Have you already defined your brand guideline set? That saves some steps in the editor of your template. You can create a template in the module Messages under the Templates tab.
Here you will see an overview of all templates in your account. Various actions are possible from this overview. You can read this in the module description Messages in the article: Templates. In this description we will discuss the preparation of a new template.
Click on the New template button and a step-by-step plan consisting of three steps will appear:
Step 1 - Properties
In the very first step of this step-by-step plan you will see the following screen:
In this screen you do the following:
- Give your template a name
- Choose the brand guideline set you want to link to this template. This you can define in the settings of your Spotler account.
- Choose how you want to configure the service links
Configure service links
There are two options for configuring service links:
- Use from an existing template. You can choose this option, for example, if the template you are going to create is to replace an existing template. The unsubscribe form and edit profile form of your existing template will therefore be applied to the new template. When you select this option you will see a dropdown menu where you select the existing template which will be replaced.
- Configure manually. When you create a new template that is separate from the existing templates in your account, you choose manual configuration. Select which unsubscribe form and / or edit profile form should be linked to your new template. Can't figure it out? Then contact Spotler Support.
Click Save & Next to go to step 2.
Step 2 - Base template
To make it easier for you, we have made different template designs. In this second step, you select the template that best suits your organization.
When you have linked your brand guideline set to the template, you will already see the templates in your corporate identity colors.
Move your mouse over a template to view it. In the preview you see all available blocks of the relevant template. Click on the template you want to use and then click Save & Next.
Step 3 - Template
You will see the option Edit and View. Click Edit to further modify the template.
An editor will open and looks like this:
The screen is structured as follows:
- Header functions in the center of your screen at the top: diskette icon to save, eye icon to preview your template, function to undo and redo changes.
- Help: Direct access to help center articles and article suggestions.
- Close editor: you close the editor and can go back to previous steps or finish everything.
- Options to edit template sections in the left block of your screen: here you can make adjustments to the different sections within the template. We will explain this further in this article.
- Canvas: to the right of the editing block you will see a preview of your template. Your template contains several types of article blocks. You can view the effect of your changes, per article block. Click on the article in the Canvas and you will see arrows appear. With these arrows you can scroll through the different article blocks.
Header functies
| Button | Functie |
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Save Spotler has an autosave function, but the most secure way to ensure your work is saved is to manually save your template every now and then. Besides this icon you can also use CTLR+S. |
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Preview This function opens a new window with a preview of your template. You can see how your template will appear in desktop, mobile or tablet view. |
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Undo Not satisfied with a change you made? Use this function to undo your action. |
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Redo Have you undone too much? With this function you can easily redo an action. |
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Web analytics To also follow your readers on your website, an integration with Google Analytics is available in Spotler. This way you can see exactly what a reader has done on your website as a result of a click in an e-mail message. In the template you set the campaign word for Google analytics for the links in your header and footer. As for your logo and social media links. The other links and the general values such as medium, source, name and content are set up with the message in the message editor. |
Options to edit template sections
The options for further editing your template are divided into 4 sections:
The General section is open by default.
General
In general you set standard things such as; fonts and colors, social media and website address. Have you linked a brand guideline set? Then you see those colors coming back here and the urls are prefilled.
Header
There are also a number of things you can adjust in the header. What you can adjust depends somewhat on the template you have chosen. For the template Alpha, the header menu looks like this:
You can apply the following to the header settings of the Alpha template:
- (Re) set a logo.The format where in the logo appears.
- Date locale
- Header text: by default you will see Newsletter, but you can also change this to Update or something else.
- Web version text: standard it says Web version, but you can also make it Read online.
- Unsubscribe text: this defaults to Unsubscribe.
Articles
In the Article options you set the options for your calls-to-action buttons. The primary color is the background color of the button and you can determine the font color with Button text. You will also see that the text reads Read more, but you also have the option to make something else out of it.
Footer
In the footer it is possible to adjust the background color and text colors. You will also find your contact details that you have defined in the corporate identity set here, otherwise you can enter them here. What you can specifically adjust in the footer depends somewhat on the template you have chosen. For the Alpha template the footer options look like this:
Done with the changes to the template? Then click on the Close Editor button. You will return to the overview of step 3.
Click Save & finish. After saving and finalizing the template, a web template is automatically created in the same style. It is only possible to adjust the e-mail template and not the web template.
FAQ's
- Are there any costs associated with using the template editor?
The template editor is an integral part of our software. There are no additional charges. -
Can I now also edit my existing templates?
For all existing templates that were in your account before November 10, 2020, something different applies to all templates that are added to your account after this date.For the November 10, 2020 release
All templates that Spotler has created for you and placed in your account before the release of November 10, you cannot edit them in the template editor. If you want to make changes to these templates, please contact our support department on +31 (0) 88 - 103 09 99 or email them via support@spotler.nl.After the November 10, 2020 release
If you instruct Spotler to have a template made after November 10, 2020, we will ensure that these templates are also suitable for the template editor. You can edit these new, tailor-made templates yourself in the template editor. You can also see them in the overview under Templates under the Messages module. Contact Spotler and let us know your wishes. This way we can properly estimate the development costs of your desired standard template. Of course: your own standard template is only available in your own account. -
Can I make blocks myself or edit the layout of the blocks?
You cannot edit the default content blocks yourself. With each standard template you can choose from approximately 20 different content blocks. These variants correspond to the most frequently heard design wishes. If you still have a very specific wish that you do not see in the standard content blocks, please contact us. Spotler is happy to develop a tailor-made standard content block for you. There are costs involved. Contact Spotler and let us know your wishes. This way we can properly estimate the development costs of your desired standard content block (s). Of course: your own standard content blocks are only available in your own account. -
Can I transfer my own template to another Spotler account?
If you have edited your own standard template, you can use this template to format your mailings. The standard template can be found under the Templates tab of the Messages module. It is not possible to transfer this template to another Spotler account. You can only use the template in the account in which you created the template.If you want to use the same template in another Spotler account, please contact us. There is no standard functionality for this, so this can only be done on request and there are costs involved.
Within your own account it is possible to duplicate the formatted standard template. This applies to all standard templates that you have created yourself and for all templates and content blocks that Spotler has created for you.
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Are the standard templates available in multiple languages?
No, the standard templates are not available in multiple languages. But that is not necessary. You can determine the texts in the template yourself. There is nothing in the way of filling a formatted standard template with, for example, Spanish texts. -
Can I also create a standard template without an unsubscribe link for service messages or internal mailings?
This option is not yet available. All 12 standard templates have an unsubscribe link that you cannot delete. -
Can trackable links be preset?
All links are trackable by default and have unique link names for reporting. -
Can accounts be excluded from the ability to create your own standard templates?
The New template button will appear in each account. It is not possible to equip accounts without this button. Every Spotler user is given the opportunity to work with the standard templates and the template editor. -
Can I also export standard templates created with the template editor?
It is not possible to export formatted standard templates. You can only use the template in the account in which you created the template.