Content

In the Drag & Drop Editor, Content elements can be dragged from the right-sidebar into any editable area within an email. Content can be dropped directly into an editable area or put inside a Layout.

The different types of Content are:

Text

Image

Button

Social Links

Share Button (Email Only)

Divider

Spacer

emfluence Signatures and Content Blocks

Embedded Video (Email Only)

Dynamic Image

Custom HTML

Conditional Content

Form (Landing Page Only)

Survey (Landing Page Only)

YouTube (Landing Page Only)

Vimeo (Landing Page Only)

Text block

After dragging in a Text block, you can click the pencil icon to edit your content which will launch CKEditor in the top bar above your email. You can use the Editor to add format your text. Clicking outside the Text block will hide the Editor. You can also add formatting to the entire Text block by adding padding, border, and border style in the Settings menu of the Drag & Drop Editor. NOTE: Formatting set at the Text block in CKEditor will overwrite that in Settings. In the menu above the block you can edit, move, copy, delete, or edit the full HTML of your block. If you need to add a background color to your Text block this can be accomplished by dragging the Text element inside a Layout.

Image

Images can be dragged directly into editable areas or put inside of Layouts. After dragging an Image into your email, you can double-click the placeholder to allow you to insert your image which will give you access to your Uploaded Files. You can either add a previously uploaded image, or upload a new image to your files and insert it into your email. As with Text blocks, you can use the menu above an image to move, copy, delete, or edit the full HTML of an Image. NOTE: Choosing to edit the HTML of an image will disable the sidebar Settings and save it as a Custom HTML Block (this cannot be undone).

Once an Image has been inserted you will see options available on the right-sidebar of your Drag & Drop Editor under the Settings tab. Here you can find your Image URL, set the width, add a link, align, and add padding to the image. If you paste or type a URL inside the Image URL box and then click outside of the URL box the image in your email and in your preview will be updated. The width will be set either to the default of the image (if it is smaller than the container in which you are inserting it) or the size of the container itself (if your image is larger than the container). If you attempt to increase the width of your image to be larger than the size of your container you will receive a warning that your template may break in some inboxes such as Outlook.

You can link a URL to your image by either pasting a Custom URL (any URL outside the platform) or by using the dropdown to choose a System Link (such as Unsubscribe, Forward to a Friend, and Share as Web Page), emfluence Landing Page, Survey, or create a mail to link for an email address. Images can be aligned left, right, or center, and padding may be applied to the outside of your image.

Images will be inserted into their own blocks which can be moved around the email. If you need the image to be part of your Text block and have the text wrap around an image this can only be done by adding images into the Text block by use of the CKEditor. NOTE: Adding the images will be similar, but you will not see the Image Settings on the right-sidebar since they are being added to a Text block.

Button

Clicking on the Button after dragging it on the canvas will select the Button and display Settings options for you in the right-sidebar of the Drag & Drop Editor. You can type or paste a non-platform URL, choose Email Address to create a mail to link, add a system link (such as Unsubscribe, Forward to a Friend, and Share as Web Page), or link to a platform landing page or survey. You can edit your Button Text, change the outside and font colors of your button (including brand colors), change the font size and type, increase your border radius (to make the button more rounded in some inboxes), and increase or decrease the padding inside the button.

Social Links

Social Links can be dragged from the right-sidebar and added into an editable area or into a Layout. Clicking into Social Links will open the Settings on the right-sidebar of the Drag & Drop Editor. Here you can change the background color of the link block, change the Icon Theme (to be circles, squares, white, dark, or brand colors), change the size of your social icons, and edit or add the social buttons and links which you want to appear.

Share

As with the Standard Editor, you can add a Share button to your email using the Drag & Drop Editor. Once added, click on the block to see Settings which can be changed in the right-sidebar such as color, font, font size and color, border radius, and padding.

Spacer

A spacer allows you to add empty space into your email to break up content. You can control the height of the spacer in Settings.

Divider

A horizontal divider can be added to help break up elements of your email. After dragging on the Divider, click on it to see the Settings appear in the right-sidebar. Here you will be able to edit the line color and height as well as padding. If you simply need an empty blank area to break up space, and prefer to use the Divider rather than the Spacer, you can click the X in front of line color to make it transparent.

emfluence Signatures and Content Blocks

emfluence Signatures and Content blocks can be dragged from the Content section into editable areas and Layouts. These will display as Text blocks and keep the formatting of the original blocks.

Embedded Video

This is for Emails (see Custom HTML, YouTube, or Vimeo below for adding video on Landing Pages). Inboxes do not let you use YouTube embeds (or other video provides such as Vimeo) in email. They will strip out the code. However, if you do wish to use video in an email there is a way to do it by inserting a video file into your email. First, you will need a place to host the video file. Because video files can get quite large, emfluence does not allow you to load video files into our platform. Unlike a YouTube link/embed, wherever you host the file (such as on your own website) the file must be publicly available. Once you have your video, drag the Embed Video element from the Drag & Drop menu into your email body.

Click into the Video Element and you can use the Settings tab to fill in the information needed. First you will need to put the video file link (again, do not use a YouTube link as this will not render properly). We recommend you use a MP4. Next, you will want to choose a Video Image. This is the image that will load on top of the video prior to it playing. Both of these are required (our system will put insert a play button over the image for you). The two optional settings, Fallback URL and Fallback Video Image, are recommended for those contacts you send to whose inboxes prevent video from playing. The Fallback Image will display instead of the video for those inboxes who won't load it, and the Fallback URL should redirect viewers to an alternative location (such as your website or a landing page) where the video can be viewed online. NOTE: If you use a Video Image and a Fallback Video Image some versions of Outlook will render both. If a large section of your list is opening in Outlook you may want to forgo using the Fallback image.

Dynamic Images

Through our integration with Nifty Images, you can create Dynamic Images and add them to your email. In the current version, there are two types of Dynamic Images available: Countdown Timers and Pinterest Feeds (due to changes in Instagram's API, Instagram Feeds are no longer supported). To begin, drag the Nifty Images Dynamic Images element into your email and double-click inside to get your choice of options.

Countdown Timers

After choosing Countdown Timers, this will launch the Nifty Images editor. In the editor you can make changes to your timer in terms of style, color, etc. Only save when you are completely finished. NOTE: After an image is saved and inserted, it can no longer be edited (but will continue to countdown until reaching zero). In the editor, you will insert the Date and Time for when your countdown will expire, edit you timer style (the background, font, font size, and font color of your timer), Locale (changing the language and timezone of your timer), Colors (typing, pasting in, or changing the colors on your timer by using a color picker),  as well as also changing your text style and setting an expiration image (if someone opens the email up after the countdown clock has hit zero). When you are finished, click Save to insert your image.

Pinterest Feeds

Pinterest Feeds work in similar manner. You will type in either an account name or board name. After choosing your option, the widget will load your images. As with the Countdown Timer, you can make edits to the look of the feed. You can change the background color of the feed (the default is white), the size of your thumbnails, the layout, and also control the padding, border, and border style under Other Options. As with Countdown Timers, only click Save when you are finished with your Feed as after an image is created and inserted it can no longer be edited, but it will continue to update on its own based on the choices you have made. You may also want to add the link to the actual Pinterest feed behind the image (just as you would do on regular image element) in the Settings menu so that people clicking the link will be taken to the live feed.

Custom HTML

Custom HTML blocks allow you to add block content of HTML inside the block. Clicking on the source code button will allow you to edit the raw HTML. If you chose to edit the HTML of Social, Image, and Button blocks they will be saved as HTML block (and can only be edited as HTML). NOTE: The Custom HTML element is available in both Landing Pages and Emails. However, inboxes will not properly render video embed code from YouTube, Vimeo, etc. If you wish to share video in an email, use the Embedded Video element above.

Conditional Content

Conditional Content allows you to add content to an email or landing page based on the logic you will input. Only the contacts who match the logic will see what you have put inside the block. When dragging out a Conditional Content block, you will see multiple sections. The first section is where you can set your logic in Settings. Here you would say something like Where State Equals Kansas. Just below that logic you find a text box to put your content. You can type or content there, or you can delete it and drag other elements in it's place (images, buttons, etc.). The contacts which match your logic will see this content. Just below that section you will find an Else section. Again, you will be given a text element you can edit or drag new items into that section. This is where you can place content for people not matching your query. You do not need to use an Else section and can choose to delete it if it is not necessary. Last is an end section where the logic completes. Just make sure you have put all your conditional content before that section. As with other variable content, you can test this on the Preview step by previewing as contacts who match and do not match your logic. The code for conditional logic can also be applied for messages created over emfluence's API. You can find out more about Conditional Content here.

Forms & Surveys

You can easily drag both emfluence Forms and emfluence Surveys on to an emfluence Landing Page. NOTE: Neither Forms nor Surveys can be dragged directly on to Emails. Drag a Form or Survey on to your page. These can either be inserted inside a layout or directly on to the page without a layout. In Settings, choose an existing Page or Survey from the dropdown to insert. If the Form or Survey isn't yet created within emfluence, use the create button and create your Form or Survey within the iframe by following the regular steps. (Remember to Save!).

YouTube

The YouTube element can be dragged onto your Landing Page and placed either inside a layout or directly on the page without use of a layout. After dragging the element on to your page, use Settings to paste the YouTube URL (not embed code!) into the top URL field. You also have the ability to set a start time (if you don't wish the video to start at the beginning) as well as control both Player Controls and Privacy-enhanced Mode. The YouTube video will be responsive, attempting to fill the full size of the page or column (within a layout). For more control over size or options, you could alternatively use the Custom HTML block instead. NOTE: Neither the YouTube nor Vimeo element are avaialbe on Emails.

Vimeo

Much like the YouTube element, the Vimeo element can be dragged onto your Landing Page and placed either inside a layout or directly on the page without use of a layout. After dragging the element on to your page, use Settings to paste the Vimeo URL (not embed code!) into the top URL field. Options you can set on Vimeo include turning on/off the Portrait, Title, and Byline that show up in the upper-left corner of a Vimeo video as well as the color of that text and choosing whether or not to loop the video. NOTE: Neither the YouTube nor Vimeo element are avaialbe on Emails.