FanThreeSixty’s Email Builder streamlines content creation and content delivery, offering an intuitive drag-and-drop builder that works alongside your audience segments and outbound communications.
It’s a one stop shop to create and send emails, manage email templates, and view email metrics without ever having to leave the platform. This article serves as a guide for all primary workflows and functionality included with this feature.
Navigating to and using the Email List View
Select Email on the navigation bar at the top of the Fan Data Platform to navigate to the Email builder.
The section header at the top of the screen will allow you to perform all of the following actions using the drop down menu next to the + New Email button:
View Sent Emails (by selecting List)
Search past sent emails using the search bar
-
Filter through search results using:
-
Date range dropdown filter with the following options
All dates
Last 30 days
Last 3 months
Last year
Custom
-
Status dropdown filter with the following options
Sent
Scheduled
-
More Filters with the following options
Comm group
Playbook
Sponsor
-
-
Sort the Email List by using the Sort by drop down with the following options
Most Recent
Total Opened
Total Clicked
Percentage Opened
Percentage Clicked
Toggle Between Regular and Automated sent emails using the Regular and Automated tabs
-
Once the desired email has been found, select it to see the following information related to that email:
Performance Metrics
Details
Clicked URLs
View Email Metrics (by selecting Metrics)
This screen will show various metrics related to all emails in your sent email list. You can filter the list using:
Search bar
-
Status Filter with the following options
Sent
Scheduled
-
More Filters with the following options
Comm group
Playbook
Sponsor
Once the desired search results are displayed, the following metrics are discoverable on the page:
Number of emails sent
Email open rate (as a percentage)
Click rate (as a percentage)
Fans reached
You will also see your “Top Performer” emails listed on the right side of the screen
View Email Trends (by selecting Trends)
This view will allow you to view trends related to sent emails represented with a line graph. Simply select the desired time frame (Weekly or Monthly), and select the metric you wish to trend from the following options:
Opens
Clicks
Engagements
Engagement Rate
Unsubscribes
Sending Emails
Once you have navigated to the Email builder, select the blue + New Email button. From this page, you will be prompted to:
Create New (Build a one time send email, or create a new email template)
Use a Template (Use a previously created template to send a one time email)
Automated email (Automatically sent based on audience and schedule logic)
Create New
After you select Create New, you will see the new email builder workspace. Here you’ll have the ability to create an email from scratch using drag and drop functionality.
Note: You can also access previously saved templates from this workflow—creating a new email from a template will be covered in the Templates section below.
Navigating the User Interface
The “Stage” is the left panel of the user interface, and is the live preview of your email. This is where you drag & drop elements and edit text directly.
The “Sidebar” is the right panel of the user interface. This area contains three sticky tabs—Content, Rows, and Settings—that control the layout and content of the email.
Content Tab - Use this tab to drag elements onto the Stage. There are several different types of content blocks available in the Content tab of the menu. See the Content Block Glossary at the bottom of this article to see the list of available options and their functions.
Rows Tab - Drag a Row onto the stage to define the structural grid of your design
Settings Tab - Establish document-wide defaults to ensure consistency and save time.
Laying Out your Email
The interface provides intuitive context-sensitive editing. Below is a sample workflow to interact between the Stage and the Sidebar, to layout your email and place content.
Note: When creating a new email, the body will automatically have a basic single line row inserted as a default.
Navigate to the Email Builder
Click the + New Email button
Select Create New
-
Select the desired row structure to start your email:
Select the “Rows” tab on the menu
Drag a "2-column" row to the Stage
Please note that you can insert multiple rows in an email. You would do this if you wanted different parts of the email to have a different number of sections to plug content blocks in to.
-
Add in the desired Content Blocks. For example:
Select the the “Content” tab from the sidebar
Drag an "Image" into the left column and "Text" into the right
-
Modify your content:
Click the Image: The Right Sidebar transforms into Image Properties (Upload button, URL link, Alt text, Width slider).
Click the Text: A Floating Toolbar appears above the text for styling (Color, Font size, Alignment).
Click the Row background: The Right Sidebar transforms into Row Properties (Column background colors, borders, padding).
You can save rows that you have built with content blocks for later use, which is particularly useful if you are going to have standard headers or other reusable email content. Once a row is populated with content, simply click on it and you will be presented with several icons. You can delete the row with the trash can icon, or save it with the floppy disk. All saved rows are discoverable in the drop down menu at the very top after selecting the Rows tab. Simply click the menu and select “Saved Rows”
-
Send the Email
-
Once you’re finished building your email, click Continue at the bottom of the screen
If you’d like to preview the email as it would look on a mobile device, click the mobile icon in the top left corner of the body of your email
Name your email using the “Enter Email Name” text field at the top of the screen
Select the audience to receive the email using the “Choose Audience” button
Enter the Email Subject line in the “Subject” text box
Choose the email category using the Email Type drop down menu
Select either Send (sends now) or Schedule (sends at a future date/time)
-
Use a Template
Creating a new email using a template is largely the same process as creating a new email from scratch, but allows the user to select a previously saved or imported email to use as a starting point.
Navigate to the Email Builder
Click the + New Email button
-
Select Use a Template
Alternatively if you chose to Create New, you can click the View button above the body of the email and select “Use a template” instead
Hover over the template you wish to use and select the Use Template button
The body of the email will now be pre-populated with the rows and content blocks of the selected template
You may edit the content contained in the content blocks. You may also add content blocks or rows as needed for this email
Once you’re finished building your email, click Continue at the bottom of the screen. The process now continues as it does when creating a new email from scratch
Automated Emails
Automated emails allow you to select audiences to receive emails at a pre-defined timeframe. There are standard pre-built automations in place, or you can build a custom automated email.
Custom Automated Emails
Navigate to the Email Builder
Click the + New Email button
Select Automated
Ensure the Custom header tab is selected
Choose an emoji
-
Select the Choose Audience button to assign an audience for email receipt
Search for the audience using the search bar and filters in the modal, and then select your preferred audience
Select Create New Email to start from scratch, or Choose Template to deliver an existing email design
Build your email as described in the Create New or Use a Template sections of this article
Select Continue
Confirm the details displayed on this screen are correct
-
Designate an Email Type:
Special offers
Survey
Marketing
General
Select the Edit button next to the Delivery field to specify a send time and frequency
Select Send to begin your automation
Standard Automated Emails
Standard Automated Emails will auto-populate the Emojis, Title, Audiences, Email Type, and send time(s)/frequency based on the type of automated email you’ve selected, while custom automated emails do not. The required manual steps of the user to fill in those pieces is what distinguishes the custom automated email process from using the standard automated email workflow.
Navigate to the Email Builder
Click the + New Email button
Select Automated
Ensure the Standard header tab is selected
Choose the type of automated email you wish to send (Example: Introduce your app)
-
Confirm the displayed Audience is correct
-
If you wish to set this automation for a different audience, click the Edit button
Search for the audience using the search bar and filters in the modal, and then select your preferred audience
-
Select Create New Email
Build your email as described in the Create New or Use a Template sections of this article
Select Continue
Confirm the details displayed on this screen are correct
Select Send to begin your automation
Audience Retargeting
The Email Builder can be launched straight from the Audience page to directly target that audience with email (or mobile) communications. In order to do so:
Navigate to that Audience’s page
Select Use Audience at the bottom of the screen
Select Send Email
Select the desired email type, and follow the Send Email workflow as outlined above
Templates
Create a New Template
Creating a new template is essentially just creating an email and saving it for later use. You can either start building a new email from scratch, or start with an existing template from the FanThreeSixty email design catalog.
Navigate to the Email Builder
Click the + New Email button
Select Create New or Use a Template if you wish to create another version of an existing template
Modify the body of the email as needed
Once all of the changes have been made, click the Actions button above the body of the email
Select Save as New Template
Enter a unique name in the Name text box
Click Save
The template will now be available in your templates catalog when you select the Use Template option.
Deleting Templates
The simplest way to delete a template is to open the Templates catalog by selecting the Use Template option after selecting the + New Email button.
Open the Templates catalog
Hover over the template you wish to delete
Click the trash can icon
Click Delete
Miscellaneous
Merge Tags
Merge tags are “dynamic fields” that can be inserted into emails to pull fan profile information directly into an email on send. For example, the First Name merge tag will insert the fan’s name associated with the email address that receives the email.
There are two ways to access Merge Tags while editing a content block on the Stage.
Formatting Box
Click into the desired content block
Once the dark gray formatting box appears, select the Merge Tags button.
A list of available options will display
Choose your dynamic field to populate within the content block
In-line
Click into the desired content block to begin editing text
Type an @ symbol
A list of available options will display
Choose your dynamic field to populate within the content block
Tagging
Not to be confused with Merge tags, Tagging is the process of tying sent emails to revenue tracking capabilities within the platform. Once an email has been created you can tag emails through two methods.
Method one:
Select the circle icon on the left side of an email in the list view
Click the Tag icon that populates at the top of the list view
-
Select the revenue tracking method button you wish to use in this window
Comm group
Playbook
Sponsor
Use the drop down menu to choose your desired option
Select Done
Method two:
Select the email you wish to tag by clicking on it
Select the Details heading tab
-
Click into any of the four following fields to search for and select the desired tagging option
Campaigns
Comm group
Playbook
Sponsor
Content Block Glossary
While building emails, content blocks are the sections that you may use to fill with content such as texts, images, tables, etc. The following list shows all available content blocks and a description of their functions.
Title (H1-H3 for accessibility and SEO)
Paragraph (long-form text)
List (ordered and unordered)
Image and Video (visual content)
Icons (for ratings, bullet points, and more)
Button and Social (interactive elements)
Spacer and Divider (structure and spacing)
Table (tabular data)
Menu (navigation)
Custom HTML (for advanced use cases)
Content Block Properties
When working with content blocks the Content tab will be replaced with the properties associated with that content block. The available properties are listed below.
Font Family
Font Weight
Font Size
Text Color
Link Color
Align
Paragraph Spacing
Line Height
Letter Spacing
Text Direction
Padding
Email Design Settings Menu Glossary
While creating emails there are settings available in the email builder menu on the right side of the screen. The available options are listed below.
-
Design Settings
Content area width
Content area alignment
Background color
Content area background color
Background image
Default Font
Link Color
-
Metadata
Email Details
Subject
Preheader
Title
Language
Custom Head HTML