ProofMEDIA Autoresponder User Manual

UPDATE: The autoresponder is now the central component in the new ProofMEDIA Marketing Suite plugin (that includes CRM, analytics, and popup creation). The operations described below for the independent plugin have not changed.

Introduction

The ProofMEDIA Autoresponder is a powerful WordPress plugin designed to manage subscribers, tags, emails, and automation sequences directly from your WordPress dashboard. It uses custom database tables for optimal performance, keeping your marketing data separate from your core WordPress content.

Key Features

Dashboard

The Dashboard provides an overview of your autoresponder’s performance. It displays vital statistics:

Total Subscribers: The total number of people on your list.
Active Subscribers: The number of subscribers currently active and eligible to receive emails.
Unsubscribed / Bounced: The number of subscribers who have opted out or whose emails bounced.
Emails Sent & Opened: Track the delivery and engagement of your campaigns.
Open Rate: A percentage representing how many of your sent emails are actually being read.

You can filter these statistics by specific time ranges (Last 30, 60, 90 days, or All Time).

Subscribers

The Subscribers section allows you to manage your audience.

List View: See all your subscribers, their status (Active/Pending/Unsubscribed), and easily search by name or email. Filter the list by tags to find specific segments.
Manage Subscriber: Click “Manage” on a subscriber to edit their details (Name, Email), view their Consent History (a log of when and how they opted in or out of specific tags), and see their individual “Emails Sent” history, complete with delivery status and timestamps. You can even resend specific emails directly from this view.
Import/Export: You can import subscribers from a CSV file (mapping fields like Name, Email, Confirmation IP, etc.) and export your current list.

Emails

This section is where you compose the content of your messages.

Create/Edit Emails: Use the familiar WordPress editor to craft your emails. You can personalize them using dynamic placeholders like {name}.
Stats View: See aggregated performance metrics (Sent, Opened, Open Rate) for individual emails.
Resend: You have the ability to resend an email to specific recipients if needed.

Broadcasts

Broadcasts allow you to send a one-time email to all subscribers or a specific segment.

Targeting: Choose to send to “All Active Subscribers” or select a specific tag.
Subject Line Override: You can override the default subject line of the selected email template for the broadcast. This creates a duplicate email record behind the scenes for tracking purposes.

Sequences

Sequences are automated series of emails triggered when a subscriber receives a specific tag.

Trigger Tag: Select the tag that initiates the sequence.
Steps: Add multiple emails to a sequence as “Steps”.
Delays: Define the time delay (in Minutes, Hours, or Days) between each step.
Pause/Activate: You can pause an entire sequence to stop it from sending temporarily. If a user loses the trigger tag, their progress in the sequence is paused. If they get the tag back, they resume from where they left off.
Stats: View aggregated performance metrics for each step in a sequence.

Forms

Create visual subscription forms to place on your website.

Configuration: Set the form name, title, and submit button text.
Tags: Define which tags are automatically applied to a subscriber when they fill out the form.
Double Opt-In (DOI): Configure whether the form requires email confirmation. If enabled, subscribers are set to ‘pending’ until they click a verification link in an automated email.
Custom CSS: Easily customize the appearance of the form by pasting CSS into the built-in editor. A styling guide is provided for reference.
Shortcode: Each form generates a unique shortcode that you can embed on any page or post. Here’s an example of a form (you can style it with your own CSS):
Get on the Notification List Name Email I consent to receive marketing emails.

Latest Posts

This feature automates sending your latest blog content to your audience.

Scheduling: Set an interval (Hourly, Daily, Weekly, or Monthly) for checking for new posts.
Target Tag: Choose which segment of your list receives these updates.
Template: Compose an email template using the WP editor and use the {latest_posts} placeholder, which will be dynamically replaced with a list of links to your newly published articles. The system automatically creates a broadcast behind the scenes when new content is detected.

Settings

Configure global options for the autoresponder.

Sender Details: Set the “Sent From” Name and Email address.
Messages: Customize the messages displayed to users upon successful subscription, when they need to check their email for confirmation, and after successful confirmation.
DOI Email Content: Customize the subject and body of the Double Opt-In confirmation email.
Redirections: Define pages where users are redirected after submitting a form or confirming their subscription.

Shortcodes

proofmedia_subscribe form=’ID’ (surround all shortcodes with square brackets): Renders a specific subscription form. It is highly recommended to use the form ID to ensure all settings and tags are applied correctly.
proofmedia_account (surround all shortcodes with square brackets): Renders a page where subscribers can manage their preferences (opt-in/out of tags) by requesting a secure, time-sensitive link.

Background Processing (Cron)

The plugin uses WordPress built in cron (WP Cron) to process the email queue automatically. It checks every 5 minutes for emails that are scheduled to go out (sequence steps or broadcasts) and sends them in batches to respect server limits. WP Cron relies on website visitor activity to trigger, so if you have very little traffic, then it’s a good idea to set up your own cron on your server (very simple to do if your server includes cPanel for example). If so, you can disable WP Cron (which is configured in the wp_config file in your installation).