Email Designer in action

7 January 2019 | Marco Galli

Email Designer is the new editor that, thanks to its intuitive interface, the drag & drop functionality and many other features, makes it fast and easy to create beautiful, personalized and responsive design compliant emails.

Watch this video to view Email Designer in action! There’s a lot more to see, but for now you can start learning how to edit a template, change images and text, and position new content blocks as required. If you make any mistakes, you can easily correct them using the undo button. You can also preview your message at any time, to see it as it would be displayed on a desktop or a mobile screen.

Ask for Email Designer to be activated on your company account and try it out for yourself.

 

 

Read more

Related Posts:

  • Welcome Email Designer: Building emails in the platform has never been so easy A new email content editor is being added to the Contactlab Marketing Cloud, enriching its already impressive capabilities even further. Email Designer is built to make the already straightforward editing experience of our customers even easier and to further enhance…
  • Scheduled Email Designer maintenance On Saturday, April 6th, from 3:30 pm to 6:00 pm CEST, we will be carrying out scheduled maintenance on the Email Designer editor. You may experience interruptions of the Email Designer UI inside the Send module interface. For further information, you can contact our HelpDesk
  • Scheduled Email Designer maintenance On Saturday, March 9, from 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. CET, we will be carrying out scheduled maintenance on the Email Designer editor. You may experience interruptions of the Email Designer UI inside the Send module interface. For further information, you can contact our HelpDesk

Design multipath journeys with Flow, for outstanding customer experience personalization

17 December 2018 | Francesca Lombardi

The year is coming to an end, but the Contactlab news keeps on coming! Today, we present two new Flow features, which will enable you to design and execute Customer Journeys that are even closer to your needs, and your customers’ expectations.

1. The CHECK step now extends to all Hub events

Why only automate customer journeys based on whether they open an email or click a link? With Flow, you can now use any Hub-based event to trigger the next step, as soon as it is added to a contact’s individual profile. It may result in sending an email or a text message, or perhaps activating a webhook to start, for instance, a push notification, or to communicate with an external app.

 

You can decide, for example, to send an email to a customer who has visited a page on your web site, or someone who added a product to their cart, but did not complete the order. You can even send a request to your warehouse to process the order, as soon as the purchase is concluded.

But that is not all that is new…

2. Create MULTIPATH journeys

When a particular event takes place, Flow now enables you to differentiate the paths a contact can follow, and the subsequent communications they will receive, based on pre-set conditions. 

But just what does that mean in practice? Imagine that customers who have been included in a journey because they satisfy the entry condition, now complete purchases on your e-commerce site. You can, for instance, decide to split the communication channels and the message content you send them, according to the product they purchased. For example, you can send a special offer e-mail when contacts buy product A, a reminder SMS for product B, and a push notification – by activating a webhook – for product C, and so on. And of course, you can still send a completely different message to contacts who do not complete a purchase at all.

 

After your contacts carry out defined activities, decide if, how and when to respond to them, with the most appropriate communications. Create diverse channels and messages within the same journey, while being confident that from today, you can define more than just two paths… enough, in fact, to effectively create differentiated journeys and truly personalized experiences.

 

Read more

Related Posts:


Discover contact behavior over time in Plan

27 November 2018 | Francesca Lombardi

The platform has been enhanced with a new feature: By querying the data available in Plan, you can discover the behavior of your contacts in the time frame that interests you most. You can search for information:

  • Within a time and date range.
  • From a selected point until today.
    For example, during the last month, in the last two years and so on.
  • From the date when the contact appeared in Plan.
    Note:
    Contacts in your database may not necessarily be available in Plan. For example, those in a suppression list may be excluded, or basic filters may be set.

Query your data and get snapshots that provide compelling information about your contacts’ actions:

  • For your entire database.
    or:
  • For a particular segment that you want to understand better.

And do it for the time period you require.


Discover all your contacts’ behavior
 


Know a particular segment better
 

Collect and integrate information about your contacts from multiple sources, then analyze it to define dedicated engagement campaigns and make data-supported business decisions.

Please contact our Customer Care for more details.

Read more

Related Posts:

  • Contactlab included among the main vendors in the first Gartner Market… Gartner has released their first Market Guide for Customer Data Platforms for Marketing, and Contactlab has been listed among the Representative Vendors globally, as a technology that enables brands to integrate contact data collected from different sources, into individual profiles.
  • Analytics arrives and your data takes shape Today, Contactlab announces Analytics, the new platform module and the latest great news of 2018. More and more each day, the future of companies resides in data. Being able to query it in a structured and speedy way, while allowing the…
  • Why is it important to calculate the CLV for each of your customers? “Will my existing customers keep on buying my brand in the future? How much will my best customers buy in the next 2 weeks? Which customers are at risk of churning? Who will be my top spender in the next…

Looking for increasingly refined segments? Use product event properties from Hub

2 November 2018 | Francesca Lombardi

Scope

It almost goes without saying that the more refined your audience definition is, the more effective your communications can be. But did you know that by using Hub and Plan together, you can easily and quickly achieve very fine-grained segmentation with just a few steps?

Take for example, a fashion company that has just introduced next season’s accessories, and they want to target existing customers who have already bought shoes and/or a handbag in the last year.

Procedure

Note:
The following summarizes the steps that you need to take to answer the requirements of the example above. For full details of how to satisfy your own specific needs, see the Hub and/or Plan guides and the API documentation.

Do the following:

  1. Sign in to the platform and select Contactplan.
  2. Click the Segments tab, followed by Create new segment.
  3. Enter a segment name of your choice, then click Create Purchases Rule, followed by Create custom Rule.
    The New custom rule page displays.

Example of the New custom rule page

  1. Enter a name for the rule and, under Action, select Have purchased.
  2. Under Timeframe, select In the last and 1 year.
  3. Under Match, select ANY.
    This determines that a contact must match at least one of the following conditions.
  4. Use the Add condition field to add the appropriate product property conditions to the rule, then configure the operators and values that define the required target audience. For example:
    • Add Shoes, then set the operator to Equal to or greater than, with a value of 1.
      This identifies contacts who have bought at least one pair of shoes.
    • Add Handbag, then set the operator to Equal to or greater than, with a value of 1.
      This identifies contacts who have bought at least one handbag.
  5. When you are finished, click Add to save the rule you have just created, then click Save on  the New segment page, to save the segment.

The result is a segment that consists of existing customers who have bought shoes and/or a handbag in the last year.

For more details, see the appropriate pages in the Hub and/or Plan guides, or contact our Customer Care.

Read more

Related Posts:

  • Angela likes red shoes, but she doesn’t complete the order It’s important for a brand to know the products that have been looked at and caught a customer’s eye. After all, a specially tailored message could reawake interest and lead to a successful sale. First, you need to create a…
  • Select your audience according to the spending level and monitor their… Scope In this tutorial, you will see how to segment your audience by comparing spending levels, enabling you to send specifically targeted marketing deliveries and engage effectively with your customers. Procedure Today, it is very important for customers to receive…
  • Does your delivery result in customers who buy? Scope In this tutorial you will learn how to identify those contacts who not only click a link in a particular delivery, but also buy something shortly afterwards. The steps are quite easy. You need to create a segment that…

Do you want to automatically add women who have just viewed a bag on your e-commerce site to a Flow automation in real-time?

30 October 2018 | Francesca Lombardi

Scope

In this tutorial, you will learn how simple it is to immediately and automatically add contacts to a Flow automation, as soon as they conform with the event condition/s you have defined. For example, add each woman to an automation, as soon as she views the bags category on your e-commerce site.

Procedure

Note:
The following uses the example described above for demonstration purposes. However, the events and categories that are actually available to you, depend upon how Hub has been configured for the relevant workspace.

To define the conditions that should be applied to select the contacts who join an automation, do the following:

  1. Sign in to the platform and select Contactflow.
    The My automations page displays by default.
  2. Click Create new automation, complete the appropriate fields on the New automation page, ensuring you select the Real-Time source option, then click Create automation.
    The Automation configuration page displays.

Example of the Automation configuration page, with a real-time source

  1. Click the Real-time Source panel, then under Incoming event in the Sidebar, select the event that will trigger a contact being added to the automation.
    For example, View product category.
  2. Under Event rules, add a condition to refine the incoming event, as follows:
    1. Click Add condition, then select the appropriate one from the drop-down list.
      For example, category.
      Note:
      The available event rule conditions vary, according to the Incoming event that is selected.
    2. Select the required operator type.
      For example, Like.
    3. In the next field, enter the appropriate value or text, according to the type of condition selected.
      For example, Bags.
      You can continue to add further event rule conditions, if required.
  3. Under Demographic rules, add a customer-related demographic property condition, to further refine the incoming event, as follows:
    1. Click Add condition, then select the appropriate one from the drop-down list.
      For example, base – gender.
      Note:
      The available conditions include both base and extended properties.
    2. Select the required operator type.
      For example, Equal to.
    3. In the next field, enter the appropriate value or text, according to the type of condition selected.
      For example, F.
      You can continue to add further demographic rule conditions, if required.
  4. Continue to define the real-time source, according to your needs.
    For example, select a Removing event to determine what must happen, to trigger a contact to be removed from the automation.
    See the Flow Guide for more about configuring a Real-Time source.
  5. When you are finished, return to the Automation configuration panel, to continue creating the automation, by adding Action, Check, Delay and End steps, as required.

The result is a tailored Flow automation to which contacts are added in real-time, according to their actions, and/or the demographics in their individual profile.

For more details, see the appropriate pages in the Contactflow Guide, or contact our Customer Care.

Read more

Related Posts:


An email’s HTML. Specifications and advice. Part 2

29 October 2018 | Daniele Lella

The Contactlab Marketing Cloud provides all the tools you need to manage automatic email communication plans, then engage with just the right contacts, in the most appropriate way, through personalized messages that are tailored to the individual needs and wishes of each customer.

But is this enough to successfully generate interest, or is something different required?

We have written two articles that we believe will help answer this question, and already shared some important advice with you about how to get the HTML to display correctly. Now, we would like to give you some tips about how to make messages immediately available on every device, including mobile ones.

ADVICE for successful emails

  1. Embedded images.
  2. How to create a responsive design email.
  3. Don’t forget mobile optimization.
  4. Insurmountable limits.
  5. Test before sending.



1. Embedded images

Normally, images in an HTML-based email are placed on an external server, then loaded when the recipient reads the message. As an alternative to this standard procedure, it is possible to embed images in the message, so they are already present in the email, and no longer loaded from the external server.

Advantages and disadvantages
The main reason for having images embedded in the email is to avoid them being blocked, which is something most mail clients and webmail services implement. By embedding the images, the message is immediately displayed correctly to everyone, with all the visual elements in place.

However, embedded images increase the risk of the message being regarded as SPAM, because they increase the email’s file size. The file size of the images is added to that of the HTML.

Note:
The email tracking image, which is used to record email openings, cannot be embedded because it is automatically inserted by the system.

How to proceed using Send

  1. The starting point is a standard HTML, in which images are loaded from an external server. For example:<img src = “http://server.it/img/foto.jpg”>
  2. Edit the image tags manually by entering the URL of the image, as follows:@ (http://Image_URL) @
    Note:
    if you do not change the paths in the <img> tags using the @ (http://…) @ syntax , no error is generated. Instead, the relevant images will still be loaded from the server when the email is opened. As a result, they may be blocked by the email client or the webmail service.
  3. Once you have edited all the text tags as described in Step 2, save the modified HTML to your computer.
  4. Access the platform, select Send and go to Create > Email campaign > (group name) > Create delivery > Create a new campaign > Message content.
  5. On the Message content page, do one of the following:
    1. Upload the file with the modified HTML by clicking Upload from > a file on your computer.
      or:
    2. Paste the code directly into the HTML version text
      The modified HTML is loaded into Send.
  6. Click Next and finish creating the delivery.
    The images will be included within the <body> of the message.
  7. Carry out a test delivery to verify that the embedded images are displayed correctly.



2. How to create a responsive design email

There are different techniques you can use to create responsive design emails:

  • A fluid layout.
    Enter table values as percentages or use max-width and min-width settings.
  • Adaptive layouts.
    Develop HTML that self-adapts the structure to the viewport. For example, HTML that stacks the different individual boxes in columns.
  • A CSS declaration.
    A media query that allows you to vary styles and sizes, based on the size of the display on which the message is displayed.

All these techniques have support limitations imposed by different clients, apps or devices, and must be evaluated according to the layout. The following are some basic techniques:

  1. Add the following code to the header:

<meta http-equiv = “X-UA-Compatible” content = “IE = edge” />
<meta name = “viewport” content = “width = device-width, height = device-height, initial-scale = 1, minimum-scale = 1.0, user-scalable = no” />
<meta http-equiv = “content-type” content = “text / html; charset = UTF-8”>
<meta name = “x-apple-disable-message-reformatting”

  1. Declare media queries in the style sheet as follows:@media screen and (max-device-width: 568px), screen and (max-width: 568px) {CSS *}
  2. Where 568px is the maximum width of the viewport to which the * CSS styles will be applied, declare the classes in the HTML used for the mobile display.
    For example, to not display content on a mobile, use the following class:
    .onlydesktop {display: none! important; width: 0! important;}
  3. Use conditional comments such as [if mso] to ensure the display is correct in Outlook.
    For example: <! – [if mso]> </ td> <td style = “padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0; padding-right: 0; padding- left: 0; vertical-align: top; ” > <! [Endif] ->
  4. Enter the following in each <td> tag :
    style = “padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;”.

 

3. Don’t forget mobile optimization

Today, mobile is one of the most commonly used communication channels, and not just for SMS and Instant Messaging either, but also for receiving emails. Ensuring that your communications are received correctly, respect the appearance established at the design stage and demonstrate a high-quality level, is essential.

To develop a layout that can be used on mobile devices, it is necessary to rethink the structure from a ‘mobile first’ perspective and follow some simple tips:

  • Text should be larger than 14px.        
  • Large buttons for touch devices, which are at least 40px.
  • Use a space between various clickable elements of at least 10 or 15px.
  • Use double size images with identical proportions, to ensure rendering is correct on Retina/HD displays.
  • Fixed elements should not be taller than 320px.
  • Eliminate low priority, large and unusable content.
  • Use a strong contrast for the elements.

4. Insurmountable limits

The advice given above facilitates a correct appearance in the majority of webmail services and mail programs that are currently in use. However, there are limits imposed by the policies of individual providers or software producers that cannot be resolved. For example, display problems are often reported with the Lotus suite mail program.

5. Test before sending

The best way to check an email displays correctly, and that all its elements work well, is still to send a test before the actual delivery.

Send enables you to create a test filter for each database (see Configure > User database) and send a test delivery (see Create > Email deliveries). It is advisable to enter several addresses in the test, so you can check them with different email programs and webmail services.

As we have seen, there are many different measures you can undertake to successfully create emails that can be viewed correctly and entice your contacts as a result. By following these tips, you can create better quality emails, which are both displayed as intended in every type of browser and easy to read.

In case of any questions or queries, do not hesitate to contact our Customer Service, who are always at your disposal.

Read more

Related Posts:


Webhooks in Flow: A call that enhances integration with your apps

16 October 2018 | Francesca Lombardi

From Thursday, October 18th, you will be able to insert a webhook action when you create a customer journey in Flow.

This important new feature enhances the Contactlab Marketing Cloud platform functionality, and extends its application areas further.

Simple integration with your systems adds new capabilities that can boost your marketing performance and ensure more effective campaigns.

How do webhooks work? A webhook informs an external system that a specific event has taken place on the platform, through an HTTP notification. The information exchange they facilitate allows the Contactlab platform to interact more easily and quickly with your different applications:

  • The information sent by Flow has a standard structure, so it can be read immediately by the external system.
  • The call URL is inserted in a specific field in the Flow UI, when you add the webhook action to the journey you are creating. You can work independently of Contactlab, without the need for further support.

 

A practical example of how to use a webhook

If a customer completes an order, it is important that the information is immediately forwarded to your warehouse management system, to trigger the preparation of the items and shipping.

A webhook is perfect for managing this, automatically and in real-time. You create the journey in Flow and it will take care of the rest. When a customer purchases a product, the Contactlab platform communicates the data to the external system and, as a result, activates a new process.

 

 

See the Flow Guide for more details, or contact our Customer Care.

Read more

Related Posts:


An email’s HTML. Specifications and advice, Part 1

15 October 2018 | Daniele Lella

The Contactlab Marketing Cloud provides all the tools you need to manage automatic email communication plans, then engage with just the right contacts, in the most appropriate way, through personalized messages that are tailored to the individual needs and wishes of each customer.

But is this enough to successfully generate interest, or is something different required?

We have written two articles that we believe will help answer this question. We want to share some important advice with you to get the HTML to display correctly, together with suggestions about how to make messages immediately available on every device, including mobile ones, regardless of the client server involved.

But first of all, here are some of the steps that are required to create technically correct emails.

The specifications for successful emails

If you want to create a newsletter or an email campaign directly in HTML, it is useful to know the specifications that are required to ensure content displays correctly on most mail clients and services (Outlook, Gmail, and similar) and devices.

These specifications are based on the many years of experience that Contactlab staff have gained, together with the countless number of deliveries our clients have sent. We are always at hand to answer any questions or queries.

Scope

Here, you can learn high-quality HTML technical specifications that can be used with the Contactlab Marketing Cloud Send module.

General rule

An email’s HTML code must be more ‘simple and clean’ than that of a website page. Webmail services and mail clients have difficulty managing certain elements, such as style sheets, JavaScript and similar, when compared with a browser.

The following specifications also highlight the items that should NOT be included in a message, to help avoid recipient visualization problems.

 What is important for you to know

  1. Content layout
  2. Recommended width
  3. Recommended length
  4. Doctype
  5. <title> tag in the <head>
  6. Bugfix in the <head>
  7. Meta tag
  8. Style sheet use
  9. Body
  10. Structure tags
  11. Usable newsletter attributes
  12. Tag attributes
  13. Fonts
  14. Preheader
  15. <br> not <p>
  16. Images
  17. Balancing text and images
  18. Image names
  19. Characters
  20. Link text
  21. Recommended message size
  22. Elements to avoid

  1. Contents layout
    All message content must be placed within a fixed width table, by specifying the width in the <table> tag width attribute. Enter the width for each cell (for example, <td width = “121”>).
  2. Recommended width
    While the table described in Contents layout must have a fixed width, there is no real maximum size. However, it is better not to exceed 600 – 650px, to avoid tedious horizontal scrolls for the recipient.
  3. Recommended length
    There is no recommended length. However, for newsletters or marketing emails to be effective, you need to ensure that messages are not too long. As much content detail as practically possible should be included in web pages, with the appropriate links contained in the message.
  4. Doctype
    To make sure that the HTML of the message is correctly interpreted, use the following doctype:
    <! DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “- // W3C // DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional // EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR /xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd “>
  5. <title> tag in the <head>
    Enter text in the <title> tag. Avoid leaving the default text that an HTML editor enters (for example,  ‘Untitled1’ or ‘New page 1’). It is better to write, for example, something similar to the email subject.
  6. Bugfix in the <head>
    To ensure the message displays correctly, avoid the resizing of text due the zoom being used on mobile devices or in Outlook, by inserting the following code in the <head> tag:

<!–[if gte mso 9]>
<xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
<o:PixelsPerInch>96</o:PixelsPerInch>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml>
<![endif]–>
<style type=”text/css”>@-ms-viewport{width:device-width}</style>
<style type=”text/css”>
html { -webkit-text-size-adjust:none;}
body, .ReadMsgBody, .ExternalClass, .multi-col .column {width: 100%; width:100% !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px; display: block; -ms-overflow-style: none !important;}
.ExternalClass {line-height: 100%;}
table, tr, td {margin:0; padding: 0; border-collapse: collapse !important; mso-line-height-alt:0px; mso-margin-top-alt:0px; mso-table-lspace:0px; mso-table-rspace:0px; vertical-align: top; border-spacing: 0; }
td { font-size:0px; line-height: 0px; }
a img, img{margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: block;}
</style>

  1. Meta tag
    To ensure characters display correctly, including those in any online version, and to add information to any social shares on Facebook, include the following meta in the <head> tag:<meta http-equiv = “content-type” content = “text / html; charset = UTF-8”>
    <meta property = “og: title” content = “TITLE” />
    <meta property = “og: description” content = “DESCRIPTION” />
    <meta property = “og: image” content = “URL IMAGE” />
  2. Style sheet use
    Style sheets (CSS) should be used sparingly, as follows:·

    • Do not use CSS to determine the position of an element (for example, the alignment of an image or a table, padding, float and similar).
    • In the message HTML, insert the CSS:
      • Internally (in the <head> tag).
      • Online (insert the CSS in the cells, within a link and a <div> tag – where the class is called).

CSS attributes commonly used in newsletters:

Background-color (BACKGROUND COLOR): Hexadecimal color code, for example, # Ff0000.
Background-image: URL (‘IMAGE PATH’): background image.
Color (TEXT COLOR): Hexadecimal color code, for example, # Ff0000.
Text-align (HORIZONTAL TEXT ALIGNMENT): left, right, justify, center.
Text-decoration (UNDERLINED or NO): underline, none.
Font-family (FONT TYPE): Font name or “family” name [WEB SAFE].
Font-size (FONT SIZE): Expressed in pixels.
Line-height (INTERLINEA): Expressed in pixels.
Width (WIDTH): In pixels or %.
height (HEIGHT): Expressed in pixels or %.
Vertical-align (VERTICAL ALIGNMENT): top, bottom, middle.

IMPORTANT:
The 2 style sheets must have the same characteristics.

  1. Body
    Insert the following style in the <body> tag, to ensure that the message centering is not affected by the default client settings:
    <body style = “margin: 0; padding: 0px;”>
  1. Structure tags

<table> Indicates the beginning of the table
<tr> Indicates the beginning of a line
<td> Indicates the beginning of a cell
</ td> Indicates the end of a cell
</ tr> Indicates the end of a line
</ table> Indicates the end of the table

  1. Usable newsletter attributes

Dir (DIRECTION OF WRITING): rtl, ltr
Cellpadding (CELL INNER SPACE): Expressed in pixels
Cellspacing (SPACE BETWEEN THE CELLS): Expressed in pixels
Border (DIMENSION EDGE OF TABLE): Expressed in pixels
Align (ORIGINAL ALIGNMENT): left, right, center, justify
Valign (VERTICAL ALIGNMENT): top, middle, bottom, baseline
Bgcolor (BACKGROUND COLOR): Hexadecimal color code, for example, # ff0000 (or RGB, or color name)
Background (BACKGROUND IMAGE): Image link
Width: Expressed in pixels or %
Height (HEIGHT): Expressed in pixels or %
Colspan (NUMBER OF CELLS GROUPED IN A COLUMN): Number that identifies the sum of the grouped columns
Rowspan (NUMBER OF CELLS GROUPED IN ONE LINE): Number that identifies the sum of the grouped rows

  1. Tag attributes

<body> class, dir, id, lang, style, title, bgcolor, background
<table> align, bgcolor, background, border, cellpadding, cellspacing, width, height, class, dir, id, lang, style, title
<tr> No attributes
<td> align, bgcolor, background, colspan, width, height, class, dir, id, lang, nowrap, rowspan, valign style, title

  1. Fonts
    The fonts that are used in messages must be web safe, so they appear the same on different operating systems. A list of safe fonts can be found here.
    The font size should be the absolute value in pixels. To prevent mobile devices from modifying the size, insert the following in the internal CSS:
    css-webkit-text-size-adjust: none;Always use a font size greater than 9px and less than 23px. The spam score increases beyond these thresholds. To ensure usability on mobile devices, the recommended font size is greater than 14px. Always define a line spacing that is more than 4px bigger than the font size.
  2. Preheader
    The preheader – also known as the ‘eyebrow’, is the first line of text in an email, which enables the reader to immediately see the main contents at a glance. It is visible even before opening an email on Gmail, Outlook and most mobile devices. You can insert an invisible preheader that only appears in the inbox preview by using the following code:
    <div class=”preheader” style=”display:none !important; visibility:hidden; opacity:0; color:transparent; height:0; width:0; color:#ffffff; font-size:1px; line-height:0; overflow:hidden; mso-hide:all;”>TESTO</div>
    And the following class in the CSS:
    .preheader{display:none !important; visibility:hidden; opacity:0; color:transparent; height:0; width:0; color:#ffffff; font-size:1px; line-height:0; overflow:hidden; mso-hide:all;}
  1. <br> and not <p>
    Use the <br> tag to wrap content. You should avoid using the <p> tag, because defining a paragraph ensures that each mail client or service will alter the appearance, by associating a different top and bottom margin.
  2. Images
    Images, if not already incorporated, must be loaded on a server, which can be the Send or other server. The absolute path should be inserted in the ‘src’ attribute of the tag. The format must be JPG, GIF, animated GIF, or PNG. We strongly advise against inserting mapped images. The file size of each image should be as small as possible, to avoid affecting the download time.
    Background images
    If there are background images in the HTML, avoid using white text, or text that is the same color as the <body> background. Otherwise, people that have an image block activated on their email client will not be able to see the message until the images are downloaded. Background images cannot be inserted in the style sheet, they must be included in the cell. However, if possible, avoid inserting background images, because they can increase the likelihood of display problems.

For example:

<td background=”http://domain.it/images/background_main.jpg” bgcolor=”#dadada” align=”center” style=”padding: 0px; vertical-align:top; width:600px; height: 300px;” width=”600″ height=”300″>
<!–[if gte mso 9]>
<v:rect xmlns:v=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml” fill=”true” stroke=”false” style=”width:600px;height:300px;”>
<v:fill type=”tile” src=”http://dominio.it/images/sfondo_main.jpg”/>
<v:textbox inset=”0,0,0,0″>
<![endif]–>
#CONTENT
<!–[if gte mso 9]>
</v:textbox>
</v:rect>
<![endif]–>
</td>

      1. Balancing text and images
        It’s better to avoid using just images in the HTML, because this will greatly increase the probability that the message will be regarded as SPAM . As almost all webmail services automatically block image downloads and viewing, it is also better to avoid the possibility that emails appear to be empty.As a result, we recommend using text instead of images. The recommended composition ratio for emails is 60% text and 40% images. Very large images should be subdivided into two or more pieces and then reassembled using a table.
      2. Images names
        Give each image a meaningful name that describes what it represents. Avoid names like 001.gif, 002.gif, foto1.jpg, foto2.jpg and so on. This reduces the risk of the message being regarded as SPAM. Also avoid using spaces and accented characters when naming images. Use characters such as an underscore (for example, picture_holidays.jpg) instead.
      3. Characters
        Beware of Word-based characters, such as quotes, ellipses, dashes and apostrophes. Replace these with the corresponding symbols, by entering them with the keyboard.
      4. Link text
        Do not use a URL as the link text. For example, avoid links such as:
        <a href=” http://www.contactlab.com/”>www.contactlab.com</a>
        Some common mailing programs perform an anti-phishing check that could highlight such a link as suspicious. It is better to use simple text, such as:<a href=”http://www.tomato.it”> Tomato Interactive </a>.We also recommend:
      • Entering a link that refers to a fixed page on a server, or the code:
        $ {online_version_url} $
        at the beginning of the relevant text, to allow the content to be viewed online and enable all recipients to see the message as intended
      • Inserting a link to your Privacy Policy and information about the processing of personal data at the end of the message
      • Inserting an Unsubscribe link at the end of the message, to give recipients the opportunity to unsubscribe from the newsletter or marketing messages
      1. Recommended message size
        The maximum recommended size for the HTML is 60 KB. It is good practice to avoid exceeding 100 KB, to make sure the message is not cropped.
      2. Elements to avoid
      • Mapped images.
        Do not insert image maps. Instead, subdivide the image and reassemble the pieces in a table.
      • JavaScript
        Do not insert JavaScript in the message HTML.
      • Flash
        Do not insert Flash files (.swf) into the HTML. If you need to introduce moving elements, use  animated GIFs.
Read more

Related Posts:


PIESYNC + HUB… read the Quick Start Guide now!

8 October 2018 | Nicola Regge

Hub is the Contactlab Marketing Cloud module that helps you collect and integrate all the customer data available from different sources, in one unique point. Create individual and unified profiles, keep them up-to-date, and make the details immediately available for your marketing activities.

Thanks to the integration with PieSync, you can now connect Hub with more than 100 apps, according to your individual needs, and automatically synchronize all the contact data that is spread across the different systems – intuitively and quickly.

To start immediately, see the guide, which helps you configure the integration in just a few simple steps.

Webinar

Read more

Related Posts:


Don’t get your Facebook Custom Audiences frozen!

27 September 2018 | Marco Galli

October 1st is just around the corner. If you don’t select a data origin for each of your Custom Audiences in Send, they can no longer be used. This is due to Facebook’s recent policy change, which means it is mandatory to define an origin for all audiences.

It’s quick and easy to do in Send. Find out how, with the tutorial we’ve written for you.

Act now to keep your campaigns up and running. If you have any questions or need support, don’t hesitate to contact our Customer Care.

 

Read more

Related Posts:

  • Facebook: Select the data origin for your custom audiences in Send Facebook's recent policy changes have had an impact on customers who use the synchronization feature between custom audiences and our platform's Send module. Customers who synchronize their audiences using the Send integration feature can now specify the source of the data.…
  • Automatic update of your Facebook Custom Audience For those of you who are already using the Contactsend integration with Facebook Custom Audience, or for those who are looking for new ways to manage their digital acquisition and retargeting campaigns… a new and very useful innovation has arrived.…
  • Reach also on Facebook the right audience for your message Scope In this tutorial you will discover what Facebook Custom Audiences are and how they can be used, together with your existing Contactsend database, to build social media-focused deliveries. Procedure A Facebook Custom Audience enables you to create specifically targeted social…