Dynamic Content

Prerequisites

If you include dynamic content in your email that is based on the data in a data extension, you must send the email to the same data extension that you based the rules on or to a data extension that contains fields with the exact sames names as the data extension fields use in the dynamic content rules. Otherwise, all emails contain the default content.

You must have each content block that you want to use in the content box defined as stored content before you can create the dynamic content box.

What Is Dynamic Content

Dyanmic content is content that displays in a content box according to the rules that you define based on the subscriber's attributes or data extension column values. By using dynamic content, you can ensure that a more-tailored messaging is reaching your targeted audience.

For example, as a clothing advertiser, you can display women's clothing information in the content box for all the females on your subscriber list and men's clothing for all the males on your subscriber list; however, dyanmic content can be much more specific than this.  

Also, note that the dynamic content box takes on the formatting (e.g., background color and border design) defined for whichever retrieved content box is being used.

In addition, default content is the content you specify in the Dynamic Content dialog box in the field Default Content. This content displays when one of your subscribers does not apply to a rule you created.

You can modify and delete dynamic content after you create it. While in the Edit HTML Version mode of the email editor workspace, open the Dynamic Content Rules Wizard dialog box by clicking in the upper-right corner of the dynamic content box. Then do one of the following:

• Edit the definition of a rule
• Delete a rule or expression within a rule: If you want to remove a rule, click the  button that appears beside that rule or expression.
• Clear out a dynamic content box: To delete a dynamic content box, first delete the rules in the Dynamic Content Rules Wizard dialog box and then uncheck the Use Dynamic Content checkbox.
• Eliminate the dynamic content rules and use the generic content for all subscribers: See How to Disable and Re-enable Dynamic Content.

In all cases, click the OK button in the Dynamic Content Rules Wizard dialog box when finished with your modifications.

If you do not want a content box to be dynamic but want to retain the rules created for that dynamic content for a future delivery of the email, you can disable the dynamic content.

Note: If you want to remove the dynamic content box but retain the rules for future use, you can store the dynamic content box for later retrieval.

Why Use Dynamic Content

Use dynamic content when you wish to deliver a targeted message to a specific audience. Dynamic content allows you to define attributes to content, making the information your subscribers receive that much more relevant.  

Scenario

Northern Trail Outfitters has an email newsletter to send out, but they want to include dynamic content. To create the content box, the marketer clicks the Content tab, then my contents, then the Create Content button. The marketer adds text and an image and then clicks the store button to save the content.

The Store Content window appears. They name the content box and click Save.

After repeating this process for several content boxes, Northern Trail Outfitters stores all the content that they need to create a dynamic content box.

They're now ready to create the email. They open the email that will contain the dynamic content and click the icon in the upper right-hand corner of an empty content box.

The Dynamic Content dialog box appears.

Northern Trail Outfitters fills out the Rule fields and adds rules as necessary. All subscribers that have their gender designated as female receive that the content box above.

After Northern Trail Outfitters has created all the rules, they click OK. They have created a dynamic content box. Once they've finished creating the email and send it, a female subscriber receives an email with the content desginated for females.

How To Create a Dynamic Content Box 

Before you begin this procedure, you must create the different content options that you want to appear based on the dynamic content rules and saved them as stored content.

To create a dynamic content box, follow these steps:

1. Click the Content tab.
2. Click my emails.
3. Click Create, or if you want to add a dynamic content box to an email you already created, choose the email from the list that appears. If you're creating an email, see How To Create an Email for step-by-step instructions.
4. Click the button in the upper-right corner of an empty content box. The Dynamic Content Rules Wizard appears.

Select the content that appears if the subscriber information does not satisfy any of the dynmaic content rules in the Default Content field.

5. Complete the Dynamic content Rules dialog box
   • Select the data extension whose attributes you'll use to define the rules in the Data Source field. You can also select the subscriber attributes instead of a data extension. 
   • The default content is what displays if a subscriber doesn't fit into a category that you define.

6. Complete the rule fields. For information on what each field entails, see Defining the Elements of a Rule. An example of how a rule works is if you create a rule that says "Gender is Male", only the subscribers with the attribute of male on your subscriber list receive the content you choose in the Display field. 
7. Add multiple rules by clicking the Add Rule button.
8. Click OK when you have finished creating rules, and the dynamic content is added to your email.

How To Build a Dynamic Subject Line When Creating an Email

If you create an email with a dynamic subject line, the subject line that a subscriber sees is based on the subscriber's attributes according to the rules that you define. For example, you can define one subject line to appear for all th males in your list and another for all the females. These attributes can be taken from a subscriber list or a sendable data extension, depending on your needs

If you use AMPscript in your subject line, you can click the Expand button under the Email Subject Line field to view a larger text field. Click the Collapse button to return the field to a single line.

To build your dynamic subject line, follow these steps:

1. Click the Content tab.
2. Click my emails.
3. Click Create.
4. Select the type of email you'd like to create, and click Next.
5. Click the  button to open the Dyanmic Subject Line Dialog box.
6. In the Dynamic Subject Line Email dialog box, define the attribute, operator, value, and subject line rule, overriding the generic syntax of your first rule.

If you want to add another attribute to the rule so that two of the subscriber's attributes must meet your requirements in order to view a particular piece of content, add a second expression to the rule, joined to the first expression by either AND or OR.

7. Specify the default subject line to be displayed for subscribers who do not meet the requirements defined in your rule(s).
8. Click the OK button in the Dynamic Subject Line Email dialog box to add this dynamic subject line to your email.

How To Create a Dynamic Subject Line From the Email Send Wizard

To create a dynamic subject line from the Email Send Wizard that will only affect the email send and not the original email, follow these steps:

1. Click the Content tab.
2. Click my emails.
3. Select the email you wish to send.
4. Click Send.
   The Email Send Wizard appears.
5. Follow the Email Send Wizard prompts until you reach the Identification Dialog Box.
6. Click the button to open the Dynamic Subject Line Dialog box. 
6. In the Dynamic Subject Line Email dialog box, define the attribute, operator, value, and subject line rule, overriding the generic syntax of your first rule.

If you want to add another attribute to the rule so that two of the subscriber's attributes must meet your requirements in order to view a particular piece of content, add a second expression to the rule, joined to the first expression by either AND or OR.

7. Specify the default subject line to be displayed for subscribers who do not meet the requirements defined in your rule(s).
8. Click the checkbox that reads Save this subject line for future emails if you want the subject line to be used in the future. If not, leave the checkbox unchecked.
9. Click the OK button in the Dynamic Subject Line Email dialog box to add this dynamic subject line to your email.

How To Make a Complex Rule with Multiple Expressions

A single rule, controlling which subscribers see a particular piece of content, can involve multiple expressions.

To create a complex rule, follow these steps:

You must first define the four elements  of the first expression in the rule.

1. Click the Add Rule button.

The generic syntax of a second expression is added to the rule. By default, the added portion of the rule is joined to the first portion by the AND operator. If you want the two portions to be joined by the OR operator instead, select the OR operator from the drop down box above the first rule.

2. Define the attribute, operator, and value of the second expression in the rule.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to add even more expressions to this rule.
4. Click OK.

Note: To remove an expression from a rule, click the trash button.

How To Preview Dynamic Content

You can test your dynamic content rules by previewing the dynamic content box. When you are in the Edit HTML view, follow these steps:

1. Click the Content tab.
2. Click my emails.
3. Click the email from the list that appears.
4. Click the Preview button in the lower-right corner of a dynamic content box, which opens a drop-down list that shows the rules defined for that content box.
5. Click the rule that you want to test.

The email editor workspace is updated, and the content box now shows the content that is displayed to subscribers meeting the requirements of the selected rule.

Note: You can preview one content box at a time. Whenever you preview one dynamic content box, all the other content boxes return to their default content. If you want to see what the entire email looks like for a subscriber, use the send preview feature.

How To Disable and Re-Enable Dynamic Content

To disable and then re-enable dynamic content, follow this step:

1. In the Dynamic Content Rules Wizard dialog box, uncheck the Use Dynamic Content checkbox and then click the OK button.

The content box now becomes a static content box. The content that had been defined as the default content is now the only content for this content box and appears in this content box for all subscribers.

To re-enable dynamic content, follow this step:

2. Clear out the contents of the content box as you would for any static content box. Then click the  in the upper-right corner of the static content box. The rules that had been defined and disabled for this content box are still intact and are now enabled. Dynamic content is turned on as soon as you access the Dynamic Content Rules Wizard dialog box.

How To Store Dynamic Content

The process for storing a dynamic content box for reuse in other emails is as follows:

1. Click the Content tab.
2. Click my emails.
3. Click Create, or if you want to add a dynamic content box to an email you already created, choose the email from the list that appears. If you're creating an email, see How To Create an Email for step-by-step instructions.
4. Click the Store button in the dynamic content box to save the dynamic content.
5. Enter the internal name that is associated with this content box. You can choose the folder in which to store this content by clicking the Browse button next to the Location field.
6. Click the Save button in the dialog box. This content is stored for future use.