Send a Dynamic Email Using Zapier

Connect Zapier to your Brillium account and create a dynamic email for respondents.

Brillium has partnered with Zapier to make transferring Brillium data to all of your web applications easier. This article shows how to connect Zapier to your Brillium account and use it to send an email to respondents who have completed a Brillium assessment.

While Brillium has a very useful Application Program Interface (API), making the most of it requires developer know-how and coding skills. Modern integration services like Zapier, IFTTT, and others have emerged as mostly point-and-click solutions that allow users to easily create scheduled actions to move data from one web application to another.

To use Zapier, you create a Zapier “connector” that defines what data to read from one web application (like Brillium) and send to another (like a mailing list, for example).

To demonstrate how easy Zapier is to use and model how to use the Brillium Zapier connector, we'll create a sample Zapier "Zap" that creates an email sent to respondents who have completed an assessment created in Brillium. Let’s get started..

Step 1 - Create a Brillium API Key

In order for Zapier to connect to your Brillium account, a one-time connection needs to be established between the two. This is achieved by creating a Brillium API Key that Zapier will use to authenticate itself as a trusted source to access Brillium data.

NOTE: To accomplish the following steps, you must log in to Brillium as an Organization Administrator and enter the Primary Workspace (this is usually the first Workspace created when you purchased Brillium). If you do not see API as an option under Settings (gear icon), you are not in the Primary Workspace. The Brillium API Key is used in later steps, but it only needs to be created once.

Step 2 - Create a Zap

A Zap is a blueprint and series of steps for a task that will be done over and over again. For example, every time a new assessment result is created in Brillium, send those results to a Google Sheets spreadsheet.

1. Log into your Zapier Account
2. Select Make a Zap or Create Zap
3. In the App Event "Search apps..." text box, enter "Brillium" and select the Brillium Zapier Connector
4. In the Choose app & event dialog, select the appropriate Trigger Event (for example, choose New Assessment Result).
5. Select the Continue button
6. In the Choose Account dropdown, select + Connect New Account (or select a Brillium account if you have already created one)
   1. In the Subdomain text box, select your Brillium instance sub domain (for example, mydomain.onlinetests.app)
   2. In the API Key text box, enter the API Key generated in Step 1 Item 3 above.
   3. Select Yes, Continue.
   4. When the account connection is successful, the window will close
7. In the Zapier window, select Continue

NOTE: 

• A trigger is an event that tells Zapier to take an action. For example, the trigger can be when a New Assessment Result is created (used as an example in this article) OR when there is a New Assessment created. 
• If your Subdomain or API key is entered incorrectly, you will receive an error message similar to: “We hit an error adding your new account.” If so, close the dialog box and make sure you have entered all information correctly. 

Step 3 - Connect the Zap to Brillium

A Zap is effectively a blueprint for a task that will be done and over again.

• Select Yes, Continue
• If the account connection is successful, the window will close
• In the original window, select Continue

Step 4 - Set up a Zapier Trigger

Once Brillium is successfully connected, Zapier will retrieve a list of your Brillium assessments, display in a dropdown list.

1. Depending on your selection in Step 3 Item #4, you will be presented with a dropdown to select a trigger. In this example, we are looking to trigger an action for each New Assessment Result.
2. To do this, we select the Assessment you wish to monitor from the dropdown list presented.
3. Select Continue

IMPORTANT: Before you complete this step, you must have at least one assessment with at least one result because Zapier will retrieve a sample result in order to test the integration. Additionally, if you want particular Custom Fields represented in this result, make sure that you have established those fields as needed on the Brillium assessment login screen.

Step 5 - Test Brillium

Once an assessment is selected, Zapier will retrieve a sample of the Brillium assessment data to test the connection and ensure everything is working properly.

1. Select Test trigger to test the Zapier trigger. NOTE: The test will actually attempt to read your Brillium data.
2. Select Continue

Step 6 - Choose a Zapier Action

Now that there is a trigger, Zapier’s “Do this…” will help you significantly save time, minimize effort, and automate processes.

1. Select the App from which the email will be sent from
2. Select the Action Event Send Email
3. Select Continue
4. Select the email account associated with the email app
5. Select Continue

Step 7 - Create a Dynamic Email

Using Zapier requires a minimum of two web applications: The first is the source, which in this case is Brillium. The second is the destination application, which in this case is Email by Zapier. In the preceding steps, we have integrated these two applications so that now Zapier has access to all the Brillium data you need to effectively communicate with respondents. In this example, we will use that data to first identify all respondents and then email them their results, so they may review them on their own.

NOTE: It is very common to encounter duplicate fields on this screen, either with similar or identical names; make sure to always select the field containing populated information as that is Zapier’s way of verifying fields where data actually exists.

1. In the To field, select Email from the dropdown
2. A Subject line is required; i.e. “Your Assessment Results”
3. In the Body (HTML or Plain) field, we will compose a brief message that contains dynamic fields.
4. To create the dynamic fields, an Insert Data dropdown will display beneath the Body text-box. Select the appropriate dynamic fields for the Body message.
5. When all necessary fields have been completed, select Continue

TIP: Example of dynamic fields for the Body message:

Congratulations [First Name]! You've completed the [Assessment ID] assessment! You spent a total of [Time] (hours:minutes:seconds), achieving a total score of: [FinalScore]. Thanks for your participation! The Assessment Team

Step 8 - Test Outbound Email and Finish

Congratulations, you've created your first Zap with Brillium and Zapier!

1. Select Test & Review (to test and preview the email) OR Test & Continue (to test the email and go on to the next step)
2. Select Done Editing
3. Select Turn Zap On
4. Select Go To My Zaps to return to the Zapier dashboard

NOTE: In this example, we’ve created a single action, but Zapier actually lets you create a series of actions in a single Zap, so that, adding on, you could send a respondent’s score to Salesforce, HubSpot, or Thinkific. In fact, the ways in which Zapier can help you streamline your Brillium processes are limited only by your imagination. When you’re ready to try something new, just follow the steps above, modifying them for your particular needs. In short order, you will be Zapping like a pro. Feel free to let us know about your experience, and, of course, like always, if you need further guidance or assistance, contact support@brillium.com.