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Blog EntryNov 2, '08 1:00 PM
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Custom Fields Tutorial: Personalization

Custom Fields Tutorial: Personalization

So far in this tutorial series I've covered custom field definition and subscriber data capture, analyzing the data and segmentation. This post is about personalization, which tailors the content (and even the layout) of your newsletters depending on whom you're sending to and what you know about them.


Using the Graphic Design Template Editor

Personalization requires you to use a custom graphic design template, since personalization modifies the HTML used to format the emails. To find the template editor, go to the Newsletter Center for the relevant blog, and click the "graphic design" link (marked by the icon you see at the left). You don't have to enable the template right away, however: you can build out the personalization in the template and test it using its preview function before you go live.

Personalization Basics

The most basic form of personalization is simply to have the system substitute the custom field in to the newsletter. Say you have the custom field FirstName and you want to build a basic greeting "Dear FirstName" at the top of the newsletter.

If you just type FirstName into the template, then what happens is that the template just thinks that's regular text, and will simply add "FirstName" to your newsletter. Yuck. To tell the template that we want to use a custom field variable, you enclose it in template tags <$ and $> (just like the other template variables that you see underneath the editor). So, to substitute in the recipient's first name, you enter the text <$FirstName$> into the editor. The greeting therefore looks like this:

Dear <$FirstName$>:

Custom field variable names are not case sensitive, so you can also write this and it will work:

Dear <$firstname$>:

You can use any of your custom fields this way. Easy! Don't forget that the custom field "email" is pre-defined for you, and so you can use it as <$email$> in your template.

Default Values

But what if the user hasn't completed the registration form yet, or the field you want to use was optional and the user didn't enter any data? In this case, FeedBlitz will use the default value you specified when you defined the field. If you didn't specify a default, FeedBlitz will replace the tag with nothing (i.e. empty text).

Unknown Visitors

Remember that that your template is used in places other than your newsletter mailings. It's also used to format:

  • The subscription form;
  • The online preview;
  • Subscriber confirmation landing pages;
  • Activation emails.
In the first two cases, your template is much more likely to be seen by a visitor who is not a subscriber, or is not logged in. In which case they are unknown to FeedBlitz, and the custom fields are all going to take their default values, if defined. But the defaults might not make sense in all of these locations - what to do?

Conditional Fields

The answer is to use conditionals - if statements. The FeedBlitz custom field template system supports the following conditional tags: <$if$>, <$else$> and <$endif$>. Rather than delve into syntax, it's simpler to show a couple of basic examples to demonstrate they work:

<$if email=""$>You are not logged in<$else$>Hi there, <$FirstName$><$endif$>

and:

<$if FirstName=""$>Dear Visitor:<$else$>Dear <$FirstName$><$endif$>

The first example changes the output depending on whether or not the subscriber is logged in, and the second one changes the salutation depending on whether the FirstName field is empty or not.

Conditionals are therefore a great way to:
  • Alter content where the reader is unknown;
  • Change the output based on a custom field's value.

Although the examples above used an <$else$> tag, you do not have to have one. So this is fine:

<$if premiumfield="1"$>You are a premium customer!<$endif$>

What you must have is a corresponding <$endif$> for each <$if$> you start.

If you use hidden fields you can use them in these template expressions, but if you expose them in the template like this <$HiddenFieldName$> then the content of that field will be revealed in the output. So be careful and test using the preview to avoid any awkward subscriber data revelations. Like segmentation rules, text comparisons are case insensitive.

Conditional Tests

Conditional testing works in the same way that segmentation does (it's the same code under the covers). So you can test using math, parentheses to control precedence, and the following logical operators:

=,==,!=,<>,<=,>=,AND,&&,or,,IN

So you can write:

<$if favoritecolor!="blue"$>Why did you did not pick blue?<$endif$>

Nested If Statements

You can also nest if statements to multiple levels, so that (for example) you can decide (a) whether the subscriber is logged in, and (b) whether to do something based on what you know about them. Here's an example based on a Gender custom field for a clothing store:

<$if gender=""$>Please complete our registration form or log in<$else$><$if gender="m"$>Men's ties are on special this week<$else$>Half off leading designer handbags<$endif$><$endif$>.

The special offer is only presented to registered subscribers, and that the offer is different based on what you know about that subscriber. Note also that each opening <$if$> has a corresponding <$endif$>.

If you get this wrong, the template editor preview (and other screens where the template is used if you take it live with an error in it) will display "syntax error" if your statements don't match up properly. So don't forget to test, and make sure you have both the leading "<$" and trailing "$>" (i.e. make sure you write "<$if some logical test $>" and "<$else$>" and "<$endif$>", and NOT "<$if some logical test>" or "<$else>" or "<else>" or "<endif>" etc.).


Advanced Personalization

You can also use conditionals around HTML tags and page elements to based on subscriber data. For example, you could define an image in the editor, and then precede it with the opening <$if> statement and put the <$endif$> after the image. The image will only be put into messages and screens where the <$if$> statement says it should. Really advanced users can go into the HTML source and use conditionals on the raw HTML for extensive personalization of styles and layouts, but that takes great care.

And no matter what you do, don't forget to test!

Testing, testing, testing...

And test more than your newsletter. Here are my tips to ensure that your template works everywhere it's going to be used:

  • While you're editing, test using the online editor's preview feature.
  • After you enable the template, test using your ID:
    1. The online preview;
    2. The subscription form.
  • Log out, and then repeat steps 1 and 2 above.
If all the above tests work out the way you want then your template will work wherever it's used.

More Recent Articles

  • Custom Fields Tutorial: Segmentation
  • Custom Fields Tutorial: Reporting and Analytics
  • Custom Fields Tutorial: Lead Capture
  • On Lead Capture and Custom Fields
  • Twitter Improvements

    Your email updates, powered by FeedBlitz


    Here are the latest FeedBlitz News updates for casaindiajamenjay@ono.com



    Custom Fields Tutorial: Personalization

    Custom Fields Tutorial: Personalization

    So far in this tutorial series I've covered custom field definition and subscriber data capture, analyzing the data and segmentation. This post is about personalization, which tailors the content (and even the layout) of your newsletters depending on whom you're sending to and what you know about them.

    Using the Graphic Design Template Editor

    Personalization requires you to use a custom graphic design template, since personalization modifies the HTML used to format the emails. To find the template editor, go to the Newsletter Center for the relevant blog, and click the "graphic design" link (marked by the icon you see at the left). You don't have to enable the template right away, however: you can build out the personalization in the template and test it using its preview function before you go live.

    Personalization Basics

    The most basic form of personalization is simply to have the system substitute the custom field in to the newsletter. Say you have the custom field FirstName and you want to build a basic greeting "Dear FirstName" at the top of the newsletter.

    If you just type FirstName into the template, then what happens is that the template just thinks that's regular text, and will simply add "FirstName" to your newsletter. Yuck. To tell the template that we want to use a custom field variable, you enclose it in template tags <$ and $> (just like the other template variables that you see underneath the editor). So, to substitute in the recipient's first name, you enter the text <$FirstName$> into the editor. The greeting therefore looks like this:

    Dear <$FirstName$>:

    Custom field variable names are not case sensitive, so you can also write this and it will work:

    Dear <$firstname$>:

    You can use any of your custom fields this way. Easy! Don't forget that the custom field "email" is pre-defined for you, and so you can use it as <$email$> in your template.

    Default Values

    But what if the user hasn't completed the registration form yet, or the field you want to use was optional and the user didn't enter any data? In this case, FeedBlitz will use the default value you specified when you defined the field. If you didn't specify a default, FeedBlitz will replace the tag with nothing (i.e. empty text).

    Unknown Visitors

    Remember that that your template is used in places other than your newsletter mailings. It's also used to format:

    • The subscription form;
    • The online preview;
    • Subscriber confirmation landing pages;
    • Activation emails.
    In the first two cases, your template is much more likely to be seen by a visitor who is not a subscriber, or is not logged in. In which case they are unknown to FeedBlitz, and the custom fields are all going to take their default values, if defined. But the defaults might not make sense in all of these locations - what to do?

    Conditional Fields

    The answer is to use conditionals - if statements. The FeedBlitz custom field template system supports the following conditional tags: <$if$>, <$else$> and <$endif$>. Rather than delve into syntax, it's simpler to show a couple of basic examples to demonstrate they work:

    <$if email=""$>You are not logged in<$else$>Hi
    there, <$FirstName$><$endif$>

    and:

    <$if FirstName=""$>Dear Visitor:<$else$>Dear
    <$FirstName$><$endif$>

    The first example changes the output depending on whether or not the subscriber is logged in, and the second one changes the salutation depending on whether the FirstName field is empty or not.

    Conditionals are therefore a great way to:
    • Alter content where the reader is unknown;
    • Change the output based on a custom field's value.

    Although the examples above used an <$else$> tag, you do not have to have one. So this is fine:

    <$if
    premiumfield="1"$>You are a premium customer!<$endif$>

    What you must have is a corresponding <$endif$> for each <$if$> you start.

    If you use hidden fields you can use them in these template expressions, but if you expose them in the template like this <$HiddenFieldName$> then the content of that field will be revealed in the output. So be careful and test using the preview to avoid any awkward subscriber data revelations. Like segmentation rules, text comparisons are case insensitive.

    Conditional Tests

    Conditional testing works in the same way that segmentation does (it's the same code under the covers). So you can test using math, parentheses to control precedence, and the following logical operators:

    =,==,!=,<>,<=,>=,AND,&&,or,,IN

    So you can write:

    <$if favoritecolor!="blue"$>Why did you did
    not pick blue?<$endif$>

    Nested If Statements

    You can also nest if statements to multiple levels, so that (for example) you can decide (a) whether the subscriber is logged in, and (b) whether to do something based on what you know about them. Here's an example based on a Gender custom field for a clothing store:

    <$if gender=""$>Please complete our registration form or log
    in<$else$><$if gender="m"$>Men's ties are on special this
    week<$else$>Half off leading designer
    handbags<$endif$><$endif$>    .

    The special offer is only presented to registered subscribers, and that the offer is different based on what you know about that subscriber. Note also that each opening <$if$> has a corresponding <$endif$>.

    If you get this wrong, the template editor preview (and other screens where the template is used if you take it live with an error in it) will display "syntax error" if your statements don't match up properly. So don't forget to test, and make sure you have both the leading "<$" and trailing "$>" (i.e. make sure you write "<$if some logical

    test $>" and "<$else$>" and "<$endif$>", and NOT "<$if some logical
    test    >    " or "<$else>" or "<else>" or "<endif>" etc.).

    Advanced Personalization

    You can also use conditionals around HTML tags and page elements to based on subscriber data. For example, you could define an image in the editor, and then precede it with the opening <$if> statement and put the <$endif$> after the image. The image will only be put into messages and screens where the <$if$> statement says it should. Really advanced users can go into the HTML source and use conditionals on the raw HTML for extensive personalization of styles and layouts, but that takes great care.

    And no matter what you do, don't forget to test!

    Testing, testing, testing...

    And test more than your newsletter. Here are my tips to ensure that your template works everywhere it's going to be used:

    • While you're editing, test using the online editor's preview feature.
    • After you enable the template, test using your ID:
      1. The online preview;
      2. The subscription form.
    • Log out, and then repeat steps 1 and 2 above.
    If all the above tests work out the way you want then your template will work wherever it's used.

"Vaishnava blog feeds" - 1 new article

  1. Gbc meetings Photos at Srila Prabhupad’s Office
  2. More Recent Articles
  3. Search Vaishnava blog feeds

Gbc meetings Photos at Srila Prabhupad’s Office

Hare Krishna Link to an exhaustive picture gallery from pictures taken during the recently concluded GBC Meetings. Also posted are lots of images of HH Jayapataka Swami during the GBC meeting before he was hospitalised

More Recent Articles


"Dandavats" - 1 new article

  1. HH Jayapataka Swami - Update 18
  2. More Recent Articles
  3. Search Dandavats

HH Jayapataka Swami - Update 18

Hare KrishnaBy Bhakti Purusottama Swami

We request worldwide devotees to pray to Sri Nrsimhadeva for our dear Guru Maharaja, HH Jayapataka Swami, to come out of his critical health situation. Doctors diagnosed that it is brain hemorrhage

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Updates from:

"Vaishnava blog feeds" - 3 new articles

  1. Sannyasa guru versus Grihasta guru in Iskcon
  2. Video confirming SP’s position about fake money
  3. Intellectual honesty - attractive quality of a brahmana
  4. More Recent Articles
  5. Search Vaishnava blog feeds

Sannyasa guru versus Grihasta guru in Iskcon

Hare Krishna From a recent exchange: Interesting perspective, indicating the traditional prominence of the grihasta guru. Our tradition in ISKCON seems to be the opposite, almost total prominence of sannyasa gurus. Why?

Video confirming SP’s position about fake money

Hare Krishna The basic problem that the world has is that there is too much money and not enough real wealth, by that I mean that the worlds debt could swallow up all of the worlds assets ten times over

Intellectual honesty - attractive quality of a brahmana

Hare Krishna If someone is unable or unwilling to admit when their opponent raises a good point or makes a good criticism, it demonstrates an unwillingness to participate in the give-and-take that characterizes an honest exchange.

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"¡Srimati Radharani Ki Jay!" - 1 new article

  1. NUEVO SITIO DE INTERNET!!!
  2. More Recent Articles
  3. Search ¡Srimati Radharani Ki Jay!

NUEVO SITIO DE INTERNET!!!

www.360Darshan.com
fANTÀSTICAS FOTOGRAFÍA EN 360 GRADOS DE LOS SITIOS SAGRADOS
EN SRI VRAJA DHAM,
SE RECOMIENDA ACCEDER AL SITE CON CONEXIONES RÁPIDAS DE INTERNET

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Updates from:

"Vaishnava blog feeds" - 1 new article

  1. Diksha Guru versus Siksha Guru in Iskcon
  2. More Recent Articles
  3. Search Vaishnava blog feeds

Diksha Guru versus Siksha Guru in Iskcon

Hare Krishna Diksha is the easy part. Attracting someone from the streets and growing them to become a disciples is the hard part. That is what the local sikshas are doing. We need a system like we had in the 70's, diksha and many sikshas working together to increase ISKCON all over the world.

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  5. Being a guru in Iskcon: a spiritual leadership seminar
  6. More Recent Articles
  7. Search Dandavats

Increasing platelet counts

Jeyanthy Pillai: I have written an article on "Increasing Platelet Counts" which may be of interest to you in view of HH Jayapataka Swami's low platelet count.

Five new books from Danavir Goswami and RVC publishing

Arya Siddhanta dasa: Have you ever heard a story about Krsna’s pastimes and wondered, “Where does that come from? I don’t see it in the Bhagavatam?” Now you have some answers.

Sastra Dana newsletter(s)

By Mahat-tattva Dasa

Dear Prabhus, please read the latest Sastra Dana newsletters. Thank you very much. Your servant, Mahat-tattva Dasa

Deewali at Krishna Temple

By Caru das

Provo Daily Herald, Saturday October 25th

Being a guru in Iskcon: a spiritual leadership seminar

Hare KrishnaBy Tattvavit Dasa

Someone may wonder how it is that gurus attend training seminars. The question was answered this way: Learning from one another is a strength, not a weakness, and wanting to always learn and improve in devotional service is the sign of Vaishnava humility.

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  1. Prayers requested for Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu
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Prayers requested for Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu

Hare Krishna We are humbly requesting you to submit your sincere prayers for His Holiness Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu, GBC, Initiating Guru, and ISKCON Philadelphia Temple President, who has just returned from Mumbai, India and has been diagnosed with pneumonia. His physician is also testing him for Malaria.

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  1. WSN September 2008 - World Sankirtan Newsletter
  2. Diwali anyone? Or Halloween it will be!
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  4. Los Angeles Holloween Harinam SKP!
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  6. Search Dandavats

WSN September 2008 - World Sankirtan Newsletter

Hare KrishnaBy Vijaya Das

For the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada this page contains the following results for the month of September: World Totals, Monthly Congregation and Weekend Warriors...

Diwali anyone? Or Halloween it will be!

Mother Gandhari dasi: The "Hindu" devotees even in ISKCON will be busy for a month long preparations and celebrations of Diwali Festival starting from sending greeting cards, 'spring cleaning' the house, cooking various Diwali Sweets and Savories...

Govardhan Puja (Annakuta Mahotsav) At ISKCON,Ludhiana

Bhakta Kaplish: Goverdhan puja was celebrated in temple with great devotions and dedications. A replica of Goverdhan Hill was created and was circumambulated by the devotees thus remembering the Goverdhan pastime of Lord Krishna.

Los Angeles Holloween Harinam SKP!

Govinda Datta Dasa: Please join us for a very ecstatic Holloween Harinam. Friday, Oct. 31, 2008. Guaranteed ecstacy as more than one million people attend and everyone coming close to the chanting party dances with us in great jubilation.

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"Vaishnava blog feeds" - 1 new article

  1. GBC Proposal (draft)
  2. More Recent Articles
  3. Search Vaishnava blog feeds

GBC Proposal (draft)

Hare Krishna Resolved, That - An official ISKCON Initiating Guru website on the Internet be designed and regularly updated - The GBC should appoint a GBC member to oversee this project.

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  3. “Mother Ganga” on IMDB.com
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Sacred geometry, Rangolis, Mandalas and Yantras

Mother Gandharidasi: This is a compilation of information from various websites about Sacred Geometry, better known as Rangoli in Gujarat and Kolam in South India. It gives some understanding of relationship between Rangoli, mandalas and yantras, their uses, origins and benefits.

Pandava sena Dussehra Play

Rajesh Hirani: Click here to watch a 2min clip of the Pandava sena Dussehra Play.http://www.filmworkstudios.co.uk/KCPAGES/page3/Dussehra2008Highlights.html

“Mother Ganga” on IMDB.com

Pratyatosa Dasa ACBSP: Mother Ganga: A Journey Along the Sacred Ganges River. As far as I know, it's the first and only movie produced by a follower of Srila Prabhupada to make the IMDB listings.

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