Creating autoresponder emails

Which email type you need

ShortStack has three kinds of email. The type decides when the email sends and who receives it, so you pick it first. To use a different type, create a new email of that type.

Type	When it sends	Use it when
Autoresponder	As soon as an entry arrives, once per entry	You want to confirm every entry, deliver a code, or say thank you straight away.
Follow-up	A set number of hours or days after the entry arrives	You want to stay in touch after the entry, such as a reminder a few days later.
Scheduled	Once, at a date and time you choose	You want to email everyone on a list at once, such as announcing winners. Included in the Max and Enterprise plans.

Before you start

• One autoresponder per list. If the list already has one, edit it rather than creating another.
• The email goes to a list of entries. If your campaign has more than one form, check which list each form saves to, so you pick the right one.
• Unique codes in emails: first decide whether codes come from Instant Win or from a code list attached to the email. See Using unique codes in emails.
• Links in a new account's emails are reviewed by support before they send. See New accounts and protecting deliverability.
• Double opt-in. If your company profile has Require Double Opt-In turned on, the autoresponder must include the subscribe link. See How to create double opt-in emails.

Set up an autoresponder

1. Go to the Emails Manager, click New Email and choose Autoresponder. Or, in the Campaign Builder, click the envelope icon and click New Email next to the list. Starting from the campaign picks the list for you.
2. Check the Company Profile. Its business name and address appear in the email's footer. Click the profile's name to choose another. See Creating and managing Company Profiles.
3. Choose the list whose entrants should receive the email, if it isn't already selected.
4. Choose whether to include a code: No, One Code (the same code for everyone), Instant Win (each entrant's win or lose result) or Code List (a different code for each entrant).
5. Pick a template, or click Continue to start with a blank email. Write your content, and add merge fields such as the entrant's first name from Available Merge Fields. To paste your own HTML, use the Source Code icon.
6. Enter the email's details: a name (only you see it) and a subject. From Name and From Email Address are optional. Left blank, they use your company profile's defaults. See Which From address to use.
7. On the summary step, check every section has a tick, click Send Test Email to see it in your inbox, add any filters, and click Save & Activate.

Your autoresponder now shows as Active in the Emails Manager and sends to each new entry.

Which From address to use

The From address decides whether your email reaches the inbox and where replies go.

From address	What happens	Use it when
A ShortStack no-reply address: no-reply@shortstack.page, no-reply@lndg.page or no-reply@cmpgn.page	Passes SPF, DKIM and DMARC checks, so it's delivered reliably. Replies aren't delivered.	You want dependable delivery with no setup. Choose the one that matches your campaign's address.
An address on a domain you own, such as hello@yourbrand.com	Replies reach you. Delivery depends on your domain's DMARC policy: with no policy or p=none it's delivered normally, with p=quarantine it's likely to land in spam, and with p=reject it's turned away.	Your domain has no DMARC policy, or a policy of p=none.
Your own domain, sent through your SendGrid account	Replies reach you, and your domain's DMARC policy is satisfied.	Your domain has a strict DMARC policy and you need to send from it. See Setting up and connecting SendGrid.

Use one of the addresses above rather than a free email address, such as @gmail.com or @yahoo.com. Those providers' DMARC policies turn away email sent in their name from other services. Any other address on a ShortStack campaign domain is changed to the no-reply address.

If you send from a domain you own and the summary step shows a red warning in the From section, click it for details. The most common is DMARC policy found with p=quarantine. Ask whoever manages your domain to change the policy to p=none, or switch to a ShortStack no-reply address.

Filters

Filters on the summary step narrow down who receives the autoresponder.

Filter	What it does	Use it when
Exclude repeat entries	Sends only on a person's first entry to the list.	People can enter more than once and should get one confirmation.
Filter by Instant Win	Sends only to instant winners, or to everyone except them.	You want separate emails for winners and non-winners.
Filter by State/Province	Includes or excludes entrants from the states or provinces you list.	Your offer or rules differ by region.

What happens once it's active

• Who receives it: each entry that arrives on the list from now on and matches your filters, as soon as the entry is submitted. Entries without a valid email address are skipped.
• People who already entered don't receive it. To email them, send a scheduled email to the list.
• Editing it changes what the next entrants receive. Emails already sent stay as they were.
• Switching it to Inactive stops it sending, and it keeps the list's one autoresponder place. To replace it with a new one, delete it.
• The footer carries your company profile's business name and address and an unsubscribe link, as the CAN-SPAM Act requires. On the Enterprise plan, you can turn the footer off for transactional emails on the company profile step. See CAN-SPAM Act information.

If something goes wrong

What you see	What to do
The email shows Inactive after you saved it	Something it needs is missing: a company profile, content, a subject or a list. Open the email, find the section without a tick on the summary step, fill it in, and click Save & Activate.
You can't create a new autoresponder for a list	The list already has one, possibly switched off. Edit that one, or delete it and create the new one.
Emails land in spam	Your From address's domain has a strict DMARC policy. Use a ShortStack no-reply address, or see Which From address to use.
Replies aren't reaching you	Replies to a ShortStack no-reply address aren't delivered. Use an address on your own domain.
The test email won't send	Test emails go only to addresses verified on your account. Request the verification email, click its link within 3 days, then send the test again.

For more, see Troubleshooting emails.

FAQs

Will activating an autoresponder email people who already entered?

No. An autoresponder sends to each entry as it arrives, starting when you activate it. To reach people who entered earlier, send a scheduled email to the list instead.

Can I use my Gmail or Yahoo address as the From address?

No. Free email providers such as Gmail and Yahoo publish DMARC policies that tell mail servers to turn away email sent in their name from anywhere else. Use one of ShortStack's no-reply addresses (no-reply@shortstack.page, no-reply@lndg.page or no-reply@cmpgn.page) or an address on a domain you own.

Can a list have more than one autoresponder?

No, each list has one. To change what entrants receive, edit the existing autoresponder. To start over, delete it and create a new one. An inactive autoresponder still counts as the list's one, so delete it rather than switching it off.

If I edit an active autoresponder, do people who already got it receive the new version?

No. Emails already sent stay as they were. Your changes apply to the next entries that arrive.

Do test entries trigger the autoresponder?

Yes. An autoresponder sent because of a test entry has [TEST ENTRY] at the start of its subject line, so you can check the real email without confusing it with live ones.

Related resources

• Creating follow-up emails
• Creating scheduled emails
• Troubleshooting emails
• Email checklist
• How to set up an autoresponder (video)