Timestamp Live or Sample Email with Send/Delivered TimeDate?

[nhabischWings]

Hello!
Curious if it is possible to "timestamp" within an email footer the DateTime that the email was Sent and/or Delivered for both a Sample Draft and/or a Live Email?

We currently use the system date token - but that obviously updates to whatever the current DateTime is when viewed for saved samples.

From what I can tell this doesn't seem possible, but thought I'd reach out to wiser minds 🙂 

[reetusharmaGrz1]

Hi @nhabischWings 

No, Marketo does not currently support a token that will permanently stamp the exact sent/delivered time into the email content itself at the time of send.

But i think we can use velocity script for this 

You could store the send time in a custom field via a flow step just before send (with a slight wait step before send) Then reference that in the email with velocity script.

Thanks

[Jo_Pitts1]

@reetusharmaGrz1 ,

there are a few things correct in what you've said, and a few things that aren't.

First, let's step back and consider three things:

1. When an email was composed/built
2. When an email was sent
3. When an email was delivered

The only action of those that can be accurately stamped is the time the email was composed/built.  That is, when the email you've designed in Marketo's email builder get's converted into static text and HTML as part of a send email flow step.  At that point, nothing about the content in the email can be altered.  I've highlighted the 'in' because an image that is referenced in the email can be changed at any point.

The email can't be stamped in its content with the time it was sent, as the email has already been converted into something static.  It's fair to consider that the time the email is built is roughly the time the email is sent, however it isn't the same and may be significantly different on occasions.

The time the email is delivered is totally out of Marketo's control and again, the email is static at this point.

So, neither of the second two times can be timestamped in the email content as the email has been built into a static form at this point, but let's consider built time to be a proxy for sent-ish 🙂

Date stamping a field in a flow step and then using Velocity to render the value of that field will be less accurate than simply using a {{system.datetime}} token to indicate when the email was built, as the flow step happens even earlier than the build.  Especially given that you're proposing a wait step between that and the send email flow step.

It should also be pointed out that, to the best of my knowledge, no MAP/ESP provides a way of stamping in the email content exactly when the email was sent, and none can provide a way of stamping in the email content when the email was delivered.

Regards

Jo

[uditmathur]

Hi @nhabischWings ,

Can you elaborate your use case. 

What are you looking to achieve. 

[nhabischWings]

For Compliance/Records reason looking to possibly have a "timestamp" in the footer of the email when it is send or delivered.
Basically, so if we send a Sample Draft for records it could have the DateTime in the footer AND also possibly for live sends.

We sometimes get people responding to emails for whatever reason so would be helpful if there was a DateTime in the footer with the timestamp for when it was sent or more likely delivered to the recipient.

[Michael_Florin]

You can put the tokens {{system.dateTime}} or {{system.date}} on an email. It will the render the date or datetime the email was processed via Smart Campaign.

[uditmathur · Accepted solution]

Hi @nhabischWings ,

As @Michael_Florin mentioned you can use datetime token this will be rendered at the time of email processing & marked on the footer.

When anyone replies on that email, still the datetime token will as marked & not will change.

Hope this Helps 😊

[nhabischWings]

Yep, that's what we currently do - so good to confirm.
I will note that the only time that sometimes gets weird is if saving an email version for Compliance or such as an HTML file then when it renders the email it will use the system date which is typically the current date and not necessarily the date the file was saved/downloaded.
But there's not really a good workaround for that case other then a screenshot.

[SanfordWhiteman]

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For Compliance/Records reason looking to possibly have a "timestamp" in the footer of the email when it is send or delivered.

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Hmm. I find it pretty unlikely — having worked with compliance archives a lot — that an end user-controlled (i.e. easily forged) value would pass muster with a regulator.

The Date: and Received: headers of any Marketo email contain timestamps that, as long as the receiving server isn’t maliciously configured to alter them, are accurate. You can always read those on the client side.

[nhabischWings]

Fair point on the end-user-controlled value point.

Also, on the Delivered side of things, yeah that makes total sense.

Thank you for the input!