Create a content automation template
Connect a content source directly in Litmus Personalize and use it to build live images for your email! Create your content automation template to display custom products or information based on your content catalog and even customized based on a subscriber's ESP or CRM data!
Getting started
IMPORTANT: Ensure you have already set up a Content Source in your Litmus Personalize Pro account before proceeding.
Navigate to Templates and then select Content Automation from the left sidebar. You can create a new template by selecting + New Template.
Name your template in the field at the top left.
Select the Connect content source button in the Configuration tab in the right pane to connect your template to your content source feed. By default, your template Output is selected for high-resolution image. If your images are already high-resolution, uncheck the box.
Select your content source from your library of options and choose Done in the lower right to continue. You can filter your sources by type (JSON, XML or CSV) or by the name.
Your selected content source's name will appear in the right Configuration pane. You can only choose one content source per template.
Connecting blocks to your source
Add a block for each piece of data or design element you want to include. Select the + Add Block button in the upper left corner to place a block on your canvas with Lorem ipsum text. Drag the box where you want it to display or use the Position & size coordinates in the right Inspector pane to adjust. Use the formatting menu at the top for additional customization.
To connect your data feed to a specific content block, select on the Connect Source icon that appears on the right side of the block.
Select the Content Source option and then unpack the feed to find the field you want to display.
You have now connected the block with the data feed! Repeat for each field you want to include. This template has one block for the media URL and one for the caption. These will be dynamic based on the data in the content source field.
Additional options
You can add additional blocks with static text or images if you wish. To add a static image, first add a block on the left. Then change the Block Type to image in the Inspector pane on the right. Add your hosted image URL to the text field under the Image block type dropdown. You can add prefixes and suffixes to blocks if you want to add text before or after a field. Add a prefix dollar sign $ to prices supplied from your content source or add a suffix 's to a block that includes a name. To use a background image, first select the canvas background, and then use the Inspector pane to upload your image. The whole template will resize to the match the image. If you would like to adjust the size, you can change it in the layout boxes. The Inspector pane provides options to change your background color, adjust opacity, include a border, or define the data source type. The Functions menu includes a variety of options to apply simple rules to filter or replace regular expressions, among other possibilities. |
Preview your template
The Preview icon in the template menu bar allows you to scroll through items from your content source in real time. Use the arrow icons above your template canvas to see how your content feed will fill in your template when included in your content automation campaign.
Once you are happy with the template, click save. The template will now appear in the template library.
Add additional functionality or visibility rules or simply go straight to create a Content Automation Campaign for your next step.
Update a content source
If you delete or disconnect a content source by selecting the X option beside the content source name, any blocks connected to it will be deleted as well.
If you want to update a content source and make sure that your existing blocks are not deleted, follow these steps:
- Select the Connect content source button and choose a new content source from your library.
- When you select the Done button, a modal asks if you want to change the datafeed for the template. Select OK.
- Next, you'll be asked if you want to delete all connected blocks. Select Cancel.
- On your template, you'll see existing blocks are still showing the previous content source data. Select the Connect Source icon, delete the existing source and choose a new source from the feed options.
- Your block is now updated to display data from the new content source.
NOTE: If you have multiple feeds for different countries and currencies, create one perfect template, then duplicate it and connect the new templates to the other product feeds. Be sure to follow the above steps to update to a new content source without deleting the existing blocks.