Getting Started with the GovDelivery Integration
This article will help you get started using GovDelivery in order to sync new subscribers to related topics in GovDelivery. The integration can be used for multiple topics, and project-level admins in PublicInput can select a related GovDelivery topic to sync contacts to.
Setting up the integration itself does require customer-level Administrator permissions in PublicInput, so if you do not have a GovDelivery integration already setup, you'll need to be a customer administrator to get started. The following process should take about 10 minutes.
Creating an API key in GovDelivery
In order to use PublicInput's GovDelivery integration, you'll need to retrieve an API Key from GovDelivery. It should take about 3 minutes to complete these steps:
In your GovDelivery account, click your user name in the top right corner.
Click "Account Settings"
Navigate to the "API Keys" tab on the right side of your screen
Click "Create Token"
Name your token "PublicInput" or something similar.
Copy the token that is issued
Important - be sure to securely save your API token, as you will not be able to re-retrieve it later.
Configuring your GovDelivery credentials in PublicInput
To set up account synchronization, please follow the steps below:
Step 1: Input your Account code, i.e. "NCRALEIGH".
Step 2: Enter your username and password, which will be the same as your typical login.
Step 3: If you would like to automatically run the sync for all topics each night, make sure to check the "Run nightly background sync" checkbox.
Step 4: Input your GovDelivery API Key you created earlier.
Step 5: Click "Update GovDelivery Credentials" to save your credentials.
You'll see a green notification when your credentials are stored and tested successfully.
Your Integration is Now Complete
Now that you have added Account code, username and password, and API Key, you are ready to sync contacts with GovDelivery topics.
Setting up list-level sync
You have now successfully set up account synchronization for your GovDelivery account. Now you can choose which GovDelivery topics sync to specific PublicInput topics or projects in the "Topic Sync Settings" tab.
On the left side of the table is the GovDelivery Topic. On the right side is a selector for the PublicInput Project or Communications Topic you would like to sync to GovDelivery:
Once you've chosen an associated list or topic in PublicInput, a blue sync icon will appear. To immediately sync this topic with GovDelivery, press the blue sync icon once:
If you need to stop synchronizing between two given topics, update the associated list dropdown to "Do not sync".
Note - previously synchronized contacts will not be deleted from either system by toggling "Do not sync". This will only affect future signups and subscribers.
When does the sync function run?
The background sync process will run each night around 3am Eastern Standard Time only if all the following are true:
GovDelivery API Key and Credentials are up to date and valid
Nightly background sync is enabled on the Customer Settings -> Integrations page.
An associated list has been assigned to a GovDelivery topic in the PublicInput customer settings page or the PublicInput Project/Topic admin page.
What does the sync function do?
PublicInput subscribers to a given Project or Topic will be "pushed" to GovDelivery if their last updated date is later than the last time we synchronized with a given GovDelivery topic
Subscribers will be toggled as subscribed in GovDelivery on a connected topic if they are subscribed in PublicInput
If they are unsubscribed, their GovDelivery record will be updated to "Unsubscribed"
Subscribers deleted from PublicInput will remain unchanged in GovDelivery
For this reason, we recommend unsubscribing users rather than deleting subscribers.
What does the sync function not do?
As of May 2023, the sync function cannot "pull" new subscribers from GovDelivery. If you would like to have PublicInput import your contacts, it may be possible to ensure contacts are subscribed to connected topics in PublicInput.
Setting up list-level sync from the project or topic admin page
Project and communications topic admins have the option of connecting their project or Communications Topics to an associated GovDelivery communications topic using the dropdown selector on the project or topic admin page.
PublicInput Communications Topic admin page:
The associated GovDelivery topic select list will be at the bottom of the primary "Topic" tab:
Project admin page:
Go to the subscribers tab, and the associated GovDelivery topic select list will be at the bottom of the tab:
Once you've selected a GovDelivery list at the project or topic level, the background sync will begin running each night as part of the background process - if background sync has been enabled on the Customer Settings > Integrations page.
Happy sync'ing
If you'd like to test out your recently-chosen list to sync, you'll need to run the process from the Customer Settings > Integrations tab:
Synchronizing will run in the background and could take upwards of 2 hours on the first sync. Subsequent syncs will only push subscribers modified or added after the last time we sync'd this GovDelivery list.
As always - reach out to us if you have any questions - we're here to ensure you can achieve truly seamless resident engagement and comunications - even if you're stuck using external systems in the near term!
Read more:
Creating custom email templates for your organization
Uploading or importing contacts into a list
How to enable email subscribers to edit their email subscriptions
Send a welcome email to new list subscribers