Management Center: Creating an email template using the Marketing tool in the Management Center

Create an email template using the Marketing tool in the Management Center
We can use the email template editor in the Marketing tool to insert placeholders for e-Marketing Spots, links, promotion codes, and customer names. We can also use the template editor to format text. We must create an email template before we can:

Create and send an Email activity.
Create a Dialog activity that uses the Send Message action to send an email.

Task info
As an alternative to this task, a store developer can create a custom email template JSP file and then register the template in the database so that we can use the custom template for email and dialog activities.

Procedure

Open the Marketing tool.
From the toolbar, click the arrow on the right side of Create New; then select E-Mail Template. The New email Template page displays.
Enter the email template properties as follows:

Property Description
Name Enter a meaningful name. This name displays in the email Templates - List page, and identifies the email template.
Description Describe what this email template is used for.
Record number of emails opened To collect statistics on the number of target customers who open the email, select this option.
Note: If you opt to collect this information, when customers open the email, it sends a request to your server. If you send a large number of emails, this volume of emails can affect site performance.
Record all emails opened and links clicked with an external analytics provider If the store is integrated with an external analytics provider, such as , select this option to send this statistical data to IBM Digital Analytics.
Email subject Enter the subject of the email. This displays to customers as the subject in their email client software.
Email content Enter the email content. This field is similar to a simple text editor. We can enter text directly and format it using the buttons that are found at the top of the field. We can also add placeholders for other types of content, such as customer names, e-Marketing Spots, links, and promotion codes.
To add placeholders, from the Insert content list, select a placeholder, complete any fields under the placeholder, and then click Insert. Placeholders are:
First name

Inserts a placeholder that is replaced with the email recipient's first name when the email is generated.

Last name

Inserts a placeholder that is replaced with the email recipient's last name when the email is generated.

Link

Inserts a link that becomes active when the email is sent to customers. Selecting this option displays the Click action for link list.
Predefined click action

Select one of the following click actions for the link:
Display catalog entry

This link redirects the customer's browser to the product details page for a specific catalog entry. Selecting this option displays a Catalog entry table in which we must find and add the catalog entry, and then click Insert.

Display category

This link redirects the customer's browser to the category page for a specific category. Selecting this option displays a Category field in which we must specify the target category, and then click Insert.

Issue coupon

This link adds a coupon to the customer's coupon wallet. Selecting this option displays the following fields:

Coupon promotion: Specify an existing promotion that has a redemption method set to a Coupon promotion.
URL: Specify the URL that the browser redirects to when a customer clicks the link. Enter the complete URL, for example, http://www.example.com.
Text: Specify the text for the link, for example, Get a coupon for 20% off.

Add to shopping cart

This link adds a catalog entry to the customer's shopping cart. Selecting this option displays a SKU field in which we must specify the SKU of the catalog entry to add to the customer's shopping cart, and then click Insert.

Add to wish list

This link adds a catalog entry to the customer's wish list. Selecting this option displays a SKU field in which we must specify the SKU of the catalog entry to add to the customer's wish list, and then click Insert.

Unsubscribe

This link updates the customer's status for receiving email. If they click this link, they stop receiving marketing emails.

Custom URL as click action

If we select this option, we must enter the URL that the browser redirects to when a customer clicks the text specified in the Text field. Enter the complete URL, for example, http://www.example.com. If this URL directs a customer to a site outside of the store, WebSphere Commerce must be configured to allow redirects to the site before the redirect will work properly.

All of the click options except unsubscribe display a Record the number of clicks check box which we can select to record the number of times customers click the link. This information can be used in reports to determine a link's effectiveness.

e-Marketing Spot

This option inserts a placeholder that is replaced with the content displayed in an e-Marketing Spot. Enter the name of the e-Marketing Spot between the quotation marks in name="", for example, name="HomeRow1_Content". To check the name of an e-Marketing Spot, click the E-Marketing Spots folder, and then look up the name in the Name column of the E-Marketing Spots - List page.

Promotion Code

This option issues a unique promotion code to each email recipient. Selecting this option displays a Promotion field in which we must specify the promotion that uses Requires promotion code as its redemption method. The type of promotion code must be either:

Simple or advanced system-generated unique promotion codes, or
Imported promotion codes

We can also specify HTML code in the Email content field. Before you paste HTML code into the field, we must click the Source icon in the text toolbar.
For more information about rich text editors, see Rich text editor (CKEditor).

Click
Save.

What to do next
To send an email message that is based on this template to our customers, we can do one of the following things:

Create an email activity to send a bulk email
Create a dialog activity that uses the Send Message action to send email messages to individual customers based on their behavior

Related concepts
Email templates
Email activities
Action: Send Message

Property	Description
Name	Enter a meaningful name. This name displays in the email Templates - List page, and identifies the email template.
Description	Describe what this email template is used for.
Record number of emails opened	To collect statistics on the number of target customers who open the email, select this option. Note: If you opt to collect this information, when customers open the email, it sends a request to your server. If you send a large number of emails, this volume of emails can affect site performance.
Record all emails opened and links clicked with an external analytics provider	If the store is integrated with an external analytics provider, such as , select this option to send this statistical data to IBM Digital Analytics.
Email subject	Enter the subject of the email. This displays to customers as the subject in their email client software.
Email content	Enter the email content. This field is similar to a simple text editor. We can enter text directly and format it using the buttons that are found at the top of the field. We can also add placeholders for other types of content, such as customer names, e-Marketing Spots, links, and promotion codes. To add placeholders, from the Insert content list, select a placeholder, complete any fields under the placeholder, and then click Insert. Placeholders are: First name Inserts a placeholder that is replaced with the email recipient's first name when the email is generated. Last name Inserts a placeholder that is replaced with the email recipient's last name when the email is generated. Link Inserts a link that becomes active when the email is sent to customers. Selecting this option displays the Click action for link list. Predefined click action Select one of the following click actions for the link: Display catalog entry This link redirects the customer's browser to the product details page for a specific catalog entry. Selecting this option displays a Catalog entry table in which we must find and add the catalog entry, and then click Insert. Display category This link redirects the customer's browser to the category page for a specific category. Selecting this option displays a Category field in which we must specify the target category, and then click Insert. Issue coupon This link adds a coupon to the customer's coupon wallet. Selecting this option displays the following fields: Coupon promotion: Specify an existing promotion that has a redemption method set to a Coupon promotion. URL: Specify the URL that the browser redirects to when a customer clicks the link. Enter the complete URL, for example, http://www.example.com. Text: Specify the text for the link, for example, Get a coupon for 20% off. Add to shopping cart This link adds a catalog entry to the customer's shopping cart. Selecting this option displays a SKU field in which we must specify the SKU of the catalog entry to add to the customer's shopping cart, and then click Insert. Add to wish list This link adds a catalog entry to the customer's wish list. Selecting this option displays a SKU field in which we must specify the SKU of the catalog entry to add to the customer's wish list, and then click Insert. Unsubscribe This link updates the customer's status for receiving email. If they click this link, they stop receiving marketing emails. Custom URL as click action If we select this option, we must enter the URL that the browser redirects to when a customer clicks the text specified in the Text field. Enter the complete URL, for example, http://www.example.com. If this URL directs a customer to a site outside of the store, WebSphere Commerce must be configured to allow redirects to the site before the redirect will work properly. All of the click options except unsubscribe display a Record the number of clicks check box which we can select to record the number of times customers click the link. This information can be used in reports to determine a link's effectiveness. e-Marketing Spot This option inserts a placeholder that is replaced with the content displayed in an e-Marketing Spot. Enter the name of the e-Marketing Spot between the quotation marks in name="", for example, name="HomeRow1_Content". To check the name of an e-Marketing Spot, click the E-Marketing Spots folder, and then look up the name in the Name column of the E-Marketing Spots - List page. Promotion Code This option issues a unique promotion code to each email recipient. Selecting this option displays a Promotion field in which we must specify the promotion that uses Requires promotion code as its redemption method. The type of promotion code must be either: Simple or advanced system-generated unique promotion codes, or Imported promotion codes We can also specify HTML code in the Email content field. Before you paste HTML code into the field, we must click the Source icon in the text toolbar. For more information about rich text editors, see Rich text editor (CKEditor).