Unlike traditional email service providers (ESPs) that send emails directly, FTP-based messaging involves uploading a CSV file to your FTP server. This file contains information typically used in an email, such as the recipient's email address and other relevant data. Integration requires a simple program to monitor these files, extract their contents, and initiate actions within your custom system based on this data.
Before you start
Things you need to know:
You must have the following before starting:
FTP server login details for configuring file uploads.
Fresh Relevance account.
Set up an Abandonment trigger
Learn to create a trigger program in Create a Trigger Program.
Configure FTP ESP in Fresh Relevance
In Fresh Relevance, expand the User menu, then go to Settings >
Triggers and Messaging integrations > Messaging Provider(s).Under Set up a new Channel, expand the Service Provider drop-down menu, then select FTP ESP.
Select Next.
Enter your FTP configuration details.
Select Save.
Delimiter
The character used to separate fields, for example, pipe ("|") or comma (",").
Quoting Method
The Quoting Method field on the ESP settings page specifies if the data in the CSV file is surrounded by quotes. The table below explains the different options and their behavior, along with examples of the output.
Quote Method | Explanation | Example |
All | All fields are always quoted. This is the default behavior. | "n","ln","cv" "John, "Smith"","Smith","100" |
Non-Numeric | Numeric fields aren't quoted, but text fields are. | "n","ln","cv" "John, "Smith"","Smith",100 |
Minimal | Fields are only quoted if they contain the delimiter character. Special characters, such as quotes or backslashes, are escaped with a backslash. | n,ln,cv "John, "Smith"",Smith,100 |
None | Fields are never quoted. Special characters, such as the delimiter or backslashes, are escaped with a backslash. | n,ln,cv John, "Smith",Smith,100 |
The examples are based on the merge fields: {'n': 'John, "Smith"', 'ln': 'Smith', 'cv': 100}
Filename Pattern
This setting determines the filename generated each time a triggered message is sent to sFTP.
Leave blank to use the default format (YYYY-MM-DD-hh-mm-ss-ffff).
Example: firehose-%Y-%m-%d-%H-%M-%S-%f (firehose-YYYY-MM-DD-hh-mm-ss-ffff).
For more information about date formatting, check out the Python Library.
Column Name for Email Template ID/Name
The email template ID/Name is placed in this field.
Allow Several Sends in Each File
If checked, multiple triggered sends may appear in a single file sent to the sFTP server, one per row.
If unchecked, a new file is sent for every single email send. This may become cumbersome if you are using high-volume sends.