Basic information about a mailing is available in the Set-Up tab. This includes important pieces like the template being used, the subject line, and target group. This is also where you can perform A/B Testing to experiment with changes in the mailing to see if one will better resonate with your audience.

In this article, we'll dive into everything you can accomplish using the Set-Up tab. To access it, navigate to Mailings > Create > Mailing > Set-Up.

Set-Up tab properties

The first thing that you see when accessing the Mailing Designer is the Set-Up tab. In the Properties area, you can:

• Enter a Name for the mailing. This is for your own organizational purpose; the subscriber will not see this.
• Click the Folder dropdown list to select a folder for your mailing design to reside.
• Click the Template dropdown list to select a template for your mailing design.
• You can also perform A/B Testing here.

NOTE: See A/B Testing (MD1) to learn more about A/B Testing.

Create targeted subject lines

When you tailor your mailings to your audience, you increase the odds your subscribers will open them. Because the subject line is the first thing your subscribers see, a targeted subject line can positively impact your open rate. Targeted subject lines are also a way to send an alternative subject line to a small, more defined subset of your audience.

This article provides an example targeting a smaller subset of an organization by using a compound target group that looks at two different fields: company name (personal info) and gender (demographic).

1. Navigate to Mailings > Create > Mailing > Set- Up tab.
2. Scroll down to the Envelope section. Edit the Subject.

3. Enter a Default Subject.
4. Check the Targeted Subjects box.
5. Enter another subject line. This will only go to your specified subscribers.
6. Click Edit next to Target.
7. Select the target group you want to receive this subject line. In this example, the mailing goes to all ABC employees, but anyone that is a female ABC employee is going to receive the alternate subject line: "Hey Ladies, here is your March News!" Everyone else receives the subject "March News!"

NOTE: The target group you select to use the targeted subject line must exist within the larger group as well (i.e., it must be a subset of the larger target group).

8. Click Update.

Subject line length test

The subject line is the first thing your subscribers see about your mailing, and is an important element that helps determine whether they'll open it. Because an overly complicated subject line can turn off readers, you can use the subject line length test to see whether your subject line is too long.

NOTE: While the subject line length indicator is a helpful feature, it's one that you should take "with a grain of salt." You know your subscribers best, so if you think a subject line that pushes the indicators out to "poor" is needed, that's okay. This feature's purpose is simply to let you know when your subject line is not at an optimal reading length.

1. Navigate to Mailings > View.
2. Identify a mailing and hover over the corresponding hover menu icon. Click Edit.

3. Scroll to the Envelope section of the Set-Up tab.
4. Click Edit next to the Subject field (alternatively, click directly in the subject field).

5. Enter the subject line text.
6. Directly underneath the subject line, there are indicators that will update based on the character length.

Indicators

There are two subject line indicators: one for mobile readers and one for desktop readers. Higher Logic Thrive Marketing Professional (Thrive Marketing Professional) lets you know if the subject line is OK, Fair, or Poor based on the subject line length.

NOTE: Keep in mind that mobile isn't afforded as many characters as desktop. Also, the desktop indicator will only read as "poor" when the subject line is long (about 50+ characters).

Selecting a Target Group

Your planning discussions should always include brainstorming around the definition and make-up of a target group to ensure you align the right message to the right subscribers. Let's look at the various ways to select who receives your mailings.

1. Navigate to Mailing Designer > Set-Up tab.
2. Scroll down to the Envelope section. Then, click the To field.

3. Decide what level of targeting this mailing should have:

1. Select the Target Group for the entire mailing - Sends the same mailing content to everyone in the target group.
2. Specify the Target Group for each Story - Enables dynamic segmentation so that a different configuration of the mailing is sent to subscribers based on their inclusion in a target group. You will subsequently specify the target group for each story.
3. Enter a list of email addresses for the entire mailing - This is appropriate for short list of up to 15 recipients.

4. Click Update.

Sending to a test group

Do you want to send your mailing to a separate group of people every time (i.e., a group outside of your target group)? Maybe you have fellow colleagues or executives who need to see a copy of every mailing sent. If so, you can designate a test group to receive these mailings.

1. Navigate to Mailings > View > select a mailing > Set-Up tab.
2. Scroll to the Advanced heading and click the plus sign icon (+) to expand the section.

3. Click Edit next to the Test Group field.
4. A new window will open where you have the option to Create a Test Group or to Choose a Test Group.

1. Select Create a Test Group to create a new test group. Enter a Test Group Name and add the email addresses of the test group recipients.

2. Select Choose a Test Group to select an existing test group. Select the Test Group from the dropdown list. The associated email addresses will display in the Test Group field.

5. Click Update. The chosen Test Group will populate the Test Group field.

Do not send to

Use the Do Not Send To feature to exclude specific groups of subscribers from receiving your mailings. This feature helps ensure you only send relevant information to your subscribers.

Notes

NOTE: Because this feature uses a target group as the source for the list, it can be populated from an integrated target group or from data uploaded into Thrive Marketing Professional.

NOTE: A benefit to employing exclusion lists is they ensure those who opted out of these specific mailings don't receive them again.

1. Navigate to Mailings > View > select a mailing > Set-Up tab.
2. Scroll down to the Advanced heading and click the plus sign (+) to expand this section.
3. Click Edit next to the Do not send to field.

4. Select the desired option in the resulting window:

1. Those who have been sent this mailing before - Easily exclude subscribers who you've sent this same mailing to before.
2. Those in the following Opt-Out List(s) - You are prompted to select one or more opt-out lists.
3. Those in the following Target Group(s) - You are prompted to select one or more target groups.
4. Those in this list - Enter up to 15 email addresses to exclude from the mailing.

Click Update.

Tentative send date

A good way to stay organized is to set a tentative send date for each mailing. By doing so, everyone on your team will know "who's sending what, when" by simply taking a peek at the Thrive Marketing Professional calendar. If you have concerns about sending too many mailings, or if you need to keep oversight over other child accounts using Thrive Marketing Professional, this is an invaluable tool.

NOTE: Setting a tentative send date does not schedule a mailing. You must still use the options on the Send tab to select the send date and time.

1. Navigate to Mailings > View > select a mailing > Set-Up tab.
2. Scroll down to the Advanced section and click the plus sign (+) to expand this section.
3. Click Edit next to the Tentative Send Date.

4. In the calendar popup, the current date has yellow shading. Select a date; its gray shading changes to white.
5. Drag the sliders to set the Hour and Minute.
6. Click Done.

The date and time display in the Tentative Send Date field and on the Thrive Marketing Professional Calendar.

NOTE: Don't forget that the tentative date you set is only a placeholder. It does NOT confirm the mailing is scheduled. To send the mailing, you will have to navigate to the Send tab and manually schedule or send it. In the event that your tentative send date has passed, Thrive Marketing Professional will prompt you to select a new tentative send date when you edit the mailing.

Insert emojis in a subject line

Emojis are a simple way to visually express emotions with small, eye-catching icons. You can include emojis in your subject lines by copying them from an emoji site.

1. In your web browser, open an emoji site (one that works well with Thrive Marketing Professional is emojipedia).
2. Search for an emoji and copy it (either through a button on the website or by highlighting the emoji and pressing Ctrl + C or Cmd + C on your keyboard).
3. Navigate to your mailing in Thrive Marketing Professional.
4. In the Set-Up tab, click the Subject field to edit the subject.
5. Place your cursor at the desired location and paste the emoji into the subject line (press Ctrl + V or Cmd + V on your keyboard).

Each email client and device renders code a bit differently, so always test your results. The Virtual Inbox and Send tests are great places to start. These show you how the emoji renders in different clients.