Collections

With collections, you manage relational data connected to your contacts. The contents of the relational data can be freely decided. You can use this functionality for things like orders and order items, or account managers or addresses. Based on this data, you can personalize using conditional content and filters.

There are a few conditions for using this functionality:

• The functionality needs to be requested through Spotler.
• For collections, you need a REST API connection.
• You can use a maximum of two collections per campaign.

 

In this article, you learn more about:

• Introduction relational data (demo)
• Create a collection
• Fill and manage the collection

Introduction relational data (demo)

Our Product Owner Luka de Fluiter will show you step by step how to set up and manage collections in this video.

Create a collection

You create collections in the desired campaign under Setup → Collections.

1. Click Insert to create a collection. Choose a clear name and description. Click Continue.
   In this example, we create a collection of orders.

   

2. Create the columns with the data you wish to collect. Click Add to create a new column.

   

   • Choose a recognizable name.
   • Select the correct data type.
   • Decide whether each value in this field should be Unique. If so, each value is only allowed to occur once.
   • Click Save when all settings are ready.
     
     In this example, we add an order number.

     

3. After creating the columns, define a relation between the contacts and the collection.

   
   At Type, you select how many collection items can belong to how many contacts.

   • One to One — One collection item can belong to one contact. For example, a home address.
   • One to Many — One collection item can belong to multiple contacts. For example, a collection of interests or account managers.
   • Many to One — Many collection items can belong to one contact. For example, orders or pets.
   
   The Source collection is the collection you connect your current collection to. These are the contacts or another collection.
   
   You connect two collections using the Source column and the Target column. 
   Click Save when the settings are ready.
   
   
4. Click Validate & Apply in the top-right corner to apply all changes. Check if everything is set up correctly and click Publish changes.
   
   The collection is now ready for use.

   

Fill and manage the collection

The data in the collection can be found under Data → Collections.
It's possible to manage the data by hand, but for large or dynamic collections, we strongly recommend using the REST API.

Manually create, update and delete records

• Create: Click Insert. Enter the desired data. Click Save.
  
• Update: Click Edit in the data record. Edit the desired data. Click Save.
• Delete: Click Delete in the data record. Confirm via the popup.

Search for records

Select the column(s) you wish to search. Enter your search term and click Search.

Using collections in personalization

You can use collections to create filters and show personalized content in emails. See the articles below to learn more about how to use collections in personalization.

• Filters
• How do I apply personalization in my message?