{"id":22121,"date":"2022-11-22T23:23:21","date_gmt":"2022-11-22T23:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gmass.co\/blog\/?p=22121"},"modified":"2024-05-21T18:50:47","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T18:50:47","slug":"trigger-transactional-email-google-sheet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gmass.co\/blog\/trigger-transactional-email-google-sheet\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Trigger a Transactional Email to New Rows in a Google Sheet"},"content":{"rendered":"
Update: Instant emails in recurring campaigns<\/a> is now a native GMass feature. You no longer need to use this workaround. However, if you’d like to (for whatever reason), it’s preserved here…<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n

Here\u2019s a question that recently came out of the\u00a0GMass Facebook community<\/strong>. (And hey, you should definitely join the group<\/a>, we\u2019re having some great email strategy and GMass discussions over there.)<\/p>\n

Alan asked: “Is there a way to get Google Sheets to trigger a\u00a0transactional email\u00a0when a new row is added (i.e. a person signs up)?”<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Question<\/a><\/p>\n

GMass can check the sheet hourly for new rows with the\u00a0recurring campaign<\/a>\u00a0feature. So if you want to get an email to someone the moment they sign up, odds say there will be a longer delay… in fact, they might be waiting up to 59 minutes.<\/p>\n

You could use the\u00a0GMass Zapier integration<\/a>\u00a0to trigger a transactional email to new rows. But even on the more expensive paid plans there\u2019s still up to a two-minute delay. Plus, there’s a limit on how many times you can use the action per month.<\/p>\n

So I put together a\u00a0Google Apps Script<\/a>\u00a0that you can use to\u00a0automatically fire off an instant transactional email whenever you add a new row (containing a new contact) to a Google Sheet<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

(By the way, this would pair well with our methods for\u00a0how to get subscriber emails from a web form into Google Sheets<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a\u00a0step-by-step guide<\/strong>\u00a0to set up a script to send\u00a0instant, automated transactional emails for your Google Sheet<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Triggered Transactional Emails: Before We Begin<\/h2>\n

A few quick notes before we begin:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Google Apps Scripts involve JavaScript code. Fortunately, in this article, you\u2019ll find a step-by-step walkthrough that should just involve cutting and pasting. However, if you want to modify this script in any way, that will require some comfort with coding<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
  • I\u2019m a writer by trade who\u2019s self-taught some coding over the years. I\u2019m not a developer. So while this code works and it\u2019s safe, I\u2019m sure it\u2019s not as efficient as it potentially could be. The good news? I hear rumors that\u00a0writing inefficient, lengthy code is now good for your career<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Let\u2019s get rolling.<\/p>\n

    Google Apps Script for Sending Transactional Emails to New Rows in a Google Sheet (via the GMass API)<\/h2>\n

    Step 1: Create your Google Sheet<\/h3>\n

    The first thing we need is a\u00a0Google Sheet to collect your email addresses<\/strong>. (And to send these transactional emails to those addresses.)<\/p>\n

    Create a new Google Sheet.<\/p>\n

    For simplicity, I\u2019ve made the first column\u00a0EmailAddresses<\/strong>\u00a0and the last column\u00a0Sent<\/strong>\u00a0(that column will automatically update when the transactional email goes out).<\/p>\n

    You can add columns in between for any other recipient data; you\u2019d need to alter the code if those columns are anywhere but first and last. You\u2019ll also need to alter the code if you want to incorporate the data from those columns (like names and so on) in your transactional email.<\/p>\n

    \"Create<\/a><\/h3>\n

    Step 2: Create a trigger action<\/h3>\n

    The first part of our Google Apps Script journey involves creating a custom trigger so Google Sheets knows when to send a transactional email. I find the custom triggers give us a bit more control than Google\u2019s built-in triggers, so I\u2019m using one here.<\/p>\n

    Go to the\u00a0Extensions<\/strong>\u00a0menu in your Google Sheet. Select\u00a0Apps Script<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    \"Select<\/a><\/p>\n

    Give your project a name up top.<\/p>\n

    Then delete all the default code in the window.<\/p>\n

    And paste in the following code.<\/p>\n

    See the Pen
    \nUntitled<\/a> by Sam G (    @samgmass1<\/a>)
    \non     CodePen<\/a>.<\/p>\n