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Add an email action to a playbook

Who can use this feature?

  • All roles with access level "high"
  • Available on all plans

Once entry conditions are set on a playbook, you can start adding playbook actions. Email actions allow you to send customers personalized emails.

Suggested uses

  1. Send inspirational tips to get users to log in when their usage drops
  2. Engage economic buyer when renewal is approaching
  3. Prompt your champion to book a meeting with you when they're approaching overages
  4. Let your account team know when a customer has moved to at-risk (internal)
  5. Let your CSM know when they’ve been assigned a new account (internal)

Before you begin

1. Add an "email" action

Within the Flow Builder, you can apply an email action anywhere in the flow. For each email, you'll define the email design (Email Design tab) and send options (Send Strategy tab).

  1. From within your playbook flow, click the + button.

    You can re-order an action once you add it. You can also duplicate actions so you don't have to start from scratch.

  2. Choose Email.
  3. Agree to the transactional email policy by clicking Next.
    The Email Designer appears.

2. Design the email

Define the contents of your email. By default, the Email Designer opens to allow you to customize the email in design mode. See advanced settings for additional editing modes.

  1. On the Email Designer tab, enter the email subject.
    Optionally insert a personalization token, which can help prevent emails from incorrectly grouping together based on Thread ID and appearing in the wrong accounts. Available options vary based on playbook object. (See expanded "Text" element below for more details.)
  2. You may optionally copy existing email in the selected playbook (if available) to start from an existing design and send strategy properties. Alternatively, you may edit as HTML to directly modify HTML code instead of using the drag-and-drop elements.

    If you switch back to designer mode once you choose to edit as HTML, any edits you've in HTML mode will be lost.

  3. Set the email design properties that apply to the design as a whole:
    • Plain Text: Optionally remove formatting capabilities (Body Width, Body Color, Background Color).
    • Body Width: Set desired email width in pixels.
    • Body Color: Set default background color of body elements (picker or hex value).
    • Background Color: Set default color of background space around elements (picker or hex value).
  4. Drag and drop elements (left) into a section (middle). For each element you add, click on the element to modify the element's properties (right). Selecting an element also displays additional options (purple bar): Drag, duplicate, delete.
    elements.gif
    • Section: Use sections to group multiple elements together with the same background color. You must have at least one section.

      Expand for section properties


      • Padding: Set the pixels for space around the element (top, bottom, left, right).
      • Background color: Match the body color of the email or set a custom color (hex value).
      • Corner Radius: Set a radius value to round the section corners.
    • Divider: Use a horizontal rule to add a visual separator between elements.

      Expand for divider properties


      • Thickness: Set pixels for vertical depth.
      • Width: Drag pixel slider for horizontal size of line. 
      • Color: Set a custom line color (hex value) or set as transparent.
      • Padding: Set the pixels for space around the element (top, bottom, left, right).
      • Style: Choose the line sytyle (solid, dashed, dotted, double, none).
      • Alignment: Choose horizontal alignment (left, center, right).
    • Text: Insert a text box; add text by typing or pasting content. 

      Expand for text properties

      • Padding: Set the pixels for space around the element (top, bottom, left, right).
      • Formatting: Click inside the text box to reveal additional text formatting (icon, table, bold, underline, italic, strikethrough, link, font size, font family, line height, font color, font background color, text alignment, bulleted list, numbered list, decrease indent, increase indent, redo, undo).
      • Personalization: Use the formatting bar or keyboard shortcut /p to add personalization to text elements or subject line. Personalization fields are available for account, contact, and opportunity objects. (Additional objects are not supported.) Additionally leverage data from the sender's Catalyst user profile, such as calendar link. Add a fallback value, in the event the selected recipient doesn't have a data point for the selected token at the time of send. 
        token.gif

        When adding contact personalization to account, opportunity or additional object playbook email templates, you can only insert contact first name or full name as tokens to be able to support multiple "To" recipients in one email. Three or fewer: all names display, in no specific order: "Hi Andy and Sam". Four +: one name displays with "and team:" "Hi Andy and team"

        For "manual" sends, the email draft will populate null if there is no data point available, if the sender doesn't have permission to view the selected personalization field, or if the field has been deleted from object configuration. Senders cannot approve emails with null values. 

    • Button: Add a call to action with a link.

      Expand for button properties

      • Button Text: Enter text for the button with formatting (font family, font size, bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, personalize).
      • Link: Enter the URL for the target destination.
      • Background Color: Set background button color (picker or hex value).
      • Font Color: Set button text color (picker or hex value).
      • Corner Radius. Set a radius value to round the button corners.
      • Full Width: Select to extend button width to full body width.
      • Button Position: Choose horizontal alignment (left, center, right).
      • Button Padding: Set pixels for space inside button (top, bottom, left right).
      • Container Padding: Set pixels for space around button (top, bottom, left, right).
    • Image: Embed an image into the email body.

      Expand for image properties

      • Source: Choose file or enter a URL (recommended for gifs!)
      • Image Description: Enter the alt text for the image.
      • Link: Optionally enter a target destination.
      • Full Width: Select to extend image width to full body width.
      • Image Size: Set pixels for width and height.
      • Alignment: Choose horizontal alignment (left, center, right).
    • Video: Embed a video into the email body.

      Expand for section properties

      • Source: Choose a video URL.
      • Thumbnail: For YouTube, Vimeo, and Wistia URLs, a thumbnail is generated automatically. For all other sources, you can add your own thumbnail.
      • Full Width: Selected to extend thumbnail width to full body width.
      • Thumbnail Width: Drag pixel slider for custom thumbnail width (if not full width).
      • Alignment: Choose horizontal alignment (left, center, right).
      • Caption: Add a text caption to appear next to the video.
      • Caption Position: Choose caption position (top, bottom).
      • Alt: Add alt text for the video.
      • Padding: Set pixels for space around video (top, bottom, left, right).
    • Personalization Card: Insert a text block with a personalization icon and field token; available options vary based on playbook object.

      Expand for personalization card properties

      • Layout: Choose to display the personalization card horizontally or as a tile.
      • Padding: Set pixels for space around card (top, bottom, left, right).
      • Border: Set color (hex) and width (pixel).
      • Corner Radius: Set a radius value to round the card.
    • Social Icons: Insert a block of social icons.

      Expand for social icon properties

      • Links: Add links for your social sites (Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube).
      • Alignment: Choose horizontal alignment (left, center, right).
      • Shape: Square or circle
      • Spacing: Set pixels of spacing between icons.
      • Color: Set icon background color (picker or hex value).
      • Container Padding: Set pixels for space around icon block (top, bottom, left, right).
    • Signature: Insert text block for sender signature.

      Expand for signature properties

      • Full Name, Title, Email: Optionally remove items.
      • Padding: Set pixels for space around signature block (top, bottom, left, right).
  5. When finished with the email design, click the Send Strategy tab. 

3. Set your send strategy

The send strategy defines type, sender, and recipients. Once these properties are set, you can save the email. 

  1. On the Send Strategy tab, choose the send type: 
    • Manual: Sender approval is required. When the email is triggered, Catalyst routes it to the email outbox of the dynamic sender (Catalyst user) for approval, prior to sending to the customer. Users can adjust preferences to get notified of new emails for approval.
    • Automated: Emails are delivered automatically and do not require approval. This send type requires default values for any personalization used.
  2. Choose the sender. The value determines who the email will be sent from (and to whom to route the email for approval if manual send type). You can either choose a named Catalyst user or a user reference field to have Catalyst dynamically choose the sender.

    You may see different reference field options, depending on the playbook object (e.g., account vs. opportunity).

  3. Choose the recipient(s). Add one or more recipients and define the contact strategy. Playbooks based off of account, opportunity, or additional objects send one email per record if multiple contacts match the contact strategy. You can add up to 30 recipients to CC and/or BCC lines.
    • Playbook contact: Send to the contact record that entered the playbook (recommended). Example (contact object): Joe entered the playbook because his usage dropped, so email Joe to draw him back in.
      Available for "To" line only for playbooks based on contact object.
    • Contact object: Create filters on contact object data to dynamically populate recipient. Example (contact object): Joe tried to access a paid feature, so email his account champion to gauge interest in purchasing. Example (account object): Account renewal is upcoming, so email all champions and economic buyers. Contact queries are based on the account that entered the playbook.
      Not available for additional objects until you map a primary reference field to the playbook object.
    • Contact reference: Select a contact reference field to dynamically populate recipient (e.g., Executive Sponsor, Champion, Reports to).
      Not available for the "To" line for playbooks based on additional objects.
    • On approval: Email address is manually entered by the sender from the sender's outbox upon approval (for manual send types).
      Not available for CC and BCC lines.
    • User reference: Choose the user reference field or named Catalyst user (for internal emails)
      This option is currently available for playbooks on the Accounts object only.
    • Manual:
      Not available for "To" lines.
  4. Click Save.
  5. Click Send Test Email to choose an account to use for an email preview (don't worry, you're not sending to them). Test emails go to your own inbox.

    This option is available after all required fields are added and content is in both the subject and body.

  6. Click Add.
  7. Optionally add a delay once the action is configured (recommended), or click Done.
    The email action is added to the flow. 

    When triggered, Catalyst sends automated emails on a predefined schedule, business days (Mon - Fri) from 9 am to 5 pm CT. Manual emails will appear in the sender's outbox for approval.

    If an automated email triggers, but there is an error (e.g., no contact matches the recipient query or some key piece of data is missing), the email will go into the sender’s outbox with an error message explaining what needs to be resolved. The sender will then need to correct the error and approve.

 

Other notifications for email actions

Catalyst sends admins emails when the following occurs:

  • Email domain has been disconnected; must adjust Catalyst domain settings to re-establish a connection
  • A playbook was unable to trigger because no user matched the specified sender
  • A playbook email was triggered to a sender with a limited access role. This user is unable to approve the email without being updated to a role with standard or high access. 

FAQs

Q: We have emails set up as part of a playbook; however, several reps will be out of the office in the coming weeks. How should we manage the pending emails that will be sitting in those rep's outboxes? Can we reassign the pending emails so that a different rep can send them, similar to reassigning a task?

A: Once an email has been generated in a user's outbox, Catalyst cannot reassign them to another user. However, you can contact the Catalyst Support team to specify which emails to approve/reject on their behalf during their absence.

The other option you may consider is to temporarily update the "Sender" on that playbook email so that it is listed as someone other than the user who is OOO. Depending on the playbook, you could additionally adjust the affected records upon the rep(s)' return to manually add the records back to the playbook (if they have already exited; if they have not already exited, you would also need to add Exit Overrides in Settings to target the records and make them exit first).

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