Salesforce Marketing Cloud Data Views: _Sent

The _Sent data view in Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC) allows you to track which subscribers have been sent emails from your account. This powerful system data view provides insights into email sends for both batch and triggered messages, with data retention of up to six months from the date of the query execution.

This blog will help you understand the structure, use cases, key fields, and sample SQL queries using the _Sent data view to enhance your email tracking and reporting capabilities.

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What is the _Sent Data View?

The _Sent data view is a built-in SFMC system table that logs email send events for subscribers across your Marketing Cloud account. It includes both batch and triggered sends, and it’s particularly useful for understanding when and to whom emails were sent.

Key Benefits of _Sent Data View

• Email Tracking: Identify which contacts were sent which emails.
• Segmentation: Filter audiences based on recent email activity.
• Journey Monitoring: Monitor entry and delivery stages within journeys.
• Campaign Performance: Analyze send data by job, list, domain, and time.

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Fields in _Sent Data View & Their Uses

Field	Type	Description & Use Case
AccountID	Number	Unique ID for the SFMC account where the email send originated. Useful for multi-account structures.
OYBAccountID	Number	ID of the parent account (if using an enterprise structure). Useful for organizational tracking.
JobID	Number	Unique identifier for the email send job. Crucial for joins with other data views like _Open or _Click.
ListID	Number	Identifier of the subscriber list used in the send. Useful for list-level segmentation.
BatchID	Number	Identifier for the specific batch of subscribers sent the email. Useful for large send tracking.
SubscriberID	Number	System-generated subscriber ID. Used internally for record linkage.
SubscriberKey	Text(254)	Unique external ID for the subscriber. Often an email address or user ID.
EventDate	Date	Timestamp of when the send was initiated. Used for time-based queries.
Domain	Text(128)	Domain of the email address (e.g., gmail.com). Useful for ISP-level performance tracking.
TriggererSendDefinitionObjectID	Text(36)	ID of the triggered send definition. Useful for automation/journey analytics.
TriggeredSendCustomerKey	Text(36)	Unique customer key for the triggered send definition. Important for tracking triggered email sends.

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When and Why to Use _Sent Data View?

When to Use?

• When creating reports to track email delivery history.
• When joining with other data views for engagement analysis.
• To segment subscribers who received or didn’t receive a campaign.
• To analyze domain-level send performance (e.g., Gmail vs. Yahoo).

Why Use It?

• Performance Insights: Understand send volume by job, date, and domain.
• Subscriber History: Access up to 6 months of send records.
• Campaign Optimization: Improve future targeting based on past sends.
• Compliance & Auditing: Document exactly what was sent and when.

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10 Example Scenarios and Queries

1. Retrieve All Sends in the Last 7 Days

SELECT SubscriberKey, EventDate, JobID 
FROM _Sent 
WHERE EventDate >= DATEADD(day, -7, GETDATE())

Use Case: Weekly report of all subscribers who received emails.

2. Count of Emails Sent by Domain

SELECT Domain, COUNT(*) AS TotalSent 
FROM _Sent 
GROUP BY Domain

Use Case: Monitor deliverability across different ISPs.

3. Retrieve Sends from a Specific Job ID

SELECT SubscriberKey, EventDate 
FROM _Sent 
WHERE JobID = 123456

Use Case: Track recipients of a specific campaign.

4. Retrieve Sends to a Specific Subscriber

SELECT JobID, EventDate 
FROM _Sent 
WHERE SubscriberKey = 'john.doe@example.com'

Use Case: View email history of an individual subscriber.

5. Count of Total Emails Sent in Last 30 Days

SELECT COUNT(*) AS TotalSent 
FROM _Sent 
WHERE EventDate >= DATEADD(day, -30, GETDATE())

Use Case: Monthly performance reporting.

6. Track Sends by Triggered Send Key

SELECT SubscriberKey, TriggeredSendCustomerKey, EventDate 
FROM _Sent 
WHERE TriggeredSendCustomerKey = 'WelcomeJourney_Send1'

Use Case: Monitor performance of automated sends.

7. Retrieve Unique JobIDs Sent This Week

SELECT DISTINCT JobID 
FROM _Sent 
WHERE EventDate >= DATEADD(day, -7, GETDATE())

Use Case: Analyze campaign activity by Job ID.

8. Join _Sent and _Open to Measure Engagement

SELECT s.SubscriberKey, s.JobID, s.EventDate AS SentDate, o.EventDate AS OpenDate 
FROM _Sent s 
LEFT JOIN _Open o 
ON s.JobID = o.JobID AND s.SubscriberKey = o.SubscriberKey

Use Case: Determine who opened what email and when.

9. Identify Subscribers Who Were Sent But Didn’t Open

SELECT s.SubscriberKey 
FROM _Sent s 
LEFT JOIN _Open o 
ON s.JobID = o.JobID AND s.SubscriberKey = o.SubscriberKey 
WHERE o.SubscriberKey IS NULL

Use Case: Retarget unengaged subscribers.

10. Report on Sends by List ID

SELECT ListID, COUNT(*) AS TotalSent 
FROM _Sent 
GROUP BY ListID

Use Case: Compare performance across different subscriber lists.

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Conclusion

The _Sent data view is a foundational tool in Salesforce Marketing Cloud for tracking, auditing, and analyzing email sends. With its rich set of fields and integration potential with other data views, it’s critical for building robust reporting, optimizing campaign strategy, and maintaining engagement across channels.

Leverage _Sent in combination with _Open, _Click, and _Bounce to unlock a 360-degree view of subscriber engagement.