An automation has three parts: a trigger (what starts it), timing (when each message goes out) and content (what each message says). This guide walks through each part with examples from Jamaican businesses, then covers testing and the legal points that apply under the Data Protection Act, 2020.
Step 1: Pick the trigger
Mailpro can start an automation from several events:
| Trigger | Jamaican example |
|---|---|
| A contact joins a list | A new subscriber from your website footer form receives a welcome series |
| A date in a contact field | A birthday greeting, or a reminder two days before a villa arrival date |
| A link click in a campaign | Someone who clicked “Wedding packages” receives a brochure and a planning checklist |
| A form submission | A parent who registers for an open day receives directions and a reminder |
| An external event via API or webhook | An online shop sends a follow-up after an order is delivered |
Our FAQ gives an overview of automation actions if you want to see every option.
Step 2: Plan the sequence on paper
Before building, sketch the messages. A welcome series for a Kingston restaurant might be:
- Immediately: thank you, what to expect, this week’s specials.
- Day 3: the story behind the kitchen and your most popular dishes.
- Day 7: how to book for groups and events, with a clear call to action.
Three messages are usually enough. Longer sequences need a strong reason for each email.
Step 3: Build it in Mailpro
Create the automation, choose the trigger and add each email with its delay. Use a template for consistency and personalisation fields for names or booking dates. You can add conditions, for example sending a different second message to subscribers who live outside Jamaica, and chain actions such as adding a tag or moving a contact to another list.
Step 4: Set the right sending hours
Avoid automations that fire at 3 a.m. for the recipient. Jamaica uses Eastern Standard Time all year, with no daylight saving. If your list is mostly local, schedule sends for mid-morning Jamaican time. If many recipients are in the US or Canada, remember they are one hour ahead of Jamaica from March to November, and the UK is five or six hours ahead depending on the season.
Step 5: Test with real contacts
Add yourself and a colleague as test contacts, trigger the automation and check each message on a phone. Look for missing personal fields, broken links and wrong dates. Then use the FAQ on checking that an automation fired to confirm everything worked as planned.
Step 6: Respect consent and opt-outs
Automated promotional emails are direct marketing under Jamaica’s Data Protection Act. Only enrol contacts who consented or who are existing customers offered a free, simple way to object, and include your identity and an unsubscribe option in every message. When someone unsubscribes, check that they are excluded from the rest of the sequence as well as from future campaigns. For contacts overseas, check the rules that apply there, such as CASL for Canada.
Step 7: Review and refresh
Check results monthly at first, then quarterly. Which message has the lowest open rate? Where do people unsubscribe? Update seasonal content before Independence, back-to-school and Christmas. The page on automated email statistics explains what to look at.
A worked example: pre-arrival sequence for a villa
Here is a complete date-based automation for a three-bedroom villa near Ocho Rios, triggered by the arrival date stored in each guest’s record:
- 14 days before arrival: “We’re getting ready for you”. Confirm dates, ask about arrival flight and any dietary needs through a short form.
- 5 days before: practical details, such as the drive time from Sangster International, what the housekeeper can shop for in advance and what to pack for rainy afternoons.
- Day of departure: thank you, with a link to a two-minute feedback survey.
- 30 days after: photos from the season, and an invitation to book again, only for guests who agreed to marketing or were offered the opt-out at booking.
Messages 1 to 3 are service messages linked to the stay. Message 4 is marketing and must follow the Data Protection Act rules. Separating them this way keeps you compliant and keeps the service messages trusted.
Ideas to add next
- A post-purchase thank-you with care instructions or a review request.
- A re-engagement email for subscribers who haven’t opened anything in six months, followed by removal if they don’t respond.
- A hurricane-season “we’re open” or “we’re closed” message you can activate quickly.
For the bigger picture, see automated email marketing in Jamaica.