Envisage creating a well targeted and personalized email delivery in a few simple, easy-to-follow stages…

In this tutorial, you will learn how to use Send and the new Email Designer content editor to create powerful, personalized and effective email deliveries, which you can deploy just when you require.

Just step this way…

As an example, imagine you have decided that you want to invite your top spending customers to a special local event, where they can preview your latest collection. The teaser email should give each contact the opportunity to choose exactly which event they want to attend, and let you know whether they will come alone, or with friends.

Note:
For a complete description of all the steps and controls mentioned in the following example, as well as other available options, see the Email deliveries page in the Send Guide.

Do the following:

1. Sign in to Send, then click Create > Email campaign.
   The list of Email groups displays.
2. Locate the appropriate group and click Create delivery to display the Procedure selection page, where you should select Create a new campaign.
3. On the Delivery parameters page, under Delivery title, enter a name for the delivery, or leave the field blank if you want to use the email subject instead.
4. Under Campaign filter, click Select a filter and choose the Best spenders one from the drop-down list, which you created earlier in Plan.
   See the Plan Guide for more about creating filters for use in Send.
5. Under Message format, ensure that HTML and plain text is selected, together with Use dynamic text under Options, and Track opens and Track clicks under Statistics.
6. Click Next to display the Message content page.
7. After you have completed the From and Reply to fields, enter the Email subject, for example, ‘A special opening, just for you …’
8. Don’t forget to start personalizing the message by adding the contact’s first name to the subject, as follows:
   • Position the mouse cursor after ‘just for you ‘, then under Insert, select FirstName (or whatever the column is called in your database) from the drop-down list and click +.
     The appropriate string is added to the email subject field.
9. Under the HTML version panel, click Email Designer.
   The Email Designer Template management page displays in an overlay window.

Example of the Email Designer Template management page

10. Click the appropriate template, followed by Open.
    For this example, the Starry Night template has been selected, but you are free to use any template that you feel is appropriate.
    The template displays in the Content Editing page.

Example of a template open in the Email Designer Content Editing page

11. Edit the template as required, for example:
    • Add your company logo at the top.
    • Edit the date of the event.
    • Enter an appropriate description of the event with any dynamic text that may be required.
    • Configure the Discover More button.
      For example, create a link to a web page where the recipient can select the appropriate local event, download tickets, and let you know how many people will be attending.
12. When you are happy with the email content, click Use in Contactsend.
    Email Designer closes, and the email content HTML is transferred to the HTML version panel of the Contactsend Message content page.
13. Under Plain text version, click Plain text from HTML.
    The plain text is automatically generated from the HTML version.
14. Under Preview on different clients, click Generate preview to see how the message will display on different devices.
15. When you are finished, click Next to display the Link tracking page.
    If there are any problems with the HTML version, notices display. If so, correct any issues, then click Next again.
16. Click Check the links to test that they work correctly, then click Next.
17. On the Summary page, review the details of the email and, if you want to make any changes, click Back until you have returned to the appropriate page.
18. Under Analysis, check whether the message may be flagged as spam, or whether any links include IP addresses instead of text-based URLs.
19. When you have finished, click Next to display the Delivery page.
20. Here, you can send a test delivery, which is highly recommended, and remove duplicate addresses.
21. Select Confirm your campaign deployment from the Communicate section and click Extract the addresses from the database only at the time of mailing.
22. Click Finish to display the Email campaign confirmation page, then Go to communicate section to complete the deployment of the delivery, by sending it immediately or on a later date.

Now, you can stop imagining, and create a well targeted and personalized email delivery as simply as 1, 2, 3, with Send and Email Designer.

See the Send Guide for more about creating email deliveries and using Email Designer, or contact our Customer Care for further details.

The new approach to creating email content without any HTML or other coding skills, and with no need to use a preformatted template (although that option is of course, readily available too) is called Email Designer. A modern, responsive design compliant, and very effective editor, which has recently been added to your choice of options in the Contactlab platform.

In this tutorial. You will learn how to quickly and easily create content by using drag & drop tools to define the structure, then simply and intuitively adding the message, images and pretty much anything else you require, including dynamic links for individual personalization.

How does Email Designer work?

As an example, consider an email to welcome new customers to your e-commerce site and thank them for their initial purchase. While a suitable template is already available on Email Designer’s template page, you want to try something a little different. Do the following:

1. Sign in to Send, click Create > Email campaign, locate the appropriate email group, then click Create delivery, to display the Procedure selection page.
2. Click Create a new campaign, complete the Delivery parameters page as required, making sure that Use dynamic text is selected, then click Next.
3. On the Message content page, complete the Sender details and Email subject fields, then click Email Designer, positioned under the HTML version panel.
   The Email Designer Template management page displays in an overlay window.
4. Click Start from scratch to display the Content editing page.

Example of the Content Editing page

Note:
For a complete description of all the controls and steps mentioned in the following example, as well as other available options, see the Creating, editing and managing content or templates with Email Designer page in the Send Guide.

5. The first thing you need to do is define the basic settings for the message. To do so:
   1. Click the Settings tab, located in the Sidebar and set the Content area width to 600 pixels.
   2. If your company uses a special font for its communications, you can also select it here, under Default font.
   3. Otherwise, leave the remaining settings set to their default.
6. Now click the Rows tab to define the column layout of your email.
   The default email layout already includes a single column row block at the top of the page in the Editing panel, which you can use, for example, for your brand’s logo, a heading and perhaps your initial message. To add further column combinations:
   1. Drag the appropriate tile from the Rows tab, for example, two equal width columns, onto the Editing panel and drop it in the appropriate place. In this instance, below the default single column row block.
      When you drop the tile, the resulting block’s width, together with the column layout it includes, automatically adjusts to the Content area width that you set in Step 5a above.
   2. Continue to add row and column configurations to your email, as required. To complete this simple example, drag and drop another single column row beneath the two column block you have just added.
      Note:
      It is generally recommended that you keep the layout simple, so you do not risk confusing the recipient with an over complicated design.
7. Next click the Content tab to define the type of content that you want to add, for example:
   1. In the top row, drag and drop an Image tile, followed by two Text tiles, positioned vertically below the previous block.
      Note:
      When using a single column layout, content blocks can only be ordered vertically. They cannot be added horizontally side-by-side.
   2. In the middle row, drag and drop a Text tile and a Button tile to the left column, followed by an Image tile to the right one.
   3. Add a Social tile and a Text tile to the bottom row.
8. Now do the following:
   1. Hover your mouse over the two-column row block to display its Structure frame, then click the frame to reveal the control buttons.
   2. Click the Duplicate button.
      An exact copy of the block is added to the layout immediately beneath the original.
   3. Click the Image block in the duplicate to display its Content frame, then use the Re-positioning arrows to move it to the left column.
   4. Click the Text block in the duplicate and use the Re-positioning arrows to move it to the right column.

Example of a row’s Structure frame

Once you are finished with creating the email’s structure and layout, you can start adding the content. For example:

9. In the top row, click Browse in the Image block, then use the File manager to Upload an appropriate copy of your brand’s logo to the Myfiles folder. Click Insert positioned next to its icon, to add the logo to your email. Then:
   1. Click the logo to display its Content Properties and adjust or set them as required.
      Besides adjusting the image size and alignment, you can, for example:
   2. Under Action, add an Image link, so the brand’s home web page opens when the reader clicks the logo.
10. Click the first text block to display the Text editor controls, then:
    1. Adjust the text size so that it is appropriate for a heading, then add the required text, such as ‘Welcome to our online store!’
    2. To make the email more personal, you could add the customer’s first name to the title, by left-clicking the mouse after the word ‘store’, then clicking the Special links button on the text control panel and adding the appropriate Dynamic field.
       See the Send Guide for more about dynamic text.

The Text editor controls

11. In the second text box, enter your initial message.
12. In the second row, add a promotional text, perhaps related to something the customer has already bought from your e-commerce site, remembering to add the appropriate dynamic text. You could also, for example:
    1. Offer the customer a 10% discount off their next purchase online or in-store.
    2. Configure the button that is associated with the text to open a web page where they can collect the discount voucher.
       Note:
       Click the button to display its Content Properties. To change the button text, simply highlight it and enter the text you require.
    3. Add a product image to the content block in the adjacent column, then convert it to a Dynamic image, using its Content Properties.
       Dynamic images enable you, for example, to personalize the visual content for each contact that the email is sent to.
13. In the third row, add a further promotional text such as inviting the customer to view your range of accessories, with the button linked to the appropriate web page, and perhaps a static image of the range in the Image block.
14. Click the Social networks block and use its Content Properties to configure each required icon and link.
15. In the following text field:
    1. Add text such as ‘To unsubscribe or change your email preferences, please click here’.
    2. Highlight the words ‘click here’, then click the Insert link button in the Text editor controls panel, and add the appropriate URL for the unsubscribe web page.
    3. Add any further text as required, such as your company’s contact details.
16. When you are finished, click Use in Contactsend, to add the relevant HTML to the HTML version panel on the Message content page.
17. Continue creating your campaign as described in the Email deliveries page of the Send Guide.

Why wait any longer? Start creating your next email content today, using Email Designer and its simple yet very capable drag & drop tools.

See the Send Guide for more about using Email Designer, or contact our Customer Care for further details.