Incorporating advertisements ("ads") into your Higher Logic Thrive Marketing Professional (Thrive Marketing Professional) messages is a great way to partner with another organization in order to further develop your business and professional relationships.

Why put ads in messages?

Whether your organization is looking to profit from including an ad (by charging a fee) or merely looking to promote a partnership (for example, with a related organization), an ad in one of your messages can help you to achieve that goal and to develop your organization's relationships.

Article and steps overview

This article describes the three step-process that is necessary in order to include an image-based ad in a Message Designer message.

NOTE: Message Designer supports only image-based ads in messages.

The three steps are done in different sections of the Admin interface and have varying dependencies on one another; these are delineated below.

Create an ad

You can create one or more image-based ads.

Create ads via the Messages > Advertisements page.
This process is described below in Create an image-based ad.
Ad creation has no dependency on either of the other steps.
The "insert" step is dependent on this step. There has to be at least one image-based ad available.

Configure a template

You have to configure a template so that it supports advertisements; otherwise, messages built on the template cannot host ads.

Configure a template for ads in Template Designer via the Messages > Templates page.
This process is described below in Configure a template for advertisements.
Template configuring is not dependent on either of the other steps.
The "insert" step is dependent on this step. A message's template has to be configured to support ads in order for the message to be able to host an image-based ad.

Insert an ad in a message

You can insert an image-based ad into a new or existing message.

Insert ads into messages in Message Designer via the Messages > List page.
This process is described below in Insert an image-based ad in a message.
This step is dependent on both of the other steps.

Before you begin...

Review the information in this section before you create an image-based ad for a message.

Requirements and limitations

Make sure the image is a GIF, PNG, or JPG file type.
Make sure the image does not exceed the indicated size.
The recommended width for a full-width banner ad is 600 to 650px.
Make sure the image name does not contain any spaces or special characters.

TIP: The "upload" popup displays these requirements and limitations when you choose an image for the ad.

Recommendations

Ensure your image's dimensions are appropriate for the location in your template. For example, if you plan to display the ad in a right sidebar that has a fixed width of 100 pixels, don't use an image wider than 100 pixels.
Determine whether your image already has padding incorporated into its design or if padding should be added to the template's or message's HTML.
Test the URL that you want the image to link to before you add it to a message.

Create an image-based ad

In this step, you'll create one or more image-based ads.

TIP: If you have several images that you want to use for ads, you can repeat the "create" process without having to navigate away and return.

To create an image-based ad:

Navigate to Messages > Advertisements.
Click Create at the top of the Advertising page.
In the Add Advertising dialog:

Specify a name for the ad (required).
Select a folder in which to store the ad (required).
The Ad Type defaults to the only option, Image.
Click Upload to browse to and select the image file via the small "upload" popup window that displays (required).

The Upload button label now displays as Change.
Specify the image's target URL in the Link field (required).
NOTE: Image-based ads have to be hyperlinks.
Provide a description of the ad in the Text field. (This is used in the Text Version of the message.)
Accept the default status of Active to make the ad available for messages.
TIP: Select Inactive to save the ad but not have it available for inclusion in messages.

Click Save.

The image-based ad will display in the list and be available for selection in Message Designer (refer to Insert an image-based ad in a message, below).

Configure a template for advertisements

In this step, you'll edit a template and configure it with an Advertisement content block. You can also add Advertisements when you create a template.

TIP: You can remain on this page and repeat this process if you want to configure several templates to accommodate ads.

To configure a template for advertisements:

Navigate to Messages > Templates.
Click a template to select it and click Edit to open it in Template Designer.
On the Design tab of the Designer, click the Build sub-tab on the left, and then click Structure to expand the section.
Click and drag a Message Content block from the palette to the "canvas."

Click to select the Message Content area; the Message Content Properties panel displays on the Build sub-tab.
Click the Content Type dropdown and choose Advertisement. The palette title updates to Advertisement Properties.
Click the Maximum number of advertisements dropdown if you want to select a number of advertisements for this content area. The default is unlimited.
NOTE: This setting is unique to each Advertisement Message Content area.
NOTE: A user who has the Template Designer permission can change this setting.
Click the title bar of the Advertisement Message Content area to drag it to a different location in the template (optional).

NOTE: Wherever you position an Advertisement Message Content area in a template is where it displays in the message. The content area cannot be re-positioned in Message Designer.

Repeat steps 3 through 7 to add additional Advertisement blocks.

Be sure to save the template before navigating out of the designer.

Insert an image-based ad in a message

In this step, you'll insert an image-based ad in a message and set its alignment (left, center, or right).

Notes

The message must be based on a template that has been configured with an Advertisement content block.
You can insert only the number of ads for which the Message Content area is configured (step 7, above).
You cannot relocate the ad placeholder from where it has been configured in the template.
The properties of the image that you insert have already been configured (e.g., the target URL, the Text Version content).
Image-based ads can be added to any existing message that you can edit.

Ad link clicks

The image-based ads that you include in a message are pre-configured as hyperlinks. When your message recipients click the image, the linked web page automatically opens in a new browser tab.
You cannot disable the hyperlink feature of ads.
Each click of the ad is recorded in Thrive Marketing Professional and click metrics are available in the Advertisements Reports.

To insert an ad in a message:

Navigate to Messages > List.
Locate and select the message in which you want to insert an ad and click Edit to open it in Message Designer.
On the Design tab, click the Add Advertisement content area and choose your ad image from the list that appears.

Your imaged-based ad displays in the message, and the Properties panel on the left automatically opens and reflects the name of the ad (e.g., Higher Logic Test).

You can click the Alignment dropdown to set the horizontal position of the ad.

Be sure to save the message before navigating out of the designer.

Preview and test

It's a good idea to check your work before leaving Message Designer in order to be sure that:

the image displays as you expect it to;
the image is located in the message where you expect it to be; and
clicking the link opens the expected web page and does so in a new tab.

Higher Logic recommends that you navigate to the Review & Send tab to:

Preview the Desktop, Mobile, and Online versions of the message.
- In each version, click the ad to verify that it opens the link in a new tab.
Review the Text Version of the message.
On the Check Content sub-tab, run:
- the Personalization Test (if applicable) and
- the Virtual Inbox Test.
Use the options on the Get Feedback sub-tab to send the message:
- to yourself (and/or other individuals) for review and testing, and
- to trusted reviewers (with instructions and deadlines) in order to easily gather and manage their feedback.

IMPORTANT: Make sure that — in all reviews and tests — the image-based ad is clicked and its expected behavior confirmed.

When the tests are complete and the reviewers' feedback handled, go to the Send section to either send or schedule the message.

To learn about managing your ads and the folders they are stored in, see Advertisements.
If you include advertisements in your messages, you can review how those ads are being received and engaged with in the Advertisements Reports, which are dedicated to the "performance" of advertisements in messages.
The "test" and "review" options are described in detail in Send a Message.

Image-based Advertisements