A common frustration of many Pardot users I have talked to is the classic: robust email template builder. Or rather, the lack of a user-friendly template builder in Pardot. If you do not have any HTML or developing knowledge, you are basically doomed to create a good-looking email template in Pardot. But the Winter ’21 release of Salesforce made sure this inconvenience is something of the past. Enter the new Pardot Lightning email template builder; no more hassle with coding or annoying your development team, from now on everyone can create an eye-popping email that arouses your customers! I am Arno, a functional Pardot & Salesforce consultant at Customer Link, and I will guide you through the basics of this new application.
Important to keep in mind is that this template builder is only available in Pardot Lightning, not in the Classic version. Before you start creating templates, you need to create a permission set for those users who will be using the new feature. You need to enable ‘Access drag-and-drop content builder’ & ‘Manage email content’ in your settings and give this permission set to those who need it. To make things even easier, you can also add the ‘Email templates’ tab to your Pardot Lightning environment so it is easy to navigate to. And voila, you are good to go!
Drag-and-drop function for components
The first thing that stands out when opening the template builder, is the drag-and-drop function of components. You can easily pick a component and drag it where you want onto the working canvas. From there on, you can adjust and customize the field any way you want to in the right column. Let’s have a closer look into the different components. With the button function, you can create a button anywhere you want in your email (important for Call To Actions!). Everything of the component is adjustable from size to colors, to even the corners of your button. If you want to upload an image, you first need to store it in your Salesforce environment. No more working with the little file storage Pardot offered us, from now on we can upload anything to Salesforce so we don’t have to worry about running out of file storage anymore! Typing and styling a text in your mail is child play with this builder. You can change the font, size and format all with just a few clicks. Next to that you can add hyperlinks in your text or merge fields to personalize your content. Merge fields are used to incorporate values from a record in templates to have a more personal touch in your corporate communication. The merge field picker offers a clear overview of all the values you can use, your customers will love this personal communication!
Columns and rows let you divide the outlook of mails the way you want. There are literally no limitations to how you create the layout of emails. And if you are keen to use some HTML coding in your templates, there is still the availability to do so!
Undo- and responsive functions
Next to these components, there are two other functions which really standout in the template builder to my opinion. The first one is the undo function, just like there is in Word or Excel. If you don’t like the change you just made, you can simply click the undo arrow and poof, you are right where you were before you made that not-so-good-looking change. The other function is, and this should sound like music to the ears of designers and developers, is that the templates are automatically responsive! This means that your email is mobile-ready, no more messing around with making that image look good on a small screen. If that is not enough, you can preview how the email would look like on your smartphone. Just switch from desktop to phone function and see for yourself.
This is the email template I came up with in about a small hour, with no previous experience in the builder, nor any developing or designing background since I am a functional profile. I am sure everyone is capable of creating a good-looking email template for his or her customers, so make sure to give this new functionality a try.
Want to know more about Pardot or any other Salesforce application? Do not hesitate to contact us, we will be glad to answer all your questions!
