Using Email Filters To Send Emails To Recipients Based On Activity

Reaching the right clients at the right time can make a significant difference in your sales and client engagement. Zenfolio's email filtering feature lets you target your marketing emails based on how contacts have interacted with your Gallery, so you can send a follow-up nudge to clients who haven't yet ordered, reward those who have, or re-engage visitors who saved favorites but haven't made any purchases.

Default filters are available to all Zenfolio subscribers. Custom filters are exclusive to Advanced subscribers. Filters related to e-commerce activity (such as order history) are only available on plans that include e-commerce functionality.

This article will walk you through:

• Accessing Email Filters from the Gallery Activity Tab
• Accessing Email Filters from the Share Menu
• Using the Default Filters
• Building a Custom Filter (Advanced subscribers only)
• Important Notes on Filter Behavior

Accessing Email Filters

From the Gallery Activity Tab

The Gallery Activity tab includes a quick-access tile that makes it easy to jump straight into filtered email sends without navigating through the full share flow.

1. In your Zenfolio account, click on the Galleries icon on the far left-hand side.
2. Open the Gallery you want to work with.
3. Click on the Activity tab within that Gallery.
4. Locate the Marketing Emails tile. This tile displays your available default filters as clickable options, as well as a link to create a custom filter.
5. Click on any of the listed filters to be taken directly into the Share flow with that filter already applied and ready to use.

From the Share Menu

You can also access email filtering directly from the standard share flow.

1. From within your Gallery, click the Share button.
2. Select Share by Email from the options that appear.
3. Under the Send Email To section, you will see your contact groups listed. Just to the right of All Contacts, click the new Filter by Action tab.

This opens the email filtering panel, where you can select contact groups to filter and choose or build the conditions you want to apply.

Choosing Which Contact Groups to Filter

Once you are in the Filter by Action view, the first step is selecting which contact groups this filter should apply to.

• You will see any groups associated with the Gallery listed — such as Clients, Visitors, and Guests.
• Click to select or deselect any groups. The filter will only apply to the contact groups you have selected.

Using the Default Filters

Three default filters are available to all subscribers with email and/or e-commerce access on their plan. Select the one that matches who you want to reach:

• Have not placed an order in the last 30 days — Surfaces contacts from your selected groups who have not yet made a purchase in the past 30 days. Ideal for a gentle sales nudge or a limited-time offer reminder.
• Have placed an order in the last 30 days — Surfaces contacts who have already purchased. Perfect for a thank-you message, a review request, or an upsell.
• Have saved favorites in the last 30 days — Surfaces contacts who have saved images to their favorites but may not have taken action yet. A great audience for a "Ready to order?" follow-up.

Click any of these filters to apply it. The contact list will immediately update to show only the contacts from your selected groups who meet that criteria.

Example: You just wrapped up a youth sports season. You want to reach out to families who saved favorites but haven't ordered prints yet. Select the families contact group, then apply the Have saved favorites in the last 30 days filter to see exactly who to follow up with — without having to dig through order reports manually.

Building a Custom Filter

Exclusive to Advanced subscribers.

If the default filters don't quite fit your needs, you can build your own filter by combining multiple conditions together. This gives you precise control over which contacts receive your email.

1. In the filtering panel, select Set Your Own Filter.
2. Under Condition 1, use the first dropdown to choose either Have or Have not. This determines whether you're targeting contacts who have or have not taken a specific action.
3. In the second dropdown, choose the action you want to filter by. Your options are:
   • Viewed Gallery
   • Placed an Order
   • Saved Favorites
   • Downloaded Images
4. Use the time period selector to define the date range for this condition. You can choose from:
   • Last 7 days
   • Last 30 days
   • Before a specific date
   • After a specific date
   • A custom date range
5. To layer additional criteria onto your filter, click Add New Condition.
6. Choose whether to connect the conditions with And or Or:
   • And — The contact must meet all conditions to be included.
   • Or — The contact only needs to meet one of the conditions to be included.
7. Set up your additional condition the same way as Condition 1 by choosing Have or Have Not, and selecting the action you want to filter by (Viewed Gallery, Saved Favorites, Downloaded Images).

Example: You want to email clients who viewed the Gallery and saved favorites, but have not yet placed an order. Set Condition 1 to Have viewed gallery and Condition 2 to Have saved favorites, connected with And. Then add a third condition: Have not placed an order — also connected with And. Adjust the time period on each condition as needed. Now your email goes only to the contacts who are genuinely engaged but haven't converted yet.

Sending or Scheduling Your Filtered Email

Once your filter is configured and you can see the filtered contact list, you're ready to send.

1. Compose your email as you normally would within the share panel.
2. When you're ready, click Send Email to send immediately, or use Schedule Email to set a future send time (if scheduling is available on your plan).

Tips for Getting the Most from Email Filters

• Pair filters with a strong subject line. Because you know exactly who you're emailing and why, you can write a subject line that speaks directly to their situation — which typically leads to higher open rates.
• Use the Gallery Activity tile for repeat campaigns. If you regularly run post-shoot follow-up emails, the Marketing Emails tile in the Activity tab lets you launch a filtered send quickly without extra navigation.
• Combine conditions thoughtfully on custom filters. Using And narrows your audience (everyone must meet all conditions); using Or broadens it (anyone meeting any condition is included). Start narrow and expand if your audience seems too small.
• Check your e-commerce plan access. Order-based filters — such as "have placed an order" or "have not placed an order" — require an active e-commerce plan. If those options are not appearing, confirm that e-commerce is enabled on your current subscription.

If you have questions about setting up your email campaigns or need help with your contact groups, our helpful Zenfolio Pros are here to help.

For more on sharing Galleries with clients, Click Here for more information about Sharing Your Gallery by Email.