Text & Email Campaigns

Create automated sequences of emails and text messages (drip campaigns) to follow up with guests, attendees, volunteers, or any audience—on your timing.

Path: Communications → Campaigns

1) Campaign Basics

• Campaigns support Email and SMS/Text.
• Each Campaign Item is one message in one channel (email or text). Mix channels within a campaign as needed.
• Messages use your existing Email/Text Templates from the Communications section.
• Each Campaign Item is sent only once per recipient.
• Global safety: a person will not receive more than three campaign items within a rolling 24-hour period.

2) Create a New Campaign

1. Go to Communications → Campaigns and click + Add New.
2. Complete the New Campaign form:
   • Name — Internal name (e.g., Baptism Follow-Up).
   • Description — What this campaign does.
   • Mailing List Pseudonym — The “list name” shown on unsubscribe (e.g., Getting Baptized Updates).
   • Mailing List Description — Shown on the unsubscribe/preferences page so people know what they’re opting out of.
   • Start Date — If blank, the campaign is active immediately once it has messages & recipients.
   • End Date — Last day people can be added to this campaign. People added after this date will not receive items.
   • Complete Campaign after End Date — If checked, people added before the End Date will continue receiving their remaining scheduled messages even if those occur after the End Date.
   • Carbon Copy / Blind Carbon Copy (email only) — CC/BCC addresses that receive a copy of every email this campaign sends.
   • Sync Recipients
     • Checked: Everyone receives each item on the same calendar date/time (good for devotionals or calendar-based reminders).
     • Unchecked: Items send relative to when each person was added (true drip/journey timing like Day 1, Day 3, etc.).
3. Click Save to open the Campaign detail page and add Messages and Recipients.

3) Add Campaign Messages (Items)

1. On the Campaign detail page, in Campaign Messages, click the + button.
2. Fill in:
   • Name — Internal label (e.g., #1 Glad you signed up).
   • Description — Optional notes.
   • Message Type — Email or Text.
   • Template — Choose an existing template.
   • Send — Timing:
     • Units: minutes, hours, days, or weeks
     • Relative to: e.g., after added to campaign, before end of campaign
   • Time — Leave Send at any time checked, or uncheck and set a no earlier than time (e.g., 7:00 AM).
   • Attachment (email only) — Optional file attachment.
3. Click Save. Repeat for each step in your sequence.

The messages table shows item timing, sent count, and open rate.

4) Add & Manage Recipients

Ways to Add Recipients

1. Manually (from the Campaign)
   • In Recipients, click +, select a person, or enter their name/email/phone.
   • (Optional) Check Save as new Person to create a People record.
2. People Lists (Batch)
   • From a filtered People list, use batch actions → Add to Campaign.
3. Automations
   • Add to campaign when someone submits a Digital Guest Card, registers for an Event, completes a Form, etc.

Duplicate protection: If someone is already a recipient, Connection Card Pro will not add them again (manual adds show a warning; automations skip duplicates).

Recipient Icons & Actions

• 📱 Phone icon — text-capable phone on file.
• ✉️ Envelope icon — email on file.

• ⏸ Pause — temporarily stop future items for this person.
• ✏️ Edit — update their email/phone for this campaign.
• 🗑 Remove — they won’t receive further items.

Respecting Preferences: People marked Do not email are automatically excluded from campaign emails. If a recipient unsubscribes from a campaign item, they are removed from that campaign’s mailing list (based on your Mailing List Pseudonym/Description), not from all communications.

5) Monitor a Campaign

• Campaign Messages — timing, sent counts, open rates.
• Recipients — who’s in the campaign and last message state.
• Recent Messages Sent — log of the last 96 hours.

You can pause/edit individual items or recipients without stopping the entire campaign.

6) Example Setups

Example 1 — Baptism Follow-Up

1. Create Baptism Campaign.
2. Mailing List Pseudonym: “Getting Baptized”. Description: “Follow-up emails with important information about your upcoming baptism.”
3. Enter Start Date; no End Date.
4. Leave Sync Recipients unchecked (drip timing by join date).
5. Add items:
   • #1 Glad you Signed Up — Email, T+ 1 minute.
   • #2 Things to Know — Email, T+ 1 day, no earlier than 7:00 AM.
   • #3 Invite your Friends & Family — Email or Text, T+ 4 days.
6. Add recipients automatically via an Automation on your Baptism form or event.

Example 2 — 40-Day Devotional

1. Create Daily Devotional campaign.
2. Set a Start Date and an End Date 40–45 days later; check Complete Campaign after End Date.
3. Check Sync Recipients so everyone receives the devotional on the same calendar day.
4. Add 40 items (Day 1–Day 40), each set to send morning-of (e.g., no earlier than 7:00 AM).
5. Add recipients via a People list or a signup form that adds to the campaign.

7) Tips & Best Practices

• Choose “Sync Recipients” wisely:
  • Unchecked for journeys triggered by an individual action (guest card, registration).
  • Checked for calendar-based series (devotionals, first-of-month reminders).
• Use CC/BCC sparingly to avoid cluttering staff inboxes.
• Name campaigns clearly (e.g., Event Follow-Up — Easter 2026).
• Mind throttling: no one receives more than three items in 24 hours.
• Unsubscribe clarity: set a meaningful Mailing List Pseudonym and Description so recipients understand what they’re opting out of.