How do I send Birthday and anniversary campaigns?

This is a step-by-step guide to sending An anniversary of a date campaigns.

IMPORTANT: Import your contacts first

Its important to import your contacts first before creating your campaign.

Click on the Contacts tab and add a new contact list. Now you'll need to import your contacts from a spreadsheet. When importing contacts ensure that you format the dates in your spreadsheet as dd/mm/yyyy if you import a CSV file or set the column data type to "date" if you import XLS file.


Name your campaign

Click Create eCard then enter an eCard Campaign name

 name-the-campaign2.png

 

Choose an eCard design

Cclick Select on the eCard design you want to send. NOTE: Thank you card designs are ideal for Anniversary campaigns as you can add any message you like to these cards.

select-card.png

Click Next when you're done.

 

Choose when to send the eCard

In this case we will choose An anniversary of a date.

anniversary-of-date.png

 

Select the list and choose the date field

Select the list you uploaded previously containing the recipients and date you'd like to match. If you have imported a new date for a staff anniversary campaign for example - select the date field you imported on your list.

select-list-date

 

Enter the time of day you'd like your cards sent

ekarda will automatically send cards at your preferred time-of-day. For example - if you'd like to send you birthday cards at 9am, select 'Send this email 9 hours after each contacts Birthday (or other) date. See the example below.

date-select.gif

 

Enter a confirmation email

When your campaign has completed sending - an email will be sent to this address.

Click Next when you're done.

confirm-email-immediately.png

 

Check the number of recipients and click 'Next'

Take a look at the number of recipients added and make sure this is correct. ekarda will automatically add all recipients that contain a date for the selected Date field.

When you are happy to proceed, click Next

birthday-total

 

Compose your eCard

Follow the instructions on the screen to compose your eCard.

To personalise each card with each recipient's name and or company - click on Insert personalisation.

compose-ecard.png

 

IMPORTANT:  To replace the first name of each of your contacts - use the tag [firstname].

If sending your campaign to more than one recipient - You MUST use the [firstname] tag so that each recipient sees their name in thier eCard.

 

Select your music

If you have chosen to send an interactive card - you'll also need to select music for your card.  

You can listen to the different music options by clicking the play button.

select-music.png

 

Select or add a logo

If your logo is already present - hover over the logo and click Select and proceed to the next step.

Otherwise you can upload a PNG (this is best - especially if the logo has a transparent background), JPG or GIF.

Click Add a new logo and then click Choose File to locate your logo file on your computer. 

browse-logo.png

Once you've located and selected your logo - insert your Web Address into the text box.  
Your web address should look like this: www.company.com (i.e. not 'http://')

When you're done, click Submit

Ensure your logo is selected and click Next

logo-selected.png

 

Check your 'Subject & Sender Details' are correct

Check the Subject & Sender Details are correct.

preview-overview.png

 

Preview your eCard

Check the preview of the Card Design & Message.

Make sure you are happy with your message and your logo is displayed above the card.

previewand-send.jpg

IMPORTANT: Check your personalisation tags are included.  To replace the first name of each of your contacts - use the tag [firstname].

You should see the [firstname] tag when previewing your eCard as you can see in the image below.

 

 firstname.jpg

If you're sending an Interactive eCard -  you can also preview the Interactive card.  Make sure you're

Send your campaign!

Well done - you've completed all the steps.  Click the Send button!

 

Reports and Confirmation

Once your campaign has been sent , status will change to Completed on your My eCards page.  

You may need to click 'refresh' on the My eCards page to view status changes.  

Once your campaign has been sent, ekarda will also send you a confirmation email.