Configure a Data Export File Campaign: Sending

The first time you log into Messaging, the platform prompts you to set your time zone. Once the time zone is set, all system dates and times will display according to that time zone (this setting can later be modified through the Update Profile screen). However, when scheduling a Campaign, you can manually overwrite the user profile setting, and establish a different time zone to be used for just this Campaign.

To establish the time zone used for all scheduling activities related to this Campaign:

1. In the Tool Ribbon, click Options > Set Time Zone. The "Set Time Zone" dialog box is displayed.

2. From the "Time Zone" drop-down menu, select the desired time zone

3. Click ok.

When a Regular One-off Campaign is launched, it goes through two separate and distinct phases: building messages and sending messages.

In the "message building" phase, the platform identifies the intended recipients of the Campaign, identifies all the possible content variations based on the Dynamic Content options used in the Campaign, and determines the Personalization values based on any Personalization fields used in the content. The steps in this first phase are often collectively referred to as the "queue" process.

In the "message sending" phase, the system merges together the data and the content in order to assemble the final messages. These messages are then transmitted to the recipients.

Note: For more details on the Campaign scheduling options available in Messaging, please see Campaign Scheduling.

Send Schedule

The Send Schedule consists of the following parts:

• Send Schedule Start -- Defines when you want to start the Send Schedule to go "live" -- either immediately after the Campaign is launched, or at some specified date and time in the future.  You can also set an end date / time when you want to stop sending messages.

• Send Frequency -- Define a frequency when the platform will send messages. If the platform doesn't complete the sending process within a single interval, the remaining recipients will stay queued until the next frequency interval.

• Send Window -- Defines a limited daily time range, or "window," during which time the platform will send messages. If the Campaign doesn't complete the sending process during the Sending Window, the remaining recipients will stay queued until the next window. Or, you can select to send messages all day long, without the use of a Sending Window.

To define the Send Schedule:

1. Next to "Send Schedule," select either:

• If you want the Send Schedule to go "live" immediately when the Campaign is launched, select "Start after Queueing."

• If you want to set a custom start date / time at some point in the future, select "Start on," then enter the start date and time for the Send Schedule.

Note: For a Regular One-off Campaign, the "Start on" option is selected by default, which prompts you to specify a Send Schedule start date and time; this default configuration is designed to prevent "accidental" message deployments. 

2. Optionally, click "Advanced Options" to expand it.

3. Define the send frequency:

• Daily: Enter an interval (every "X" days).

• Weekly: Select one or more days of the week.

• Monthly: Select a specific number ("15th of the month" for example), or define a business rule to calculate a date ("second Tuesday of every month" for example).

• Yearly: Select a specific month / date ("January 15th" for example), or define a business rule to calculate a date ("second Wednesday in August" for example).

Some channels allows you to define a "Send Window," during which time the platform will sent messages.

4. Select the time of day when messages are sent:

• To send all day long, select the "Send All Day" tab.

• To define a Send Window, select the "Send Only Between" tab. Enter a specific start time and end time.

• To use the Stop Night Delivery (SND) feature, select the "Send All Day and Stop at Night" tab. The SND feature allows you to automatically suspend message delivery during the night, and then optionally resume again in the morning. When you select this tab, you'll see the start and stop times for your sending window; these times are configured at the client level by an Administrator, and can't be edited. Select what you want to do with any unsent messages:

• To resume sending all unsent messages at the beginning of the next sending window, select the "and carry over the next day" radio button.

• To delete all unsent messages, select the "and no carry over the next day" radio button.

Note: Stop Night Delivery must be enabled for a Sender Profile. For more information on enabling this feature, please speak to your Customer Service Representative.

5. By default, the Campaign's Send Schedule will run indefinitely, until the Campaign is stopped or cancelled. Optionally, to enter a Send Schedule end date, select "Stop Sending On," then enter the end date and time. 

Note: If the Campaign does not complete sending during a Send Window, the remaining recipients will stay queued until the next window. 

Advanced Queue Schedule

To define the Advanced Queue Schedule:

1. Next to "Advanced Queue Schedule," select either:

• If you want the Queue Schedule to begin immediately when the Campaign is launched, select "Begin immediately" (this option is selected by default).

• If you want to set a custom start date / time at some point in the future, select "Begin on," and select one of the following options:

• To set a specific start date and time, select "Date" from the drop-down menu, then select a date and a time.

• To set a start date relative to the Send Schedule (for example, "Two hours before the Send Schedule start"), select "Relative Date" from the drop-down menu. Enter a value, then select either "Days" or "Hours."

When a Date-triggered Campaign is launched, it goes through two separate and distinct phases: building messages and sending messages.

In the "message building" phase, the platform identifies the intended recipients of the Campaign, identifies all the possible content variations based on the Dynamic Content options used in the Campaign, and determines the Personalization values based on any Personalization fields used in the content. The steps in this first phase are often collectively referred to as the "queue" process.

In the "message sending" phase, the system merges together the data and the content in order to assemble the final messages. These messages are then transmitted to the recipients.

Send Schedule

The Send Schedule controls when the Send Schedule is initially determined to be active, or to go "live."  Please note that the Send Schedule start time controls ONLY the first deployment of the Campaign. All subsequent deployments after the first one will be controlled by the Recurrence Schedule Frequency (described below).

To define the Send Schedule:

1. Next to "Send Schedule, select either:

• If you want the Send Schedule to go "live" immediately when the Campaign is launched, select "Start after queueing" (this option is selected by default).

• If you want to set a custom start date / time at some point in the future, select "Start on," then select a date and a time.

Note: The "Advanced Options" displayed beneath the Send Schedule are not used within a Date-triggered Campaign.

Recurrence Schedule

Once the Send Schedule in a Date-triggered Campaign is "live," the Recurrence Schedule is used to control all subsequent message building and sending phases. The Recurrence Schedule consists of the following parts:

• Recurrence Schedule Start: This component controls when you want the Recurrence Schedule to be active, or to go "live." You can either select "Immediately," meaning the Recurrence Schedule will go live immediately after the Campaign is launched, or you can set a start date / time in the future. You can also optionally set an end date / time for the Recurrence Schedule, or let the schedule run indefinitely (until the Campaign is stopped or cancelled).

• Recurrence Schedule Frequency: Once the Recurrence and Send Schedules are "live," this component controls when, and how often, the Campaign will build and send messages.

• Recurrence Schedule Window: This component allows you to define a limited time range, or "window," during which time the platform will build and send messages. If the Campaign doesn't complete the process during the Recurrence Schedule Window, the remaining messages will get built and sent during the next window.

To set the Recurrence Schedule:

1. Next to "Recurrence Schedule," select either:

• If you want the Recurrence Schedule to go "live" immediately when the Campaign is launched, select "Begin immediately" (this option is selected by default).

• If you want to set a custom start date / time at some point in the future, select "Begin on," then select a date and a time.

2. Define the Recurrence Schedule Frequency:

• Daily: Enter an interval (every "X" days). The default setting is "every 1 day."

• Weekly: Select one or more days of the week.

• Monthly: Select a specific number ("15th of the month" for example), or define a business rule to calculate a date ("second Tuesday of every month" for example).

• Yearly: Select a specific month / day ("January 15th" for example), or define a business rule to calculate a date ("second Wednesday in August" for example).

4. Define the time of day when messages are created and sent. The default option is "once a day, at 9:00 AM."

• Once a day: Select the time of day when the system should create and send messages.

• Several times a day:

  • Define the daily frequency for when the system should create and send messages.

  • Optionally define a Recurrence Schedule Window, during which time the system will create and send messages.

5. By default, the Campaign's Recurrence Schedule will run indefinitely, until the Campaign is stopped or cancelled. Optionally, to enter a Recurrence Schedule end date, select "Stop Building On," then enter the end date and time.

When an Event-triggered Campaign is launched, it goes through two separate and distinct phases: building messages and sending messages.

In the "message building" phase, the platform identifies the intended recipients of the Campaign, identifies all the possible content variations based on the Dynamic Content options used in the Campaign, and determines the Personalization values based on any Personalization fields used in the content. The steps in this first phase are often collectively referred to as the "queue" process.

In the "message sending" phase, the system merges together the data and the content in order to assemble the final messages. These messages are then transmitted to the recipients.

Send Schedule

Send Schedules are used to control the message sending phase. The Send Schedule consists of the following parts:

• Send Schedule Start -- Defines when you want the Send Schedule to go "live"  -- either immediately after the Campaign is launched, or at some specified date and time in the future.  You can also set an end date / time when you want to stop the Send Schedule.

• Send Frequency -- Once the Send Schedule has started, the send frequency defines when, and how often, the system deploys messages. The send frequency is intended for use only in Event-triggered Campaigns, which can deploy repeatedly (i.e., when they're triggered). The default send frequency for Event-triggered Campaigns is: daily, every day, all day long.

• Send Window --  Some channels allow you to define a limited daily time range, or "window," during which time the platform will send messages. If the Campaign doesn't complete the sending process during the Sending Window, the remaining recipients will stay queued until the next window. Or, you can select to send messages all day long, without the use of a Sending Window.

To define the Send Schedule:

1. Next to "Send Schedule, select either:

• If you want the Send Schedule to go "live" immediately when the Campaign is launched, select "Start after queueing" (this option is selected by default).

• If you want to set a custom start date / time at some point in the future, select "Start on," then select a date and a time.

2. Optionally, click "Advanced Options" to expand it.

3. Define the Send Frequency:

• Daily: Enter an interval (every "X" days).

• Weekly: Select one or more days of the week.

• Monthly: Select a specific number ("15th of the month" for example) or define a business rule to calculate a date ("second Tuesday of every month" for example).

• Yearly: Select a specific month / date ("January 15th" for example) or define a business rule to calculate a date ("second Wednesday in August" for example).

4. Some channels allows you to define a "Send Window," during which time the platform will sent messages. If the Campaign does not complete sending during a Send Window, the remaining recipients will stay queued until the next window. Select the time of day when messages are sent:

• To send all day long, select the "Send All Day" tab (this option is selected by default).

• To define a Send Window, select the "Send Only Between" tab. Enter a specific start time and end time.

• To use the Stop Night Delivery (SND) feature, select the "Send All Day and Stop at Night" tab. The SND feature allows you to automatically suspend message delivery during the night, and then optionally resume again in the morning. When you select this tab, you'll see the start and stop times for your sending window; these times are configured at the client level by an Administrator, and can't be edited. Select what you want to do with any unsent messages:

• To resume sending all unsent messages at the beginning of the next sending window, select the "and carry over the next day" radio button.

• To delete all unsent messages, select the "and no carry over the next day" radio button.

Note: Stop Night Delivery must be enabled for a Sender Profile. For more information on enabling this feature, please speak to your Customer Service Representative.

5. By default, the Campaign will send messages indefinitely, until the Campaign is stopped or cancelled. Optionally, to enter a Send Schedule end date, select "Stop Sending On," then enter the end date and time.

Advanced Queue Schedule

The Advance Queue Schedule controls the message building phase. The Queue Schedule consists of the following parts:

• Queue Schedule Start -- Defines when you want to start the Queue Schedule to go "live" -- either immediately after the Campaign is launched, or at some specified date and time in the future. You can also set an end date / time when you want to stop building messages.

• Queue Schedule Frequency -- Once the Queue Schedule has started and is considered "live," the frequency defines when, and how often, the system builds new messages.

• Building Window: Define a limited time range, or "window," during which time the platform will build messages. If the Campaign doesn't complete the building process during the Building Window, the remaining messages will get built during the next window. 

To define the Advance Queue Schedule:

1. Next to  "Advanced Queue Schedule" section, select either:

• If you want the Queue Schedule to go "live" immediately when the Campaign is launched, select "Begin immediately" (this option is selected by default).

• If you want to set a custom start date / time at some point in the future, select "Begin on," then select a date and a time.

2. Define a custom Queue Schedule Frequency:

• Daily: Enter an interval (every "X" days). The default setting is "every 1 day."

• Weekly: Select one or more days of the week.

• Monthly: Select a specific number ("15th of the month" for example) or define a business rule to calculate a date ("second Tuesday of every month" for example).

• Yearly: Select a specific month / date ("January 15th" for example) or define a business rule to calculate a date ("second Wednesday in August" for example).

3. Define the time of day when messages are created:

• Immediately:  The system creates messages immediately after the triggering event occurs (this is the default setting).

• Once a Day: Select the time of day when the system should create messages.

• Several Times a Day: Define the daily frequency for when the system should create messages.

4. Optionally, using the "Don't Run Before" and "Don't Run After" drop-down menus, define a Building Window during which time the system will create messages.

5. By default, the Campaign will build messages indefinitely, until the Campaign is stopped or cancelled. Optionally, to enter a Queue Schedule end date, select "Stop Building On," then enter the end date and time.

The FTP Delivery Schedule controls when, and how often, the Campaign output file should be sent to the FTP Destination (or Destinations) that you defined for this Campaign. If you don't enter a custom FTP Delivery Schedule, the system will automatically transmit your Campaign output file once, as soon as the message deployment step is complete.

To define the FTP Delivery schedule:

1. Scroll down to the "Sending" section. If necessary, click on "FTP Delivery Options" to expand it.

2. Select "Start schedule on." Enter a start date and time.

3. Optionally, define a delivery cycle:

• Daily: Enter an interval (every "X" days).

• Weekly: Select one or more days of the week.

• Monthly: Select either:

• A specific number ("15th of the month" for example).

• Define a business rule to calculate a date ("second Tuesday of every month" for example).

• Yearly: Select either:

• A specific month / date ("January 15th" for example).

• Define a business rule to calculate a date ("second Wednesday in August" for example).

4. Define how often you want the delivery schedule to run:

• Once a day: Enter a specific start time.

• Several times a day: Define an interval in either minutes or hours. Also, define the active window during which messages can be sent by selecting the starting and ending times for this window.

5. Select how long this schedule should run, either "Do not end schedule" or "End schedule on." If you select "End schedule on," enter the stop date and time.

If you need to remove the custom FTP Delivery schedule, simply select "Start schedule immediately."