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  • Build welcome series

    Use Sender’s step-by-step automation builder feature to build a welcome series automation in minutes.

    Click on “Automation” -> “Create New Workflow” to enter the automation flow builder.

    Give your welcome sequence a name that is easy to place.

    Choose the trigger. Your trigger is the event or action that will cause the automation to fire. In this case, let’s choose “Subscriber added to a group”.

    Screenshot 2023-06-14 at 13.37.52

    Select your trigger and choose the name of the group on the right hand side. This group name will be the one that your subscribers filling up your signup form are getting added to.

    You can verify the group name from the main dashboard -> “Forms” -> Edit your form -> “Settings” tab -> “Group”.

    Click the “+” sign at the bottom of the trigger you just created and choose the “Email” step.

    Next, configure your email settings to the right hand side.

    You can personalize the subject line and preview text with subscriber details such as their first name, custom field data you might have collected using forms etc.

    Hitting “Save” will save all the changes you just made.

    Clicking on “Create” will take you to the email editor screen to help you compose the first email of your welcome series.

    Clicking the “Save & continue” button will save your email design and bring you back to the automation map screen.

    Under the email step you just added, click the “+” sign and select “Delay”.

    Let’s add a delay of 1 day to wait for the subscriber to open the email.

    Next, let’s check to see if the subscriber has opened this email using the “Condition” step.

    Give your condition a name and choose the condition type as “Workflow email activity”.

    Under “Select Workflow Email” choose the welcome email you just created.

    Set the “Activity Type” to “Opened the campaign” since we want to check whether the said email was opened or not.

    Click “Save” to come back to the automation map which now shows two branches under the condition step you just added: Yes and No.

    Click the “+” sign below the “Yes” conditional branch and add an “Action” step.

    Configure the action step as under:

    We are moving those subscribers who’ve opened their welcome email into a separate group called “Confirmed”.

    Next click the “+” sign under the No conditional branch and add an “Action” step there too, to move subscribers who have not opened this same email, to a group called “Not Confirmed”.

    This is how your automation map will look now.

    You could add another email to this welcome sequence. Maybe you want to send this email only to those subscribers who opened the first email and let’s assume you would like to do this after a delay of 2 days.

    Your automation flows will forever be in “draft” mode until and unless you manually click “Activate” on the top right hand corner.

    Once activated, you can test the workflow on a particular email address by clicking the “Test workflow” button and entering the email address you would like to run it on.

    You can add as many email steps as you would like, interspaced with reasonable delays.

    We have not highlighted the use of SMS steps since it is a very personal medium and we do not recommend sending out SMSes to new subscribers at the beginning of their journey with you.

    Prefer a quick video to walk you through the exact same steps above? You can find it here.

    If you got stuck on a specific task or can’t find a way to execute a particular job, contact our support team via LiveChat or [email protected] we’re here to help 24/7.

  • Build abandoned cart series

    Sender’s automation builder feature helps you build a highly conversion-optimized abandoned cart automation sequence easily as shown below.

    NOTE: Below automation sequence will work only when you have correctly integrated your Sender account with your online store.

    1. Click on “Automation” -> “Create New Workflow” to enter the automation flow builder.

    2. Give your abandoned cart sequence a name that is easy to place.

    3. Choose your trigger as “A cart is abandoned”.

    4. Next, add a delay step of 12 hours. Say because we would like to wait for 12 hours from the time the cart is abandoned, before sending the first email or SMS.

    5. Choose an email step to go next. This will be your first cart abandonment email reminder.

    6. Configure the email settings as shown below.

    7. Click “Create” and use the email editor to create an abandoned email if you don’t already have one.

    8. Add a delay of 2 hours.

    9. After a delay of 2 hrs from the 1st reminder email, let’s now send the subscriber an SMS reminder.

    10. Compose your SMS using the dashboard on the right hand side.

    11. After the SMS step, add a 12hr delay step, again to be followed by your email reminder number 2.

    When done, below is how your automation map will look like.

    Remember that you can fully customize any aspect of the above abandoned cart sequence.

    For example, you could send your first abandonment message in as little as 6hrs and following this up with another email every 6 hrs, for the next 2 days, with no SMS involved.

    Just ensure that your emails are well-personalized and include irresistible incentives and discounts, or dire scarcity or urgency.

    Fancy a quick little video that walks you through the above steps? Find it here.

    That’s it!

    If you got stuck on a specific task or can’t find a way to execute a particular job, contact our support team via LiveChat or [email protected] we’re here to help 24/7.

  • Build post-purchase workflow

    NOTE: This automation, like the abandoned cart sequence, needs your online store to be integrated with your Sender account; the latter would not know when a purchase has been made.

    1. Click on “Automation” -> “Create New Workflow” and name your new workflow.

    2. Choose the trigger as “A product is purchased”.

    3. Click on the trigger to configure it with your product’s unique code (also called “SKU”) in case you are selling multiple products.

    4. Add an email step to send out a thank you email immediately post purchase of the product.

    Screenshot 2023-06-14 at 11.41.24

    5. Let us also set up an SMS to go out along with this email, with a special discount code that they can use for their next purchase with you.

    6. Now, lets add a delay of 9 days (for the purchased product to be delivered and for them to start using it). After the delay, you could send out a product feedback email to understand their pleasures and frustrations with their purchase.

    7. Post the product feedback email, you can add a delay of a few days and then send them an upsell or cross-sell opportunity at an irresistible price.

    Since they’ve already bought from you once, they know and trust you. So, it will be relatively easy for you to sell them more of what they just bought or products complementary to their most recent purchase.

    Let the sky be the limit when it comes to designing your automations.

    If you got stuck on a specific task or can’t find a way to execute a particular job, contact our support team via LiveChat or [email protected] we’re here to help 24/7.

  • Verify SPF and DKIM records

    Setting up DKIM and SPF is a two-step process.

    Step1: How to Add a New Domain?

    Go to “Settings” -> “Domains” -> Click “Add Domain”.

    Enter the domain name you would like to send from.

    Input an existing email address associated with the above entered domain name and click “Add”.

    You will receive an email to verify your domain ownership.

    After successfully adding your domain as a valid sending domain, you can now activate DKIM, SPF, and DMARC security measures to enhance protection. Refer to the tutorial for guidance on verifying your DKIM, SPF and DMARC values.

    Step 2: DKIM, SPF & DMARC Setup

    Go to “Settings” -> “Domains” -> Click the “Set up DNS records” button next to the domain you want.

    Automatically generated DKIM, SPF and DMARC values are now displayed. As instructed, create TXT and CNAME entries inside your domain hosting provider.

    Click the “Check SPF/DKIM Records” button when you finish adding the values into your DNS parameters with your domain host.

    If all is well, you should see green ticks in all columns.

    Some DNS records might take from 24 to 48 hours to be updated, so give it some time after the latest changes. If after 48 hours the record still shows as not verified, click “Recheck DNS records” button to update.

    Please note:

    1. Every hosting provider is different, so if you are not sure of how to create these entries for DKIM and SPF, reach out to them with the details and they would be glad to help you out. You can also find a list of hosting providers’ instructions here.
    2. If your hosting service provider allows only one TXT record for SPF, please contact them for specific instructions on including the sender.net TXT record into the existing one.

    If you got stuck on a specific task or can’t find a way to execute a particular job, contact our support team via LiveChat or [email protected] – we’re here to help 24/7.

  • Write high-converting SMS campaigns

    For designing highly effective SMS campaigns, we leave you with the following tips.

    Strategy: Your SMS strategy must be a supplementary component of your overall marketing strategy, alongside emails, and never standalone.

    Every message could be someone’s first and someone else’s last: You should keep your texts concise, respectful, and well-thought-out.

    Respect for personal space: SMS messaging is more direct and personal, so very high frequency SMS messaging may overwhelm your subscribers and burn them out;

    When deciding if you should send an SMS, ask yourself: “Is this message really worth sending an SMS about?”. In other words, is it?

    • Time-sensitive — Is it important that your recipient read this now? Be honest about whether the information is urgent enough to justify interrupting the recipient’s day. In other words, can an email still do the job, whilst being far less non-intrusive;
    • Relevant — Is what we are about to send relevant to all segments or customer avatars? Is our offer or messaging personalized and tailored to their interests or needs;
    • Valuable — Are you offering a clear benefit or incentive to the recipient, such as a discount or exclusive offer. Is this something you think they’d find valuable or even useful;

     

    A message should only be sent if it meets all three criteria: time-sensitive, relevant, and valuable.

    That’s it!

    If you got stuck on a specific task or can’t find a way to execute a particular job, contact our support team via LiveChat or [email protected] – we’re here to help 24/7.

  • View reports in Sender

    Ecommerce sales reports

    This feature gets enabled when:

    • You have a paid Sender account;
    • The same is integrated with your online Shopify store.

    Form reports

    Click “Forms” on the main dashboard to access the list of forms.

    Clicking on “Overview” next to a specific form, will take you to detailed statistics for that instance of the form.

    Please note that a graph is shown only if there has been new visitors and/or sign-ups in the past two weeks.

    Automation reports

    Click “Automation” on the main dashboard to access the list of workflows. Hit “View report” next to an automation to access data and analytics for the same.

    To see the overall workflow performance, click the trigger step at the very top of the automation map.

    To view the performance report of a particular step, click on the step in the map.

    Next, hit the “Full Report” button on the dashboard to the right to generate detailed stats on what happened here.

    Email campaign reports

    Immediately after the campaign has been sent, the system begins tracking, analyzing data, such as clicks, opens, bounces, and unique clicks. 

    The reports are updated every few minutes so rest assured you get the very best of LIVE data to view and work with, at all times.

    Click “Email campaign” -> On the campaign section, click “View report” to access the newsletters report. 

    The “Overview” section provides a convenient summary of your campaign’s key statistics. It covers:

    • Total emails sent — This is the total number of emails that were attempted to be sent;
    • Total emails delivered — This is the total number of emails actually delivered to the recipient email servers. Usually, unless there is a technical issue, this number should be the same as the total emails sent;
    • Opened — The number of emails opened by recipients. This is calculated by taking into account the total emails delivered (not accounting for hard or soft bounces);
    • Unique clicks — This shows you the number of unique clicks received on your campaign. If someone has clicked on a single link multiple times, Sender will count it as a single click only;
    • Hard-bounced — These are the incorrect or non-existent email addresses that could not be delivered to and hence should be cleaned from your list;
    • Soft-bounced — These are email addresses that could not be delivered to temporarily for technical reasons. Delivery will be attempted at least thrice before marking unreachable inboxes as hard bounces;
    • Unsubscribed — Subscribers who have chosen to opt out of your email campaigns for some reason;
    • Spam complaints (recipient’s reported spam) — These are contacts who have found your email marketing approach (for example, frequency) or content (for example, too aggressive or salesy) spammy and have reported you to their inbox provider such as Google, Yahoo etc.

    Each of the above summary counters is clickable. Click to view comprehensive statistics about that category.

    Clicking “View Subscriber Actions” will take you to a screen that will show you the break up by subscriber action taken. For example, by Opens, Clicks etc. Now you can tell which email addresses opened your email, which ones hard bounced and who opted out or marked you spam.

    One interesting use case is that clicking on the “Unopened” tab will let you see the subscribers who have not opened your campaign.

    Top links report: Sender tracks the performance of your links used in a particular campaign and presents this to you as shown below. It can be found by scrolling down in the overview section.

    Clicks represent the total number of clicks received for that link while unique clicks are the number of unique subscribers who clicked.

    Clicking on any of the links above will take you to the list of recipients who actually clicked on the link. You can export the list or add them all to a particular group.

    Operating system, Platform and Browser report:

    This report shows you the breakdown of your email campaign performance by the technology at the subscriber end e.g. the device, browser and operating systems being used to open the email.

    Visual graphs: Scroll some more down and you will see a graphical representation of the opens and clicks for this campaign by hour and by day.

    Breakdown by geo-location: The report towards the bottom of the page shows the breakdown of your subscribers list by their email providers’ servers location.

    SMS campaign reports

    Click “SMS Campaigns” and then hit the “View report” next to the SMS campaign whose performance you would like to view.

    Below in the overview section, you will find the following data counters:

    • Sent — Total number of text messages sent;(the amount of sent SMS campaigns);
    • Delivered — The number of text messages successfully delivered in this campaign;
    • Click rate — Percentage of recipients who clicked the link in your SMS;
    • Unsubscribed — Those who chose to opt out of your SMS campaigns;
    • Failed deliveries — These are the number of SMS recipients who could not be reached, either because of incorrect mobile numbers, the subscribers being out of range, or some other technical issues.

    If you got stuck on a specific task or can’t find a way to execute a particular job, contact our support team via LiveChat or [email protected] – we’re here to help 24/7.

  • Zotabox Integration

    Integrating Sender with your Zotabox account takes only a few steps.

    To begin the integration, go to your Zotabox dashboard and select “Email Service Integration.”

    From the list of possible integrations, click the “Sender” logo.

    To complete the integration, insert the API access token from your Sender account. Click here to learn how to obtain one.

    Once you connect your Sender account, you can choose the integration for the whole tool or the Contact Form alone. You must also select which group the subscribers should be put in your Sender account. Make sure you save your choices.

    That’s it!

    If you got stuck on a specific task or can’t find a way to execute a particular job, contact our support team via LiveChat or [email protected] – we’re here to help 24/7.

  • Set up spin-to-win form

    Creating a Spin & Win subscription form

    Spin & Win is a type of form that allows your visitor to spin a wheel upon subscribing and possibly win a coupon for a discount, free shipping and etc. 

    To create your own Spin & Win form go to Forms and click “Create a new form”.

    Then name the form and choose the “Spin-to-win wheel” form. 

    Select from one of the two Spin & Win templates.

    You are now presented with the form editor page.

    On the right-hand side you will find editing dashboard for Design, Settings and Behaviour of the form. The settings tab has the Wheel slice editor.

    Wheel slices’ setup

    Once you click to Edit the wheel slices, you will be presented with the Wheel slices setup.

    You can have from 4 to 12 wheel slices. They can be either losing or winning. To select that, toggle the “Losing slice” button for each slice. There are a few parameters that have to be set up:

    • Label – this text will be shown on the wheel, you can include the size of a discount or the type of prize this slice includes, e.g. free shipping, 30% off, etc.
    • Coupon code – this will be the coupon text that will be revealed to your winner subscribers and will be added to the prize custom field of your choice.
    • Probability – this sets up the probability for that specific slice to be spun.

     

    Please note that, the sum of all probabilities must add up to 100.

    Since losing slices don’t have coupon codes, you can provide value to be written to the custom field at the bottom of Wheel slices setup editor.

    You can switch the order of the slices by clicking and dragging the arrow icon.

    Wheel design

    The wheel is highly customisable and can be matched to any website and its design. From the usual design parameters there are four more to the Spin&Win form:

    • Wheel components – this allows you to edit container, pin and handle colors.
    • Wheel slices – this section is for editing wheel text size, color, font and creating the color pattern for wheel slices. You can create a patter with up to 4 repeating colors.
    • Wheel center – this gives you an option to add your company logo or any other image to the middle of the wheel. 
    • Branding – this gives you an option to tweak how the Sender logo appears on the form (for FreeForever accounts only).

    Spin & Win form behavior

    Form behavior possibilities are the same as for other pop-up forms. More on pop-up forms’ behavior here.

    If you choose to show your form on mobile devices as well, you can see how the form will appear there by switching the toggle. 

    Winning and Losing screens

    At the very top you can change which display you want to see and edit: Subscribe form, Winning screen, or Losing screen.

    The winning screen can be as simple or as comprehensive as you wish. The background and the appearance of the wheel will stay the same as you design it in the Subscribe form editor, but the rest can be tweaked.

    The losing screen is a lot simpler. The background and the wheel’s appearance will also stay the same. You can edit only the headline and the CTA (call to action) button.

    Installing the Spin & Win pop-up form

    The installation process of the Spin & Win pop-up form is the same as for any other pop-up form. The instructions can be found here.

    Winning and losing in action

    That’s it!

    If you got stuck on a specific task or can’t find a way to execute a particular job, contact our support team via LiveChat or [email protected] – we’re here to help 24/7.

  • Verify toll-free number

    Why do I need to get the Toll-Free number verified?

    From the 15th of May 2022, all toll-free numbers used to send SMS messages are required to get verified.

    This is an industry-wide change focused on consumer protection in fighting fraud, reducing spam, and ensuring that US and Canadian recipients only get the text messages they consented to receive. More on collecting SMS consent here.

    How to get a Toll-Free number?

    Please note that the SMS feature is available only for accounts with a Standard or Professional plan. So make sure you have one of the plans active before moving further.

    If you are purchasing a plan solely for the SMS feature, make sure that you are not planning to send SMS with the following content, as it is prohibited by CTIA and not allowed to be sent via Sender.net:

    • S.H.A.F.T. (Sex, Hate, Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco);

    • CBD, Vaping, marijuana/cannabis and any content associated with either one of these;

    • Gambling, Casino, and Bingo and any content associated with it;

    • Any High Risk Financial offers such as: loans; debt consolidation and reduction; investment opportunities; credit repair, tax relief, work from home programs.

    Here you will find more content and behaviors that are not permitted using our Toll-Free SMS service. Messages found to be associated with the following content may be blocked regardless of opt-in status:

    • Social Marketing

    • Financial services whether account notifications, marketing, collections or billing for:

      • High-risk/subprime lending/credit card companies
      • Auto loans
      • Mortgages
      • Payday loans
      • Short-term loans
      • Student loans
      • Debt consolidation/reduction/forgiveness

    •  Insurance

      • Car Insurance
      • Health Insurance

    • Gift cards

    • Sweepstake’s

    • Free prizes

    • Investment opportunities

    • Lead generation

    • Recruiting

    • Commission programs

    • Credit repair

    • Tax relief

    • Illicit or illegal substances 

    • Work from home

    • Get rich quick

    • UGGS and RayBan campaigns

    • Phishing

    • Fraud or scams

    • Deceptive marketing

    If none of these are included in your SMS content, continue with the following steps.

    Go to Settings -> SMS settings and click “Add phone number”.

    Then choose the “Toll-free” type, select a number from the list and click “Save and continue”.

    Your chosen toll-free number will now appear in your SMS settings list with “unverified” status. 

    How to verify your Toll-Free number?

    Once you have the toll-free number added to your account go to Settings -> SMS settings and click “Verify” next to the number you have added.

    In the first step will be reminded of the content that is not allowed to be sent via Sender.net. Double-check if none of it applies to you. If it doesn’t then click “Continue”.

    The next step is for you to update your website’s/store’s Terms of Service (TOS). Copy the text below and add it to your website’s TOS.

    Once you have done that, confirm it by ticking the box and click “Continue”.

    You will now be asked about your messaging plans, SMS consent collection process, and company information.

    IMPORTANT NOTE: make sure that your website is up and running before filling out the verification form. If not, the toll-free number will NOT get verified, and the whole verification application process will have to be redone.

    • Message Volume Per Month – choose the average number of SMS you plan to send per month.
    • Use Case Category – choose the best-fitting category that reflects the content you plan to send from the drop-down bar selection.
    • Provide Use Case Summary – provide a general idea of the use case and customer. Who are you messaging and why?
    • Provide sample message content – give an example of what your messages will look like to your recipients.
    • Workflow steps – describe the process step-by-step of collecting your recipients’ SMS consent.
    • Additional information – include any additional relevant information for the toll-free number verification.
    • Workflow Image URL – include the URL of the image of your workflow setup for collecting SMS consent.
    • WORK/HOME
    • Company info – fill in your company information.

    Once you fill in all the required information, submit the form, and you will see the status of the phone number set to “In progress”.

    Once the toll-free number is verified, you will receive a notification, the status in SMS settings will change to “Verified”. This means you can start sending SMS to your subscribers.

    That’s it!

    If you got stuck on a specific task or can’t find a way to execute a particular job, contact our support team via LiveChat or [email protected] – we’re here to help 24/7.

  • Collect SMS consent

    What is SMS consent? Why is it important?

    There are stricter requirements on what SMS consent means because it is more regulated than other marketing channels such as email:

    • SMS consent must be received from new subscribers and those that already agreed to receive your content via email. 
    • Please note that consent cannot be forced or made to look as required, which might result in fines or compliance issues.
    • New subscribers can provide both email and SMS consent in the same form, you simply must use a separate opt-in button or check-box for SMS.
    • Make sure to use disclosure language whenever you collect SMS consent, whether that is at the checkout, form or an email campaign.

    Consent for SMS Marketing in the EU

    To send SMS marketing in the EU, you must comply with the rules set out in the GDPR.

    GDPR

    GDPR compliant consent forms must include:

    • The type of data being collected, in this case, phone number.
    • How data will be used – what the subscriber will be opting-in for.
    • Details of the privacy policy.
    • How to easily opt out from receiving marketing SMS.

    Consent for SMS Marketing in the USA

    To send SMS marketing in the USA, you must comply with the rules set out in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and CAN-SPAM Act. It is important to remember that in addition to these federal regulations, there may be additional rules and requirements from state to state.

    TCPA

    The TCPA introduces a few rules that apply to SMS marketing:

    • Marketing SMS must include the identity of the sending business and contact information, including the number used to send the SMS.
    • Marketers cannot send marketing messages to consumers before 8 am or after 9 pm local time without their express consent.

    CAN-SPAM Act

    According to the CAN-SPAM Act :

    • You cannot send someone a marketing SMS without their express consent, even if you already have their contact details. Consent must be obtained separately for each contact method.
    • Consent is not  considered valid if the subscriber has not received a clear explanation of what kind of messages they agree to receive and their frequency.
    • All marketing SMS must be clearly identified as advertising.
    • Every marketing SMS must contain clear instructions on how to stop receiving future SMS.

    Make sure that you abide by the set regulations in the EU and the USA, and give the subscribers an option to unsubscribe whenever they want by inserting an unsubscribe link in your SMS campaigns. More on that here.

    How to collect SMS consent?

    There are several ways to collect SMS consent, and you should use at least one once you start SMS marketing. Others can be left for later or used only sporadically.

    Pop-up and embedded forms

    Using embedded or pop-up forms is a great way to collect email and SMS consent. It makes it easy for your website visitors to sign up, no matter if they are new or existing subscribers. More on creating subscription forms here.

    At Checkout

    You can also collect SMS consent via your ecommerce store by placing a checkbox at the checkout. It is the smoothest way for your customers to sign up. Check out Sender’s integrations with several ecommerce websites for more information:

    1. Shopify
    2. WooCommerce

    Via email

    If you already have a list of subscribers that have agreed to receive your content via email, you can use that to send them an email with a link to an embedded form to sign up for SMS as well. You should especially do that with your most engaged audiences. Click here to identify your most active subscribers.

    FAQ

    What if I already have my subscriber’s phone number, does it count as having consent for SMS?

    No. In addition to having your subscriber’s phone number, you must also receive their explicit consent to receive your marketing text messages.

    What if I already have consent for sending emails, can it also count as SMS consent?

    No. SMS consent must be received separately from email marketing consent.

    Can single opt-in button or checkbox be used for both SMS and email?

    No. This would put you at risk at falling out of compliance. You should always use separate button or checkbox for SMS consent.

    Is is enough for SMS marketing to have a general “agree to marketing” button or checkbox?

    No. Having a “agree to marketing” button or checkbox is not sufficient for SMS in most countries.

    Where should I put the disclosure language in a form?

    The best placing for the disclosure language would be above the SMS consent button or checkbox.

    That’s it!

    If you got stuck on a specific task or can’t find a way to execute a particular job, contact our support team via LiveChat or [email protected] – we’re here to help 24/7.