How to Send Automated Emails from New Zealand

Setting up an automation in Mailpro takes minutes. Deciding what it should do, who it should reach and whether you are allowed to send it takes a little longer, and that thinking is what separates a helpful journey from one that annoys customers. This guide covers both, with examples from New Zealand businesses. For the bigger picture, start with our overview of automated emails.

Before you build: three New Zealand checks

1. Is the message commercial or transactional? Under the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007, a message that confirms or completes a transaction the customer already agreed to, such as a booking confirmation, is not a commercial electronic message. A “you might also like” follow-up is. Commercial messages need consent, accurate sender details and a working unsubscribe link.
2. What kind of consent do you hold? The Department of Internal Affairs gives the example of a gym member who cancels: after that, the gym cannot keep sending commercial messages without fresh consent. Make sure a journey stops when the relationship or the consent ends.
3. When should it land? Time-based sends should use New Zealand time: NZST is UTC+12 and NZDT, from the last Sunday in September to the first Sunday in April, is UTC+13. If you also serve Australian customers, their east coast is two to three hours behind.

Choosing a trigger

• Welcome: sent when someone joins a list. A Nelson brewery might send a short story about the brewery and a link to find its beers locally.
• Link clicked: sent when a subscriber clicks a specific link. Someone who clicks “Kids’ holiday programmes” in a school-holiday newsletter could receive the full timetable the next morning.
• Within a time frame: a sequence spaced over days or weeks after a trigger. A Rotorua tour operator could send a “what to bring” email a week before a booking and a weather-check note the day before.
• Birthday or anniversary: sent on a date stored in the contact record, such as a birthday treat from a Dunedin café’s loyalty club or a membership anniversary.
• Post-purchase and feedback: a thank-you after an order, or a request for feedback via a survey. DIA guidance suggests a follow-up survey is not automatically a transactional message, so send it to people who have agreed to hear from you.
• Re-engagement and renewal: nudges for subscribers who have gone quiet, and reminders before a subscription or membership renews.

The full list of options is on the automation triggers page.

Setting it up in Mailpro, step by step

1. Log in to your Mailpro account and open the application menu at the top of the dashboard.
2. Choose “Automation” to open the automation area.
3. Click “create customer journey” to start a new automation.
4. Select the type of automation, such as welcome or birthday.
5. Configure the trigger, the recipients, and any delay or schedule. Check the timing against New Zealand time.
6. Design the email in the drag-and-drop editor, using NZ English, prices in NZ dollars, and your sender details and unsubscribe link in the footer.
7. Send test emails to yourself and a colleague, on a phone and a laptop, and click every link.
8. Click “Activate”. The journey now runs on its own.

After you switch it on

Check the journey after a week and again after a month. Automated email statistics show whether each step is opened and clicked, and when. Review your journeys at least once a year, and around daylight saving changes, so seasonal content and timing stay accurate. If the rules around consent feel unclear, our page on email marketing law in New Zealand is a good next read.