Engagement Studio Archives - The Spot https://thespotforpardot.com/category/getting-started/engagement-studio/ A home for marketers on Salesforce to shape the future together Fri, 21 Jun 2024 19:22:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://thespotforpardot.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/circle-150x150.png Engagement Studio Archives - The Spot https://thespotforpardot.com/category/getting-started/engagement-studio/ 32 32 238606145 The Wait is Over: Send Operational Emails from Engagement Studio https://thespotforpardot.com/2024/06/19/the-wait-is-over-send-operational-emails-from-engagement-studio/ https://thespotforpardot.com/2024/06/19/the-wait-is-over-send-operational-emails-from-engagement-studio/#respond Wed, 19 Jun 2024 18:41:05 +0000 https://thespotforpardot.com/?p=7380

The Salesforce Summer ’24 release notes have arrived, and with them, the delivery of one of the most highly sought-after Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (MCAE/Pardot) features ever requested. In fact, sending operational emails in Engagement Studio functionality has garnered the fifth most points in the Account Engagement category on the IdeaExchange. What is an Operational […]

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The Salesforce Summer ’24 release notes have arrived, and with them, the delivery of one of the most highly sought-after Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (MCAE/Pardot) features ever requested. In fact, sending operational emails in Engagement Studio functionality has garnered the fifth most points in the Account Engagement category on the IdeaExchange.

What is an Operational Email?

An operational email is informational and is distinct from a marketing email. Erin Duncan has written a great article that goes in-depth about the differences between the two and when it is appropriate to use each.

When an email is marked as “operational,” it bypasses the recipient’s opt-in status and will send the message even if the subscriber has opted out. You must only use operational emails for their intended purpose, as this can affect your sending reputation and put you on the wrong side of the CAN-SPAM Act.

How Do I Enable Operational Emails in MCAE?

  1. Navigate to Account Engagement Settings 
  2. Click Enable Operational Emails
  3. Review the restrictions associated with sending operational emails and confirm your selection 

Keep in mind that only Account Engagement Admin users and custom user roles can send operational emails.

Sending Operational Emails with Engagement Studio

Previously, operational emails could only be sent from list sends. This required selecting an audience, building email content, and manually sending at a single point in time. Now, users can send operational emails directly from Engagement Studio, where recipients are enrolled based on user-defined criteria and emails are automatically sent based on your parameters.

Let’s put this into practice. Imagine you are a SaaS company and need to deliver communications regarding your product’s planned system outages. Instead of setting up multiple operational list sends, you could create an Engagement Studio program to automate the outage and issue-resolved notifications to your selected audience.

Another example could be letting your customers know that their product’s license is about to expire. You could create an Engagement Studio program that could send notifications to let them renew their product on a more time-based cadence. Once the Engagement Studio is set and running, you do not need to reconfigure manual email list sends.

Other use cases could include:

  • Renewal or expiration reminders
  • Order updates
  • Event registration reminders
  • Internal employee onboarding

As with all effective communications, using operational emails in engagement studios will take planning. You will need content to create your emails, data to ensure that the right emails are being sent to the right person, and, most importantly, compliance with the Marketing Cloud Account Engagement Permission Based Marketing Policy.

What are the limitations?

Salesforce has provided a list of limitations for using operational emails in Engagement Studio:

  • If a program is running and the Operational Email setting is disabled, operational emails aren’t sent. Prospects skip those steps and proceed to the next one.
  • If a program with a Send Operational Email card is paused and the account setting is disabled. To restart the program, remove the steps or re-enable the Operational Email setting.
  • If a program with a Send Operational Email card isn’t running and the account setting is disabled, the program can’t be started or resumed. To start or resume the program, you must re-enable the setting or remove the step.

One Small Step for Email Marketing, One Giant Leap Forward for Efficiency

This is a huge improvement in saving marketers time and improving customers’ experiences with your brand. It ensures that customers can receive mission-critical information at the right time without having to manually and tediously configure the email sends.

How do you plan on using Engagement Studio to send operational emails? Let us know in the comments.

Original article: The Wait is Over: Send Operational Emails from Engagement Studio

©2025 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

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A/B Testing in Account Engagement Engagement Studio Programs (ESPs) https://thespotforpardot.com/2024/04/03/a-b-testing-in-account-engagement-engagement-studio-programs-esps/ https://thespotforpardot.com/2024/04/03/a-b-testing-in-account-engagement-engagement-studio-programs-esps/#respond Wed, 03 Apr 2024 14:28:41 +0000 https://thespotforpardot.com/?p=7236

Engagement Studio Programs (ESPs) are key for nurturing prospects until they are ready to send over to your sales team. But have you ever thought about A/B testing in ESPs? ESPs allow you to automatically send your cold prospects awareness content and consistently stay top of mind so they can gradually warm up to a […]

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Engagement Studio Programs (ESPs) are key for nurturing prospects until they are ready to send over to your sales team. But have you ever thought about A/B testing in ESPs?

ESPs allow you to automatically send your cold prospects awareness content and consistently stay top of mind so they can gradually warm up to a sales-ready stage. Although ESPs can be used for everything from basic email sends to complex process automations, one feature it lacks is native functionality for A/B testing. The feature exists natively (and wonderfully) for list emails, but in the realm of automated emails and ESPs, this is something marketers are chomping at the bit for. 

Let’s dig into some of the creative workarounds that make A/B testing possible in ESPs as well as the pros and cons of each option.

How does native A/B Testing work?

Within the native functionality of list emails, A/B testing is very user-friendly. You can:

  • Create and edit two versions of your email (Version A & B) via the WYSIWYG editor or by editing the HTML
  • Specify if the email versions should be measured by email opens or email clicks (we prefer clicks)
  • Determine the length of the A/B testing period (1 hour to 30 days)
  • Determine the percentage of your audience that is tested

Automating the A/B testing process

The beauty of A/B testing with list emails is that so much of the process is automated. 

Once the criteria have been set, Account Engagement automatically and randomly splits the test recipients from the intended recipient lists, sends the email variations to the test group, and, once a winner has been selected, automatically sends the winning version of the email to the remaining recipients on the list. 

This native functionality allows marketers to fine-tune their marketing content by testing which subject lines, CTAs, and even images best resonate with their target audience. 

A/B Testing in an ESP

To A/B Test in an ESP, you have a few options:

  1. Split your recipient list before starting the ESP
  2. Split recipients by last name
  3. Split recipient by a random number from Salesforce
  4. Split recipient lists using Prospect Updater

Using Native Split List Functionality

All Account Engagement Static and Dynamic lists can be split into smaller lists. While viewing your list, the split option will be available in the top right-hand corner. This allows you to split lists evenly, or specify the percentage on each list. 

It’s important to remember that when splitting a dynamic list, the resulting lists will be static. 

When using this option in an ESP, add an Action node before your email send that checks if the recipient is on split list 1. If they are a member of this list, they receive version A of your email. If they are not, they receive version B.

This option works best when your ESP has a static recipient list that you are not adding to later, for example, an event follow-up nurture. If you intend on gradually adding more prospects to this ESP, there isn’t a way to easily and automatically split the new prospects between the two lists. 

Splitting by Last Name

Another strategy is to split the recipients by last name. This allows you to split recipients with dynamic lists so you can continually add new recipients to the ESP. To do so, you’ll need two dynamic lists. 

Your first list will capture prospects with last names starting with A-M:  

Your second list will capture any prospects with last names beginning with N-Z, as well as any prospects with last names that start with characters, non-English letters, or numbers. 

Finally, use these lists to split ESP recipients between your email variations. 

Things to keep in mind

The drawback to this solution is that splitting by last name is not likely to evenly split your recipients. S, B, H, M, and C are the most common initials for last names, so if you split your recipients by “last name begins with A-M” and “last name begins with N-Z”, the “A-M” list is likely to be larger and can skew your data.

Generate a Random Number in Salesforce 

Another strategy for randomly splitting your recipient list is by using Salesforce’s Auto Number functionality. This allows you to auto-generate a random number for each Lead or Contact and push this data down to Account Engagement.

  1. In Salesforce Setup, select Object Manager then Lead
  2. Select Fields & Relationships
  3. Select New
  4. Select Auto Number then Next
  5. Enter the following details
    1. Field Label: Lead Random Number
    2. Display Format: {00}
    3. Starting Number: 0
    4. Generate Auto Number for existing records: Selected
  1. Select Next
  2. Select which profiles have access to view this field.
  3. Select Next
  4. Select any Lead pages where this field should appear. I recommend leaving this field off your page layouts. Select Save.
  5. Next, create a Formula field. While still in the Fields & Relationships tab of the Lead object, select New
  6. Select Formula, then Next
  7. Enter the following details
    • Field Label: Email Random Number
    • Formula Return Type: Number
    • Options – Decimal Places: 0
  8. Select Next
  9. Enter the formula MOD(VALUE({! Lead_Random_Number__c}) ,9)
  10. Select Next
  11. Select which profiles have access to view this field. Ensure the B2BMA Integration User profile, or your connector user’s profile, has access so Account Engagement can map to this field. 
  12. Select Next
  13. Select any Lead pages where this field should appear. I recommend leaving this field off your page layouts. Select Save.

This formula field will auto-generate a random number between 1-9 for each Lead. Optionally, repeat the steps above for the Contact object. Finally, map the “Email Random Number” field to Account Engagement so this new field can be used to randomly split ESP recipients for an A/B Test. 

Now, the only downside of this approach is that all your Account Engagement prospects must be synced to Salesforce before they will get an Email Random Number value. If you regularly nurture prospects in Account Engagement before syncing them over to Salesforce, you could use a combination of the Random Number and Last Name methods, or you can move to our last option.

Use Prospect Updater

Sercante’s Prospect Updater is a Swiss army knife for advanced data updates, cleansing, and manipulation within Account Engagement. This solution allows you to work with your prospect data in more streamlined ways and enables you to create a truly random recipient list split without your data being in Salesforce. 

With Prospect Updater, you can use a RANDBETWEEN function to auto-generate a random number and stamp the number on new prospect records within minutes of them being added to Account Engagement. Then, use an Action node in an ESP to split your prospects into your A/B test groups. 

If you want to learn more about Prospect Updater, check out our Supercharge sales ‘speed to lead’ with clean Pardot data and Creating a Pardot Spam Identification Process with Prospect Updater blog posts or contact us!

Selecting a Winner

After you’ve selected your method of A/B testing and let your ESP run, it’s time to choose a winner and, optionally, consolidate your ESP down to 1 email version. The best way to compare the data between your A and B email versions is by using the ESP reporting tooltips. While on the Reporting tab of your ESP, select the email send node to view the metrics for that particular send. 

The tooltips allow you to easily view the number of sends and opens as well as your click-through rate. If you want to dive deeper into each template’s metrics, select the name of the template from within the tooltip view to open the full email template report. 

Start A/B testing in Engagement Studio Programs

It’s clear that Engagement Studio Programs (ESPs) are the backbone of effective prospect nurturing, guiding them along the journey until they’re ripe for the sales pitch. 

So, let’s embrace the challenge, get creative, and make the most of our ESPs. With a bit of ingenuity and a keen eye on the metrics, we can craft killer campaigns that resonate with our audience and drive those all-important conversions. Here’s to pushing the boundaries and unleashing the full potential of our ESPs.

Remember, you can always reach out to the team at Sercante for help setting up your Account Engagement (Pardot) Engagement Studio Programs and configuring your A/B tests within them.

Original article: A/B Testing in Account Engagement Engagement Studio Programs (ESPs)

©2025 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

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The Wait is Over: Shorter Wait Steps in Engagement Studio Are Here https://thespotforpardot.com/2023/08/31/the-wait-is-over-shorter-wait-steps-in-engagement-studio-are-here/ https://thespotforpardot.com/2023/08/31/the-wait-is-over-shorter-wait-steps-in-engagement-studio-are-here/#respond Thu, 31 Aug 2023 14:18:47 +0000 https://thespotforpardot.com/?p=6846

For Account Engagement users, the most exciting feature coming with the Salesforce Winter ‘24 release is the ability to get more precise with wait steps in Engagement Studio Programs.  Gone are the days waiting a full day to trigger an action, we can now set wait steps anywhere from 2-8 hours. This provides more flexibility […]

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For Account Engagement users, the most exciting feature coming with the Salesforce Winter ‘24 release is the ability to get more precise with wait steps in Engagement Studio Programs.  Gone are the days waiting a full day to trigger an action, we can now set wait steps anywhere from 2-8 hours. This provides more flexibility with our programs and what we are able to do.

How do we get started with shorter wait steps in Engagement Studio?

In Engagement Studio, we’ve always had the ability to add wait steps. We were able to do this in day long increments after an event took place. We’ve used these for things like, sending follow up emails after a form fill, or sending an additional email days after an initial send. 

Sometimes, a day seemed like too long of a wait, but that was all we had to work with. 

Now, we can use these new hour increments. When adding an action to an Engagement Studio Program, click “wait”, then toggle to “hours” and set the desired amount of hours. That’s it!

When you should use hour wait steps…

Wondering how you can make the most of this feature? We’ve compiled a list of scenarios that we think would be best suited for a short, hours-long wait period.

  • Welcome Programs
    • Prospects signed up for your mailing list or were imported? Add an hour wait step to send that first welcome email instead of waiting days.
  • Post Form Follow Up Emails from Sales Team Members
    • If your follow up emails are sent immediately, prospects know it’s automated, and waiting days to follow up can lead you to miss out on an opportunity. With a wait step of just a couple hours, it gives your prospects time to finish looking at your website, gives your internal assignment processes time to complete, and feels more personal than an automated reply.
  • System Processing Time For List Evaluation
    • When using automations that evaluate which lists a prospect is on, a two hour wait step will ensure your dynamic lists have time to run and prospects newly added to the list are included.
  • Custom Redirect/ Page Action Follow Ups
    • Set up custom redirects or page actions on high priority pages and have them funnel leads into an Engagement Studio Program. From there, suggest the next step a prospect should take or the next piece of content the prospect might be interested in a few hours after they have left your website.

Time to get started with shorter wait times in Engagement Studio

This feature is one that hundreds of trailblazers have been asking for because it can be so useful in customizing programs. Once it becomes available, we recommend revisiting your existing engagement studio programs and seeing if this would be a better fit for some of the current day long wait steps you are currently using.  

Being able to take action in hours, rather than days can really help personalize the experience you give to prospects.

Want to learn more about how to create the most effective Engagement Studio Programs? Consider taking  our Workshop: Engagement Studio for Marketers.

Original article: The Wait is Over: Shorter Wait Steps in Engagement Studio Are Here

©2025 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

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4 Things to Clean in MCAE (Pardot) for Faster Processing Times https://thespotforpardot.com/2022/05/10/4-things-to-clean-in-marketing-cloud-account-engagement-pardot-for-faster-processing-times/ https://thespotforpardot.com/2022/05/10/4-things-to-clean-in-marketing-cloud-account-engagement-pardot-for-faster-processing-times/#respond Tue, 10 May 2022 14:54:08 +0000 https://thespotforpardot.com/?p=5192

Nothing is more frustrating than when you experience a slowdown in your Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot) org.  I just need this one Dynamic List to run, why is it taking so long!?!  These slow downs are frustrating. But they’re typically a sign that you need to archive old, continuously running, processes and/or optimize how […]

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Nothing is more frustrating than when you experience a slowdown in your Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot) org. 

I just need this one Dynamic List to run, why is it taking so long!?! 

These slow downs are frustrating. But they’re typically a sign that you need to archive old, continuously running, processes and/or optimize how you are using the platform. 

The following best practices will help keep your Pardot org running efficiently. Many of these strategies are going to be more relevant to large orgs with 1 million+ prospects. But this information can be used to help increase processing times in Pardot orgs of any size.

1. Clean your Dynamic Lists

Dynamic lists are constantly running, matching and unmatching prospects as they fit or do not fit criteria. Old Dynamic Lists that are no longer matching prospects, or Dynamic Lists that are not actively being used can be a big strain on your system. 

Salesforce recommends a limit of 1,000 Dynamic Lists per Pardot org. Also, if you have millions of Prospects, consider reviewing Dynamic Lists matching over 5 million prospects to see if these lists can be broken into smaller pieces. 

I like to CSV export my Dynamic Lists so I can sort them by Updated Date and look at the oldest ones first. You can also sort by number of Prospects to tackle your biggest Dynamic Lists.

2. Check those Automation Rules

To keep things running smoothly, limit your automation rules to 5 million actions per day. This is a lot more than I see most Pardot orgs needing or using, but it doesn’t hurt to review your repeating automation rules and ensure the “Repeat Rule” settings are set appropriately to your needs. 

I also recommend reviewing which Automation Rules are set to run in real time. Although Pardot can handle this, it is still not recommended to use this for every rule. I find most of the time a Real Time Automation Rule can instead be replaced by a Completion Action. 

3. Only keep the best Prospects

The more Prospects you have in your Pardot Org, the more processing your org needs to do. Cleaning up unwanted or unneeded Prospects is a great way to cut down the number of processing requests quickly and our Junk Data in Your Pardot Org and 7 Ways to Clean Your Mailable List in Pardot blog posts have some great tips on how to do so. 

Dynamic Lists and Automation Rules are also going to look at every Prospect in your org to see if they match criteria. If you can’t cut down on the number of Prospects in your org, consider adding criteria that will exclude Prospects from recurring automations. 

For example, if I am creating a dynamic list for an email send, I don’t have to include the criteria “Prospect email status isn’t Opted Out” because any Prospects who have Opted Out won’t be sent the email anyway. However, including this in my Dynamic List criteria means Pardot can rule out that chunk of Prospects and process by request faster. 

If you exclude the same set of Prospects from most of your emails and/or automations, consider creating a “Master Suppression List” that can easily be referenced. 

4. Optimize your Engagement Studio Programs (ESPs)

Spread out your wait steps

ESPs can perform a ton of actions on a ton of prospects. Keep in mind that an ESP performs an action per node per prospect. For example, if my ESP starts with 

  1. Send Email
  2. Apply Tag
  3. Check if Grade is B- or above

And I’m sending 5,000 Prospects through this ESP, that is 15,000 processing requests right off the bat. Wait steps can be used to space out the amount of processing one ESP needs to do per day. 

For example, going from this:

To this:

There are still 7 days between the 1st and 2nd email sends, but the processing requests are spread out over the wait period rather than happening all at once. 

Use Complex Rules

Complex Rules are another great way to streamline your ESPs. Rather than have multiple Rule nodes

Combine your rules into one Complex Rule node to simplify your ESP.

Consolidate Branches

Consolidating ESP branches is another great way to cut down on the number of nodes an ESP has and therefore the number of requests it has to process. I find a lot of times users forget that ESPs can branch out, then back in, then back out again etc. When you don’t consolidate branches, your ESP will get very wide and updating them can be a big headache. 

For example, moving from this:

To this:

A little Pardot org cleanup goes a long way

These are just some of the strategies you can employ to keep your Pardot org running smoothly, especially if you have a large org that is tackling numerous processes everyday. 

Regularly auditing your org and Pardot processes is not only going to improve processing times, but it will make the system easier to use overall. 

What other tactics do you use to keep your org clean? Tell us in the comments!

Original article: 4 Things to Clean in MCAE (Pardot) for Faster Processing Times

©2025 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

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Work Confidently in Pardot through Quality Assurance Testing https://thespotforpardot.com/2021/07/28/work-confidently-in-pardot-through-quality-assurance-testing/ https://thespotforpardot.com/2021/07/28/work-confidently-in-pardot-through-quality-assurance-testing/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2021 20:56:19 +0000 https://thespotforpardot.com/?p=3846 Work Confidently in Pardot through Quality Assurance Testing

Feel more confident as a budding admin or end user by kicking ass at Pardot quality assurance testing. (includes downloadable PDF checklist) We’ve all been there before. Everything is set up in Pardot for an email or engagement studio program. But the fear hits before clicking the button to launch it. Is everything set up […]

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Work Confidently in Pardot through Quality Assurance Testing

Feel more confident as a budding admin or end user by kicking ass at Pardot quality assurance testing. (includes downloadable PDF checklist)

We’ve all been there before. Everything is set up in Pardot for an email or engagement studio program. But the fear hits before clicking the button to launch it. Is everything set up so it tracks correctly? Could there be a typo or broken link somewhere? This is where checklists and quality assurance (QA) testing are helpful.

The term ‘quality assurance testing’ makes the process seem more complicated than it needs to be. What you’re essentially doing is checking the details to be sure everything looks and behaves the way it should before you finalize and launch whatever it is you’re doing in Pardot.

While checklists give us a certain level of assurance real confidence comes from experience and learning, if you are interested in learning from our seasoned experts then why not check out these Pardot training courses Sercante offers to immerse yourself in the topics you aren’t totally confident about yet.

What types of Pardot quality assurance testing should admins do?

Lots of quality assurance testing needs to be completed to be sure that any Pardot instance works as expected. Pardot advanced users and admins can complete quality assurance in a Pardot sandbox environment. But most of the day-to-day Pardot QA testing tasks happen in production orgs. Typically, QA tasks related to the flow of data between Pardot and Salesforce are completed in a sandbox environment to prevent the potential loss of data.

Get a PDF checklist to use for QA testing in Pardot

You can view and download a handy PDF checklist to use every time you’re launching Pardot admin campaign materials here.

You should complete quality assurance testing in a Pardot production environment (that’s a fancy term for your regular ol’ Pardot instance) when you create or launch the following:

  • Engagement studio program
  • List email
  • Pardot form or form handler
  • Static list
  • Dynamic list
  • Social media post
  • Custom redirects
  • Page actions
  • Dynamic content
  • Email preference centers
  • Scoring
  • Grading

Seasoned Pardot admins likely have lists in their heads to double-check each of these items before sending, saving, or launching them. But admins and end users who are newer to Pardot lack the experience of knowing what can go wrong without proper QA testing. 

If you’re in the latter category, then you’re in the right place! These checklists are for Pardot admins and end-users who are in the beginning stages of learning to use Pardot.

You can find information about more advanced types of Pardot quality assurance testing & the Pardot Sandbox in this blog from Mike Fazio.

Pardot quality assurance testing checklists for admins and end users

As you build your confidence in Pardot, you’ll feel less apprehensive about sending your marketing efforts out into the world. You’ll also get less and less of those “please fix it” messages from your team.

Here’s a checklist of things you can double-check to feel more confident about the work you do in Pardot. Or, download the PDF version of the checklist here.

Email templates and drafts

You can perform basic quality assurance checks on Pardot email templates and list email drafts. But you may need to invest in a more advanced tool, like Litmus, to be sure your email will render correctly and pass through email spam filters. 

When you’ve finished building your email, click on the ‘Testing’ tab in Pardot to send yourself and any other reviewers test emails. This list may be longer depending on the complexities of the email itself. But we’re going to assume it’s a simple email for the purposes of this checklist.

  • Basic info
    Look at the Basic Info tab in case there’s something you overlooked. Pay attention to the Campaign and Folder to be sure you selected the right ones for this particular email.
  • Subject line & preview text
    Check that you remembered to add them and proofread.
  • Header text
    Proofread the email header and adjust if necessary.
  • Email body copy
    Read through the entire email twice and fix any grammatical errors or typos. Then read it again.
  • URLs
    Click every link including linked images to ensure they are working correctly.
  • Text email
    Make sure the text version of the email matches the HTML version.
  • Sending
    Look at the sender details and to be sure you chose the right ones. 
  • Mailing lists
    Check your list so you know it’s going to the right email addresses. And remember to add any suppression lists you may need.
  • Completion actions
    Make sure you successfully added completion actions if that was part of your plan.

Pardot form or form handler

  • Complete the form to test
    Using incognito mode in your browser, complete the form or form handler. You can add the word “test” as you’re completing the form so other Pardot users know your form data is from a test.
  • Find your test data
    Verify data from your test entry made it into Pardot and Salesforce, if applicable, as expected. Pay attention to every field.
  • Check completion actions
    Verify completion actions are carried out as expected.
  • Cause form errors
    Repeat testing the form by trying to “break” it. Fill out the form again, and mess up your entry (use an incomplete email address, leave required fields blank, etc.)
  • Test in other browsers
    You can use a tool like Browserling (free and paid versions) to mimic different types of browsers and operating systems for further testing.

Segmentation lists 

Static list

  • Spot-check the list to ensure the correct prospects are present.

Dynamic list

  • Click the Preview button. Spot-check the prospects on the list to ensure the correct prospects are present.

Engagement studio program

  • Test every path
    Click on ‘Testing.’ Run the test several times until you’ve tested every possible path.
  • Check your dates
    Double check all of your dates to be sure they align with your goals and best practices.
  • Add test prospects
    Create test prospects and add them to your program first when you want to test more complex programs (make sure your test prospects fit your rules). You may have to shorten your wait times to complete the test in a reasonable amount of time.

Automation rules 

  • Check the preview
    Preview automation rule to be sure it matches your expectations.

Social media post

  • Review post copy
    Proofread your text. Then read it again.
  • Verify @ mentions
    Go to the social media channel and search for actual profiles to verify any @ mentions you include in the post. Keep in mind that @ mentions on one social media channel probably won’t work on other channels. You’ll have to duplicate tje post and change the @ mentions for other social media channels.
  • Check hashtags
    Look up any new hashtags you want to include on the social media channel you want to use it on. This is so you know you’re using something that’s related to your post and not already in use or irrelevant.
  • Link to something
    Remember to include a call-to-action URL if applicable. Click ‘Insert Link’ if you’re sending people to something that’s in Pardot or a custom redirect.
  • Check the link
    Copy the URL and paste it into a separate tab to check the link.
  • Include a graphic
    Make sure you include a graphic (if applicable). Also, check that the graphic size is appropriate for the social media channel.
  • Check the profile
    Double check that you selected the correct social media profile for the post.
  • Proofread again
    Read the text one last time.

Custom redirects

  • Click the link
    Access the link from your usual web browser. Then, look for your prospect record in the custom redirect prospect list.
  • Test in incognito
    Test the link again from a web browser that’s in incognito mode and look for your click on the custom redirect.
  • Check completion actions
    Verify any completion actions are carried out as expected.

Page actions

You can check that your page actions are working properly after you add tracking code to your website.

  • Configure page actions
    Set up your desired page actions.
  • Go to the pages
    Visit those pages as a cookied prospect.
  • Look for results
    Verify that your page actions worked as expected.

Be fearless with your Pardot quality assurance testing skills

It’s totally normal to feel uneasiness before completing tasks in Pardot. I mean, you’re sending things out into the world that hundreds or thousands of people might see. Sorry to startle you. But that’s also the cool part about working in marketing. The stuff you’re marketing is going to solve problems for people. And you’re going to help them find out about it!

Confidence will come to you in time after you click around in Pardot and test all the things you’re building. 

Build confidence faster through Pardot training courses

You can fast-track yourself to feeling confident in Pardot by attending structured training sessions. There is so much to learn about Pardot with a seemingly endless list of resources. But nothing beats the real-life applications you learn through talking to people who understand Pardot and use it every day.

Check out the training courses and workshops Sercante offers for Pardot users and admins. You can find specific courses for deep-dives into a topic or beginner-level overviews for people who are new to Pardot.

Click here to view all Sercante training workshops and courses.

Original article: Work Confidently in Pardot through Quality Assurance Testing

©2025 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

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Q&A: Everything You Need to Know about Pardot Engagement Studio https://thespotforpardot.com/2020/07/28/qa-everything-you-need-to-know-about-pardot-engagement-studio/ https://thespotforpardot.com/2020/07/28/qa-everything-you-need-to-know-about-pardot-engagement-studio/#respond Tue, 28 Jul 2020 17:05:17 +0000 https://thespotforpard.wpengine.com/?p=2953 Q&A Pardot Engagement Studio

One of the most highlighted and versatile Pardot features is the Engagement Studio program. Plain and simple it is the most flexible feature Pardot has when it comes to building strong workflows, email sequences, and even taking your Pardot (and Salesforce) operational game to the next level. This is without a doubt my favorite platform […]

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Q&A Pardot Engagement Studio

One of the most highlighted and versatile Pardot features is the Engagement Studio program.

Plain and simple it is the most flexible feature Pardot has when it comes to building strong workflows, email sequences, and even taking your Pardot (and Salesforce) operational game to the next level. This is without a doubt my favorite platform feature.  

For many people fresh to the Pardot scene, building a program can look complicated or confusing, but it doesn’t have to be. With a little bit of practice and this blog, you will be a program architect in no time. 


This blog post covers some more advanced capabilities of Engagement Studio. If you are new to Pardot, I suggest you check out our trailmix in Trailhead. New to Trailhead? Start here and complete the Engagement Studio program modules here before you proceed.


Back to the blog. Below is a Q&A guide to help bring clarity to your questions around Engagement Studio programs that you couldn’t find on Google (or just find yourself searching for over and over aging), located all in one place. *hits bookmark icon*

Getting Started

Help! We need to send this email out tomorrow, is it okay to start an Engagement Studio without all my content ready?

In an ideal world, you would have all of your content polished and ready to send when you click the start button in your Engagement Studio program, but sometimes that’s simply not possible. This may sound scary but with a little planning and solid understanding of how Engagement Studios work, you can start your program with the intention of adding onto it when you have more content ready.

For details on how to set up a program and build on it later, check out our blog post “Ship It Already: How to Start an Engagement Program & Build On It Later”.

I’ve seen Pardot Engagement Studio programs online (or in demos) that look really complicated, but mine looks very linear and simple. Am I doing something wrong?

While some logic or the general layout may look different from program to program, the length and complexity totally depends on the purpose of the program and your goals. For some people, having more steps and branches makes it easier to visualize the flow and collect data points, for others as long as prospects complete a specific action, the rest doesn’t matter (you can always use email templates reports to review email KPI’s). 

In short, if you are accomplishing your goals, your design will be fine.

Do timezones matter? How do I personalize for different time zones?

Yes, timezone settings do matter, especially if you are targeting a range of audiences in different locations. Depending on your use case, sometimes you only have time to build one program. That being said, it would be nice to avoid sending someone an email at 4am. Not bueno!

I would suggest you look at your own list email sending reports and evaluate what times work best for your audiences prior to sending. Some Engagement Studio programs will work best if emails can be sent at any time (think Trial Sign Ups), others may work best in a specific time frame (regional event nurtures).At the end of the day think about what makes sense for your audience.

Have offices in other timezones? You can copy a program and update the list and timezone to target those prospects. We cover how to copy nodes or full programs a little later in this blog.

What is the best way to notify my team when emails go out? Can I BCC or CC them?

There is not a default BCC/CC setting for programs, unfortunately. If your program is set to be a “static” program, meaning a set number of people will go through it, you can always add your team to the recipient list(s), and they would get the emails around the same time as your prospects. This, however, doesn’t work well with evergreen campaigns (where we add batches of new prospects once a month for example). 

Alternatively, you can review a prospect’s interaction with the program in Salesforce campaigns (if your program has the appropriate actions), on the lead/contact page layout if you have the Pardot prospect activity visual force page, email related list (must have the email template tied to the appropriate campaign), or the engagement history component (record must exist in Sales Cloud). This ensures you have the information in multiple places to report on in both Pardot and Sales Cloud.

Are there limits to the capacity of a Pardot Engagement Studio program?

Aside from the availability of data (and how “clean” it is), these programs can be used for pretty much anything. Pardot recommends that for best performance, you limit your program to fewer than 300 nodes (or steps). 

In practice though, several people on the Sercante team noticed that 250 is the magic number as programs start becoming harder to manage after that. Reminder that you can link multiple programs together if one program becomes too cumbersome.


Lists

When should I use a static versus a dynamic list for my Engagement Studio program?

Consider a static list for a program if a) you only want a set group of prospects to flow through the program, b) if it has a specific start and end date, or c) concrete email send dates. This would diminish the opportunity of someone getting emails later than your intended goal (and less of a chance of someone receiving emails after the fact).

On the other hand, dynamic lists will continuously feed prospects into a drip. These are better for evergreen programs that are not tied to specific time frames. Again, think trial sign up or an opt-in newsletter welcome series program.

You are able to use both types of lists throughout the program and as recipient/suppression lists.

What happens if a prospect starts the program but no longer meets the dynamic list criteria shortly after?

If a prospect no longer meets the dynamic list criteria or is manually removed from the static list, they are no longer part of the program. This would cause the number of prospects that started the program to not match the number of prospects that end the program.

What happens to newly introduced prospects (if added after the program starts)?

New prospects always start at the first step regardless of when they are added to the lists that feed the program.

What happens if a prospect who was removed from the program is reintroduced? 

If prospects leave (or are removed) and then re-enter the program (via addition to recipient list), they pick up where they left off including any wait times. In other words, if someone was “pulled” before receiving the 3rd email from the series, they would return to the step they were before receiving the email as the next step and continue.

What happens to prospects in a program list who are marked as unmailable due to unsubscribing themselves or triggered via a hard bounce?

The prospects remain on the list and they will continue through the program, however, Pardot will not send them any emails. 

Since these prospects continue to flow through your program, they can still be affected by the different nodes (think “Add to Salesforce Campaign” or “Add to list”) which will affect your tooltip reporting. I strongly suggest you filter these out prior to adding them to the Engagement Studio program.

What happens to prospects on the suppression list?

If prospects are part of the suppression list in the program, they will never enter the program and will not move through any of the steps. I like to add this to the criteria of the recipient list to avoid any issues (e.g. if duplicates are present). If you have anyone on your lists that are opted out or do not email they will go through the program but won’t receive emails.

Why would a prospect get emails if they are being suppressed?

In instances that have AMPSEA enabled (pretty much everyone after June 14, 2016), if you suppressed one record but they still received the email, it is very likely you have duplicate records in your lists and are only suppressing one of the multiple records with the same email. Sometimes this issue isn’t identifiable with just looking at one list if you are using multiple recipient lists. 

For more information on AMPSEA and suppression lists, check out this blog post: When Suppression Lists Don’t Suppress

Oh no! My event passed. Why did my prospects get an email inviting them to an event from a month ago?

Sending emails after an event has passed is, unfortunately, more common than Pardot Admins would like to admit. The root can usually be traced to two main causes. 1) You used a dynamic list to populate and feed the event program and you forgot to turn off your program (after the event or as you set it up). 2) People will continue to move through an Engagement Studio regardless of the IRL event dates. 

You can avoid this by simply scheduling the program to stop after a specific date when you start it. Having a clear wrap up process for your event/webinar campaigns can also ensure that this step is not missed.


Actions, Triggers, and Rules

I’m building the same steps multiple times through the program, what is the best way to get this done?

First you would need to create the first group of nodes (or steps). Then, use the select option to copy and paste up to 10 steps (note: the steps must be connected). This can save you quite a bit of time if you are replicating patterns through the program. 

A caveat here is to make sure you update the asset used on each step once the node is pasted in the program. You don’t want to send the same email multiple times or create the same task multiple times (with the exact same information). 

I need a new program that is very similar to the one from last quarter, can I reuse the old one?

I like to think of this use case as building off of an Engagement Studio program template. You did the hard work already so instead of rebuilding it, why not duplicate it? Use the copy feature (in your list view of Engagement Studio programs) to make a copy of a previous program. Again, just remember to replace the assets. This can be very useful for webinars, events, and customer/constituent communications when the structure stays relatively the same.

Do I need to have multiple end points or just one in my Engagement Studio program?

End points are an easy way to visualize completion of the flow after specific actions. If you want specific actions like completing a landing page or form to push prospects off the program versus getting the next email, then it makes sense to have multiple endpoints at different places in the program as they have completed the goal. 

If you want everyone to get all the emails in the program or continue so other actions can trigger, then having one end point at the very end works well. 

If in doubt, run a few tests (under the testing tab) and simulate how people would behave based on different branches in the program.

What if I need to review multiple criteria before a prospect moves through the next step?

Previously you would do this with a dynamic list (which still works). However, now you are able to set up to (5) pieces of logic on a rule node using complex rule logic. 

You can read more about complex rules on our blog: “Creating Complex Rule Login in Pardot Engagement Studios” by my colleague Chloe Wilde.

Do I need to include an email in an Engagement Studio flow?

The short answer is, no. Programs can be used for many things like data manipulation, for example, and do not require any emails to launch.

Here’s an example of how to use Engagement Studio to assign Leads: The Three L’s in Pardot: Lists, Location, and Lead Assignment

Can I send the same email [template] more than once?

Yes, you can absolutely use the same template multiple times. Usually email templates are included multiple times in a program if someone doesn’t open the email the first time (e.g. send the same email 24 hours later to anyone who didn’t open the first send). 

If your Engagement Studio program is set to repeat, prospects might receive the same email multiple times. You could also use the same template in multiple Engagement Studios. Although most accounts have this setting turned on, I would check under your account settings for the checkbox –  “Engagement Programs: Allow email templates to be sent more than once to the same prospect” in order to enable you to send the same email template to prospects multiple times.


Timing and Program Edits

How does pausing and editing my Engagement Studio program impact its performance? What about prospects?

If you pause a program, prospects remain on the same step they left off until the program is resumed (time does not pass unless the step includes a specific date). When the program resumes, the prospects will finish any remaining wait time before moving to the next step. 

Remember, if you pause your program to edit, beware that your initial estimate of when a program would end has now changed (even if it’s by a few minutes). The more you add to the program and the closer you get to the 300 node mark, it will start to slow down (this also applies to simple programs that process large amounts of data)

What happens when you add a 0 days wait period on a step?

This is the equivalent of you not setting a wait period or selecting immediately. It does, however, record the wait period with an activity using a visual marker called a tooltip. In most cases, 1+ day(s) would be the more appropriate option so the step actually has time to process people’s actions.

Why did my email go out during the weekend?

One of the worst things that could happen is your email doesn’t go out the date you planned. This can happen if you enabled the program to run during non-business hours or manually selected Saturday and Sunday. Also, weekends are included on wait times regardless if you set your program to run on Saturdays or Sundays. So when doing your setup remember that.

What is the difference between “up to X number of days” and “wait X number of days”?

Think of the first option (up to X number of days) as a range (0 – X days). In this example, let X = 3 days. If someone completes the action that you were “listening” for within 1 minute up to 3-days timeframe, then that causes the prospect to proceed through the “yes” branch at that time. If at the 3-days mark (from the time they reach the trigger) the criteria is still not true, then the prospect goes through the “no” path.

On the other hand, if you make a step “wait” for 3 days, nothing they do will change how fast they move forward. All prospects will be on standby for 3 days (from the time they reach the trigger). This is a hard waiting period. Once the waiting period is up, the program will evaluate their actions and push them through the appropriate node (yes or no).

What is the difference between wait and choosing a date for email actions?

The main difference between these options goes back to the purpose of the program. If you need one email to go out on a specific date, you will use the date option. If someone passes through that step after the set date has passed, they will not receive this email and will continue to the next step.

On the other hand if you have a 3-days waiting period, people will have to stick around for 3-days (regardless of activity) prior to moving forward in the program. For more details on wait periods, see the answer above.


Testing / Reporting

When I test my program flow, there is a large variance of time from the moment a prospect starts to when a moment completes the program. Why does this occur?

During the testing phase, you may see completion time differences. As you test you get to create different scenarios that illustrate how some people may be more reactive to your call to actions, while others might not. For example, if you have a trigger that is “listening” for an open in the next 3-days, some may open it within 5 minutes of receiving the email and move forward immediately, while others could take 2-days to open your email.

You usually want to lean on the conservative side and say that someone will not be reactive and will take the longest time to go through the program. This would give your prospects enough time to go through the program.

In the left example above, someone did the actions to complete the goal of the node within 1 day (likely less than an hour from when they received the initial email). However, on the right it took someone 4 days to complete. Since prospects can take multiple roads to the same destination, it is crucial you test and adjust for these possibilities.

How can you A/B test in an Engagement Studio program?

There isn’t a true way to A/B test in an Engagement Studio program. However, there are several ways to reach a specific level of randomness of paths (although I don’t believe it’s 100% random). 

  • Create a random number generator field (1-50), then use Google (or Excel) to give you 25 random numbers to use in a rule
  • Use the “First Name Starts With A; B; C” rule, then use Google (or Excel) to give you 13 random letters to use in your rule
  • Split a list into random halves (2 new lists) and use these with rules to split the flows

You can always use a combination of these options to make the paths your prospects take more random. There are of course more complex (and technical) ways of attempting A/B testing, but these are good ways to start randomized testing within a program.

What are program versions?

Versions are essentially edits you made to the logic of the Engagement Studio program. Think of them as layers. When you make an edit, you can add a description regarding what changed with that round of edits. When you click resume, it does not force prospects to restart the program but to simply continue if nothing has changed (although you can make changes). 

You can view different versions under the activity tab of your program. Under the reporting tab, you can zoom-in on the different notes that you changed and select what version you would like to see, these insights can help verify the effectiveness of the new program steps.

You cannot “go back” to a previous version once you have made changes.

How can I build the perfect nurture program?

No program is truly perfect and most require ongoing maintenance. Checking template reports and tooltip reports can help you identify any gaps in your data or processes.

Is it better to change the email template completely or update the content of the template?

The official answer is to change the template. However, in practice, it depends on how much you value your email template reporting.

If you change the content of the templates, you will not be able to tell when the change happened in your Engagement Studio program (without knowing the date of changes) as there is no need to edit the actual program. This means that you wouldn’t be able to tell if the changes caused improvements or not (unless you filter by date). However, this would be the fastest way of making a change without disrupting the program. When you make changes to an email template in use you always get a notification asking you if you are sure you want to make changes as it is in use.

If you swap the template altogether, reporting starts from the moment you click resume (this is called a version). This method would require you to click pause in Engagement Studio, then edit the program, and finally resume, effectively stopping and restarting the program. There would be an instantaneous difference in the number of people that have gone through that step as it is a new asset. The reporting on the template would also start from scratch at that point.


Architect your own engagement studio programs

Engagement Studio programs are easily the most gratifying and flexible feature of Pardot. With a few clicks, you can create dynamic customer journeys that will help you stay on top of mind by sending communications at the right time, upsell, manage your lead routing, or even manipulate data to name a few use cases. With a little planning and patience, you will soon be on your way to creating your own programs to nurture and delight your prospects.

Still there? If you are still looking for more information around Engagement Studio programs, check out our blog “10 Engagement Studio “Gotchas” to Watch Out For”  where we outline a few additional program surprises to be on the lookout for. 

Need help building your own Engagement Studio programs? Find us here or email us at sales@sercante.com.

Original article: Q&A: Everything You Need to Know about Pardot Engagement Studio

©2025 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

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Marketing Automation Mythbusting: Pardot is a Set-it & Forget-it Tool https://thespotforpardot.com/2018/08/16/marketing-automation-mythbusting-pardot-is-a-set-it-forget-it-tool/ https://thespotforpardot.com/2018/08/16/marketing-automation-mythbusting-pardot-is-a-set-it-forget-it-tool/#respond Thu, 16 Aug 2018 18:15:52 +0000 https://thespotforpard.wpengine.com/?p=1602

“You automated everything so well that we’re just going to let it run and leave it alone.  That’s the point of marketing automation, right?” My team just wrapped up a project to build a series of big, bad Engagement Studio programs.  This customer was particularly fun to work with because their whole business is powered […]

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“You automated everything so well that we’re just going to let it run and leave it alone.  That’s the point of marketing automation, right?”

My team just wrapped up a project to build a series of big, bad Engagement Studio programs.  This customer was particularly fun to work with because their whole business is powered by the Salesforce platform — sales, service, operations, finance, and of course, marketing. 

Not only were we able to build a solid communication cadence for them, we also leveraged connected campaigns to build some stunning dashboards in Lightning showing how each marketing touchpoint influenced sales for the month.

So those words above, from the mouth of that customer, hurt my heart a little there.  Okay maybe more than a little.  Here’s why:

1. Successful programs never go in the “forget it” pile

Automated programs can free up time and resources in a big way.  If you whip up an Engagement Studio program to manage routine, repeatable communications, you don’t have to think about it every day.  How awesome is that?

But you shouldn’t not think about it for FOREVER. Monthly check-ins to monitor performance help ensure everything stays on track and is working as designed.

2. You should constantly one-up yourself

The best marketing automation strategies are those that evolve.

People change. Platforms change. Tactics change. The competition changes.

The beauty of a platform like Pardot is that you can automate repetitive tasks and free up time to ask “what’s next?”  Not to settle into the slightly improved status quo.

3. The technology changes constantly

Continuing with the theme of change, can we talk about how the Pardot product team is on overdrive releasing new features lately?  As this awesome new functionality is released, reviewing how it can be leveraged to support your company’s efforts is key.

Repeating Engagement Studio programs, for example, would have totally changed our thought process on how we designed the solution for this particular client if it were available 3-4 months ago.

4. Sometimes data will change your mind

When a program has run for 30, 60, or 90 days and you’ve run through a full sales cycle, you will have extremely valuable information to inform future efforts.  You’ll know more on what is enticing opens, soliciting clicks, and most importantly, what’s actually converting into actual closed won opportunities.

Think “let your conscience be your guide,” Jiminy Cricket style… except strike conscience and insert data.

5. Content has a sell-by date

Comedians can’t tell the same jokes over and over.

Chrissy Teigen can’t do headband of the day for the rest of her life.

And that chunky lemon milk in your fridge?

Okay I’ll stop, you get the idea.  You need fresh copy and design from time to time too, yo.

6. “Forgetting it” means you’re missing valuable opportunities in the now

“Newsjacking” events and anchoring to time-sensitive things can work wonders (WONDERS!) when paired with automated programs.

One of our other clients, for example, frequently sends out emails with the call-to-action to book a meeting with sales.  When we link this to an actual event — like a tradeshow, community gathering, or other milestone — the open and CTR metrics more than double.

This is a huge opportunity that is utterly squandered if you’ve filed marketing under “forget it.”

(PS SalesLoft is my newsjacking crush — their ridiculous antics at Dreamforces past are such a smart way to do big things with a not-so-big budget.)

To sum it up: Set it & don’t forget it

Ongoing maintenance — whether that’s by an in-house resource or by a consultant — is a must for any successful marketing automation programs.

Someone’s gotta make sure you’re efficiently leveraging the latest and greatest features of the platform, that your messages are hitting home, that you can pivot and seize opportunity, and that the data confirms you have a winning strategy.

Have strong feelings about this too?  Random musings to share?  Let’s hear it in the comments!

Original article: Marketing Automation Mythbusting: Pardot is a Set-it & Forget-it Tool

©2025 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

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Ship It Already: How to Start an Engagement Program & Build On It Later https://thespotforpardot.com/2018/05/19/ship-it-already-how-to-start-an-engagement-program-build-on-it-later/ https://thespotforpardot.com/2018/05/19/ship-it-already-how-to-start-an-engagement-program-build-on-it-later/#comments Sat, 19 May 2018 09:41:59 +0000 https://thespotforpard.wpengine.com/?p=1416

It’s tempting to hold back on shipping a new piece of content or a nurturing program until it’s perfect. But guess what, dudes – it will never be perfect. Ship it. Do it. Press that button. But Wait, I’m Not Ready It’s nerve-racking to press send on a massive campaign that you’ve invested blood, sweat, […]

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It’s tempting to hold back on shipping a new piece of content or a nurturing program until it’s perfect.

But guess what, dudes – it will never be perfect.

Ship it.

Do it.

Press that button.

But Wait, I’m Not Ready

It’s nerve-racking to press send on a massive campaign that you’ve invested blood, sweat, and tears into.  I’ve been in this industry for a decade, and I still need to take deep cleansing breaths when pressing that big “send now” or “start” button.

Does that feeling ever go away?  Because it hasn’t for me.

In any case, don’t let this inital gut reaction hold you back from launching an Engagement Studio Program that’s waiting to share your content with the world. Even if you’re still dotting your t’s and crossing some i’s, you can absolutely start a program and iterate on it later.

This blog will outline ways you can be brave and launch with ambiguity and loose ends involved, including hitting start with:

  • A partially finished list
  • Missing or incomplete content
  • Content that hasn’t been tested
  • Work in progress timing
  • A messy campaign structure

Launch with a Partial List  

The best types of Engagement Studio programs are the ones that are continually fed.  You may be tempted to craft a master list of ideal recipients – don’t.

Come up with smart criteria for inclusion, and “feed” the program on an ongoing basis with a dynamic list or an automation rule.

If the list is small, come up with a plan to continue to build that list.

Want to preserve flexibility to suppress one-off people? Create a static, CRM visible list called “Suppress from [Your Engagement Studio Program Name]” and let your team know how they can add people to this.

Lists

Launch with Incomplete Content

The good news about time-delayed email sends is that you have built-in deadlines for when the next thing is going to go out.

Say you have the first 3 messages written of a 10 touchpoint series, each staggered a week a part.

You don’t have to wait until you have all 10.  Ship it! If you have 3 parts done, that means you have 3 weeks to work on the next 7 in the series.

Launch with Content that Hasn’t Been Tested

Can Engagement Studio do A/B testing?  Not officially.

But – if you have two pieces of content and you’re not sure which will perform the best, consider adding branching logic separating prospects into groups by the first letter of their last name.

Is this a “random” sample?  No.  But randomish.  And allows you to split test.

Here’s an example of what that would look like:

 Last Name.PNG

P.S. Did you know that you can use the “between” operator in this way?  I had no idea – shoutout to Janna from the Sercante team for unearthing this gem.

Launch with Work in Progress Timing

Do you plan to continue adding to the end of your ESP as time goes on?  Or is it a realistic possibility?  No problemo, but plan ahead for this scenario.

An important thing to note is that when your prospects reach the end step in the program, they’re donzo.  That prospect will never progress further in the program, even if you build out more steps at the very end.

To work with this constraint, consider adding a hugely long wait step at the end of the program:

Wait Step

This will act as a buffer that stops your prospects from ever getting to the end of the road.  Then, if you decide you want to add more steps later, you have some flexibility to work with.

Speaking of timing — definitely recommened taking advantage of the new testing feature to preview the dates your messages will go out.  It’s awesome, and it will help provide a sanity check that you’ve gotten the wait steps right.

Launch with a Messy Campaign Structure 

I’m obsessed with the new connected campaigns functionality.

Do I think most companies should turn it on and invest the time in the planning needed to fully leverage this?  Absolutely.

Are you racking up technical debt every time you avoid having to deal with campaigns and get your org cleaned up? Yep.

But do I think execution and content delivery should cease until you have that all figured out?  No way Jose.

SHIP IT.  You can fix campaign member lists later if you absolutely have to.

What’s Holding You Back?

Is there anything that prevents you from hitting send on that next big Engagement Studio program?  What blockers stand in the way of your success?

Let me about your fellow readers know in the comments!

Original article: Ship It Already: How to Start an Engagement Program & Build On It Later

©2025 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

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9 Engagement Studio “Gotchas” to Watch Out For https://thespotforpardot.com/2018/05/10/8-engagement-studio-gotchas-to-watch-out-for/ https://thespotforpardot.com/2018/05/10/8-engagement-studio-gotchas-to-watch-out-for/#comments Thu, 10 May 2018 21:05:27 +0000 https://thespotforpard.wpengine.com/?p=1409

Engagement Studio is one of the best things to happen to the Pardot platform since I’ve been a customer.  But it’s a bit nuanced… and without paying attention to the details, there are a few “gotchas” that can trip you up. A few “did you know” things to keep in mind: 1. Triggers are Time […]

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Engagement Studio is one of the best things to happen to the Pardot platform since I’ve been a customer.  But it’s a bit nuanced… and without paying attention to the details, there are a few “gotchas” that can trip you up.

A few “did you know” things to keep in mind:

1. Triggers are Time Limited by the Program Start Date

trigger.pngYou add a trigger to a program to answer the question, “Has the prospect done this?”

Triggers “listen” for things like form fills, landing page submits, and link clicks.

But there’s one critically important thing to note here – they wait to see if your prospect did this only since they entered the program.

In other words, it’s not yes/no did they do the action the trigger is listening for, it’s “did they do the damn thing” since you hit start.

2. Landing Pages Trump Forms

When you’re using a Pardot form on a Pardot landing page, think carefully when you’re adding triggers related to this.

Landing pages in Pardot always trump forms. If your form is on a Pardot landing page, a form view or completion does not satisfy a form trigger. You have to use a landing page trigger instead.

Does this make intuitive sense?

Um… no. At least not to me. But the Pargods have spoken, and this is the way it is.

3. When People Drop from the List, They Drop from the Program

Engagement Studio Programs look pretty bad ass with super intense branched logic.  But more often than not, when I see an ESP that forces you to pull out a magnifying glass, there is usually criteria that could have been controlled more simply and elegantly via the original lists feeding the program.

Probably Overkill.png

For example, if you wanted to remove a prospect from a program based on an action or a field value, you COULD use a trigger or rule to branch this out and send them to the end of the program.

Or, you could add exclusion criteria via a dynamic list or suppression list that applies to the whole program.  This is usually MUCH more manageable and less prone to error.

4. You Can Add People Back

If someone is in your Engagement Studio program, but then they get dropped from the list feeding the program (due to someone manually removing them, them being added to a suppression list, or them no longer meeting the inclusion criteria for the list) — don’t despair.

You can add people back.  If a prospect is removed and then added back later, they start back at the step where they left off in the program.

If the prospect was in the middle of a waiting period, the clock does not reset.  If someone was on day 2 of a 5 day wait when they were removed, for example, and then they’re added back 10 days later – Engagement Studio doesn’t make them sit through the last 3 days of their wait.  It recognizes it’s been over 5 days and moves them on to the next step.

5. If You Want to Add on Later, Plan Ahead

You may want to launch your Engagement Studio Program before all of your nurture content is 100% ready.  This is totally cool, and actually something I would recommend doing (future blog coming on this).

The thing is, if your prospects reach the end step in the program before you get to building and scheduling that “someday” content, they’re donzo.  That prospect will never progress further in the program, even if you build out more steps.

To work with this constraint, consider adding a hugely long wait step at the end of the program. Like a tag that you’ll apply 365 days later:

Wait Step.PNG

This will effectively act as a buffer that stops the prospect from ever getting to the end of the road.  Then if you want to add more steps later, you can do some jockeying to get the timing right to get the content out to them.

6. Opt Outs & Bounces Do Weird Things to Tracking

If a prospect isn’t mailable, they keep moving through the program, but they don’t get emails.  So for example, if you had an email send action followed by an “add to Salesforce campaign with a status of sent,” the email wouldn’t send if they’re unmailable, but they would be added to the campaign.

To avoid this scenario, you can include unmailable prospects as a suppression list so that they’re removed from all program activity.  Or you can use rules to separate unmailables from the pack and skip steps that don’t apply.

7. If You Pause a Program, You Pause the Wait

Let’s say a prospect is on day two of a five-day wait in a step.  And then the program is paused for 10 days.

Once the program is restarted, the prospect will finish the remaining three days of the wait before moving to the next step.

8. Weekends are Included in Waits

If you enable “send emails during business hours only,” weekends are still included in the count of days when wait step timers are ticking down.

For example, if Email #1 goes out on a Friday, and you have a three day wait step, it will count Saturday and Sunday as part of the wait and send on Monday (rather than counting Monday as the first business day in the wait.)

9. You May Have to Turn on the Feature to Send the Same Template More than Once

Depending on how your org is configured, you may only be able to send email templates  once to a person through Engagement Studio (or through the legacy drip programs, for that matter.)  This poses a major challenge in some cases.  For example, if you wanted to send an email template as the first touchpoint, then send a week later to non-openers.

Fortunately, this is behavior that you can change if it doesn’t fit your process and if you do want people to be eligible to get the same message more than once.  To change this, click the little gear icon in the upper right to access Settings, then click edit from the Account Information screen.

Scroll down and you’ll see this little checkbox available to edit:

Send Emails More than Once Pardot.PNG

The verbiage on this checkbox is slightly different in newer orgs (they lose the Drip reference), but you get the idea.

What Other Things Have Tripped You Up in Engagement Studio?

The devil is definitely in the deets with Engagement Studio. Take advantage of the new testing feature to preview when your messages will go out and validate that you’ve gotten the wait steps right.

Have you come across any other “gotchas” or surprises as you’ve worked in Engagement Studio?  Any questions or ideas you’d like to discuss?

Let me and your fellow readers know in the comments!

Original article: 9 Engagement Studio “Gotchas” to Watch Out For

©2025 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

The post 9 Engagement Studio “Gotchas” to Watch Out For appeared first on The Spot.

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