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Getting Started

Step-by-step setup of your first fully automated blog newsletter.

Automated newsletters allow Feedotter to automatically collect content from your feeds, generate emails, and send them through your connected Email Service Provider (ESP) on a schedule, completely hands off.

In just a few steps, you can create an automation that keeps your subscribers up to date with your latest content.

Create an Automation

To create a new automation:

  1. Navigate to Automations.

  2. Click New Automation:

  1. Enter a name for your automation.

  2. Select your email service provider.

  3. Click Create Automation.

Add Content Sources

Automations use feeds to determine what content should be included in each email.

Feedotter Automations support:

  • RSS feeds

  • Atom feeds

  • XML feeds

  • Multiple feeds within a single automation

To add a feed:

  1. Find your RSS feed URL and paste it into the appropriate box in the FeedOtter interface.

  2. Click Validate and Load Feed.

  3. Configure how many posts should be included in each send.

Questions about using multiple feeds? Read more here.

Configure Your Schedule

Next, configure when Feedotter should generate an email.

Common scheduling options include:

  • When a new post is published

  • Hourly

  • Daily

  • Weekly

  • Monthly

Select a schedule that aligns with your publishing frequency and audience expectations.

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For more information, see Scheduling.

Customize Your Email

The Customize tab allows you to select a template for your automated newsletter. It also provides access to the visual editor, which can be used to edit static elements of your template, such as footer copy or logo swaps.

Using a Template

Every Feedotter automation requires a template. If a custom template has not been selected, Feedotter will use a simple system template by default.

Most Feedotter customers use a custom HTML email template that has been configured by the Feedotter team during the onboarding phase.

To select a template:

  1. Navigate to the Customize tab.

  2. Click Template Library.

  3. Select the template that has been configured for your account.

Once selected, the template will be used for all emails generated by the automation.

Note: The customize tab allows you to do a few things:

  • Template Library: Browse and select from your template library.

  • Code View: View, edit, tweak the code of the template you are using. This is great for power users wanting to customize CSS stylings that are not editable in the user interface.

  • Visual Editor Customization: Here you can upload or swap logos, and tweak other static elements by clicking within the template displayed on the right of your screen.

Custom Templates

Many customers provide their own HTML email design for use with Feedotter. Our team will configure the template and make it available within your account's Template Library.

If you would like to use a custom email design or need someone to design a template for your team, read the Template Guide for more information.

Configure Sender Information

Before activating your automation, configure the email details recipients will see, including the subject line, sender name, and sender email address. Do this by clicking into the sender information box above your email preview:

Feedotter supports both static subject lines and dynamic subject lines that automatically incorporate content from your feeds. To insert dynamic content into your subject line, click Insert Data and select the desired field.

Configure UTM Tracking

Feedotter can automatically append UTM parameters to content links, helping you measure newsletter-driven traffic in analytics platforms such as Google Analytics.

By default, Feedotter automatically appends tracking parameters to content links.

To configure or turn off Feedotter UTMs, navigate to your automation settings and click Configure UTM Codes:

Customize or turn off UTM parameters.

Integration & Activation

At this point you are ready to connect your ESP/marketing automation software and activate your automation. Please follow the link below for instructions for your specific ESP integration process:

MarketoPardot / Account EngagementEloquaSalesforce Marketing CloudHubSpotMailChimpActiveCampaignMicrosoft Dynamics Marketing

What happens next?

Once you've connected your ESP, configured your automation, and activated it, Feedotter will begin monitoring your content sources according to the schedule you've configured.

When the next scheduled run occurs, Feedotter will:

  1. Check your content sources for new content depending on your scheduling settings.

  2. Generate an email using your selected template.

  3. Create the email in your connected ESP.

  4. Schedule or send the email according to your setup.

For more information, see Scheduling.

Scheduling

After activation, you can monitor and manage your automation from either the Automations dashboard or the Automation Details page.

The Automation Details page provides additional information about your automation, including:

  • Last run and next scheduled run

  • Automation status

  • Send history

    Send history

  • Generated email previews

  • Send Now functionality

  • Links to emails created in your ESP

For more information, see Automation Details.

Automation Details

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