How to Create Custom Email Sequences

Event.Gives custom email sequences are series of automated emails that are sent to your audience in a specific order over a set period of time. Each email in the sequence is designed to build on the previous one, guiding recipients toward a goal—like registering for an event, making a donation, or staying informed about your organization. You can initiate your sequences using either a date or a trigger. Triggers are actions such as making a purchase, registering as a peer, placing a bid, etc... 

To create a custom email sequence, you first need to create your email templates. Click here for more information on how to set up your email templates prior to building your custom email sequences.

* Please note: Custom email sequences are currently in Beta. If you or your team would like to provide feedback, please email us at support@event.gives.

Creating A Custom Email Sequence

1. Since custom email sequences are made up of automated emails, you’ll first need to create those emails—referred to as “Templates.” While you can create and edit templates as you build your sequences, this is not considered best practice. Click here to learn more about setting up your templates.
2. To begin creating a sequence, you will need to navigate to the 'Messaging' tab. Next, click "Sequences," shown below.
3. Click "Add New Sequence" to begin.
4. Next, you will be prompted to name your sequence. This name is internal-facing and serves as a reference for you and your team. For example, if you’re setting up a sequence to thank donors after an event, you might name it “Post-Event Donor Thank You.” In this article, we’ll use that example to walk through the sequence creation process.
5. For this example, the toggle will remain set to “Yes” so the sequence is sent to all supporters. If you do not want to send this sequence to all supporters, set the toggle to “No.” Then, select the user tags you would like to include or exclude from receiving this sequence. Click "Save and Close."
6. Next, we’ll add the first email template to our sequence by selecting “Add Step.” In the example below, you’ll notice two additional sequences I previously created, labeled “Post Purchase” and “Post Join.”
7. After clicking "Add Step," name the initiator email and choose what will initiate the first email in this sequence. You can initiate a sequence based on a date (the first email will be sent on the selected date) or a trigger. 
   
   The available triggers include registration, making a purchase (checkout), and placing a bid. For peer-to-peer events, you can also initiate a sequence when someone registers as a peer. For this example, we will be selecting a date to initiate the email. 
   
8. After selecting the trigger, choose the first template to be sent when the trigger occurs or the selected date arrives. If you don’t have a template yet, you can create one by clicking “Create Template.” Click here to learn more about creating email templates. 
   
   For this example, we created and numbered our templates before setting up this sequence. Because they are numbered, it’s easy to locate the first email and click “Select,” as shown below.
9. After selecting the first template, you can choose “Clear Template” to pick a different one. If you’re satisfied with your selection, click “Save and Close.”
10. After clicking "Save and Close," you will add your next email template in your sequence. To do so, click "Add Step," shown below.

11. Next, you’ll name the second step in your sequence. We recommend using the same name as the template you plan to send for easy reference. Then, choose the number of days between the first email and this second email. We suggest setting this to more than 3 days to avoid sending supporters back-to-back emails and overwhelming them with information.

    After that, select the second email from your available templates. Since this is the second email in the sequence, locate your numbered templates and choose the second one, shown below.

12. After selecting your template, click "Save and Close."

13. You will repeat step 11 for every template you would like to add to your sequence. Once you have added all of the desired templates to your new sequence, click "Save and Close." After saving and closing, you will see your email steps as well as the send count, open count, and click count. 

    If you or a team member have questions about custom email sequences, please contact us at support@event.gives.