AEvent has the native ability to send the right email at the right time to the right audience using Mailchimp Automations. In order to achieve this, there are a few items that need to be set up, both inside AEvent and Mailchimp.
In this tutorial, we're building out a single webinar timeline that includes email sequences being sent by our ESP (Mailchimp).
In order to achieve this, we need to create timeline actions within AEvent that will add a tag to the registrant at set times leading up to the webinar. We're then going to create single-email automations within Mailchimp that are triggered to send when these tags are added.
As best practice, we like to send out reminders 1 hour before and another 15 minutes prior to the start of the webinar. So we need to create a few timeline actions that will add a tag to the registrant exactly 1 hour before and another that will do the same thing 15 minutes before.
☑️Remember:
We can use Add a Tag inside AEvent or Mailchimp when setting up this integration
to create the tags, aevent-1hrbefore, and aevent-1hrbefore
(which also creates them at the other end).
Once we've created and added the action to the timeline, as shown above, it will look like this:
Now with that done, we need to link them together with automations within Mailchimp.
💡 Note:
If we simply wanted to add a tag for tracking purposes, we would be done.
(After the webinar ends, tagging for CRM tracking purposes is invaluable, but that isn't what this tutorial is about.)
Creating a Mailchimp Automation
Next, within our Mailchimp account, we're going to create 2 Automations, which are initialized by the tags we created in AEvent.
Open your Mailchimp App and navigate to Automations.
Step 1: We need to create the automation & "build from scratch"
Step 2: Choose a starting point & select "Tag added"
Step 3: Select the Tag we created and click "Save"
Step 4: Select "Send email"
Now, you just need to create and edit the email within the Mailchimp email editor.
💪Pro Tip: Utilize Dynamic Personalization Variables In Your Emails
You can set up the emails to be evergreen with date/time of the webinar presentation, the replay sequence, evolving join/replay links, etc.
You have access to all the Personalization / Custom Fields that you created in AEvent that have been sent along from the registration process.
And that's it! With the automation we've now created in AEvent and Mailchimp, ALL registrants that register for the webinar, regardless of frequency or time that it is running, will receive the 1 hour before email.
So, we've walked through Creating a timeline action within AEvent using Mailchimp Add Tags. We then created a reactive automation within Mailchimp that will send an email when the tag is added, and we wrote an email to be sent in the Mailchimp email editor.
👍 Best Practice
Always divide emails by automation/sequence leading up to the event.
Now, if we were building out a timeline/email sequence, say for Non Attendees, we would create everything as we did in this tutorial, however we would also have added additional emails to the Mailchimp Automation that was triggered by AEvent. Send an email, wait 1 day, send another, etc.
Below, we've provided a suggested email sequence (Indoctrination sequence not required, but we HIGHLY recommend using one.):
On-Registration Emails (single campaign email)
Sent at the time of registration: aevent-onregistration
Indoctrination Emails (single campaign emails):
3 days before (9am EST): aevent-3daysbefore
2 days before (9am EST): aevent-2daysbefore
1 day before (9am EST): aevent-1daybefore
Day of (9am EST): aevent-dayof
Day of (1 hour before): aevent-1hour
Day of (5 minute before): aevent-5min
Post Webinar Emails (To initiate entire replay/closeout sequence):
Non-Attendee: aevent-nonattendee
Attendee: aevent-attendee
☝️ Final Note:
In this tutorial, we created timeline actions to initiate automations using Mailchimp,
if we were to want to create an automation using an Add-Tag on registration, the setup process would be the same.
