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Creating an Email Campaign

AIQ’s email campaigns help you design, test, and send targeted emails with the Campaign Builder and visual editor. Learn how to create campaigns, set sender details, preview content, launch, and review FAQs.

Updated over a week ago

Prerequisites

Before getting started, ensure you have:

Required Permissions:

Campaigns are available to users with the following permissions:

  • Marketing

  • Marketing Analyst

  • Operator

  • Owner

Complete your Email / Domain Settings before creating Email Campaigns.

Academy Course: Configure Email Settings
Academy Course: How to Create Email Campaign

How to Create an Email Campaign

  1. Navigate to Marketing > Campaigns

  2. Click Create Campaign

  3. On the Channels screen, select Email

  4. Click Continue

  5. Review the Campaign Info and Recipients sections. (see Campaign Builder for more details.)

How to Configure Email Content

Sender Info

  1. Open the Sender Info tab

  2. Enter a Subject Line (required)

    • This is what customers will see in their inbox

  3. For subject line best practices, see Email Best Practices

  4. Add the following:

    • Sender Name (your company name)

    • Sender Email Address

⚠️ If left blank, AIQ will default to the email listed in your account settings.

Note: Both Sender Name and Sender Email Address will be overwritten if this campaign is used within a Co-Marketing template.

Content

  1. Click the Content tab

  2. Build and customize your email using the email editor
    (See Visual Designer: Emails & Landing Pages for full guidance.)

Save as Template (Optional)

To save and reuse an email design in the future:

  1. Create your email design in the Content step

  2. Click the "Save as template" button

  3. The email will be saved as a template for future campaigns

Locating Saved Templates

To find the email templates you’ve saved:

  1. Open the campaign builder in AIQ.

  2. Navigate to the Email Content section.

  3. In the Content area, select the My Templates tab. Here, you can view all your saved templates.

Using Saved Templates in Campaigns and Flows

You can easily use your saved templates when creating new campaigns or flows. Follow these steps:

  1. Create or open your campaign or flow.

  2. Add an Email node to your flow or campaign.

  3. Open the email message to edit it.

  4. In the Email Content step, click on My Templates.

  5. Select the desired template from your saved templates to load it into the email.

Preview & Test

Before sending:

  1. Click Preview & Test in the upper right corner

  2. Enter one or more test email addresses

  3. Click Send Test

Review & Send

  1. Continue to the Review step

  2. Choose whether to:

    1. Save as Draft

    2. Submit for approval (if required)

    3. Send immediately

See Campaign Builder for approval permissions and sending rules.

Troubleshooting

Issue: “{{emailOptOutURL}} macro is required”

Solution:
You must include an unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email. AIQ adds this automatically, but it may have been removed.

To restore it:

  1. Click the Personalization button

  2. Locate the {{emailOptOutURL}} macro

  3. Paste it into your email template as a link, for example:

<a href="{{emailOptOutURL}}">Unsubscribe</a>

FAQ

What’s the difference between a hard bounce vs. a soft bounce?

Bounces happen when an email cannot be delivered.

Hard Bounce (Permanent)

A hard bounce means the email will never be delivered. Common causes include:

  • Invalid or misspelled email address

  • Domain does not exist

  • Recipient server has blocked the address

Soft Bounce (Temporary)

A soft bounce means delivery failed temporarily, but may succeed later. Common causes include:

  • Recipient inbox is full

  • Email server is down or overloaded

  • Message exceeds size limits

  • Temporary spam filtering

What can AIQ do about bounced emails?

AIQ includes a setting to automatically manage hard bounces:

  • Navigate to Settings > Company Account > Account Info

  • Enable automatic email opt outs for hard bounces

This removes hard-bounced addresses from your list to protect sender reputation.

Note: AIQ does not currently provide a list of soft bounces. If soft bounces persist, you may need to remove the address manually.

My email open rate fluctuates year over year — is that normal?

Yes. Open rate fluctuations of a few percentage points are completely normal. Changes in subscriber behavior, inbox algorithms, industry trends, and campaign strategy all contribute.

Focus on long-term trends, campaign quality, and list health rather than small variations. You can use features like A/B Testing Campaigns to help optimize for open rates.

Can I change Preview Text (Preheader Text)?

Yes. In the email builder:

  1. Go to Body > Email Settings

  2. Edit the Preheader Text
    ​

This is the text that appears next to the subject line in most inboxes.

How do customers opt out of emails (unsubscribe)?

There are 2 ways to unsubscribe:

  1. When a customer receives your campaign via email, there will be an option to unsubscribe (or opt-out). That link will bring them to this screen: https://lab.alpineiq.com/emailSettings/{{storeID}}

    1. Currently, it's just one option to opt-in/out of all communications, as seen in the screenshot below:

2. They can also unsubscribe from the Mobile App > Profile.

How do customer opt back in - or resubscribe - to emails if they previously opted-out / unsubscribed?

There are 2 ways to resubscribe:

  1. They can resubscribe via a signup form again (we do not suppress duplicate entries)

  2. They can resubscribe via the Mobile App > Profile

Need Help?

If you need assistance, reach out to AIQ Support anytime through the chat widget in your AIQ Dashboard.

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Campaign Templates
Account Settings
Email / Domain Settings
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