How to Create an Email Using the Code Editor

Email Features Updated on April 8, 2022

Benchmark offers 3 email editors: the Drag & Drop, Plain Text, and the Code editor. If you have an email in HTML code you can easily add it in the Code editor.

For a video tutorial on how to use the Code editor, please watch the video below.

 

1. Log in to your Benchmark account. Click on Emails from the Dashboard, and then select Emails.
2. Click on the Create New Email option. Select Regular Email and click Next.
3. Now, select the Code Editor option and then click Next.
4. Give your email a name. This is for identifying your email. Your contacts will not see this. Then, click Next.

 

Below we explain each section of the email checklist

• Design
• To
• From
• Subject
• Link Tracking & Sharing
• Send Email

 

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Design

 

This step comes directly after giving your email a name. If you are returning to the email checklist, open this section by clicking on the Design Email option. Once the Code Editor is open, you can add or edit your code.

Replace the EMAIL CONTENT text with your code, if your HTML code already has body and HTML tags remove the tags from the editor.

 

 

Code Editor Toolbar

1. Theme Style: In the first drop-down menu, you can change the code editor’s theme style.
2. Merge option: This allows you to add merge tags into the email. The merge tags available in the code editor are Forward, Greeting, and Contact Details. Before using the contact details tags, make sure that you have the values added in your contact list.
3. Text Version: Displays all of the text in your HTML email. If this option has an “X” it indicates that the text version and the HTML version are not synced. Emails can’t be sent or scheduled without first syncing the HTML and text versions. To sync both versions do the following:
   1. Click on the Text version button.
   2. Now, click on COPY TEXT FROM HTML EMAIL.
   3. In the popup, confirm your changes by clicking Continue.
   4. Then, click the HTML button.
   5. You can schedule or send your email now.
4. Image Gallery: add one of your existing images or upload new images to use. When you select an image, it’s URL will be inserted in your email code. You’ll need to add the appropriate image tag, ex. <img>.
5. Code View: by default, you’ll see a split view, on the left the code editor, and on the right a view of the HTML email. The split view allows you to see your code changes almost immediately. You can also work in full-view mode by clicking on this option.

 

Settings Option

You can change your physical address and select which subscription links you’d like to use in the Footer section. Also, in the content section, you can add or remove the Permission Reminder (adding this makes your email GDPR compliant) and the link to your email’s web page version.

 

 

Other options

The Preview option lets you see what your email will look like before sending it. The Test drop-down menu provides options like Send a test email, Spam check, Print version, Send an email to a specific contact, and the Inbox Checker; where you can test how your email will look in different inboxes. To learn more about the Inbox Checker feature, click here.

 

5. When you are done, click Save or select Save & Next.
   • You can save your email and come back to finish it at any time.
   • If you clicked Save and Next, on the next page, complete your Email Checklist. When completing the Email Checklist, each section has to be saved before moving on to another section.

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To

 

From the dropdown, select the contact list you would like to email. You can also exclude a list to prevent contacts from receiving your email, even if they are on a selected send list.

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From

 

Add a From Name your contacts will recognize, like your company name. The from name is displayed to the contact as the sender. Next, select a From Email address; use your company or business domain instead of a personal email address for best results. If you do not see an email address you’d like to use, add a new one. Here you can also set a different Reply Email address.

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Subject

 

Create a subject line you want your readers to see. Click here to learn how to write a compelling subject line. You can click on the Emoji Support link where we briefly explain the use of emojis on a subject line. Click the light bulb icon for suggestions!

Preview Text: This text appears in the inbox after your subject line.

AB Test Subject Line: To Enable AB Testing, toggle the slider from gray to blue. Test with two different subject lines to see which one is better, then set the testing period and the sample group size.

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Link Tracking & Sharing

 

To enable tracking or content options, click on edit or directly in the Link Tracking & Sharing box, this will open the section and allow you to enable the following.

 

Google Analytics: This is used to track site visitors. You will need to have Google Analytics set up on your website to use this feature.

Auto-post your email to a Facebook business page. Click on the dropdown to select a Facebook Business page. If you have not yet connected your Benchmark account with your Facebook Page, you’ll need to follow the integration steps on the page. Or you can integrate at a later time. To learn more about the Auto-post Emails to Facebook integration, click here.

Automatically tweet your email on Twitter: If you’d like to automatically post the email to your Twitter account when it is sent, enable this option.

Benchmark’s public Community: You can add your email to the Benchmark Community to be viewed by other Benchmark clients.

Benchmark Archive: Add your email to your archive. The Email Archive can store all emails selected, and a URL is provided.

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Send Email

When you are ready to send or schedule your email, click on the Schedule or Send Immediately option on the top right. The Send Immediately and the Schedule option are only clickable once all sections are checked off.

• Send Immediately: The email will go out within the next 10 minutes. Click Send Immediately to confirm.
• Schedule: This option enables you to schedule your email for a later time. Select the date, time, timezone, and click on Schedule when done.

 

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If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact our support team via Email, LiveChat or Phone.