Creating and sending campaigns

Once SendGrid is enabled and configured for a site, a SendGrid widget appears on the edit screen of any published asset that supports SendGrid campaigns. Use the widget to create a campaign from the asset, then update, schedule, send, test, or disconnect it as its status changes.

note

The SendGrid widget only appears once the asset has been saved, and only if SendGrid is enabled for the site. If SendGrid is enabled but no API key is configured, the widget shows a warning instead of the usual options.

Creating a campaign

An asset must be published and have a valid URL before you can create a campaign from it. If it isn't, the widget shows a warning instead of a Create Campaign button.

To create a campaign:

1. In the SendGrid widget, click Create Campaign.

2. Using the following table as a reference, complete the fields as needed:

   Field	Required	Description
   Sender	Yes	The verified SendGrid sender identity to send from.
   Campaign Name	Yes	The internal name for the campaign in SendGrid. Not shown to recipients.
   Subject Line	Yes	The email subject line. Defaults to the asset's own subject, or the site's Default Subject, if left blank.
   Preheader	No	Preview text shown in email clients' inbox list. Defaults to the asset's own preheader, or the site's Default Preheader, if left blank.
   Contact Lists	Conditional	The SendGrid contact lists to send to. Select at least one contact list or segment.
   Segments	Conditional	The SendGrid segments to send to. Select at least one contact list or segment.
   Suppression Group	Conditional	The unsubscribe group to associate with the campaign. Required unless your SendGrid account has a default suppression group.
   Categories	No	Labels used to group the campaign in SendGrid reporting. Categories must be unique.

3. Click Create Campaign.

Brightspot creates the campaign in SendGrid and stores its campaign ID and status against the asset. The widget then shows an Options menu for managing the campaign, along with its current status.

Updating a draft campaign

While a campaign is in draft status, you can update its content, audience, or categories.

To update a draft campaign:

1. In the SendGrid widget, click Options, and click Update Campaign.
2. Brightspot prefills the form with the campaign's current settings from SendGrid. Using the field reference in Creating a campaign, make any changes needed.
3. Click Update Campaign.

note

Updates may take a few moments to reflect in SendGrid due to external processing.

note

If you edit the asset's content after creating or scheduling a campaign, the widget shows an "unsynced changes" warning until you update the campaign to match the asset's current content.

Scheduling a campaign

While a campaign is in draft status, you can schedule it to send at a future date and time.

To schedule a campaign:

1. In the SendGrid widget, click Options, and click Schedule.
2. In the Schedule Date and Time field, type a date and time in the future.
3. Click Schedule.

note

If the campaign is using your SendGrid account's default suppression group, Brightspot shows a warning suggesting you choose a specific group instead. Update the campaign to change it—see Updating a draft campaign.

Sending a campaign immediately

While a campaign is in draft status, you can send it right away instead of scheduling it.

To send a campaign immediately:

1. In the SendGrid widget, click Options, and click Send Now.
2. Select the Confirm Send checkbox.
3. Click Send Now.

note

If the campaign is using your SendGrid account's default suppression group, Brightspot shows a warning suggesting you choose a specific group instead. Update the campaign to change it—see Updating a draft campaign.

warning

Sending a campaign immediately sends it to every selected contact right away and cannot be undone.

Sending a test email

You can send a test email for a campaign at any point before it has been sent.

To send a test email:

1. In the SendGrid widget, click Options, and click Send Test Email.
2. In the Email Addresses field, type one or more email addresses, separated by commas.
3. Click Send Test.

Brightspot sends the campaign's current subject and content to each address as a transactional email from the campaign's sender.

Unscheduling a campaign

While a campaign is in scheduled status, you can cancel the scheduled send and return it to draft.

To unschedule a campaign:

1. In the SendGrid widget, click Options, and click Unschedule.
2. Select the Confirm Unschedule checkbox.
3. Click Unschedule.

Viewing campaign settings and stats

At any point after a campaign is created, you can click View in SendGrid in the SendGrid widget to open the campaign directly on the SendGrid website.

Once a campaign is scheduled or sent, you can also click Options, and click View Settings to view the campaign's current settings, pulled live from SendGrid, in read-only form. While a campaign is in draft status, use Updating a draft campaign instead—the update form is prefilled with the campaign's current settings.

Once a campaign has been sent, the widget also shows a report summary with emails delivered, unique opens, open rate, and unique clicks.

Disconnecting a campaign

Disconnecting removes the local association between the asset and its SendGrid campaign. It does not delete the campaign in SendGrid.

To disconnect a campaign:

1. In the SendGrid widget, click Options, and click Disconnect from Campaign.
2. Select the Confirm Disconnect checkbox.
3. Click Disconnect.

warning

Disconnecting only removes the association between the asset and the campaign in Brightspot—the campaign itself is not deleted from SendGrid.