The Article zone makes it easy to import external, web-based content as an article into a message or template. You can also post that external content to your social-media sites.
Watch the video
Watch a short video that highlights the redesigned Zones iconography and the new, pre-configured Layouts options.
Article zone elements
When you add an Article zone to a message, you have some choices about which "elements" to include because some of them are optional (such as a title and a Read more button). Additionally, some of the elements can be edited after the zone has been added to the editor canvas. For example:
- A title for the article and a Read more button (highlighted below) — both of which link to the external content — are optional and can be edited to display your preferred text.
- A default set of social-media share buttons (highlighted below) can be added but cannot be customized in the editor (they are configured during the message-send process).
Add the zone to a message
TIP: As you work, click the gear icon in the upper right and click Save Changes. Use the undo and redo buttons to manage your changes.
To add and configure the zone:
- Click-and-drag the Article zone to where you want it in the message and "drop" it into place.
The configuration dialog automatically displays.
TIP: You can select and manage Link Labels on this dialog. To learn how to use Link Labels in your messages and templates, see Link Labels.
- Use the information in the following table to configure the zone on the Article Properties dialog.
TIP: After clicking OK to insert the Zone, you can manage the Zone and some of its elements, as described below in Manage the Zone.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Email Layout | Choose a layout for the email message. You can position an image to the left or right of the article text or above the text; or select No Image to not include one. NOTE: Because the content is optimized for social-media sites, the image should not exceed 120 x 120 pixels for the left and right images; and for the top image layout, a landscape image with an approximate ratio of 2:1 (that is at least 280 x 150 pixels) is recommended. |
| Article Title | Specify a title for your article (optional). NOTE: If you don't specify a title, this field will be blank and there will not be a direct link to the article. This is not recommended — unless you check Include a button linked to this article to add the Read More button). |
| Article URL | Specify the URL of the article (required). This converts the title (if provided) to a hyperlink. When a message recipient clicks the article title, they are automatically taken to this URL. NOTE: The field is prepopulated with "http://"; however, this is only a prompt-display; you still have to type those characters as part of a full, valid URL. |
| Add SWYN zone | Check this box to include a Social Sharing zone in your message/template. This gives your message recipients the ability to share this article on their social-media sites. NOTE: SWYN = "Share With Your Network" which uses the Social Sharing zone in Message Editor. TIP: To subsequently remove the Social Sharing zone, return to this dialog (as described in Manage the zone, below) and uncheck this box. |
| Add button link |
Check this box to include an editable Read More button that recipients can click to view the full article. You can include this in addition to, or instead of, a linked Article Title. TIP: To subsequently remove the Read More button, return to this dialog (as described in Manage the zone, below) and uncheck this box. |
| Social Publishing | Here, you can control whether you want to post the article to a social-media site.
NOTE: This option is available only if you've connected a social-media account on the Social tab. |
Manage the Zone
The five elements of the zone are marked with numbers in the image below, and then referenced in the descriptions that follow the image.
After having inserted an Article zone in a message, you can click the zone to display the management options as tabs on the right side of the zone.
- Click Article to open the Article Properties dialog (described in the previous section) to make changes to your configuration settings.
- Click Delete to remove the zone.
WARNING: This action is immediate; there's no confirmation prompt or cancel option.
TIP: You can click the undo icon to reverse a deletion.
Manage the Zone elements
In addition to managing the zone, you can manage an individual element of the zone by selecting just that element.
- If you edit elements 2, 3, or 4, the editing toolbar displays with various formatting options, which are detailed in Message Editor Zone - WYSIWYG.
| Number | Element | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Image | Click Edit to delete or replace the image. |
| 2 | Title | Click Edit to edit and/or format the text. |
| 3 | Description | This default element does not import information from the linked article; instead, it is intentionally populated with placeholder text so that you can customize the description of the article in your message/template. Click Edit to edit and/or format the text. |
| 4 | Read More button | Click close to the button and click Edit to edit and/or format the button's text-label. |
| 5 | Social-medial icons | These icons cannot be managed in the editor. Refer to Article zones in messages & templates, below, for information. |
Preview and test
With your message or template designed as you want, you should take a moment to do some pre-send verifications to check the design, layouts, content, and overall appearance.
- In the Navigation bar, click the Menu tab.
- Under Preview, click Preview to view your message in a new tab.
Also:
- If you added Personalization fields in the Description element, be sure to click Preview Personalization.
- In the Send section, click Send Message to Individual to send the message to yourself or a colleague to ensure that it renders as expected in an actual email message.
Article zones in messages & templates
When you add an Article zone to a message or template, a step is added to the configuration process when the message is being sent to a group.
The new step is 3. Social Articles.
Use this step to:
- Specify the text that you want to display on the social-media sites that you selected in step 1. Setup Job.
- Optionally, schedule whether and when you want the post to display on social media.
- Choose which social-media account you want the post to display on.
To learn about configuring the "send" options to send a message, see Send a Message.
Related articles
- To learn about the features and functions that you can use while working in Message Editor, see Message Editor Overview.
- Message Editor Zones and Layouts offers a high-level look at the various "purpose-built" Zones and links to the dedicated articles that provide instructions for configuring and customizing the Zones.
- To learn about Message Editor Layouts, which have pre-configured designs for quicker message- and template-building, see Message Editor Layouts.