Overview

A customer's email status determines whether or not they are reachable.

Email status values

The Email Status attribute can have the following values:

Reachable (0): a reachable email address that is not unsubscribed.
Empty (1): the email address is empty or null. This value was explicitly set by the client/customer.
Malformed (2): the email address doesn't conform to email address syntax.
Unsubscribed (3): the email address is unsubscribed.
Reported Spam (4): the email address reported content as spam to their ISP.
Hard Bounce (5): messages sent to this email address have hard bounced.
QQ.com (17): the email address uses the @qq.com domain.

Email campaigns are sent to customers who are reachable. Reachable is defined as email_status=0.

Create a reachable segment

To create a segment of reachable customers:

Navigate to Customers > Profiles via the main navigation.
Select the + Segment option in the upper left.
Select the Create New Segment option.
Select the Have certain attributes expression for Customers who.
Select the Email Status attribute for Customers with attribute.
Select Is Reachable (0) for Where Email Status.
Select the Apply or Save option at the upper right.

The profiles of your reachable customers will be displayed below.

Email status changes

Validation - An email address is automatically validated the first time it is received and when the address changes from a previous version. The validation will put the customer into the 0, 1, 2, or 17 status.

Email events - Email status can also be changed following a customer's action:

event = email/action = unsubscribe. The email status set to 3.
event = email/action = spamreport. The email status set to 4.
event = email/action = hard_bounce. The email status set to 5.
event = email/action = (re)subscribe. The email status set to 0.

Manage customer subscriptions

There are two approaches to subscription management:

The email service provider (ESP) - Many email service providers provide a mechanism for customers to manage their subscription preferences. The ESP offers subscription management links where customers can opt-in and opt-out of emails. If a customer has unsubscribed, then the ESP will suppress any sends to that customer. Zaius integrates with the ESP, processes unsubscribe events from the ESP and updates the customer's email status appropriately.

Account preferences at the website or app level - Many Zaius' users provide customers with a native account management page where they can adjust their personal information and manage email subscriptions. In these cases, Zaius must be sent list/unsubscribe and list/subscribe events when customers update their preferences. These events can be sent via JavaScript or HTTP API.

Note: It's possible to combine these two approaches; however, Zaius does not inform the ESP of a customer resubscribing. If a resubscribe event is sent, the email may still be suppressed by the ESP.

Special considerations

Some third-party providers handle data in ways that require particular policies or processes to be used.

QQ.com

Emails to qq.com addresses are suppressed to protect your email reputation and deliverability rates. Tencent, the owner of qq.com, has a stringent email frequency/rate policy, which the vast majority of ESPs are unable to accommodate.

Shopify

Shopify syncs a true/false customer field to Zaius called Shopify Accepts Marketing. This field is set in Shopify when someone checks the Keep me up to date with news and offers box when checking out. If this field is set to false, it's easy to assume that the customer will be unsubscribed from emails sent via Zaius. This is not the case. To ensure customers who haven't shown interest are filtered out of Zaius email campaigns, you can add a simple AND expression to your customer segment. See below: