I Created an Email in SAS 360 Email, No HTML Required
Ok, maybe life isn't as simple as that. But if we need to live in a world without an easy button, at least give us something that comes at a close second.
Continuing my journey in educating the masses on SAS Customer Intelligence 360, I have had the opportunity to dive into the incredible SAS 360 Email. SAS 360 Email provides you with an easy to use, drag and drop interface, allowing you to create the perfect email without ever needing to know a stitch of HTML. Unlike our friend the "easy button," these capabilities make SAS 360 Email the ultimate practical tool for productivity! In this entry, I'll walk you through an email I created (Figure 7) using nothing but the drag and drop capabilities of the Layout Manager.
Default Opt-Out Text
Figure 1
Select any image to see a larger version.
Mobile users: To view the images, select the "Full" version at the bottom of the page.
When you first access the Layout Manager, you'll notice an Opt-Out Text element (Figure 1) has already been added to your layout. To meet legal requirements for email marketing, the Layout Manager inserts default opt-out text in your email content by including an Opt-Out Text element in the layout. This Opt-Out Text element includes a merge tag and directs email recipients to a predefined URL defined during your implementation of SAS Customer Intelligence 360. The opt-out out text settings on the right side of the screen may be used to personalize this text element even further.
Text Element
Figure 2
First, I added a text element to my email with the offer of 15% off at login (Figure 2). Just like every content element, I added the Text element by dragging and dropping it onto my layout. Then I added the text "Login Now | Start Saving with 15% off your hotel reservation!"
Next, I used the Text Settings to add a link to the Login Now text, changed the background color of my text block, changed the font color to white, and center-aligned the text.
Image Element
There are two ways of adding images to your email using an image content element; adding an image from the asset library or as a URL (Figure 3). The first room service image and the Senior Discount Offer image were added from the asset library and the SAS Hotel logo was added as a URL. I used the image settings to add the alternative text or descriptive label for each image as well as a call-to-action link for the Senior Discount offer. I’ll left the default settings for alignment, border, background and spacing, but these settings could also be configured using the image settings menu.
Figure 3
Button Element
Figure 4
I used a button element to add a button as a link to the SAS Hotel Reservation page. I used the button settings to add the button text, (Make a Reservation), and added a call-to-action link that will lead the customer to the SAS Hotel Accommodations page. In the Button Design Settings, I changed the button font to Avenir Next, the font size to 18, made the button color deep yellow, the font color white, and the background color to match the text element.
Below that, I changed the top and bottom spacing to 20 and rounded the button more by changing the corner radius to 20 (Figure 5).
Figure 5
View-on-Web Text
Figure 6
Finally, I added a View-on-Web text element. This link provides your customer with the ability to view the email in their browser. Default text is added with a link, but the default text can be easily changed. I used the View-on-Web Text settings to match the text and background color with the text block.
To view the merge tag used in this element I clicked link on the right-side menu. There, I can see my display text, link type, and the default merge tag used to open the email in a browser. I have the option of changing the protocol and URL as needed, or I can change the link type to phone and include a phone number (change back to URL).
And Voila!
I have completed my email layout without using a hint of HTML!
Figure 7
Would you like to learn more? Visit the SAS Customer Intelligence 360 Learning Subscription page below and be on the lookout for some exciting updates to the SAS 360 Email course coming soon!
