NOTE: This article is intended for Super Admins. Users with lesser admin privileges might not be able to complete some of the tasks.

This article provides information on how to configure and customize a child account.

Understand account branding

Essentially, a new child account is "empty" in that it has no assets. So when you are configuring a child account, it's important to consider the "branding" question:

Will the child account have its own brand or will it simply reflect the brand of the parent account?

• If the child account has its own brand, it will have its own set of unique assets.
• If the child account does not have its own brand, it can use assets from its parent.

Understand account assets

Each Higher Logic Thrive Marketing Enterprise (Thrive Marketing Enterprise) account has an assortment of "assets" (such as messages, templates, campaigns, and contacts) that are unique to the account. When a child account is created, some of the parent account's assets can be either shared with or copied to the child account so that they are available for use in that account.

The following account assets can be shared with or copied to a child account.

• Templates
• Images

The following account assets cannot be shared with or copied to a child account.

• Messages
• Campaigns
• Contacts and Groups lists
• Landing Pages
• Tracking and Reporting for Sent Messages and Campaigns
• Preference Management pages (these are specific to the account they are created in)

Templates

Templates can be either copied to or shared with the child account.

Copy a template

A copy is an editable version of the parent account's original template. The copy can be rebranded and managed uniquely for the child account.

Notes

• If any changes made to the original template are also applicable to the copy, the copy will have to be individually updated.
• Only those templates that were created in the new Message Editor can be copied.
• You must have template access (Email > Message Editor > Templates) and source code access permissions (Email > Message Editor > Code View) in order to copy source code from an existing template for use in a child account template (i.e., paste it into the source code view).
  If you do not have both of these permissions, request them from an account admin or create a case.

NOTE: Copying the source code works only for templates that were created in the new Message Editor. Source code from an external application cannot be used.

To obtain template code (parent account):

1. Open a text editor, such as Notepad.
2. Navigate to Messages > Assets > Templates.
3. Click a template to select it and then click Edit. The template opens in the editor.
4. In the upper right, click the Email Designer dropdown and select Email Code to open the template's code view.

5. Use your browser's "select all" function to capture all of the contents and use the "copy" function to copy the code.
6. Paste the code into the text editor and save the file (for "safe keeping").
7. Close the template.

To replicate a template (child account):

1. Navigate to Messages > Assets > Templates.
2. Click Create New and give the template a name.

You can also add a description, lock the template theme, and make it a Transactional template if applicable.

3. Click Create.
4. In the upper right of the Message Editor page, click the Email Designer dropdown and select Email Code to open the template's code view.
5. Retrieve the source code from the text editor and use your browser's "paste" function to insert it here.
6. In the upper right, click the gear icon and select Save Changes.

7. Click the Email Code dropdown and select Email Designer to preview the template.

NOTE: The template has to be published in order to be available for use. Click the gear icon and select Publish, or you can publish it later on the Templates list page.

The template is now available in the child account.

Notes

The template is now unique to this child account and has no association with the version on the parent account.

• Repeat the procedure outlined above in any other child accounts that you want to also have the template. You've got the code saved in a text editor for ease of access.
• Changes made to the template in any child account will be unique to that version.

TIP: Refer to Templates, later in this article, for more in-depth considerations regarding templates.

Share a template

A shared template simplifies template-management because only one version is in use by the parent and any child accounts. If a shared template is edited, the changes are present whenever it's used (by parent and child accounts).

NOTE: Sharing a template is a Customer Support task. For assistance, create a case.

NOTE: A shared template cannot be edited at the child account level.

Images

Images can only be copied to a child account. The copy is an editable version of the parent account's original image and can be individually managed in the child account.

NOTE: Images cannot be shared with child accounts.

Copy an image

After an image has been copied to a child account, any changes that are made to the original image that are also applicable to the copy, will have to be individually applied to each copy.

TIP: Due to the technical challenges of editing an image, Higher Logic recommends that the updated image be copied to each child account and the copy replace the existing image.

EXAMPLE: ABC organization has 15 child accounts and the organization logo was copied to each child account. ABC has updated its name to ABCD and has updated its logo to reflect the change. The logo image — in each child account — now has to be individually updated or replaced.

To copy an image (parent account):

1. Navigate to Messages > Assets > Images.
2. On the Select image page, use the plus (+) and minus (–) symbols to open and close folders, and use the scroll bar to vertically navigate the folder hierarchy.
3. Click the image you want to copy to select it.
4. Above the images list, click the URL button. As indicated, the URL is automatically copied to your clipboard.

5. Open a new tab in your browser and paste the URL; the image displays.
6. Right-click the image and select Save image as.
7. Navigate to where you want to store the image, give it a memorable name, and click Save.

To upload an image (child account):

1. Navigate to Messages > Assets > Images.
2. On the Select image page, use the scroll bar and the plus (+) and minus (–) symbols to access the folder in which you want to store the image file.
3. Click Add and choose the upload option.
4. Navigate to where you'd saved the image file, select it, and upload it.

The image is now in the child account's image repository.

NOTE: If you want to upload the image to other child accounts, log out of the current child account, log in to each additional child account, and repeat the upload steps. Remember, the image will be unique to each child account.

Configuration settings and options

This section details the options that can be configured in a child account. When setting up the child account, you can:

• leave the default settings of the option,
• replicate the settings of the parent account on the child account, or
• customize the child accounts with custom settings.

Physical Address

Provide this information to the Customer Support Team when the child account is being installed.

This address will display at the bottom of all email messages that are sent from the child account.

NOTE: If multiple physical addresses are needed for a child account, this can be globally disabled, and the physical address will have to be managed at the template or message level in the child account.

Unsubscribe Workflow

Several international data-privacy regulations indicate that message recipients must be presented an "unsubscribe" option. Therefore, this is a requirement in all Thrive Marketing Enterprise accounts, including child accounts, and is managed, by default, with Message Categories.

In addition to accommodating future unsubscribes, all Thrive Marketing Enterprise accounts must also honor existing unsubscribe requests. If a contact has requested to be unsubscribed from the parent account's messages, that request has to be honored on the child account. Refer to Existing unsubscribes, below.

Message Categories

In Thrive Marketing Enterprise accounts, the default setting is to manage unsubscribes by creating and using a dedicated Message Category.

In the Admin interface, navigate to Messages > Assets to create and manage Message Categories.

To learn about this feature, see Message Categories.

NOTE: If using a Message Category doesn't fit with your unsubscribe workflow, see Unsubscribe Options to explore other Thrive Marketing Enterprise alternatives. An account admin can create a case to request assistance.

Existing unsubscribes

If there are contacts who have unsubscribed from any or all messages in the parent account AND those contacts are added to any child accounts, THEN, those unsubscribes must be honored in those associated child accounts.

NOTE: You must also honor all existing unsubscribes for all other systems and services. This includes email services (e.g., Constant Contact and Mail Chimp), integrated databases (e.g., Personify and Salesforce) and non-integrated databases used for uploads.

In the parent account:

1. Navigate to Contacts > List and to the right of the page title, click the down arrow and choose Suppressed.
2. Follow the instructions in the section, Export Contacts lists, in Manage Contacts.

NOTE: The exported list is in .csv format. If you want to change the format, make a copy of the file and save it in a different format. You can then use the same .csv file to upload the list into the child account.

Review the list of suppressed contacts that you've exported and delete all contacts who will not be added as suppressed (unsubscribed) in the child account.

IMPORTANT: Delete all columns in the export file EXCEPT EITHER the "custom" ID column or the email address column. The upload requires a single-column .csv file with either of these columns.

In the child account:

1. Navigate to Contacts > List and to the right of the page title, click the down arrow and choose Suppressed.
2. Follow the instructions in the section, Upload Suppressed Contacts, in Upload Contacts.

Preference-management page

If you send out different types of messages (newsletters, webinars, marketing), your contacts should be able to "opt out" of messages they don't want to receive. Allowing contacts to opt out of some messages can decrease the number of unsubscribe requests for an account. Thrive Marketing Enterprise provides a preference-management form that can be customized to suit your needs.

NOTE: For more information and to request a Preference Management page, create a case with the Customer Support Team.

Integration

If the parent account is integrated with an external database, that same integration can be set up for the child account. To do so, create a case with the Customer Support Team.

TIP: If, prior to the child-account installation, you have decided that you want the child account to also have the integration, notify Customer Support. Even though the integration is handled by a separate team, knowing this will shorten the time between child-account installation and integration set up.

From Address & Reply To Address

These optional features can be configured, post-installation, in the child account under Messages > Options.

The customizable From Address will display to recipients in the “From” field of your email messages. Use the Reply To Address feature to configure an alternate email address for replies to your messages.

To learn about these settings, see From Address and Reply To Address.

Approved Sender

This optional feature can be configured, post-installation, in the child account under Messages > Options.

NOTE: This is not a default feature. If you want it enabled in your account, create a case.

This enables admins to manage whether some users' email messages require approval before those messages get sent.

To learn about this feature, see Approved Sender and Advanced Approved Sender.

Manage Web/Mobile View

This optional feature can be configured, post-installation, when creating a message in the child account.

Use this feature to include a link to a mobile version of the message at the top of every message sent from the child account.

To learn about this feature, see Create Mobile Versions of Your Messages.

Send Page Profiles

This optional feature can be configured, post-installation, in the child account under Messages > Options > Send Page Profile.

Send Page Profiles store send-page information (e.g., from address, reply-to address, and subject line) that can be automatically inserted in messages in order to save time, ensure accuracy and consistency, and reduce errors when sending messages.

To learn about this feature, see Send Page Profiles.

Contacts & Groups lists

The lists of contacts and groups that are in the parent account can also be used in a child account. These can be brought into the child account, post-installation, by a file upload or through an integration.

In addition to these, Admins can create account-specific contacts and groups which can then be managed in the child account.

NOTE: Other account lists, such as Ad Hoc Lists, cannot be replicated in the child account; they must be manually recreated.

To learn about uploading Contact records, see Upload Contacts.

User Permissions

User (i.e., logins) permissions can be configured, post-installation, in the child account to manage which users can do what in a variety of areas in that child account. Some of the more relevant permissions are described in this section.

NOTE: Only Admin users can manage (assign and revoke) these permissions.

1. Navigate to Settings > Users.
2. Select a user/login and click the orange Permissions button.
3. In the Edit Permissions dialog (shown below), expand the sections and sub-sections to set permissions for the user; click Save.
4. Repeat these steps for other users.

To learn about user permissions, see User Permissions.

Permissions to consider

• Email permissions
  • Ability to create and delete messages
  • Access to code view, ability to create templates, ability to create themes and zones (Message Editor)
  • Ability to designate user as an approved sender/needs no approval
  • Ability to edit, create and delete predefined from addresses
  • Ability to send a broadcast message to a group
• Contacts permissions
  • Ability to add and edit recipients
  • Ability to add custom fields
  • Ability to upload data – especially important for integrated accounts.
  • Ability to create and delete groups and to add and remove contacts within a group
• Marketing Automation permissions
  • Ability to access campaigns
• Tools permissions
  • Ability to view and edit login permissions (this gives the user "Admin" rights to modify other users' permissions and is very important)

Templates

Templates in the parent account can be copied and used in the child account. Before doing so, however, consider how they will be used in a child account.

• Determine whether the account "branding" will be different in the child account.
• Determine which areas of a template might have to be customized for a child account:
  • Unsubscribe link
  • Physical address (if inserted into a template)
  • Branding (if determined to be different)
  • Layout
• Consider copying and pasting existing template code to create a new version in the child account, but allowing for small differences that might be necessary.
• Consider using the template option to lock down zones in the account in order to limit which areas a user can edit at the message level. This allows for more branding control.
• Review template permissions and configure which users can create templates versus which users must use an existing template.
• Consider using the template-permissions option (accessible via Settings > Permissions > Templates by Login) to designate which users in the child account can create templates versus which users must use an existing template to create their message.

IP addresses

Typically, the IP addresses of the child account will be the same as those used by the parent account.

Configuration support

For any configuration questions, create a case for our Customer Support Team to review and discuss your options. In some cases, Customer Support might refer you to our Deliverability team.

Related articles

• Understand Child Accounts