Overview
Emails have replaced snail mail as the standard communication method for almost every occasion. In turn, snail mail has become something of a unique experience, especially birthday cards. Physical cards create anticipation and excitement in a way that emails can't. There's something special about opening an envelope and pulling out the card, and feeling its glossy finish with your fingers.
With a little setup in AMS+ and Zapier, you can replicate that experience, and send physical cards to your clients when it’s their birthday. Learn more in this article.
IN THIS ARTICLE
Video guides
Basic setup
Video recorded in October 2021
Take it to the next level
Video recorded on March 31, 2022
Let's get started
With this kind of a Zap, you will send a physical card to a client after an Activity (with a specific subject line) is created for their Individual record in AMS+.
Let’s walk through an example. We’ll use the app Handwrytten, but you can make this Zap with other third-party apps.
Step 1: Trigger
App: AgencyBloc
Event: Activity Created
Every time a new Activity is created in AMS+, the Zap will trigger.
Step 2: Action
App: Zapier
Event: Action
Filter setup & testing: Only continue if…
- Data Subject (Text) Contains Mail Birthday Card*
*You may specify whatever subject line you want. We recommend providing a subject line that is used for this Zap only and not by anyone else in your agency.
When a new Activity is created, the Zap will continue to the next step if certain criteria are met. If the criteria are not met, the Zap will not continue.
Step 3: Action
App: AgencyBloc
Event: Get Individual by ID
Set up action:
- Individual ID - Map to the Data Record Association ID field
- Should this step be considered a “success” when nothing is found? False
When triggered, the Zap will search the Activity record that was created in AMS+ and pull Individual ID from it. If a valid Individual ID is found, the Zap will continue. If a valid Individual is not found, the Zap will not continue.
Step 4: Action
App: Handwrytten
Event: Send Card
When triggered, the Zap will send a physical card to a recipient. During setup, you will have two options to set the recipient contact information:
- Manually enter the recipient's contact information.
Sends a card to the same recipient every time it is triggered. - Map to the Individual address fields in AMS+ (from Step 3).
Sends a card to a different recipient every time it is triggered.
Zap templates
Instead of making one from scratch, you can get started right away with our pre-built Zap templates and build off of them. These are sample use cases.
Please note, when you open a template link, you’ll be sent to Zapier. If you’re logged in to Zapier, you’ll see the template. You will still need to set up the Zap trigger and actions and map the data fields.
We have templates for the following apps:
Take it to the next level
If you’re using just the Zap, you’ll have to remember to manually create an Individual Activity with a specific subject line whenever you want it to trigger.
That means you’ll have to remember to do this every year for every client. If you’re storing the date of birth in AMS+, you can make an Automated Workflow to do this for you.
For the best results, set up your Automated Workflow like this:
Trigger type: Individual
Trigger when: ...an Individual’s birthday is approaching every year
Additional criteria: You can target specific Individuals in your AMS+ account by adding workflow criteria. For this example, we recommend using the Individual Type criteria.
- Individual Type - Choose all Types that you use to mark Individuals as clients. This ensures that you send birthday cards to clients only. Otherwise, the workflow will include all Individuals in your account.
Action: Create & Assign Activity
When: 7 days before trigger
Activity Details: Fill out the Activity details as you normally would. Add notes, specify the Type, Method, Follow-up User/Team, and Due Date Delay. You’ll want to pay special attention to the Activity Subject.
- Subject: Mail Birthday Card*
*You may put whatever you want in the subject line. We recommend adding a subject line that is only used by this Automated Workflow and not by anyone else in your agency.
Copy and paste the subject text into Step 2 of the Zap (filter criteria) to ensure the data links correctly.