A Synced Address Book is the Customer List in Spektrix that is connected to your Dotdigital account. In this article, we’ll explain how the Synced Address Book works and how to set up a new Synced Address Book.
Before you read this article, you should be familiar with:
What is a Synced Address Book?
Your Synced Address Book is your first line of segmentation for your Dotdigital Programs. It lets you choose which customers are eligible to enter your Programs.
Your Synced Address Book is created by setting up a Customer List in Spektrix that is then synced to an Address Book in your Dotdigital account.
Segmentation
You can choose which Customers are synced to Dotdigital by using segmentation on the Customer List that is synced with Spektrix.
If customers are excluded from the Customer List which is connected to your Synced Address Book they will not be eligible to enter your Dotdigital Programs.
When segmenting customers for your Synced Address Book, you must ensure you use the relevant Contact Preferences in line with your organisation’s policies. This means that if a customer changes their Contact Preferences, the change is reflected in Dotdigital, and, if you use your Synced Address Book in the Exit Condition of your Programs, the customer will automatically be exited from the Program and receive no further emails.
WARNING: If you do not include Contact Preferences in the Customer List of your Synced Address book, you may email customers who have not opted in to receive communications from you.
When is the Address Book synced?
The Customer List from Spektrix will automatically sync with the Address Book in Dotdigital every day at 7am (local time).
Which Customer data is synced?
When customers are synced from Spektrix to Dotdigital, the following information is shared into your Dotdigital account:
- The customer’s name
- The customer’s email address
- Any Contact Data Fields (Tags, Customer Attributes or Custom Data Fields) which you have set up and choose to share with Dotdigital
How to set up a Synced Address Book
Your Synced Address Book starts as a Customer List in Spektrix and an Address Book in Dotdigital. You will then need to contact our Support Team, who will link the Customer List to your Dotdigital Address Book.
To set up a Synced Address Book, complete the following steps:
- Check if you already have a Synced Address Book
- Build a Customer List
- Check for a Synced Address Book in Dotdigital
- Add an Synced Address Book in Dotdigital
- Link your Synced Address Book and Customer List together
Check for a Customer List in Spektrix
You can only have one Synced Address Book. Therefore, before setting up a new one, you should check if there’s an existing one on your system.
To check for a Dotdigital sync Customer List, look in the Customer List Explorer. You may find the Customer List set up with a name such as "Dotdigital/Spektrix Sync List" or "Synced Address Book".
If you don’t see an existing Customer List for this purpose, you’ll need to build one. Follow the steps in the next section for guidance on how to do this.
If you do have a Customer List, next check for a Synced Address Book in Dotdigital.
Building a Customer List
In Spektrix, create a new Customer List using the following name and description:
- Name: Dotdigital/Spektrix Sync List
- Description: For nightly sync with Dotdigital, for automated emails - DO NOT DELETE
When segmenting customers for your Synced Address Book, you must:
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Decide whether Contact Preferences should determine who is included in your Programs.
If your Programs should only include customers who have opted in to receive email marketing or other communications,then you should include the relevant Contact Preferences in your Customer List which is linked to your Synced Address Book. This ensures that customers who do not have the specified preferences are not added to the Synced Address Book, and any changes to a customer's preferences are reflected in Dotdigital.
If you use the Synced Address Book as an exit condition in your Program, customers who no longer meet the criteria will automatically leave the program and receive no further emails.
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Exclude any customers who should not receive automated communications.
Your segmentation rules should also reflect any customers you do not want to include in automated Programs for any other reason. For example, you may wish to exclude customers with tags such as staff, VIPs, board members, or major donors.
If you use the Synced Address Book as an exit condition in your Program, customers who have these Tags will automatically leave the program and receive no further emails.
Check for a Synced Address Book in Dotdigital
Before setting up a Synced Address Book, you should check if there’s an existing one in your Dotdigital account.
To check, follow these steps:
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In Dotdigital, go to Audience > Lists
- Look for an Address Book called "Spektrix Sync" or "Dotdigital Sync".
If the Address Book doesn’t exist already, you’ll need to create one by following the steps in the next section.
Adding a Synced Address Book in Dotdigital
Once you have built the Customer List in Spektrix, you’ll need to create an Address Book in Dotdigital to sync it with.
Follow these steps:
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In Dotdigital, go to Audience and click on the plus symbol next to Lists:
Alternatively, you can go to Audience > Lists and click New List:
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In the Add new list screen, enter Spektrix Sync List as the list name. Click ADD NEW LIST:
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On the file upload page, click the BACK button. Do not upload a file. Your new list will be created without a file.
WARNING: Do not export your Customer List and upload it to Dotdigital.
Sync your Customer List with your Address Book
Once you’ve created a Customer List in Spektrix and a Synced Address book in Dotdigital, contact Support to complete the set up. Our Support team will link your Synced Address Book in Dotdigital to your Customer List in Spektrix.
You’ll need to provide the following information:
- Synced Address Book name: The name of the Address Book you created in Dotdigital. For example ‘Spektrix Sync’.
- Customer List name: The name of the Customer List you have set up. For example, ‘Dotdigital/Spektrix Sync List’
TIP: Customer Lists and Data Fields sync at 7am (local time). You’ll need to wait until the following day to use this data in Dotdigital Programs.