In this article, you'll learn how to create mailings in MD2 using existing HTML.
HTML paste
Many organizations already have a branded design they want to use in their mailings. If this is the case for your organization, you can easily paste this HTML code directly into MD2.
- Navigate to Mailing Designer 2.0 > Create > From HTML. The HTML window opens.
- Make sure you're on the Code tab.
- Paste the code for your design in the left panel; Marketing Automation Professional (MA Professional) previews your design in the right panel. Click Preview to refresh the preview panel.
NOTE: Note that for any hyperlinks to work directly from the preview panel, they must have the appropriate protocol (HTTP:// or HTTPS://) as part of the URL.
- Click Tidy to clean up your code's formatting.
- Click Hyperlink Tool to generate the markup for any hyperlinks.
- Click the Magnifying Glass icon to search your lines of code for a specific term.
Content code
You can use the following Content Code as the online version URL for your mailing:
%%WEB_VERSION%%
EXAMPLE: You could use the following code to directly link to the web version:
<a href="%%WEB_VERSION%%">Web Version</a>
NOTE: See Content Codes to learn more.
Hyperlink tool
Generally, you'll want to include hyperlinks in your mailings that take readers to organizational resources, including those created from HTML. However, if you're not an HTML expert, things like web tracking attributes, classes, and styling can be difficult to decipher and configure.
To help alleviate this, MA Professional includes a hyperlink tool that generates the exact markup you need to ensure that your hyperlinks work correctly.
To generate a hyperlink:
- Navigate to Mailing Designer 2.0 > Create > From HTML (or open an existing From HTML mailing).
- Click Hyperlink Tool to expand the page and reveal the hyperlink generation tool.
- Click the Hyperlink menu and select the type of hyperlink to add (note that each type has its own selection options).
- Web Page
- Web Version of this Mailing
- Form Landing Page
- Content-Only Landing Page
- Unsubscribe Hyperlink
- Email Address
- Document
- When ready, click Generate Hyperlink Markup. If necessary, check the Disable Tracking box to ensure that the subsequent HTML excludes any tracking information (this automatically adds the necessary attribute to disable web tracking).
- Click Copy Markup to copy the HTML markup to your computer’s clipboard. You can now add the code to your mailing.
Don't forget your unsubscribe link
Remember to generate and include an unsubscribe link in all of your mailings. To learn more about unsubscribe link requirements, check out the following articles:
- CAN-SPAM and Anti-Spam Requirements (United States)
- Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) (Canada)