Send update emails (beta)

Listen users with Manager permissions can update visitors about the status of feedback items and ideas by sending them an update email.

Prerequisites

Before you can use this functionality, an admin user must set up the following, if not already:

• Domain settings. For instructions, see Set up and verify an email domain in Pendo. This can take a few days to fully set up.
• Check that visitor email is mapped to a metadata field that contains your visitors' email addresses. Admin users can check this in the Mappings table in Settings > Data mappings > Visitor Level Data. For more information about data mappings, see Configure visitor and account metadata.
• Set the sender details. You're prompted to do this the first time you try to send an update email that doesn't yet have sender details configured. This involves providing the following information: 
  • A domain, for example, @acme.com.
  • A sender name, for example, Product team.
  • A "from" email address, for example, product@acme.com.
  • A "reply-to" email address, for example, no-reply@acme.com.

Email content

An update email sent from Listen includes the following content for the recipient:

• A banner image. For ideas, you can set and use a default banner image, use an idea's cover image, or upload a new image. For feedback items, you can set and use a default banner image or upload a new image.
• An email subject line. Added by you at the time that you create the email update.
• The main content of the email. Added by you at the time that you create the email update.
• Context for the recipient. Dynamic content under Why am I receiving this update? that reveals the feedback the recipient submitted or the idea the recipient voted on, either directly or on their behalf by a Pendo user.

You can see a preview of this content on the right side of the screen when you create the content for your update email, described under Send update email in this article. You can also see what your email recipients will see by sending a test email to yourself before sending the final version.

Email recipients

For a feedback item, the update email is sent to any visitor who submitted the feedback or had the feedback submitted on their behalf. For an idea, the update email is sent to any visitor who's voted on an idea. A visitor votes on an idea when:

• They select Must have or Nice to have on an idea, either directly through an ideas test or an ideas portal, or indirectly when a Pendo user selects one of these options on the visitor's behalf.
• A Pendo user links the visitor's feedback to the idea. This feedback could be submitted directly by the visitor from an ideas test or ideas portal, or on their behalf by a Pendo user.

For more information about how visitors interact with ideas and vote on them, see Gather evidence for ideas.

Emails are only sent to recipients (subscribers) that have been active in the last 12 months. The number of recipients of an email might be different from the number of voters on an idea if some of the visitors haven't been active in the past 12 months. For example, you might have 40 votes on an idea, but only 34 email recipients because 6 voters haven't been active in Pendo Listen for the past year. You can review the visitors that you're sending the email to as part of the email-creation process.

Recipients of the update email can choose to unsubscribe from any further updates about the feedback item or idea, or from all emails about feedback items and ideas generally using the unsubscribe links at the bottom of the update email.

Create and send an update email

To create and send an update email about a feedback item or idea in Listen:

1. In Listen, find and open the relevant feedback item or idea.
   • Find feedback items in Listen > Feedback views > All feedback. For instructions, see Manage feedback in Listen.
   • Find ideas in Listen > Validate ideas. For instructions, see Create and manage ideas.
2. Depending on whether you've send an update email for the feedback item or idea before:
   • Select Add update to create your first update email next to the status dropdown menu in the feedback item or idea. This opens the Send update screen.
   • Select View update next to the status dropdown menu in the feedback item or idea. You then need to select Create new update in the bottom-right corner of the page. This opens the Send update screen.
     
     
     
     
3. Check the default sender address. If you want to edit the default address, or if you want to use a custom address, follow the instructions under Edit sender address in this article.
4. Enter a subject line for your update email.
   
   
   
   
5. Choose a banner image. For instructions, see Set banner image in this article.
   • If a default banner image exists, choose to use that banner image or choose a different one.
   • If a default banner image doesn't yet exist, upload one and choose whether you'd like to make it the default image. 
6. Enter the content for your update email.
   
   
   
   
7. Review the number of recipients (subscribers) that the email is being sent to. Select Subscriber list for more detail about the current visitors included as recipients.
   
   
   
   
8. Select either Test email or Send email. We recommend sending a test email first.
   • If sending a test email, enter the email addresses that you want to send the test email to, then select Send email.
     
     
     
     
   • If sending the final update email, select Confirm send.
     
     

Edit sender address

As part of the update email creation process, you can edit the default sender address, or create a custom one. The default sender is used for all Listen email communications unless you choose to edit the default or use a custom identity for the email that you're creating.

If you want to edit it or use a different sender, select Manage sender above the text field and either:

• Select Listen default to use or edit the existing default address by selecting Edit Listen default at the bottom.
• Select Custom to enter a different, one-off email address.

Then enter the following:

• A domain, for example, @acme.com.
• A sender name, for example, Product team.
• A "from" email address, for example, product@acme.com.
• A "reply-to" email address, for example, no-reply@acme.com.

When you're done creating the default sender address, select Save to exit the sender settings and continue with the update email setup.

Set banner image

As part of the update email creation process, you're asked to choose your banner image. The default banner image is used for all Listen email communications unless you choose a different banner image or want to use an idea's cover image instead.

Set a default banner image

To set a default banner image:

1. Select Choose image to expand the Banner section.
   
   
   
   
2. Select Choose a file or drag-and-drop an image from your computer into the Banner box. Selecting Choose a file prompts you to find and select the image you want to use from its location on your computer.
   
   
   
   
3. Use the slider below the image to zoom in or out of the image. You can also reposition the image by selecting and dragging it.
   
   
   
   
4. Select Confirm below the image.
   
   
   
   
5. Select the toggle labeled Make default for Listen.
   
   
   
   
6. Select Confirm in the Set as default window that opens.

Note: A default banner image is only set when you send the final update email, not when you send a test email.

Change banner image

To change the banner image:

1. Hover over the banner image.
2. Select the Change banner image icon.
   
   
   
   
3. Select Choose a file or drag-and-drop an image from your computer into the Banner box. Selecting Choose a file prompts you to find and select the image you want to use from its location on your computer.
   
   
   
   
4. Use the slider below the image to zoom in or out of the image. You can also reposition the image by selecting and dragging it.
   
   
   
   
5. Select Confirm below the image.
   
   
   
   
6. Below the banner image, use the toggle next to Make default for Listen to set or remove the image as the default banner image.

Remove banner image

To remove a banner image from an update email:

1. Hover over the banner image.
2. Select the Remove banner image (trash) icon.
3. In the confirmation window that opens, select Remove banner.

You must then either add a new banner image or, if the update email is for an idea that has a cover image, allow the update email to use this instead by following the instructions in Use an idea's cover as the banner image in this article.

Use an idea's cover as the banner image

To use the cover image of an idea:

1. Check that your idea has a cover image. If it doesn't have a cover image, follow the instructions under View and edit idea details in Create and manage ideas.
2. Remove the banner image from your email using the instructions outlined in Remove banner image in this article.
3. Select Choose image to expand the Banner section.
   
   
   
   
4. Select use idea cover image.
   
   
   
   
5. Use the slider below the image to zoom in or out of the image.
   
   
   
   
6. Select Confirm below the image.
   
   

View update email

To view an update email that was already sent:

1. In Listen, find and open the relevant feedback item or idea.
   • Find feedback items in Listen > Feedback views > All feedback. For instructions, see Manage feedback in Listen.
   • Find ideas in Listen > Validate ideas. For instructions, see Create and manage ideas.
2. Select View update next to the status dropdown menu in the feedback item or idea. This opens the View update page where you can view:
   • The content of the update email.
   • Who created and sent the upadate email in the bottom-left corner of the page.
   • How many subscribers the email was sent to. You can also select the number of subscribers to see a full list.
   • The date that the update email was sent.
3. Optionally, to create and send a new update email, select Create new update in the bottom-right corner of the page and follow the instructions in Create and send an update email in this article.

Note: If you haven't yet sent an update email for the feedback item or idea, the link says Send update instead. For instructions on sending an update email for the first time, see Send an update email in this article.