you must complete the following fields.
  • Relates to subscribers on - If you select the Used for Sending checkbox, this field determines the field in the data extension that relates to the Subscriber table.
  • Used for Testing checkbox - If you select the Used for Sending checkbox, this field indicates whether you intend this data extension to have test messages sent to it.

8.    Complete the information in the Fields section for each field. Click Add to create a new field in the data extension.

  • Name - The name of the column
  • Data Type - The data type of the contents of the field. Valid values include:
    • Text - A combination of letters, numbers, and spaces.
    • Number - An integer. Decimal values are not supported.
    • Date - A system date. You can use an AMPscript function to format this value when you present it in a message.
    • Boolean - A 0 or 1 value.
    • Email Address - An email address. A field of this type must exist in order for you to send an email to a data extension. Note: ExactTarget does not verify that the value in this field is a valid email address when importing data.
    • Phone - A phone number. This data type accepts accepts any string with 10 or 11 digits in it and strips out non-digit characters.
    • Decimal - A number with a decimal point.
  • Length - Maximum number of characters, including spaces, you can import into this column. If you select the Decimal data type, you specify both the total maximum number of characters as well as the how many of the total appear after the decimal point. For example, if you define a decimal field with a length of 18,2, the two characters that appear after the decimal point are included in the 18 character total limit.
  • Primary Key - Determines whether the ExactTarget system considers this field to be the primary key of the table.
    If you select this checkbox, the system requires that the value in this field be unique so it can use this field to uniquely identify a row. If you select this checkbox for more than one column, then the combination of the values in the columns must be unique.
    If you do not select this checkbox, the system does not require the value in this field to be unique.
  • Nullable - Determines whether this column can be empty.
    If you select this checkbox, you can import a NULL (empty) value for this column.
    If you do not select this checkbox and you try to import a NULL value for this column, the system will respond as you specify in the Skip Rows with Bad Data field on the import definition.

9.    Click Save.

How to Create a Data Extension with a Template

Use the following steps to create a data extension with a data extension template. A small number of data extension templates are provided with the ExactTarget application to enable specific use cases, such as data extensions used in couponing solutions.

1.    Click the Subscribers tab from the navigation bar.

2.    Click Data Extensions.

3.    Click My Data Extensions.

4.    Click the Create from Template button.

5.    Select the checkbox next to the template to use.

6.    Click the Select button.
The Data Extension screen appears.

7.    Complete the information in the Properties section:

  • Name - Name of the data extension. Use this name to identify the data extension in the  ExactTarget application.
  • External Key - A unique value that identifies the data extension. Use this value to identify the data extension with an API call.
  • Description - Description of data extension. You use this description to further help identify the data extension within the ExactTarget application.

8.    Complete the information in the Type section.

  • Used for Sending checkbox - Indicates whether you intend this data extension to have messages sent to it. This checkbox determines whether the data extension is available to select in the message send wizard.
    If you select this value, you must complete the following fields.
  • Relates to subscribers on - If you select the Used for Sending checkbox, this field determines the field in the data extension that relates to the Subscriber table.
  • Used for Testing checkbox - If you select the Used for Sending checkbox, this field indicates whether you intend this data extension to have test messages sent to it.

9.    Complete the information in the Fields section for each field you want to add in addition to the fields that are required for the template. Click Add to create a new field in the data extension.

  • Name - The name of the column
  • Data Type - The data type of the contents of the field. Valid values include:
    • Text - A combination of letters, numbers, and spaces.
    • Number - An integer. Decimal values are not supported.
    • Date - A system date. You can use an AMPscript function to format this value when you present it in a message.
    • Boolean - A 0 or 1 value.
    • Email Address - An email address. A field of this type must exist in order for you to send an email to a data extension. Note: ExactTarget does not verify that the value in this field is a valid email address when importing data.
    • Phone - A phone number.
    • Decimal - A number with a decimal point.
  • Length - Maximum number of characters, including spaces, you can import into this column. If you select the Decimal data type, you specify both the total maximum number of characters as well as the how many of the total appear after the decimal point. For example, if you define a decimal field with a length of 18,2, the two characters that appear after the decimal point are included in the 18 character total limit.
  • Primary Key - Determines whether the ExactTarget system considers field to be the primary key of the table.
    If you select this checkbox, the system requires that the value in this field be unique so it can use this field to uniquely identify a row. If you select this checkbox for more than one column, then the combination of the values in the columns must be unique.
    If you do not select this checkbox, the system does not require the value in this field to be unique.
  • Nullable - Determines whether this column can be empty.
    If you select this checkbox, you can import a NULL (empty) value for this column.
    If you do not select this checkbox and you try to import a NULL value for this column, the system will respond as you specify in the Skip Rows with Bad Data field on the import definition.

10.    Click Save.

What Fields To Include

You must include the information necessary to conduct the sends, including the customer's name, email address, and location of their eStatement. You should also include the customer's account number and type in order to use that information in the email and keep track of the customer's information. You might also have customers with multiple accounts, so separate account numbers and types makes sure they get all applicable statements.

Populating the Data Extension

To bring information into the sendable data extension, create a new import activity to move information from your source file to the data extension.

 

If the file to import is encrypted or compressed, you should create a file transfer activity to correspond with this activity. Before you begin this procedure, you must create a subscriber list or data extension into which to import the data. After you complete this procedure, you can start the import activity or include the import activity in a program.

1. Click the Interactions tab on the navigation bar.

2. Click Activities.

3. Click Import.

    The Import workspace appears.

4. Click Create from the toolbar.

5. Complete the information in the Properties section:

  • Name - The name of the activity. You use this name to identify the activity in the application. Subscribers cannot see the name.
  • External Key - A value you choose that uniquely identifies the activity. You use this value to identify the activity when using the API.
  • Description - The description of the activity. You use this description to further help identify the activity within the application. Subscribers cannot see the description.

6. Complete the information in the Source section:

  • File Location - The location where the system can find the file. 

If you select Salesforce Objects & Reports:

  • Salesforce Data Source Type - The type of Salesforce entity from which you import the data. Valid values include:
    • Object
    • Report
  • Salesforce Object or Report - After you select the Data Source Type, the window shows the objects or reports in your integrated Salesforce account. 
  • Age of Import Data - The scope of the data to import. Valid values include:
    • Import All Data - Imports all data regardless of age.
    • Import Modified Data Since Last Import Date - Imports only data that has been modified since the date you enter in the date field.

If you do not select Salesforce Objects & Reports:

  • File Naming Pattern - The name or naming pattern of the file. You can enter a static name or you can include placeholders for the date. For example, you could enter subscribers.csv to instruct the system to always look for a field named subscribers.csv or you could enter subscribers%%Month%%.csv to instruct the system to look for a filename where the last two characters are two-digit month.
  • File Type - The type of the file to import. Valid values include:
    • Comma Delimited (CSV) - If you choose this file type, the value that you enter in the File Naming Pattern must have a .CSV extension
    • tab delimited
    • Other - if you choose this file type, you must enter a 1-character delimiter in the Other Delimiter field.
  • Other Delimiter - A 1-character delimiter you choose. You must complete this field if you select Other in the File Type field.
  • Destination Type - The type of object in the system to import the information in to. Valid values include:
    • Subscriber List - If you choose this value, you must select a subscriber list.
    • Data Extensions - If you choose this value, you must select a data extension.

7. Complete the information in the Import Action Settings section:

  • Update Type - Determines how the import uses the content of the import file. Valid values include:
    • Add and update - If the import file contains records with a primary key (or email address) that does not already exist in the subscriber list or data extension, the import create a new record for that information. If the import file contains records with a primary key (or email address) that does already exist in the subscriber list or data extension, the import updates the record to match what's in the import file.
    • Add only - The import creates new records for primary keys that do not already exist in the data extension or subscriber list and ignores records whose primary keys already exist.
    • Update only - The import updates information for records whose primary key already exist in the data extension or subscriber list and ignores records whose primary keys do not already exist.

NOTE: By default, the import activity skips any rows with bad data and imports the rest of the file. Please contact your representative if you have any question as to how your information will be altered during an import activity like this one.

  • Skip import if last import was less than [x] hours checkbox - Determine whether the system does not import the file if the last successful import was more recent than the threshold. If you select this checkbox, you must enter a threshold, in hours, of how recent a successful import of the file must be in order for the activity to skip importing the file.
  • Fail import if file is older than [x] hours. Allow System Buffer of [0] hours. - Determines whether the system returns an error if the file to import is older than the threshold.

If you select this checkbox, you must enter a threshold, in hours, of how old a file can be and still be imported. You also must enter an offset value, in hours, to be added to the threshold. The offset value accounts for differences in time zone between the application and the system that contains the file to import.

  • File Mapping - Determines how the import identifies the correct destination for each column in the import file. Valid values include:
    • Map using column headings - the import will update the columns in the subscriber list or data extension with the information in the import file by matching the column headings.
    • Map by ordinal - the import will update the first column in the subscriber list or data extension with the first column in the import file, the second column with the second column, and so on. See Import Activity Known Issues.
    • Map manually - if you choose this option, you upload a sample file that maps using column headings and the import uses the same pattern to import your import file.

8. Complete the information in the Import Completion Settings section:

  • Delivery Location - Determines where the system delivers a file with the completion information and exceptions, if applicable. 
  • Has Column Header - Indicates whether the system to interpret the first row of the import file as a header row or as a data row.
  • Send notification email checkbox - Determines whether the system sends a notification emails when the import is complete. If you select this checkbox, you must enter the email address to send the notification.

9. Click Save.

Using Publication Lists

To use a sendable data extension, you must use a publication list in conjunction with that send. Publication lists allow you to manage subscription information for your customers.

 

How to Create a Publication List

Note: To share your publication list, you must place it in the Shared Items folder.

  1. Click the Subscribers tab.
  2. Click my subscribers.
  3. Click Publication Lists.
    The Publication Lists workspace opens.
  1. Click the Create button.
  2. Provide a name and description for the publication list.
    The name and description appear in the Available Publications section of the subscription center. 
    Note: If the list is used for SMS, you must name your publication list with no spaces. Add information to the description that identifies this publication list is used for SMS.
  1. (Optional) Check the Public checkbox to display the publication list in the subscription center.
  2. Click the Save button.
  3. (Optional) Click the checkbox next to the publication list and click the Move button
  4. Click the folder in which you want to store your publication list and click the OK button.
    Note: Select the Shared Items folder under the Subscribers tab if you want to share the publication list.
  5. (Optional) If you are sharing the publication list, select the Permissions menu item and set roles and permissions for the publication list.

 

How to Apply a Publication List to a Send

You can apply publication lists to user-initiated and triggered emails sent through the Interactions tab by completing the following steps:

  1. Select Messages, Email, User-Initiated from the Interactions tab.
    The User-Initiated Emails workspace opens.
  2. Click the desired email name.
  3. Click the Edit Audience link.
    The Send Definition Audience workspace opens.
  4. Select your audience for a target audience and (optional) for an excluded audience. 
  5. Select any publications to opt-out of this email.
  6. Click the Save button to save this information. 
    The publication list is applied the next time the email is sent. 

Creating the Attachment

You can attach several types of documents (detailed in the Email Attachment AMPscript section below) to your eStatement send, although eStatements commonly use .xls or .pdf formats. These documents must be stored on a web server, enhanced FTP site, or in your ExactTarget portfolio.

Creating the Email

Personalization

You can personalize the eStatement email to insert the customer's first and last name, account number, or other information. Review the Personalization document for more information on personalizing emails.

Email Attachment AMPscript

The information below demonstrates how to add an attachment to an email send.

 

AttachFile(S1,S2,S3,B1,S4,S5,N1)

Note: AMPscript email attachments must be enabled in your account before you can use this function.  Contact ExactTarget if you would like this feature enabled in your account. You should also contact ExactTarget to adjust the threshold of errors that cause the send job to stop prematurely. This could be helpful in preventing a single error from stopping the entire job.

Attaches a file to an outgoing email message and can include a link to the file when you view the email as a web page:

Arguments
  • S1    Indicates whether to pull files from an HTTP source, the ExactTarget Enhanced FTP site, or the portfolio.  Valid values include:
    • HTTP
    • FTP
    • Portfolio
  • S2    Indicates from where the function pulls the attachment.
    • If S1 is HTTP, S2 is the URL of your file.
    • If S1 is FTP, S2 is the name of the file in the Import folder of your Enhanced FTP site.
    • If S1 is Portfolio, S2 is the External Key of the item in your Portfolio folder.
  • S3    Indicates the name to give the file when it is attached to the email.  This argument is optional and will use the current attachment's name if none is specified.
  • B1    Indicates whether a link to attached file is seen in View As A Web Page.  This argument is optional and only used if S1 is HTTP.
  • S4    Sets the URL of the attachment link to be used for View As A Web Page.  This argument is optional and only used if S1 is HTTP.
  • S5    Sets the text for the attachment link to be used in View As A Web Page.  This argument is optional and only used if S1 is HTTP.
  • N1    Sets the number of days the link attachment will be seen in View As A Web Page. This argument is optional and only used if S1 is HTTP.
Examples

The following example attaches a PDF document from a website to your outgoing email.  The email also includes a link to the file in View As A Web Page with the text "Click here to download your catalog."  That link expires from View As A Web Page after four days.

%%=AttachFile("HTTP","http://example.com/catalog.pdf",true,"http://example.com/catalog.pdf","Click here to download your catalog",4)=%%

The next example attaches a Word document from the import folder of the ExactTarget  Enhanced FTP site.  It also concatenates a new filename from the recipient's full name and the string "NewCatalog.doc" at the time of attachment.

%%=AttachFile("FTP","productCatalog.doc",Concat(FullName,"NewCatalog.doc"))=%%

The following file types can be attached to emails sent through ExactTarget :

  • Microsoft Word documents (.doc, .docx)
  • Microsoft Excel documents (.xls, .xlsx)
  • Microsoft Powerpoint documents (.ppt, .pptx)
  • Adobe PDF documents (.pdf)
  • ZIP archive files (.zip)
  • Compressed archive files (.rar)
  • PNG images (.png)
  • GIF images (.gif)
  • JPEG images (.jpg, .jpeg)
  • TIFF images (.tif, .tiff)

Account or Identification Numbers

As part of the email, you may wish to include part of the customer's account or identification number to help them identify the account to which the eStatement refers. However, including the entire number may present a security risk, so you may wish to only include the last four digits of the account number. That information identifies the account to the user, but it prevents other parties from gaining unauthorized access to the account information. Use the AMPscript function below to shorten the ID number when it is inserted into the email from the subscriber list or the sendable data extension.

 

Substring(S1, I1, I2)

Returns the portion of the specified string starting with the specified character position and no longer than the specified length. If the specified character position is greater than the length of the specified string, an empty string is returned.

Arguments
  • S1    The string from which to return a portion
  • I1    The character position at which to begin the substring
  • I2    Maximum length of the substring
Example
%%=Substring("abcdef",2,2)=%%

System returns:

bc

Now, apply the example above to an account number. If your customer has an account number of 5555-5555-5555-5564, you can use the Substring() AMPscript function to shorten that to the last four digits after pulling the information from a subscriber list or sendable data extension:

%%[

VAR @AccountNumber

SET @AccountNumber = IDNumber

Substring(@AccountNumber, 16, 4)

]%%

The above AMPscript pulls the IDNumber from the list or data extension into the variable, then uses that variable as the string value from which to pull the last four digits from the account number. That code can be inserted wherever you would like the digits to appear, such as following the text ACCOUNT NUMBER ENDING IN:.

Tracking Your Sends

Who Received and Opened the Email

To view the tracking for your eStatement sends, click the email send and select View Data. You will see the tracking information for that send in the tracking results workspace.

 

The Overview tab gives you insight into the behavioral patterns of subscribers associated with an email campaign or send. You see a thumbnail of the email, eliminating the need to open the email for a preview. When subscribers use Forward to a Friend, you can analyze the success of your campaign by viewing tracking on unique forwards and opt-ins. The Overview tab presents data in pie, bar, and line graph formats, as well as in numbers, percentages, and links.  This data can also be saved to PDF and Excel files, as detailed in the section titled How to Create PDF and Excel Files from Tracking Tabs.

OverviewFigureWithExportButton.jpg

Summary Module

SummaryModule.png

The Summary module identifies the email that was sent.

Term Description/Calculation
Job ID System-defined number for the email job
Name Name of the email
Subject Subject line used for the send. If the subject line contains a personalization string, that personalization string appears in this field
Date Sent Date and time email was sent in Central Time
Total Sent Number of email messages sent. This value is the number of subscribers in the lists, groups, and/or data extensions that were targeted for this send minus any excluded subscribers
Lists Names of the lists, groups, and data extensions targeted for this send
<thumbnail/> mall view of the email you sent
Salesforce Integration Data If the job is connected to a Salesforce integration, this section contains the displays the campaign or report information (for Salesforce Mass Send) or the Lead or Contact (for Salesforce single sends) data. This also includes any exlcusion data that was part of the send.

Send Performance Module

BounceImage.png

The Send Performance module presents information about the deliverability of the send. A pie chart and legend show the total number of bounces, the number of hard bounces, soft bounces, and delivered messages.

Term
 Description/Calculation
Delivery Rate Number of emails sent minus the number of undeliverables, divided by the number of emails sent. Shown as a percentage.
Total Bounces Total number of addresses to which delivery was not completed.
Soft Bounce

Number of attempted sends that are temporarily undeliverable due to:

  • Recipient mailbox temporarily disabled or mailbox full
  • Temporary Domain Name System (DNS) or other failure

The system retries soft bounces at preset intervals. After eight tries, it returns a hard bounce to the application.
Hard Bounce

Number of attempted sends that are permanently undeliverable due to:

  • Bad address syntax
  • Unknown domain
  • Unknown user
  • Incorrectly formatted address or invalid/non-existent at the domain
Delivered Number of emails delivered successfully. Number of emails sent minus the number of total bounces.

If your account is set up to track block bounces, you will see an additional attribute on your screen.

SendPerformanceBlockBounces.png

Term
 Description
Block Bounce

Number of attempted sends that are permanently undeliverable due to:

  • Lack of proper authentication
  • Domain or IP address found on a blacklist used by this receiving domain
  • Excessive bounce attempts or excessive spam complaints
  • Content rejected due to "spam" subject line, email content, or code
  • URL(s) in message blacklisted or driving complaints

 

Bounce description information can be included in an export of bounce data in both PDF and Excel file formats.

Open Performance Module

The Open Performance module contains information about subscribers opening the job. A bar graph and legend show the number of total opens and unique opens against the number of messages delivered.

 OpenPerformance.png

Term Definition/Calculation
Open Rate Number of email opens divided by the number of emails delivered. Shown as a percentage.
Delivered Number of emails delivered successfully. Number of emails sent minus the number of total bounces.
Total Opens Total number of times unique subscribers opened the email. This figure reflects only those subscribers who received the HTML version, not subscribers who received and opened a text version.
Unique Opens Number of individual subscribers who opened the email.
(#) link You may click the Unique Opens number link to see a listing of all subscribers in this category.

Inbox Activity Module

The Inbox Activity module contains information about the opens, clicks, forwards, conversions, surveys, and unsubscribes related to the send. This module displays numbers as well as percentages. The Viewing field gives you the option of viewing Current Activity or Activity Over Time.

Click the number of unique clicks to view the following information regarding each click activity:

  • Individual Subscriber Key
  • Email Address
  • Click-Through Time
  • Link Clicked
  • If your account is integrated with Salesforce, you will also see the Salesforce ID and Salesforce record type (such as lead or contact)

Current Activity

CurrentInboxActivity.png

Field
 Definition/Calculation
Viewing

Defines the scope of the information included in the view. Valid values include:

  • Current Activity   Displays the data totals as of the current date and time. Shown as a bar graph with percentages next to each bar.
  • Activity Over Time   Shows how data has changed over time. This is a line graph showing data by day. Displays up to 14 days past the job date and time.
Opens
  • Total   Number of times the email message was opened. This value includes multiple opens of the same email.
  • Unique   Number of individual subscribers who opened the email.

You can click the Opens link to see a list of the subscribers in this category. The view shows the Unique value divided by the total number of delivered emails (as a percentage).
Clicks
  • Total   A count of all subscribers who clicked within an email.
  • Unique   Number of individual subscribers who clicked within the email.

The view chart shows the Unique value divided by the total number of delivered emails (as a percentage).
Forwards
  • Total   A count of all subscribers who forwarded the email.
  • Unique   Number of individual subscribers who forwarded the email.

The view chart shows the Unique value divided by the total number of delivered emails (as a percentage).
Conversions
  • Total   A count of all subscribers who performed a conversion.
  • Unique   Number of individual subscribers who performed a conversion.

The view chart shows the Unique value divided by the total number of delivered emails (as a percentage). For information on conversions, see the Conversion Tracking Guide.
Surveys
  • Total   A survey is a unique event. Therefore, a number will never appear in the Surveys Total column.
  • Unique   Number of individual subscribers who submitted the survey.

The view chart shows the Unique value divided by the total number of delivered emails (as a percentage).
Unsubscribes

Unsubscribes are the number of subscribers who unsubscribed after the email was sent.

  • Total:   An unsubscribe is a unique event. Therefore, a number will never appear in the Unsubscribes Total column.
  • Unique   Number of individual subscribers who unsubscribed from this email.

The view chart shows the Unique value divided by the total number of delivered emails (as a percentage).

The Unsubscribes figure may continue to rise for some time after the delivery, as subscribers may not unsubscribe immediately after receiving the email.

Activity Over Time

InboxActivityOverTime.png

Field
 Definition/Calculation
Viewing

Defines the scope of the information included in the view. Valid values include:

  • Current Activity   Displays the data totals as of the current date and time. Shown as a bar graph with percentages next to each bar.
  • Activity Over Time   Shows how data has changed over time. This is a line graph showing data by day. Displays up to 14 days past the job date and time.
Opens Total number of email opens for the send.
Clicks Total number of clicks for the send.
Forwards Total number of forwards for the send.
Conversions Total number of conversions for the send.
Surveys Number of survey responses to the send.
Unsubscribes Number of people who have requested to unsubscribe from this job.
Update Grid You may decide you do not want to view all the activities listed. De-select the corresponding checkboxes for the activities you don't want to view. Then click Update Grid to repopulate the graph.

Note: Although up to six colors representing six actions appear in the Activity Over Time Grid, it may seem that only a few actions are represented in the graph. This is because some activities may have very low numbers or no numbers at all.

Unengaged Subscribers Module

The Unengaged Subscribers module details the total number of messages delivered and lets you know how many of those recipients did not click on or open the message.

Unengaged.png

 

 

Field Definition/Calculation
Total Delivered Total number of messages delivered successfully
Did Not Click Total number of recipients that didn't click on any links in the email
Did Not Open  Total number of recipients that didn't open the email

 

Forward to a Friend Activity Module

The Forward to a Friend (FTAF) feature helps you grow your existing subscriber lists. You can view how many subscribers forwarded the email, as well as the number of potential subscribers and who subscribed to your list.

FTAF.png

Link Total Unique
Clicked "Forward" link A count of all subscribers who clicked the Forward link. Number of individual subscribers who clicked the Forward link.
Forward Activity A count of all subscribers who forwarded the email to at least one subscriber. Number of total potential subscribers. Clicking the Unique (#) link displays the subscribers who forwarded the email.
New Subscribers A count of all people who received the forwarded email and then opted in for further mailings and became new subscribers. Number of individuals who received the forwarded email and then opted in for further mailings and became subscribers. Clicking the Unique (#) link displays the individuals who became subscribers.

Note any bounces that occurred as part of your sends. If you are legally required to send information to your customers and these emails do not go through, you need to ascertain to whom these sends failed and follow up with additional emails or paper copies.

Following Up with Bounced Emails

If you are legally required to follow up bounced emails with paper copies, you can use measures combined with data filters to pull back those customers who experienced hard bounces. For example, you can use the system-defined Total Number of Hard Bounces in 30 Days measure to see who experienced hard bounces during that time period. You can then include that measure in a data filter to create a list of customers with hard bounces and send those customers paper copies of their statements. The measures and data filters can be placed in a program to regularly pull back the information and place it in a file for review.

Reply Mail Management

Because users may reply with questions or requests regarding these statements, you can use reply mail management to send acknowledgments of replies and forward along requests to the appropriate company representatives.

Best Practices

Manage Sign-up on Authenticated Pages

Because your customers will likely share or verify sensitive personal information as part of the sign-up process, make sure that all communications with your company are secure in order to prevent theft of that personal information. Furthermore, you want to use authentication to prevent unauthorized users from entering their email address as the location to which to send eStatements.

Recreate View of Paper Statement

If your customers received paper statements in the past, they have likely become used to the placement and organization of information. Keeping a similar layout will help them recognize the authenticity of the information and find what they are looking for much more quickly. You can use PDF files to keep the layout precisely the same, or you can attempt to recreate the layout in a different file. However, it is best to keep the information as similar as possible.

Choose Bulk or Single Sends

Depending on the needs of your business and your customers, you can set your eStatements to send either in bulk or as single sends. If all customers use the same billing cycle, a bulk send can ease the amount of time you spend on the process. However, if each send requires personal attention, you can choose to maintain them as single sends.

Always Keep Deliverability In Mind

Emails with attachments can cause problems with deliverability of emails, so you need to make sure that your messages adhere to all other deliverability guidelines in order to best assure the email arriving in your customers' inboxes. Consult your ExactTarget deliverability specialists to analyze and improve your eStatements.

Track Unsubscriptions

If a customer unsubscribes from an eStatement send, you may still be required to provide this information to them in paper form. Track the unsubscriptions from your sends to make sure that all customers get the information they are legally required to receive, either electronically or in paper form.

Use Reply Mail Management to Monitor Replies

Customers will send you replies or inquiries regarding these eStatements, and you need to be able to at least monitor these communications to make sure all requests and needs are taken care of. Use reply mail management to acknowledge the receipt of your customer communications and route their replies to the appropriate inbox.

Avoid Inserting Marketing Messages in Transactional Sends

ExactTarget sends eStatements as transactional sends, as they represent activity related to a financial transaction. Therefore, you must maintain the integrity of the transactional send by refraining from inserting marketing messages in these sends. Otherwise, you risk violating CAN-SPAM regulations relating to the sending of unwanted marketing material. You can allow your customers to request additional marketing information as part of their opt-in process, but you should refrain from sending such material unless your customers explicitly opt-in for that information.

 
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