Campaign Studio offers users a smooth experience for creating templates for emails. You can find these pre-built templates on the Templates tab and click Builder to begin creating your email. To use this builder, you do not need to have any HTML or CSS knowledge and can use the drag-and-drop interface to build emails that are Outlook-friendly and mobile responsive.
Note
If an email contains corrupted data that blocks the JSON formatting to save, Campaign Studio displays the following notification:
The email is not saved properly due to invalid content. Please remove the invalid content and try to save again.
The email builder consists of two primary parts:
To customize a template, you can drag and drop various content blocks and rows onto the staging area on the left, and edit the properties for each row and content block.
The properties panel on the right consists of the following sections:
Note
When creating a new email, start with the Settings tab to set general options for the email, add rows, and then add content blocks to your message.
The Content section allows you to select new content blocks and add them to your email message.
The available content block types are:
The Content section provides the following functionalities:
To use a new content block, drag the block from the Content section on the right and drop it to the staging area on the left.
To view the properties of a specific content block, select the block. The system opens the Content Properties section for the specific content block on the right. Properties are different for the various content block types.
To move a specific content block, drag the block to another location within the staging area.
To remove or clone a content block, use the corresponding icons for the content block in the staging area on the left. Alternatively, you can select a content block and use these icons in the Content Properties section on the right.
To navigate to the content block selector section from the Content Properties section, select the downward arrow next to the copy icon.
To modify the properties for a content block, click the specific block. The system displays the Content Properties section on the right.
With the Title block, you can define the sections of your email while improving accessibility. Screen readers and other accessibility tools can identify the sections with H1, H2, and H3 headings.
The first row of the toolbar contains the following options:
Bold
Italic
Underline
If you decide to underline the title and want the underline to have:
Strikethrough
Superscript
Subscript
Text color
Use the default color palette or click Custom to use the color picker, an RGB code, or a hex code.
Background color: Use the default color palette or click Custom to use the color picker, an RGB code, or a hex code.
The second row of the toolbar contains the following options:
The general section within Content Properties has the following parameters:
The Block Options section has the following parameters:
Use the Text content block to insert textual content in your emails. Campaign Studio’s text editor toolbar allows you to modify various properties for the textual content, such as font family, font size, basic formatting, text alignment, numbered and non-numbered bullets, font color, links, etc. Some of these options are also available for the text editor of the Button block.
The first row of the toolbar contains the following options:
Font type
If you select Global font, the system applies the font selected for Default font in the Settings section.
Font size
Bold
Italic
Underline
If you decide to underline the text and want the underline to have:
Strikethrough
Superscript
Subscript
Clear formatting
Align-left
Align-center
Align-right
Align-justified
Insert a symbol/special character
Undo previous change
Redo previously undone change
The second row of the toolbar contains the following options:
Note
To add the webview or unsubscribe URL tokens as links, use the URL type and
enter {webview_url} or {unsubscribe_url} as the URL. To use the
default text and link from your configuration settings, use the
{webview_text} or {unsubscribe_text} tokens.
The general section within Content Properties has the following parameters:
The Block Options section has the following parameters:
Use the Image content block to display images on emails.
Important
For the image block, the general section within Content Properties has the following parameters:
Auto width: To adjust the image width automatically based on screen size or use the original image width, enable this toggle bar. Alternatively, disable the toggle bar and select a percentage of the column width to occupy with the image.
Full width on mobile: To ensure that the image occupies the entire width in a mobile device, enable this toggle bar. This option is available only when you disable the Auto width toggle bar.
Align: Select the alignment of the button from the available displayed options.
Dynamic image: To set a dynamic image, enable this toggle bar and set the value for Dynamic Url. For more information, see dynamic images.
Important
When using dynamic images, you must replace the personalized values or
merge tags with the tokens in Campaign Studio’s format. For example, if
the email builder documentation mentions {{firstname}},
you must replace that with {contactfield=firstname} to add a first
name value on the image.
Change image: To upload a new image, click this option to select the new image from the file manager. Alternatively, specify the location where the image is located in Url.
Important
In the Safari browser, you won’t be able to select images from the file manager due to browser restrictions. To avoid this issue, you can paste the image URL in Url or drag and drop the image file directly in the Image content block. However, if you want to use the file manager, use a browser other than Safari.
Apply effects and more: This option appears once you have added an image, Click this opens to open a photo editor with options for:
Grayscale, Black & White, Sharpen, Invert, Vintage, Polaroid,
Kodachrome, Technicolor, Brownie, Sepia, Remove Color, Brightness, Gamma,
Noise, Pixelate, Blur, Emboss, and Blend.Alternate text: Specify an alternate text for the image. This text appears if the recipient cannot view the image for whatever reason. Examples may include the image not rendering, there is an error from the source, or if they are using a screen reader.
Note
Don’t forget to include a value for alternate text to improve accessibility and deliverability.
The Action section has the following parameters:
Image link: Select the behavior of the button from the available options:
Based on the selected Image Link, the system displays additional options.
The Block Options section has the following parameters:
Use the Button content block to display actionable buttons on the emails. Once the recipient clicks the button, the system redirects the user to the link that you have configured.
Campaign Studio provides a text editor to update the textual content of the button. The behavior of this text editor is similar to that of the Text block. For more information, see Text block.
For the button block, the Action section has the following parameters:
Link type: Select the behavior of the button from the available options:
Based on the selected Link type, the system displays additional options.
Note
To link to an asset stored in Campaign Studio, set Link type to Open
web page and specify the URL to include {assetlink=ID#}. You
must replace ID# with the ID number of the asset. If you use the Link
file option, the system pulls files from the file manager and not
trackable assets in Campaign Studio.
The Button Options section has the following parameters:
Auto width: To enable the button to adjust its width automatically based on the internal padding of the button and the length of the text on the button, enable this toggle bar. Alternatively, disable the toggle bar and select the percentage of the column width that you want the button to occupy (in increment of 5%).
Background color: Select the background color for the button. You can either select a color of your choice from the color picker or specify a hex code.
Text color: Select the text color for the content. You can either select a color of your choice from the color picker or specify a hex code.
Align: Select the alignment of the button from the available displayed options. This option doesn’t set the alignment of the text within the button.
Line height: Select the height of the line from the available options: 1.2, 1.5, 1.8, 2.0. These options are not adjustable.
Letter spacing: Specify the space that you want to apply between individual letters in the content of the button block.
Border radius: Select the radius for the border of the button. Use this option to define how rounded the corners of the button should be. A higher number means a rounder edge.
Content padding: To set identical space between the text and the edge(s) of the button for all sides of the button, disable the More options toggle bar and set the padding value for all sides.
Alternatively, to set custom padding for all four sides, enable the More options toggle bar and set unique padding values for the different sides.
Border: To set identical border for all sides of the button, disable the More options toggle bar, select the border type, and set the border width for all sides. Use this option to add a solid, dotted, or dashed line at the edge(s) of the column, with a selected weight and color.
Alternatively, to set custom borders for all four sides, enable the More options toggle bar, select the border type, and set the border width for all sides.
The Block Options section has the following parameters:
Use the Divider content block to separate various rows clearly. Using this block, you can add spacing above or below content within a row or column, or separate blocks clearly with a line. For the divider block, the general section within Content Properties has the following parameters:
The Block Options section has the following parameters:
Important
Use this option only if you are an HTML expert. Ensure to include code for mobile responsiveness and for Outlook-friendliness, particularly if you are including images or buttons.
Use the HTML content block to add your own custom HTML to an email message. For the HTML block, the Content Properties section has a text area where you can specify your entire HTML code. You can use this content block to add live content from different sources (for example, dynamic ads, personalized maps).
Once you start using the HTML editor, it will automatically correct any issue that might arise due to incorrect tags or HTML tags that are not closed.
The allowed tags are:
a, abbr, acronym, address, area, b, bdo, big, blockquote, button, caption,
center, cite, code, colgroup, dd, del, dfn, dir, div, dl, dt, em, fieldset,
font, form, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, i, ins, kbd, label, legend, li, map, menu,
ol, optgroup, option, p, pre, q, s, samp, select, small, span, strike, strong,
sub, sup, table, tbody, td, textarea, tfoot, th, thead, u, tr, tt, u, ul, var
The allowed attributes list:
style, id, class, data-*, titlehref, name, targetalign, alt, border height, hspace, src, vspace, width, usemapalign, bgcolor, border, cellpadding, cellspacing, widthalign, valignalign, bgcolor, colspan, height, rowspan, valign, widthalign, bgcolor, valignalign, valignalign, bicolor, colspan, height, rowspan, valign, widthalign, valigntypenamealt, coords, href, shape, targetYou can use the HTML block type to add preheader text at the beginning of the email. Such text appears in the preview for a message in a recipient’s inbox, but is not displayed in the body of the email.
Add an HTML block at the very top of the message in the email builder and copy and paste the following code into the code editor:
<!-- Visually Hidden Preheader Text : BEGIN -->
<div style="display:none;font-size:1px;line-height:1px;max-height:0px;max-width:0px;opacity:0;overflow:hidden;mso-hide:all;font-family: 'Raleway',sans-serif;">This is preheader text</div>
<!-- Visually Hidden Preheader Text : END -->
Important
Ensure that you replace This is preheader text with whatever you want
your preheader text to be.
The Block Options section has the following parameter:
Use the Video content block to share videos through emails.
Important
For the video block, the general section within Content Properties has the following parameters:
Add a video url: To share video content easily through your emails, click this option and specify the link for your Youtube or Vimeo video in Video url.
Note
The video block type only supports YouTube and Vimeo videos. To link to a video from another service, insert an image with a link to the video.
Play icon type: Select the type in which the play icon should be displayed. The available options are:
Play icon color: Select whether the play icon should be light or dark.
Play icon size: Select a size for the icon. Some of the available options are 50px, 55px, 60px.
The Block Options section has the following parameters:
Use the Icons content block to create icons on your email. The icon block offers more flexibility than some other block types, as it is not restricted by row structures. For example, visual bullet lists, ratings, properties, logo galleries, etc.
For this block, the general section within Content Properties has the following parameters:
Configure icon collection: To add an icon and define the properties for the icon, click Add new icon. If you do so, the following additional properties are displayed:
Change image: To upload a new image for the icon, click this option and select the new image from the file manager.
Apply effects & more: To update the icon, click this option. You can apply various special effects on the icon.
If you add multiple icons and you need to change the order of the icons, use the drag option.
To remove unwanted icons, click Delete for the corresponding icon.
To further customize the icon behavior, enable the More options check box and specify the following attributes:
Image Url: Specify the URL where the icon is located.
Alternate text: Specify the alternate text for the icon.
Note
Don’t forget to include a value for alternate text to improve accessibility and deliverability.
Icon text: Specify the text to accompany the icon, if desired. Once you’ve entered text, you’ll see options to place the text at the top, right, bottom, or left of the icon.
Link type: Select the behavior of the link from the available options:
Based on the selected Link type, the system displays additional options.
Font family: Select the font family for the text of the icon. If you select Global font, the system applies the font selected for Default font in the Settings section.
Font size: Select the size of the icon text.
Text color: Select the color for the icon text. You can either select a color of your choice from the color picker or specify a hex code.
Align: Select the alignment of the icon from the available options.
Letter spacing: Specify the space that you want to apply between individual letters in the textual content of the icon block.
Icon size: Select a size (square height and width of the icon) for the icon. Available options are 16px, 32px, 64px, 128px.
Icon spacing: Select the spacing for the icon. Available options are 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20.
Icon padding: To enable space between the icon and anything else next to it, enable this checkbox and specify the padding values for top, right, left, and bottom.
The Block Options section has the following parameters:
Use the Menu content block to create menu items on your email. For this block, the general section within Content Properties has the following parameters:
Configure menu items: To add a menu item and define the properties for the menu, click Add new item. If you do so, the following additional properties are displayed:
Text: Specify the text to indicate the menu item.
Link type: Select the behavior of the link from the available options:
Based on the selected Link type, the system displays additional options.
Title: Specify the text that must appear when a recipient hovers over the menu item in the email.
Target: Specify if a user; who clicks the menu item; needs to be navigated to a different page or the same page.
Font family: Select the font family for the text of the menu item. If you select Global font, the system applies the font selected for Default font in the Settings section.
Font size: Select the size for the font of the menu text.
Text color: Select the color for any non-linked text in the menu. You can either select a color of your choice from the color picker or specify a hex code.
Link color: Select the color for any linked text in the menu. You can either select a color of your choice from the color picker or specify a hex code.
Align: Select the alignment of the menu item from the available options.
Letter spacing: Specify the space that you want to apply between individual letters in the menu block.
Layout: Select if the menu items should be displayed horizontally or vertically.
Separator: Select the separator for the menu items.
Mobile menu: To customize the menu items appearance for mobile devices, enable this toggle bar and specify the values for icon size and type, foreground and background color. This option adds a hamburger menu on mobile devices, with options for icon size (24px, 36px, 48px, 64px), foreground color (the color of the hamburger lines, set using the color picker or a hex code), icon type (normal/square or rounded), and background color (set using the color picker or a hex code).
Items padding: To set space between items in the menu, enable this check box and specify the padding values for top, right, left, and bottom.
Note
The Block Options section has the following parameters:
The Dynamic Content block enables you to configure different content to appear to different recipients, based on data on the recipient’s contact record in Campaign Studio.
Add a Dynamic Content block to your staging area on the left.
Note
To use dynamic content based on a contact’s activity, create a segment including the activity and use a Segment Membership filter for the dynamic content block. Segment membership based on activity filters is updated daily.
Click Configure to actually create the content.
Campaign Studio displays a WYSIWYG editor.
On the Default tab, configure the content that you want to send to any contacts whose profile data does not meet the filters set on any of the variations.
Click +New to add as many variations of the content as you need, and define the content for each variation.
On the Variation <number> tabs, set the filters that determine the audience you want to send each variation to. Campaign Studio populates the value of <number> based on the number of variations.
To create a single variation using multiple filters, you can use the logical operators such as or and and.
For example, to send promotional emails to users of specific domains within a certain region, you can create filters to define emails and regions and use the and operator. Hence, contacts within those regions and with those domains will receive such emails.
On the New Email page, select the Code Mode theme.
Campaign Studio displays the Dynamic Content tab.
In the email configuration fields on the right, provide appropriate details and click Save.
Note
As the next step, you can either first build the email body in code mode or can create dynamic content and then build the email body and add the content to it.
Click the Dynamic Content tab to open the dynamic content builder page.
Campaign Studio displays a WYSIWYG editor and an option for creating multiple dynamic content slots for the email.
In the left pane, click +New to create a new dynamic content slot.
Each slot is numbered as Dynamic Content <number> and corresponds to the code that you add in the code mode builder.
For each dynamic content slot that you create:
Click Save & Close.
Click Builder to open the builder in code mode.
Build the email body in code mode or add the precreated dynamic content to the email body.
To reference this content within the email, insert the following text after replacing <number> with the number of dynamic content slot:
{dynamiccontent=“Dynamic Content <number>”}
The Rows section allows you to separate the content area to multiple rows, where each row can have unique structures. Thus, you can have rows that allow you to organize content that is different from the preceding and the subsequent rows.
For example, you may want:
The Rows section provides the following functionalities:
To use a new row structure, drag and drop an appropriate row type to the message staging area on the left. All such row types have different number of columns.
To move a specific content block, select the block and use the drag icon. Additionally, you can clone or remove specific content blocks and not the entire row that may contain multiple content blocks.
Similarly, you can also drag a row and place it in another location within the staging area. Additionally, you can clone or remove rows.
To configure your email templates quickly, you can clone entire rows along with all the content blocks. For example, a picture and a button. Additionally, you can also delete entire rows along with all the content blocks.
To view the row or column properties, click the row. The system displays the Row Properties and Column Properties sections on the right.
To update properties for a specific row, click the row and modify the values in the Row Properties section. At the row level, you can update:
Row background color: Specify the background color for the row. Use the color picker or enter a hex code for the desired background color of the row.
Content background color: Specify the background color for the content. Use the color picker or enter a hex code for the desired background color of the content area within the row. This color will be only behind your content, up to the set content area width. Space beyond the edges of the content area background is filled with the Row background color.
Do not stack on mobile: To maintain the row structure, even on smaller screens, enable this toggle bar. By default, rows with multiple columns are stacked as individual rows on mobile devices.
Reverse stack order on mobile: To reverse the columns’ stacking order on mobile, enable this toggle bar.
Row background image: Select an image to appear behind the content in the row. You can set the image to go the full width of the row, to repeat, and/or to be centered.
Display condition: More documentation on this feature is coming soon.
Customize Columns: Once you have dragged a row structure into the stage, you may click the Add new button to add another column to the row. Additionally, you can adjust the width of the columns. Each row is split up into twelve (12) pieces, and each column must be at least two (2) pieces wide. In all, each row may have up to six (6) content blocks. Drag the grabber between any two columns to the left or right to adjust the widths of the columns as desired.
To update properties for a specific column, click the row that contains the column and modify the values in the Column Properties section for the specific column. If a row contains multiple columns, navigate to the correct column before modifying any values. At the column level, you can update:
Column background: Specify the background color for specific columns within a row. Use the color picker or enter a hex code for the desired background color of the column.
Padding: Define the space between the content and the edge(s) of the column. To set individual padding, enable the More options toggle bar.
Border: Use this option to add a solid, dotted, or dashed line at the edge(s) of the column, with a selected weight and color. To set custom border on different sides, enable the More options toggle bar.
You can save a row of content and reuse the same in multiple emails. For more information, see Saving content rows.
The Settings section allows you to modify the general settings that apply to the entire message.
The available parameters are:
Content area width: Select the width of the area where you can drag and drop content blocks. You can specify the width from 480px to 900px. Per email marketing best practices, Acquia recommends you to set this value to 600px or less.
Note
The selected value is the maximum width that will be used on larger devices, such as Desktop. On smaller devices, the message adjusts automatically.
Content area alignment: Select the alignment of the whole content area of the email. The available options are LEFT and CENTER.
Background color: Select the background color for the message. You can either select a color of your choice from the color picker or specify a hex code.
Note
This option is applicable only for rows (and columns) where you haven’t specified a color. Else, the background color specified for that content structure is used.
Content area background color: Select the background color for the content area. You can select your preferred color from the color picker or specify a hex code.
Note
This option is applicable only for rows (and columns) where you haven’t specified a color. If you have specified a background color or content area background color for a content structure, that color is used.
Default font: Select the default font that you want to use as the Global font when editing text.
Link color: Select the default link color that must be used when you haven’t specified any other link color. You can either select a color of your choice from the color picker or specify a hex code.
The new email editor enables in-editor previews and allows you to save an email created with the drag-and-drop editor as a template.
The Campaign Studio email builder enables you to preview the emails during the editing process. Generic previews are available for desktop and mobile devices. The preview doesn’t show how the message will render in specific email clients.
To preview your template:
In the email builder, go to Actions > Preview.
This launches the email in the preview mode, showing its current state.
To preview the template for desktop and mobile, click the respective option.
To return to editing, click the X icon next to the Mobile option in the top right corner.
If you’d like to save an email in order to use the structure and style as the basis for other emails you’ll be building, the new email editor allows you to save any message as a template.
To save a template:
In the email builder, go to Actions > Save as template.
This displays the Save As Template pop-up window.
Specify the Name and click Save Template. The system saves the template in Settings > Themes. If you are using Campaign Factory, you can also copy the template (as a theme) between instances.
Note
Do not include periods in the name of your template.
You can save a row of content and reuse the same in multiple emails. Hence, you can quickly update and manage a row of content used across emails.
To save a row of content:
In the email builder, select a row and click the Save icon.
Specify a name and a category for the row. You can either select an existing category or create a new category (for example, Header, Footer).
Click Save.
Once you have saved a row, you can use the same in your future emails.
To add a saved row:
In the email builder, go to Rows and select the category you saved your row(s) to.
Drag and drop the saved row into your email.
Caution
Do not insert any new content blocks into the saved row content slot. Otherwise, the system will overwrite the new content if the saved row is updated.
To update details for a saved row:
Log in to Campaign Studio.
In the left navigation pane, click Channels > Emails.
For an existing email, navigate to the Edit Email - <email_name> window. Alternatively, click +New to open the New Template Email or New Segment Email window.
Click Managed Saved Rows.
This displays all the saved rows.
For the row that you want to update, click Edit.
Repeat the steps. The changes made reflect in any emails that use the row.
Note
You can also delete a saved row. Deleting a row doesn’t remove it from any emails.
To view the structure (rows and columns) of the email template in grids, click Show structure.
In the bottom left corner of the email builder, the system displays a tray with three icons.
53 State Street, 10th Floor
Boston, MA 02109
United States
Phone: 888-922-7842
Social block¶
Use the Social content block to include social share, social follow, and other link icons in your platform. The available options are:
Social follow:
Social share:
Other:
For the social block, the general section within Content Properties has the following parameters:
Select icon collection: Select the style of the social icons you want to use in your email. If your desired icon style doesn’t exist, you may select any collection and use custom icons. Alternatively, you can use the Icons block type. For more information, see Icons block.
Configure icon collection: Customize the social icons that you want to display. Campaign Studio displays a standard set of icons, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. To add a link to another platform, choose Add new icon. To further customize each icon, enable the More options toggle bar and update the name of an icon, set alternate text, and add the link to the relative page for your brand.
You can also delete any icon or change the order of the icons by grabbing the stacked lines with your mouse and dragging into the desired order.
To create a custom social platform icon, click Add a custom icon and define the following additional parameters:
Align: Select the alignment of the social icons from the available displayed options.
Icon spacing: Select the spacing for the social icons. Available options are 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20.
The Block Options section has the following parameters: