AMPScript to use 2 emails in a data extension

Question

We have a data extension in Marketing Cloud which has the following fields:

• first name (email)
• last name (text)
• email (email)
• alternateemail (text)
• customer id (number)

We have customers who use 2 email id like work and home email and we want to send an email campaign to both email ids per record. The standard out of the box Marketing Cloud does not send to both email ids and so we are thinking of using an AMPScript which can send the emails out.

Did any of you come across this scenario and if so can you share some AMPScript snippets which would query this Data Extension and send 2 emails per record in the Data Extension?

Answer 1

I agree with Andrew McLeod's comment. AMPScript is not the right way to approach this.

My recommendation would be to separate your audiences with a Query Activity before the send and then add both audiences in your User-Initiated Send Definition. Something like this:

select 
[first name] 
, [last name]
, email
, [customer id]
from YourDataExtension

union 

select 
[first name] 
, [last name]
, alternateemail as email
, [customer id]
from YourDataExtension

The target, sending Data Extension would just have these columns:

• first name
• last name
• email (emailaddress, primary key)
• customer id