Frequently asked questions about Publicators

Publicators is a cloud based marketing automation platform that centralizes all of a company's outbound communication with its customers. In one system you can send email newsletters, SMS messages and WhatsApp Business messages, build automated customer journeys, manage mailing lists and segments, create landing pages, forms and surveys, and measure results in reports.

Instead of running a separate vendor for every channel, contact data, activity history and consent status all live in one place and serve every channel.

Publicators supports three primary sending channels plus several capture and conversion channels:

• Email: newsletters, targeted campaigns and automated messages.
• SMS: marketing messages, operational updates and reminders.
• WhatsApp Business: template based messages sent through an official WhatsApp Business account.
• Landing pages, forms and popups: collecting contacts and signups.
• Surveys: gathering feedback and data that updates the contact profile.

All channels can be combined inside a single automated customer journey.

The platform suits any organization that maintains an ongoing relationship with a customer or subscriber base in Israel. That includes online stores and retail chains that want to connect messaging to purchase data, nonprofits maintaining a donor community, education and healthcare institutions, financial services and insurance providers, B2B companies running long lead nurture cycles, and digital agencies operating campaigns for several clients.

The fit is strongest when content is in Hebrew and full RTL support is required, and when more than one channel needs to work together.

Publicators focuses on the outbound customer communication layer and works alongside the systems you already run. If you have a sales CRM, a support desk or an internal management system, they connect to Publicators through the API so customer data flows between them, while all email, SMS and WhatsApp messaging is managed and measured in one place.

Yes. The interface, templates, reports and support are available in Hebrew, and the platform is built for RTL from the ground up. That covers right to left content editing, email templates that render correctly in Hebrew across mail clients, Hebrew forms and landing pages, and correct handling of Hebrew SMS message length. Teams with a bilingual audience can manage English content in the same account.

Not for daily work. Building a newsletter, creating a segment, sending an SMS, assembling a landing page and launching a customer journey are all done in visual editors without writing code. Technical involvement is only needed for specific tasks, such as adding domain authentication records for email sending, connecting the API to a store or CRM, or editing a custom HTML template. The Publicators team supports those steps as part of onboarding.

Yes. Multi brand organizations and agencies running campaigns for different clients can work with separation between accounts or between lists, with distinct users and permissions for each entity. Each brand keeps its own mailing list, templates and reports without mixing data across entities. The exact structure is defined during setup based on how the business operates.

The email module includes a visual newsletter builder, a library of ready made templates including Hebrew layouts, list and segment management for choosing the audience, scheduled sending, A/B testing, personalization and dynamic content, and preview and test sending before launch. After a send, a detailed report shows delivery, opens, clicks, unsubscribes and conversions.

There are three ways to build a campaign, depending on how much control you want:

• Drag and drop editor: assemble the email from blocks for text, image, button, product and divider, with no code.
• Ready made template: start from an existing layout, swap in your content and colors, and save it as a house template for reuse.
• Custom HTML: upload or paste HTML produced by an external designer.

Yes. Templates are responsive and adapt to screen width, so the same campaign reads well on desktop and on a phone. Before sending you can preview both the mobile and desktop versions and confirm that Hebrew content displays correctly from right to left.

Yes. You can insert personal fields from the contact profile into the message, such as first name, city, preferred branch, join date or loyalty points. Beyond individual fields, you can define dynamic content: whole blocks that appear or stay hidden based on a condition, so a single send shows different products or messages to different audiences without preparing separate versions.

Yes. You can run a test comparing subject lines, sender names, designs or content, send each version to part of the list, and see which one produced more opens or clicks. The winning version can then go out to the rest of the list, so decisions rest on data rather than assumption.

Yes. A campaign can be prepared and scheduled for an exact date and time, including recurring sends and messages scheduled inside a customer journey. Automated sends triggered by an event, such as joining a list or completing a purchase, go out in real time without manual involvement.

Deliverability rests on three things the platform handles together: correct technical setup of the sending domain using SPF, DKIM and DMARC records so mailbox providers recognize the send as authorized, sending infrastructure with reputation monitoring and automatic handling of addresses that bounce, and ongoing list hygiene that immediately removes opt outs and problematic addresses.

During onboarding the Publicators team guides domain setup and the first deliverability checks.

Yes. Messages triggered by an event in another system, such as an order confirmation, shipping update, password reset or appointment reminder, can be sent through an API call or a journey trigger. These go out in real time to a single recipient rather than as a bulk campaign, and they can carry the same brand design as the rest of your messaging.

Yes, and it is a recommended step for every send. You can view a preview, send a test to internal addresses, check how personalization fields render with real data, and confirm that every link works and is tracked. Only after that approval do you release the send to the full list.

The SMS module lets you send text messages to a list or segment, schedule sends in advance, insert personal fields into the message, shorten links and track clicks, and receive a detailed delivery report. SMS can be sent as a standalone campaign or as a step inside a customer journey, for example a reminder that goes only to recipients who did not open an earlier email.

Hebrew messages are encoded in Unicode, so a single message unit holds up to 70 characters, compared with 160 characters for a message using Latin characters only. A longer message is split into several billable units but arrives on the handset as one continuous message. While composing, the platform displays the character count and the number of billable units so you can shorten the text before sending.

Yes. A sender ID can be configured so recipients see your brand name rather than a number, which makes the message instantly recognizable. Sender IDs are subject to mobile carrier approval and limitations, so they are configured during setup. Note that when a sender ID is used, recipients cannot reply to the message, so the opt out mechanism has to rely on a link or another route stated in the message.

Yes. Links in a message are shortened automatically, both to save characters and to enable tracking. The report shows how many recipients clicked and who they were, and that group can immediately become a segment or a trigger that continues the flow, for example a follow up message sent only to those who clicked.

SMS is priced separately from the platform subscription, through a message bank purchased in advance. The unit price decreases as the bank size grows, and the balance updates in real time against actual sends. Since a long Hebrew message counts as more than one unit, message length is worth factoring into campaign planning.

A promotional SMS must include a simple way to opt out under Israeli law. The platform supports adding an opt out mechanism to the message and automatically records opt out requests back to the contact profile. Once a contact opts out, they are excluded from future marketing sends, including messages sent automatically from customer journeys.

SMS suits short, time sensitive messages that need to be read within minutes, such as a one day promotion, an appointment reminder or a delivery update. Email suits longer designed content such as a content newsletter, a product catalog or a detailed customer update. The most efficient combination is to send the email first and then a short SMS only to those who did not open it, which avoids paying for unnecessary messages.

Publicators sends WhatsApp messages through the official WhatsApp Business channel, from the same system used to manage email and contacts. You can send to a list or segment, insert personal fields into the message, use WhatsApp as a step inside a customer journey, and see delivery and read reports. Using the official channel is what makes business scale sending possible, unlike manual sending from a phone.

WABA stands for WhatsApp Business Account, the official business account through which messages are sent. Sending WhatsApp at business scale requires one, and it is opened in the name of your business and belongs to your business. Publicators guides the setup and connection process, but the approvals themselves, including business verification and phone number approval, are granted by Meta.

Guided setup is a one time fee covering professional support in opening the business account and connecting it to the platform: preparing the required materials, guiding business verification with Meta, connecting the phone number, configuring the business profile, and building the first message templates. The account is opened in the client's name and remains the client's property, and Meta grants the approvals.

One time setup fee

WhatsApp only allows a business to initiate contact with a customer through a message template approved in advance by Meta. The template defines the message structure and contains variables that are filled at send time with personal data such as a name, order number or date. Template approval goes through Meta and usually takes a short time, so it is worth preparing templates ahead of planned campaigns.

Meta classifies messages by purpose, and the classification affects both the rules and the cost:

• Marketing: promotions, product launches, newsletters. Requires explicit consent from the recipient.
• Utility or service: replies within a conversation the customer opened, such as an order inquiry.
• Authentication: one time codes for login and identity verification.

The category is chosen when the template is created.

When a customer messages a business, a 24 hour window opens during which the business can reply with free form messages and no approved template. Once that window closes, initiating contact again requires an approved template. This rule is set by WhatsApp and is identical across all providers.

Yes, explicitly. Both Israeli law and WhatsApp policy require the recipient to approve marketing messages on this channel in advance. Consent can be collected through a signup form, a landing page, the point of sale in store or a loyalty program signup, and the source and date of consent should be documented. Sending without consent risks account restrictions from Meta on top of the legal exposure.

WhatsApp is priced as a separate, standalone monthly subscription that does not depend on the email plan tier. The subscription is divided into tiers based on the number of messages sent. In addition to the subscription, the messages themselves are paid directly to Meta at its own rates rather than through Publicators.

Yes. Inbound messages arrive at the business account and can be answered within the 24 hour window. A reply is also a meaningful marketing signal, and it can be used to update the contact profile or start an automated follow up. How inbound messages are handled is configured to match how the business operates.

The store is connected to Publicators so that customer, order and product data flows in and updates the contact profile. Common commerce platforms can be connected, and custom built stores connect through the platform API. Once connected, you can segment customers by purchase history and run automations based on real buying behavior.

Yes, and it is one of the highest return automations for an online store. When a customer adds products to a cart and does not complete the purchase, the platform can send an automatic reminder after a delay you define, showing the items left behind. You can build a sequence across channels, for example an email after an hour and an SMS or WhatsApp message the next day, and stop the sequence the moment the purchase completes.

Yes. Campaigns can include product blocks with an image, name, price and buy button, populated from store data. Based on browsing and purchase history you can show each recipient products relevant to them, such as items they viewed, complements to a previous purchase, or products from a category they buy regularly.

The sequences that usually produce the strongest results are:

• Welcome flow for new subscribers or loyalty members.
• Abandoned cart reminder.
• Post purchase thank you, followed later by a review request.
• Cross sell recommendation based on what was bought.
• Replenishment reminder for consumable products.
• Win back for customers who have not purchased in a long time.

Yes, when the store is connected. Orders can be attributed to the campaign or journey that led to them, so the report shows not only opens and clicks but also order count and revenue. That makes it possible to compare campaigns by actual business contribution and to calculate the return on the channel.

Yes. You can load unique coupon codes into the platform and send each recipient their own code, which allows redemption tracking and prevents a shared generic code from spreading. The personal coupon is delivered inside the same send as the rest of the personalized content, and it can also be used on SMS and WhatsApp.

A customer journey is an automated scenario defined once that then runs on its own. It is made up of a trigger that starts it, timed waits, conditions that branch the path based on recipient behavior, and actions such as sending an email, SMS or WhatsApp message and updating a profile field. Instead of sending one campaign to everyone at the same moment, each contact receives the right message at the right time for them.

A journey can start from a range of events, including joining a list or submitting a form, completing a purchase or abandoning a cart, a date in the contact profile such as a birthday or join anniversary, opening or clicking a previous campaign, entering a specific segment, answering a survey, or an external event sent into the platform through the API.

Yes, and that is where most of the value sits. You can add a condition that checks whether the contact opened, clicked, purchased, belongs to a certain segment, or has a particular value in a profile field, and route them down a different branch accordingly. So a contact who did not open the email receives an SMS reminder, while a contact who purchased exits the journey immediately and stops receiving reminders.

Yes, and it is one of the main reasons to keep all channels in one platform. The same journey can send an email first, wait, check whether there was a response, and send an SMS or WhatsApp message only to those who did not engage. This approach uses email for detailed content and reserves the more expensive channels for when they are genuinely needed.

Journeys that deliver value quickly and suit almost any business:

• Welcome sequence for new contacts.
• Birthday greeting with an offer.
• Abandoned cart reminder for online stores.
• Post purchase sequence including a review request.
• Win back flow for lapsed customers.
• Renewal or expiry reminder.
• Lead nurture sequence for B2B.

Every journey has a report showing how many contacts entered it, where they are right now, how they split across branches, and the performance of each message inside it. That makes it possible to spot a step where contacts drop off and improve it, and to compare versions of the same journey.

You can import contacts from an Excel or CSV file and map each column to a field in the platform, add individual contacts manually, connect a signup form that feeds the list automatically, or stream contacts in from another system through the API. During import the platform detects duplicates and invalid records and reports them before the data is added.

A mailing list is a pool of contacts, usually organized by source or relationship type, such as loyalty members, newsletter subscribers or conference attendees. A segment is a dynamic slice of the existing data based on conditions, such as contacts in Tel Aviv who purchased in the last three months. The list answers where the contact came from; the segment answers who should receive this particular message.

Beyond basic contact details, you can define custom fields to match the business, such as preferred branch, area of interest, customer number, join date, subscription status, language or household size. Those fields serve both for personalization inside the message and as criteria for building segments.

The platform identifies duplicates by a unique identifier such as email address or phone number and prevents the same person from receiving the same campaign twice. Even when a contact appears in several lists, they count as one contact for sending purposes. During import you decide whether an existing record is updated with the new data or left as it is.

Yes. Every contact stores its signup source, such as a website form, popup, landing page, file import, store connection or API call, along with the join date. That serves two purposes: understanding which acquisition channels bring quality contacts, and documenting consent to receive marketing as the law requires.

The contact record brings together contact details and custom fields, the lists and segments they belong to, consent and opt out status per channel, and full activity history: which campaigns were sent to them, what they opened and clicked, which journeys they are in, and what they purchased if the store is connected. That is the complete picture a marketing or service team needs before reaching out.

Segments are built in a visual interface where you pick conditions and combine them with AND and OR logic, without writing queries. The platform shows immediately how many contacts match, so the slice can be calibrated before sending. A saved segment updates itself, so every send uses the audience as it stands at that moment.

Four types of data can be combined:

• Profile details: city, age, language, branch, interests and any custom field.
• Source and timing: signup source, join date, list membership.
• Messaging behavior: opens, clicks on a specific link, inactivity over time.
• Purchase data: order value, frequency, category, date of last purchase.

Classification means attaching a label or value to a contact that summarizes something about the relationship, such as VIP customer, interested in a specific course, recurring donor or inactive customer. Classifications can be set manually, imported from a file, or updated automatically inside a customer journey based on what the contact did. Once a classification exists, it becomes a simple criterion for segmentation and dynamic content.

Yes. You can build segments based on engagement level, for example contacts who opened at least a few campaigns in recent months versus those who opened none. For online stores you can add purchase value and frequency to the slice, producing a split along the lines of top customers, occasional buyers and customers at risk of churning. That split lets you invest more in higher value contacts and run a win back journey on those drifting away.

A saved segment is dynamic and updates itself against its conditions, so contacts enter and leave it over time. It can be reused across campaigns and journeys without redefining it. If you want to preserve a specific audience exactly as it stood at a moment in time, you can save it as a static list.

Every promotional message includes an unsubscribe link. When a contact clicks it, the request is recorded on their profile immediately and they stop receiving marketing messages, including those sent automatically from customer journeys. The opt out is logged with a date and the channel it came from, so a full record is preserved.

Consent and opt out are managed per channel, so a contact can agree to SMS but not email, or the reverse. Because all consents live on the same profile, the platform knows on every send who is permitted to receive it on the relevant channel. Internal policy, such as whether opting out on one channel removes the contact from everything, can be configured to match your organization's approach.

Amendment 40 to the Communications Law, known as the anti spam law, provides that sending a commercial message by email, SMS or similar channels requires the recipient's explicit prior consent, subject to defined exceptions. The message must identify itself as an advertisement, identify the sender, and include a simple way to refuse further messages, and the sender must honor that refusal.

The platform provides the tools to meet those requirements, but legal responsibility for how consent is collected and what the messages contain rests with the sending business. For specific legal questions, consult a lawyer.

Yes, and it is an effective way to reduce unsubscribes. Contacts can be directed to a preference page where they choose which content types to receive, on which channel and at what frequency, rather than leaving every list. A contact who only receives what interests them stays subscribed longer and generates more value.

The platform supports the core principles of European privacy regulation: recording consent and its source, allowing a contact to view and update their details, and fully deleting a contact on request. Businesses addressing audiences in the European Union should also confirm that consent was collected properly and that their privacy policy is current.

List hygiene is the process of clearing addresses and numbers that are invalid or inactive, leaving an audience that actually receives your messages. A clean list improves open rates, reduces the risk of being blocked by mailbox providers, and avoids paying for contacts who never see the content.

The platform distinguishes between permanent and temporary failures. An address returning a permanent failure, such as a mailbox that does not exist, is flagged and excluded from future sends automatically. A temporary failure, such as a full mailbox, is logged and retested on later sends, and an address that keeps failing is flagged as well. This automatic handling protects sender reputation.

Start by identifying them in an inactivity segment based on a period you define. Then run a win back journey with a different message, such as an offer, a short survey or a request to update preferences. Contacts who still do not respond move to a lower send frequency or out of the active list, so overall performance is not dragged down.

Yes. At import the platform detects malformed email addresses and phone numbers, duplicates and empty records, and reports them before they enter the database. On website forms you can add validation to reduce typing errors at the source, which is the most effective way to keep a list clean over time.

Mailbox providers rate every sender by how recipients respond to them. A high rate of invalid addresses, spam complaints or contacts who never open lowers that rating, and then even messages to engaged contacts start landing in the spam folder. Cleaning a list is therefore not only a cost saving but a condition for keeping the channel performing.

The report traces the message from send to outcome: how many were sent, delivered, failed and opened, how many clicked and on which links, how many unsubscribed and how many marked it as spam. When conversion tracking is configured, it also shows actions completed on the site or in the store and revenue attributed to the campaign.

Yes. The report breaks clicks down by link, showing which buttons, banners and products drew attention and which parts of the message were ignored. That is a direct input for editing the next campaign: what to move up, what to shorten and what to drop.

Yes. Every figure in the report drills down to the contacts behind it, and that group can immediately become a segment or an action. For example, you can build a follow up audience of everyone who clicked a specific product and send them a targeted message, or re engage those who did not open.

Yes. You can compare different sends on the same metrics and follow the trend across months, including list growth, open rates and unsubscribe rates. That view shows whether frequency is too high, which content types perform better, and what drives list growth.

Links in a campaign can carry tracking parameters for analysis in your website analytics tool, and the platform can additionally be connected to the store or site to attribute actions and orders directly to the campaign that produced them. Together they give both a broad marketing picture and attribution at the individual contact level.

Yes. Data can be exported to a file for analysis or internal reporting, and performance data can be pulled through the API into internal systems and dashboards. That lets managers see messaging results alongside the rest of the business metrics in one place.

Yes. Landing pages are built in a visual editor with a signup form, images, text and call to action buttons, and published without a developer or a separate system. Pages are mobile ready and support Hebrew, and every signup flows straight into the mailing list and can trigger a customer journey immediately.

A form can be embedded inside an existing website, published as a standalone page, or shared as a link on social media and in paid campaigns. You define which fields to collect and which consent to request, and the data flows directly into the right fields on the contact profile, including a record of the signup source.

Yes. A signup window can appear on the site according to rules you define, such as after a number of seconds on the page, at a scroll depth, or on exit intent. Popups are among the most effective tools for growing a mailing list, and building a popup tailored to your site is offered as an add on during setup.

One time add on

Yes. Landing pages and forms can be configured to appear under your own domain or subdomain, keeping branding consistent and maintaining visitor trust. It is a one time configuration handled during setup with the support team.

Yes. You can produce several versions of a page or form, direct traffic to them and compare signup rates. Small changes such as headline wording, the number of form fields or button color have a significant effect on conversion, so it is worth testing rather than relying on instinct.

You can build a survey, send it to a list or segment by email, SMS or WhatsApp, and watch results arrive in real time. Surveys are used to measure satisfaction after a purchase or service interaction, to learn audience preferences and interests, to research before a product launch, and to collect reviews.

You can combine closed questions with single or multiple choice, rating and scale questions, open text questions, and fields for details such as a date or number. A short survey with few questions typically achieves a significantly higher response rate than a long one.

Yes, and that is the key difference between a survey inside the messaging platform and an external survey tool. Answers can update profile fields, so a contact who says they are interested in a particular category starts receiving content that matches it. An answer can also trigger an automated follow up, such as a representative reaching out to anyone who gave a low score.

Yes. A short survey can be sent automatically a defined time after a purchase or a service interaction, and the score tracked over time. Embedding the survey inside a customer journey means you can act on the answer immediately: reach out to unhappy customers and invite satisfied ones to leave a review.

The API lets other systems in the organization work with Publicators automatically. Common uses are adding and updating contacts from an internal system or website, adding and removing contacts from lists, sending a triggered message to a single recipient such as an order confirmation or reminder, starting a customer journey from an external event, and pulling performance data into internal reports.

Yes, through webhooks. You can configure the platform to notify your system when an event occurs, such as a new signup, an open, a click, a delivery failure or an unsubscribe request. That keeps a CRM or data warehouse current immediately, without repeated polling.

Publicators connects to e-commerce stores, CRM systems and internal management systems, as well as to websites and applications through the API. Where a ready made connection exists, implementation is faster; for specialized systems the connection is built against the API with support from the Publicators team. It is worth checking with the team what already exists for your specific stack.

Access uses a unique key issued to the account, over an encrypted connection. The key should be kept server side rather than exposed in client side code, and rotated if there is any suspicion it has leaked. Full details of endpoints and parameters are in the API documentation.

Yes. You can create users for different team members and give each the appropriate access level, for example who may actually send, who only prepares content and who can view reports only. Key actions are logged, so it is clear who did what, which matters particularly in larger teams and when working with an external agency.

The data belongs to the business that collected it. Publicators acts as the platform processing it on your behalf and does not use it for other purposes. Contact lists and associated data can be exported at any point.

Access to the platform runs over an encrypted connection, with account level user management and permissions and regular backups. Data access is limited to authorized users and sensitive actions are logged. Organizations with specific security requirements can request further detail from the Publicators team for an internal review process.

Yes. Data can be exported to a file and pulled through the API at any stage, including contact lists, custom fields and consent status. There is no lock in preventing a business from taking its own data with it.

The platform records basic engagement data needed for measurement and improvement, such as delivery, opens, link clicks and opt outs, plus purchase data when a store is connected. This use of data should be described in your website privacy policy, since the business owns the data and is responsible for transparency toward its own customers.

Pricing is based on a monthly or annual platform subscription in tiers according to usage. Alongside the subscription there are components purchased as needed: an SMS message bank, a separate WhatsApp channel subscription tiered by message volume, and one time additions such as guided setup or building a website popup. Annual subscriptions are discounted relative to monthly.

No. You can start with one channel and add others later. The WhatsApp channel is an independent subscription that does not depend on the email plan tier, and SMS is purchased separately as a message bank. That structure makes it possible to start at a measured scale and expand based on results.

Onboarding covers opening the account, importing existing contact lists, configuring domain authentication records for email, building a branded house template, and connecting a store or internal system if needed. A business with organized data can send its first campaign quickly, while more involved connections, such as opening a WhatsApp Business account, also depend on Meta's approval timelines.

Support is provided by a team based in Israel and covers onboarding assistance, training on how to work in the platform, and ongoing answers to operational questions. Clients running more complex programs can also receive professional guidance on journey strategy and performance improvement.

The fastest route is to contact the Publicators team with a short description of your activity: the size of your contact list, which channels interest you, and which systems need to connect. From there you receive a plan recommendation and a quote, and you can schedule a demo of the platform with examples from your sector.