Triggered Email
A triggered email is an automated message sent in response to a specific subscriber action or event, such as signing up, clicking a link, or reaching a milestone.
What Is Triggered Email?
Triggered emails are event-driven rather than time-driven. They fire when a specific condition is met: a new subscription, a link click, an anniversary date, a behaviour threshold, or an external event. Examples include welcome emails (triggered by signup), milestone emails ('You've been subscribed for 1 year!'), and behaviour-based emails ('You've read 5 articles about SEO — here's a related resource'). Triggered emails consistently outperform batch-sent emails because they arrive at moments of relevance — the subscriber just did something, so the email feels timely and contextual.
Why It Matters for Newsletters
Triggered emails are the most effective type of email because they arrive when the subscriber is actively engaged. They have 3x the open rates and 2x the click rates of regular batch emails. For newsletter creators, even simple triggers like welcome emails and milestone celebrations significantly improve subscriber satisfaction and retention.
Best Practices
- Start with the highest-impact triggers: welcome, re-engagement, and milestone
- Keep triggered emails focused — one clear purpose per message
- Test trigger timing — sometimes a 1-hour delay works better than instant
- Ensure triggered emails don't conflict with scheduled newsletters
- Monitor trigger volumes to avoid overwhelming subscribers with too many automated messages
How Aldus Handles This
Aldus automatically sends triggered emails at key moments — welcome messages for new subscribers and re-engagement messages for inactive ones. The AI ensures each triggered message is contextually relevant.