Sometimes you might want to avoid sending content to your contacts who may find it insensitive. For example, you might not want to send Mother’s Day related campaigns to contacts who would prefer not to receive them.
You can use contact data fields to capture and use this information when sending campaigns for sensitive events.
Solution overview
An end-to-end solution involves four parts:
A custom data field to store the information you collect.
A program to update the data field.
A landing page where contacts can confirm their opt-out.
A campaign which invites your contacts to opt-out of future campaigns about the sensitive event.
The first step is to create your data field. Then you need to build the campaign and landing page that work together to solicit preferences, and finally, the program to make everything work.
Before you start
Things you need to know:
We’re setting things up here to control Mother’s Day emails, but it’s easily adaptable for any potentially sensitive events.
1. Create your opt-out data field
You must create a contact data field for the event that you want to offer opt-outs for.
To create a data field for Mother’s Day:
Expand the User menu and go to Settings > Contacts > Contact data fields.
Select the Custom data fields tab.
Select NEW DATA FIELD, and enter a name. For example, MOTHERS-DAY-OPT-OUT.
Expand the Data type drop-down menu, and select Yes/No.
For Default value, select No.
For Access, select Private.
Expand the Folder drop-down menu and choose where you want to store the data field.
We’ve decided to store all our sensitive event opt-out data fields in one specific folder. If you’re creating one for multiple events, we recommend you do the same.Select CREATE.
2. Create a program to update the data fields
The program takes the responses from your contacts and ensures their choices are updated accordingly.
To create the program that update the data field:
Go to Automation > Programs, and select NEW PROGRAM.
Select Blank template, then enter a name and choose a location for your program.
We‘re going to enrol contacts directly from a form, so select the start node, then select Set schedule.
Select the No scheduled enrollments radio button, then select APPLY.
Drag the Update contact node onto the canvas.
Select the Update contact node, then select Have the selected data field updated.
Select SELECT DATA FIELD, and choose the event data field you created in Step 1.
Expand the Set value to drop-down menu, and select Is Yes, then select APPLY.
Drag an End node onto the canvas to finish.
To activate the program, select ACTIVATE. Don't worry, it won’t do anything yet.
3. Create a landing page
When a contact clicks the sensitive events opt-out link in your email or SMS campaign, they go to a landing page that asks them to confirm their choice.
To create the landing page:
Create a new page.
Insert a Text box form block for the contact’s email address, and set the Question type to Contact email.
Drag an Action buttons block onto your page, and set the Submit button text, for example, Opt me out.
Select Form Options > Submit actions, and for Enrol on to program select the program you created in step 2.
Design and modify the rest of the page as you want it.
Save and publish the page.
4. Create your campaign
This is the campaign you need to send in the run-up to the sensitive event.
You can use our Sensitive event opt-out free email template to help you design the email campaign.
Learn how in Use an email template.
To create your campaign:
Create a new email campaign.
Insert a link to the landing page you created above.
Design and modify the rest of the campaign as needed.
Save the campaign.
Collect your opt-outs
Now, ahead of the sensitive event, you just need to decide which of your contacts to send your campaign to. You can select any of your existing lists or segments, or create a new one specifically for the sensitive event opt-out campaign. Send the opt-out campaign you created in Step 4 to this audience, allowing them to opt-out from further campaigns on this topic.
For all future campaigns you send out for the sensitive event, be sure to always exclude contacts that have your opt-out data field for the event set to yes. You can do this by adding an exclude rule to a segment:
