Set up marketing campaigns in SendGrid
Follow these steps to create contact lists and set up marketing campaigns in SendGrid.
Create contact lists
Create different contact lists for various purposes. For example, create a list for new customers to trigger automated welcome emails, or create a list for newsletter subscribers to receive monthly updates via Single Send.
To create contact lists, go to Marketing > Contacts > Create > New List.
Create unsubscribe groups
SendGrid offers two unsubscribe options. "Global Unsubscribe" allows recipients to opt out of all emails. "Group Unsubscribe" lets recipients stop receiving specific types of emails while continuing to receive others (e.g., unsubscribe from newsletters but continue receiving service announcements). The group option enables email preference management by category.
Create unsubscribe groups in Marketing > Unsubscribe Groups or Suppressions > Unsubscribe Groups.
Setup automations
An automation consists of time-delayed email sequences linked to one contact list. When a new contact joins the list, the sequence triggers automatically. Contacts receive all emails unless they unsubscribe.
To create an automation, go to Marketing > Automations and click the Create an Automation button. Enter a name, select a contact list, specify an unsubscribe group, and create email messages.
Use SendGrid's built-in drag-and-drop email editor to create messages. Add personalization tags like first name, which will be replaced with actual contact values when sent.
Add unsubscribe links to your email message using drag-and-drop components.
Send a test email to preview the final appearance. Once satisfied, activate the automation. Note that automations start immediately upon activation—when new contacts join the list, they'll receive emails automatically.
Setup Single Sends
Creating a Single Send is similar to creating an automation, with two key differences:
- It can be associated with multiple contact lists
- You must specify a date and time for sending the emails
Now you are ready to add Maximizer entries to SendGrid emails.
Add Maximizer entries to SendGrid campaigns
Maximizer contacts, individuals and leads can be added to SendGrid campaigns. When adding Maximizer entries to SendGrid, add them to contact lists rather than directly to automations or Single Sends.
Add Address Book entries
To add Address Book entries to SendGrid emails, select entries, open the Actions menu, and click Add to SendGrid Emails.
You'll need to select the contact list associated with your desired automation. Choose the appropriate list from the popup window and click Add.
A confirmation message will show the number of entries added, number of entries already existing in the list, and number of skipped entries. Entries won't be added if:
- They're flagged as Do Not Solicit by Email
- They don’t have an email address
- They're company entries (only contacts and individuals can be added)
Please note that adding entries to SendGrid contact lists takes time. The system processes approximately 1,000 entries every 8 minutes. Once an entry is added to a list, automated emails will begin sending.
Notes about sending emails in SendGrid:
- Contacts in SendGrid's Global Unsubscribes group won't receive any emails.
- Contacts in a specific unsubscribe group won't receive emails from new automation linked to that group. (For example, in a previous automation, a contact has unsubscribed “Product Info” emails. The contact was added to “Product Info” unsubscribe group. When this contact is added to a new automation which also links to “Product Info” unsubscribe group, the contact won’t receive emails.)
- If a contact unsubscribes after the first email in an automation, they won't receive remaining emails.
- Contacts who complete an automation won't receive its emails again, even if they are deleted and re-added to the list.
Add leads
To add leads to a SendGrid campaign, select leads and click the Add to SendGrid Emails button. In the pop-up, select the appropriate list from the popup window and click Add.
Track email engagement
When adding an entry to a contact list, Maximizer creates an interaction log noting the specific list.
Email engagement appears in the entry's Timeline as interaction logs, including:
- Email delivered
- Email opened
- Email subscribed
If a recipient unsubscribes from all emails, their Maximizer entry's Do Not Solicit field will be set to Email, preventing future SendGrid additions.
New Campaigns module
The Campaigns module provides an overview of all active automation's performance. You can view campaign statistics for each automation, including emails sent, delivered, uniquely opened, clicked, and bounced.
You can review detailed performance metrics in the grid. Expand rows to view emails within automations. Click an automation's name to view comprehensive statistics and information in SendGrid. Note that you need to log in to SendGrid to view the details.