# Promotions

A high-level preview of what you'll need to get started:

1. **Export:** Generate a list of single-use codes in your CMS and export to a CSV file.
2. **Upload**: Add the list of promotion codes to a Promotion you create into Poplar.
3. **Send**: Associate a promotion with an HTML creative you're using for your one-time send or triggered mailing. Poplar will dynamically insert one code per message wherever you insert the promotion tag.

When sending a single, shared code to many customers, you can:

* display the code as part of your image
* use a variable to show the same code to all recipients of a given campaign using merge tags

If the creative includes **multiple** promotions the generated codes must be uploaded to **separate promotion lists with unique names**.

{% hint style="warning" %}
You **must** complete these steps prior to uploading creative, so a promotion list can be selected to map to a merge tag. 
{% endhint %}

## **Export Discount Codes from Your Commerce System**

In your commerce platform, create a set of unique, single-use discount codes for your promotion. You will need to export those codes to a file and then import them into Poplar. The import file must be a CSV with your codes under a header. We recommend "code".

If you are using [Shopify](https://help.shopify.com/manual/apps/apps-by-shopify/bulk-discounts), your exported CSV file will already be in a valid format and can be directly uploaded.

## Create a Promotion <a href="#create-a-promotion" id="create-a-promotion"></a>

To use promotion codes, you will need to create a promotion to hold codes that you create in your external commerce system. You'll then specify the promotion in your template for triggered sends or one-time send.

1. In the left-hand navigation, select **Promotions**.
2. Add a **Promotion Name**. You will use this name to reference the promotion in your templates.
3. Click **Upload File** and select your CSV file.
4. Map the column you wish to import. Click **Continue.**
5. Once the codes have been imported, Review & Confirm and click **Finish Import**.

### Mapping Promotions to Creative <a href="#adding-promotions-to-creative" id="adding-promotions-to-creative"></a>

When uploading an HTML creative, insert a merge tag. We recommend adding `{{promotion.promo_code}}` to your creative, which will populate a promo code.

1. Import your creative to your campaign as your normally would.
2. You can choose the promotion (or promotions) you would like to associate with the campaign during import.

<figure><img src="https://714650678-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FweKl52r7fuUrhTjt6jLd%2Fuploads%2FdlHqTQsBOX7xxOHM87UX%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=e9be311e-f02e-4b87-a913-3eaaaa33a2fd" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="warning" %}
If your Promotion has < 100 available codes, we will send you an email to remind you to refill the promotions. If you run out of codes, mailers will stop sending an accumulate in the Exceptions tab.
{% endhint %}