Marketing-Cloud-Email-Specialist Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Email Specialist (WI24) Questions and Answers

Send Preview is the tool that allows the marketer to review how different variations of an email will render in different email clients. It also enables the marketer to preview dynamic content and personalization strings for each subscriber in a data extension. Content Detective is a tool that scans an email for potential content issues, such as broken links, missing images, or spam triggers. Test Send is a tool that sends a test email to a specified recipient or a test data extension.

Content Detective is a feature that scans email content for potential issues, such as spam triggers, broken links, or invalid personalization strings. Content Detective can also be configured to provide warnings for specific words or phrases, such as [For APPROVAL], before sending an email

Publication List is an object that allows marketers to use Marketing Cloud’s Subscription Center to let subscribers control which types of emails they do not want to receive. Publication Lists can be associated with different types of emails, such as newsletters or promotions, and subscribers can opt out of individual lists without unsubscribing from all emails. Suppression Lists and Exclusion Lists are used to exclude subscribers from receiving certain emails, but they do not allow subscribers to manage their preferences in the Subscription Center. [Source: Trailhead]

The action that the retailer should take to ensure deliverability is not impacted is to send to subscribers, asking for them to confirm opt-in1. Confirming opt-in is a best practice that helps the retailer maintain a clean and engaged email list, which can improve their email reputation and deliverability2. By asking subscribers to confirm their interest in receiving the loyalty series, the retailer can avoid sending unwanted or irrelevant emails that may result in spam complaints, unsubscribes, or low open rates. Confirming opt-in also helps the retailer comply with the CAN-SPAM Act and other privacy regulations that require consent from email recipients3.

Creating a new, friendly From Name for the updated program is not the correct answer, as it does not help with ensuring deliverability. While having a clear and recognizable From Name is important for branding and trust, it does not affect the deliverability of the email itself4. Moreover, changing the From Name too frequently or drastically may confuse or alienate subscribers who are used to seeing a consistent sender identity.

Purging inactive subscribers to avoid high bounce rates is also not the correct answer, as it does not help with ensuring deliverability. While removing invalid or non-existent email addresses from the list can reduce bounce rates, it does not address the issue of subscriber engagement or consent. Purging inactive subscribers may also result in losing potential customers who may still be interested in the retailer’s products or services, but have not opened or clicked on their emails recently. A better approach is to segment and target inactive subscribers with re-engagement campaigns that offer incentives or value propositions to renew their interest. References := 1: Email Deliverability Best Practices for Email Studio - Salesforce 2: Email Deliverability in Salesforce: Ensuring Successful Email Campaigns 3: CAN-SPAM Compliance System Guide - Salesforce 4: Marketing Cloud Deliverability Options - Salesforce : How You Can Keep Email Subscribers Engaged | Salesforce : Build and Analyze Customer Journeys using Marketing Cloud … - Salesforce

 The action that the marketer should take to evaluate conversion of those journeys is to define a goal for each journey1. A goal is a measure of success for a journey, such as a purchase, a subscription, or a registration2. By defining a goal for each journey, the marketer can track how many contacts achieved the desired outcome after receiving the email messages in the journey3. The marketer can also compare the goal metrics across different journeys to identify which ones are more effective and optimize them accordingly4.

Exporting the journey email analytics is not the correct answer, as it does not help evaluate conversion of those journeys. Exporting the journey email analytics is a feature that allows the marketer to download a CSV file with detailed information about the email performance in a journey, such as sends, opens, clicks, bounces, and unsubscribes. By exporting the journey email analytics, the marketer can analyze the email engagement and deliverability in a journey, but they cannot measure the conversion or outcome of the journey.

Reviewing opens and clicks activity summaries is also not the correct answer, as it does not help evaluate conversion of those journeys. Reviewing opens and clicks activity summaries is a feature that allows the marketer to view the aggregate statistics of the email activity in a journey, such as total opens, unique opens, total clicks, and unique clicks. By reviewing opens and clicks activity summaries, the marketer can monitor the email interaction and interest in a journey, but they cannot measure the conversion or outcome of the journey. References := 1: Define Goals - Salesforce 2: Journey Builder Best Practices - Salesforce 3: Analyze Journey Performance - Salesforce 4: Marketing Cloud Journey Builder: How to Measure Success : Export Journey Email Analytics - Salesforce : Email Activity Summary - Salesforce

The Account Send Summary report provides a list of all emails sent from the account or business unit, along with basic metrics such as sends, deliveries, opens, clicks, bounces, and unsubscribes. This report can be filtered by date range and business unit

 The ‘Optimize for Gmail’ checkbox is not related to the interactive form, but to the email layout and rendering. The characters in the CSS tags are limited to 16kB for all email clients, not just Gmail. The fallback content is the only option that ensures the interactive form displays correctly in Gmail, as it provides an alternative content for email clients that do not support interactive forms. You can learn more about this in the Interactive Email Form module on Trailhead.

 The DoNotTrack attribute is a personalization string that can be used to prevent Marketing Cloud from tracking opens and clicks for a specific subscriber. It can be set to true or false in the subscriber’s profile or in a data extension field. If it is set to true, Marketing Cloud will not record any opens or clicks performed by that subscriber.

 A Filter Activity is an Automation Studio activity that allows marketers to create a filtered data extension based on criteria applied to an existing data extension. A Filter Activity can be scheduled to run automatically on a recurring basis, which will refresh the filtered data extension with the latest data that matches the criteria

A SQL Query is a tool that allows marketers to manipulate and filter data from data extensions using SQL statements. A SQL Query can be used to find customers who have purchased a camping tent or foldout camper in the last week and exclude those who have a ‘silver status’. A Filter Definition is a tool that allows marketers to create filters based on attributes or measures from data extensions. A Filter Definition can be used to apply the SQL Query results to the data extension that contains all customer transactions within the last 90 days. A Journey Builder Entry Source is a tool that allows marketers to define the audience for a journey based on data extensions, filters, or events. A Journey Builder Entry Source can be used to select the filtered data extension as the entry source for the campaign.

Einstein STO (Send Time Optimization) Activity is the correct answer. This activity allows you to send an email at the best possible time for each subscriber based on their past engagement behavior. Einstein STO uses artificial intelligence to analyze when each subscriber is most likely to open an email and schedules the send accordingly. This can help increase the engagement rate of your email by reaching your subscribers when they are most receptive. Wait Until Activity is an activity that allows you to pause a journey until a specific date or time, or until a specific attribute value changes. Engagement Split is an activity that allows you to split a journey based on how subscribers interacted with a previous email, such as opening or clicking. You can learn more about these activities in the Journey Builder Activities module on Trailhead.

The first action the team should take to make the edits is to update email approval status1. Updating email approval status allows the team to change the status of the email from approved to pending, which enables them to make changes to the email content, subject line, preheader, or sender profile1. After making the edits, the team can resubmit the email for approval and send it to the business units.

Canceling send using email is not the correct answer, as it does not allow the team to make edits to the email. Canceling send using email is a feature that lets the team stop an email send that is in progress or scheduled for a future date2. However, it does not affect the approval status or content of the email.

Unsharing the email is also not the correct answer, as it does not allow the team to make edits to the email. Unsharing the email is a feature that lets the team remove access to the email from other business units3. However, it does not affect the approval status or content of the email. References := 1: Edit an Approved Email - Salesforce 2: Cancel Send Using Email - Salesforce 3: Share Content Across Business Units - Salesforce

An Import Activity is a type of automation activity that can be used to import data from an external source into a data extension. It supports various file transfer protocols, including Amazon S3 buckets. An Import Activity can be configured to run on a schedule or triggered by an event.

To restrict the types of content within the content slot, you can configure content blocks to only be usable within approved templates. This will ensure that only content blocks that match your branding guidelines can be used in your emails.

The List Unsubscribe header is a feature that allows subscribers to unsubscribe from an email by clicking a link in their email client. This feature does not require RMM to be enabled in the account, and it can generate unsubscribe reasons related to RMM

To be notified of any abnormal subscriber behavior with its ‘Weekly Deal email, you should use Einstein Messaging Insights. This feature provides notification badges to alert you of any performance issues or opportunities with your email campaigns. You can see how your emails are performing compared to your historical averages and benchmarks, and get recommendations on how to improve your results.

A nightly automation with a filter activity can help ensure they have fresh data for their sends by updating the filtered data extensions with the latest data from the primary data extension. A verification step in the send automation may not be sufficient if the data changes frequently or if there are multiple send automations. An approval process for sending may not affect the freshness of the data.

 Verification Activity is the correct answer. This activity allows you to set criteria for an automation to run successfully or fail based on data counts or validation errors. For example, you can use a verification activity to check if the file size or the number of records in a file is greater than zero before processing it. This can help prevent empty files or data points from being imported or processed by your automation. Wait Activity is not a valid option, as this activity only allows you to pause an automation for a specific duration or until a specific date or time. Skip Automation is not a valid option either, as this option only allows you to skip an automation if it is already running when it is scheduled to run again. You can learn more about this in the Automation Studio Basics module on Trailhead.

To test different subject lines with a pilot group and then send the winning subject line out to the remaining customers, you should place a random split before path optimizer for the pilot group. This will allow you to divide your audience into two groups: one for testing and one for holding back. Then, you can use path optimizer to test up to 10 subject lines with the testing group and select the winner based on open rate or click rate. Finally, you can send the winning subject line to the holdback group.

Automation Studio and Journey Builder can be used to accommodate this request. Automation Studio can be used to create an automation that runs daily and injects new records from the data extension into a journey. Journey Builder can be used to create a journey that sends a customized ‘congratulations’ email immediately after entry, and then waits for 14 days before sending a review request email. Journey Builder and Behavioral Triggers would not work because behavioral triggers are based on web or mobile app activity, not purchase data. Automation Studio and Path Optimizer would not work because path optimizer is used to test different paths within a journey, not different product recommendations.

 A data retention policy allows you to automatically delete records from a data extension based on a specified time period. This feature can help you maintain a data extension’s records and comply with data privacy regulations

To identify the subscribers who have opened an email in the past year, you should use the _Open data view. This is a system data view that stores information about email open events for all subscribers in your account. You can query this data view using SQL to filter by date and email name or ID

The originally approved version of the email will be sent if the approval is withdrawn after scheduling the send. The withdrawal of approval does not affect the scheduled send, unless the marketer cancels or reschedules it manually. [Source: Trailhead]

To process the files as they are received while minimizing network, you should replace the schedule with file drop and use a filename pattern. This will allow you to trigger the automation whenever a file with a specific name pattern is dropped into the Marketing Cloud SFTP

 Withdraw email approval is the first action that should be taken to make the edits. Withdraw email approval is a feature that allows you to revoke the approval status of an email and make changes to it. You can use this feature if you need to update an approved email before sending it or sharing it with other business units. Unshare the email is not necessary if you want to make edits to the email, and it may affect the access of other business units. Cancel send using email is not relevant if you have not scheduled or sent the email yet.

Send Classification is the correct answer. A send classification is a setting that defines the type, priority, and sender information for an email send. There are three types of send classifications: commercial, transactional, and operational. Transactional send classifications are used for emails that are triggered by a subscriber’s action, such as a purchase confirmation or a password reset. Transactional emails are sent to subscribers regardless of their opt-in status, as they are considered essential communications. You can learn more about this in the Email Creation and Sending module on Trailhead.

Web Studio to capture Query parameters from social media link is the correct answer. This option allows you to create landing pages or microsites using Marketing Cloud tools and data that can capture information from users who visit your pages from social channels, such as Facebook or Twitter. You can use query parameters in your social media link to pass information such as user ID, name, email address, etc., and then use AMPscript or SSJS code in your Web Studio page to retrieve and store that information in a data extension or list for future mailing. Use Journey Builder to build an audience using Ad Studio is not a valid option, as this option only allows you to create audiences based on existing contacts in Marketing Cloud or Salesforce CRM, not new users from social channels. Use an interactive form from Email Studio to collect this information is not a valid option either, as this option only allows you to collect information from users who already receive your emails, not new users from social channels. You can learn more about this in the [Web Studio Basics] module on Trailhead.

 Journey Builder is a tool that allows marketers to create personalized, cross-channel customer journeys based on real-time behavior and data. Journey Builder can integrate with Salesforce CRM and other systems to update records based on customer actions. For example, a marketer can use a Salesforce Data Event to trigger a journey when a customer registers for an event, and then use a Salesforce Data Update Activity to update the customer’s RSVP status when they click a button in the confirmation email

Data filters are low-code tools that can be used to create segments based on criteria applied to data extensions. They can be used to filter subscribers by age, opt-in status, or any other attribute. Filtering the .csv file before import is not a low-code option, and writing a query is a code-based option.

An automation that imports subscriber data regularly and updates key data extensions is what NTO should create as a good first step to add automation to its email marketing. This automation will help NTO keep its subscriber data up-to-date and consistent across different data extensions. It will also enable NTO to use this data for segmentation, personalization, reporting, etc. An automation that deletes old data extensions, emails, and reports may be useful for cleaning up unused assets, but it is not directly related to email marketing. An automation that contains several recurring emails and decisioning points may be too complex for a first step and may require more planning and testing.

The Update Contact Activity is used to update the contact data in Journey Builder, not to make decisions on it. To make decisions on the status data, it should be connected to the contact in an attribute group and used in a decision-split activity on the journey canvas. [Source: Trailhead]

 The best text for a call-to-action button is clear, concise, and compelling. Option A provides the most information about what the user will get by clicking the button, while also creating a sense of urgency and value. Option B is too vague and does not specify what the user will download, and option C is not a call-to-action at all, but rather a statement.

The correct answer is A because a SQL Query activity can be used to select the unique email addresses from the data extension, a Data Extract activity can be used to export the data to a CSV file, and a File Transfer activity can be used to move the file to the Enhanced FTP Export folder. A Filter activity is not needed because the SQL Query can handle the filtering logic. A File Transfer activity is required to move the file from the Safehouse to the FTP folder.

Journey Performance by Email Dashboard is the preconfigured dashboard that NTO should review to get an idea of which journeys are performing the best. This dashboard shows key metrics such as open rate, click rate, conversion rate, and unsubscribe rate for each email in each journey. Email and Journey Overview Dashboard shows a summary of all email and journey activities, but not at the individual email level. Email Performance Dashboard shows metrics for individual emails, but not grouped by journeys.

 To import the Not Sent extract into a data extension, you need to use three activities in Automation Studio: a tracking extract activity to generate the extract file, a file transfer activity to move the file to the import folder, and an import activity to import the file into a data extension.

 Reviewing opens and clicks activity summaries is the best action to evaluate journey performance, as it provides information about how subscribers are engaging with the emails sent from the journey. The activity summaries show metrics such as unique opens, unique clicks, unsubscribes, bounces, and complaints for each email activity in the journey. These metrics can help the marketer assess the effectiveness of the email content, design, and timing.

Journey Builder is the tool that allows marketers to create and manage customer journeys across multiple channels and touchpoints. Journey Builder can also perform A/B testing and random splits to test different versions of messages and paths. [Source: Trailhead]

To easily segment the data extension into 10 separate segments, you should use the random data extension feature. This feature allows you to create a new data extension with a random sample of records from an existing data extension. You can specify the number of records or the percentage of records to include in the random data extension.

 Interactive Email Form block is the content block that the team should use to capture information directly from the inbox for some subscribers. Interactive Email Form block allows marketers to create forms within emails that can be filled out and submitted by subscribers without leaving their email clients. The form data can then be stored in a data extension for future use. Smart Capture block is used to create forms within landing pages, not within emails. Einstein Content block is used to display personalized content based on subscriber behavior and preferences, not to capture information from subscribers.

 If you need to personalize an email with dynamic content using data from different sources, such as Open Data View and Purchase Data Extension, you should use Attribute Group as a way to source the data. Attribute Groups allow you to create relationships between different data sources using common fields or keys. This way, you can access data from multiple sources using one attribute group name in your dynamic content rules or AMPscript code. SQL Query Activity is a tool that allows you to manipulate data using SQL statements, but it does not create relationships between data sources. Data Filter is a tool that allows you to filter data based on criteria, but it does not create relationships between data sources either. You can learn more about this in the [Data Modeling Basics] module on Trailhead.

Data Filter is a tool that allows marketers to create filtered data extensions based on criteria without writing SQL queries. Data Filter can also provide a quick count of records that match the criteria before creating the filtered data extension. [Source: Trailhead]

 Removing the bounced addresses before the next send is a best practice to uphold the sender reputation and avoid being marked as spam. Bounce rates above 10% are considered high and can negatively affect the deliverability and engagement of email campaigns. [Source: Trailhead]

 Einstein Content Selection is the feature that NTO should use to build a welcome journey for new customers with dynamic content in each email. Einstein Content Selection allows marketers to create personalized content for each customer based on their behavior and preferences, and also include assets that are automatically optimized based on real-time performance data. Einstein Content Selection can be used with Content Builder to create dynamic content blocks that can be inserted into emails and journeys. 

Content Detective is the correct answer. Content Detective is a tool that allows you to scan your email content for any words or phrases that may trigger spam filters or cause deliverability issues. Content Detective assigns a score to your email based on the number and severity of the flags it detects, and provides suggestions on how to improve your content. You can learn more about this in the Email Testing Tools module on Trailhead.

AMPscript Search Functions can be used to build this level of personalization into the email that Northern Trail Outfitters is looking for. AMPscript Search Functions allow marketers to query data from multiple data extensions within a single email and use conditional logic to display personalized content based on the results. Personalization Strings can only access data from the sendable data extension or the subscriber attributes, not from other data extensions. Enhanced Dynamic Content Blocks can only access data from a single data extension that is linked to a filter definition, not from multiple data extensions.