Create and send your first email message - ExpertSender Help Center

In this article, you will find step-by-step instructions on how to prepare and send your first email message using ExpertSender CDP. This includes designing the content, choosing message tracking methods, and setting the delivery mode.

Requirements

Before you start designing your newsletter, make sure that:

The email channel has been properly configured.
You have imported the customer data.
Each customer has agreed to receive email communication from you.
You have all your graphics, texts, and links ready to use in your newsletter.

How to create your first email?

With ExpertSender platform, creating an email message is simple and intuitive.

Open the main menu and go to Campaigns > Email. Click Create email newsletter button to open the email editor.

The complete process of creating an email in ExpertSender CDP consists of five steps listed at the top bar. The step, you are currently in, is underlined. In case you need to go back in the process to edit email content, you can easily switch between the steps.

While reviewing your email in the Summary, some steps may be marked with a dot to inform you, that some information is missing or need to be changed.

Step 1: Basic settings

In this step, you will add an email subject and preheader text, handle sender and reply-to addresses, and set up email tracking methods.

Enter the email subject in the Subject field. You can customize it by clicking the @ icon to access a list of variable dynamic contents available for subject line. You can also add emojis by clicking the icon.
In the Preview text field, enter the additional sales message that will display under the subject in an email box. You can personalize this field with dynamic content and emojis.
In the From field, enter the name that will display in your customers’ email box, e.g., “Ann from onlinestore.com.” Enter your email address in the next field and toggle Use it as your reply-to address, if you want your customers to be able to contact you by hitting the reply button.
If you want to include this email in a campaign, click on the Campaign field and select it from the list. If your message is not a part of a campaign, you can skip this step.
In the Tracking section, decide which email parameters you want to monitor. You can add individual UTM tags or dynamic content in the Google Analytics and Custom parameters fields.

Step 2: Content

In the content wizard, you will design your email by adding blocks of content, graphics, and buttons in an easy drag-and-drop process.

Let’s design your first message with content wizard. Start with the email structure and content:

Go to the setting panel and click Content section on top.
Go to Structures and choose a structure with the preferred numbers of containers. You can adjust the number of containers later, if necessary. Each container, marked in blue, can fit one content block.
Drag and drop the structure onto the working space and join structures into stripes – sections with general settings for the included structures and defined function, e.g., header, footer.
Go to the Block section and pick the content you want to add to your email, such as text, image, or button.
Place the block in the preferred container and click it to open the edit menu on the left side. Now you can add your content and style the block to fit your email design.
The Modules section is a handy storage for your pre-styled content. Use this space to save content you often use in your emails, such as logo, category menus, or a footer with contact details.

Next, take care of the general settings for the email content:

Go to the setting panel and click Appearance section on top.
Go to the General settings and set the message width, padding, font type and other options applied to the entire email content.
Click Stripes section to expand the submenu. Chose the type of stripe you have in your email design and that you want to edit – header, content, footer, or info area.
Select a stripe by clicking the gray background of the workspace, and then apply general settings in the setting panel. Repeat this step for all stripe types in your email.
In the Headings section, set the appearance for a content, usually text, that you want to emphasize in your email, such as a quote or a buzzword.
In the Button section, you can apply settings for all the buttons used in your email.
Decide how your email will appear on smartphones and tablets in the Mobile formatting section. Adjust padding, margins and font size to display correctly.

Your email message is now ready. It is time to decide on the recipients.

Step 3: Recipients

Before you send your email message, choose the recipients:

In the Send to section, decide whether you want to send your message to all the customers in your database or to a specific customer segment:
- Click the Select segments field to access a list of available segments, or create one by clicking Create new at the end of this list.
- You can select multiple customer segments for one email
In the next section, select consents required for your message.
- Click the Select consents field and pick one from the list or create new if needed.
- You can select multiple consents for one email.
- If a customer is lacking one of the consents or does not fit in one of the chosen segments, they will not receive your email.
The next section shows the total number of recipients who will receive the email based on the chosen segments and consents.
In the After unsubscription section, decide how to manage consents for customers who have opted out of your newsletter.
Lastly, in the Unsubscribe landing page, enter a URL address to which the customers will be redirected after unsubscribing.

Step 4: Delivery

Choose the delivery mode:

Click the Schedule mode and select the delivery time and date.

If you want your email to be sent right away, opt for the Send now mode. The delivery will start after you click Send in the Summary section.

In the Advanced settings, choose the IP channel for your delivery:

Standard – the emails will be distributed automatically,
Custom – the emails will be distributed through all the IP addresses assigned to your account. Decide on the distribution by setting the number of messages for each domain.

In the Throttling field, select a way in which you want your email to be delivered:

Do not throttle this message – your email will be sent to all recipients at once, as quickly as possible. We will not distribute it over time.
Use automatic throttling – we will distribute the delivery over time in the most efficient manner to ensure the highest deliverability.
Set throttling time manually – decide how long will the delivery last, but no longer than 72 hours.

Toggle on the last option if the delivery should ignore the local blocklist of email addresses.

Step 5: Summary

Here you will find a checklist with all the email details required for successful delivery. Each section will have a label depending on its status:

Green – the information is correct and complete.
Orange – you may consider improving this element or adding more information. However, if you don’t, it will not affect the delivery.
Red – details marked in red require your attention, as they will stop the delivery. Click the pencil icon to edit them.

Also, red and orange dot marks will appear in the top bar, next to the sections that need revision.

In the summary, you can also preview your email in both desktop and mobile version. Click device icons to switch between the views.

If you like what you see – and we hope you do – and if the checklist is all in green, hit the Send button. Your first e-mail has just been delivered to your recipients!