Dynamic Content Links

[Elida_VanSledri]

Hi! 

Former Eloqua user here. I'm working on trying to navigate through dynamic content. It seems that you can only make a segment dynamic, not a link within a segment. 

See, the problem is that we have 100 different links/phone numbers that we have to update in the copy. Creating 100+ different dynamic segments for each email we send is not sustainable. 

I have thought about creating a program that pushes certain data into fields where I can then use a token instead of dynamic content, but my worry is that it will get messy with how many links and copy changes we have to do. 

Does anyone have a good work around for this? I worked with css and html daily, and have started learning javascript so I'm against coding something. 

[Amy_Goldfine]

What about using a snippet, would that work? Creating the initial segmentation and the snippet would be laborious but you'd only have to do it once.

Otherwise I would look into Velocity Scripting. It was mentioned a bit in a recent SFMUG (with lots of resources at the end of the deck) and covered more in-depth at a recent CHIMUG.

[Elida_VanSledri]

Thanks Amy!

I will look into this. I am using a snippet for portions of my email, however, that doesn't solve this problem. What I really need is the ability to add a dynamic link within a body of static text. In Marketo, it seems like you can just switch a section to either dynamic or static. 

It would help having the ability to code that in. I'll look at these links and see if that helps!

[SanfordWhiteman]

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See, the problem is that we have 100 different links/phone numbers that we have to update in the copy. Creating 100+ different dynamic segments for each email we send is not sustainable. 

---

Well, to be clear: you can't have 100+. You can have 100, only.  So let's look into the specifics of what you're trying to do.

What is the Segmentation based on — or what would it be based on, if it doesn't yet exist? (The Smart List filters, that is.)

[Elida_VanSledri]

Hi Sanford!

Yes, I am unfortunately aware that my limit is 100 when it comes to dynamic content, which will probably be another post in the future asking for help on how to navigate a future problem. What I was moreso referring with my comment is that it's just not sustainable for me to make the entire email dynamic for every single email. 

Our segmentation is based on school. We have around 100 schools. Each school has their own links, phone number, logo, and sometimes copy. With Eloqua, it was different because I coded all of my emails, where I would just add the dynamic content code in. 

[SanfordWhiteman · Accepted solution]

Every segmentation exists in the Velocity context as a property of the $lead object.

So example code for {{my.School Link}} could look like:

#set( $schoolLinks = {
  "Tulane" : "tulane.edu",
  "Wake Forest" : "wakeforest.edu",
  "LSU" : "lsu.edu"
} )
#set( $leadSchool = $lead.Segmentation_School_112233 )
<a href="https://${schoolLinks[$leadSchool]}">Click here</a>

I recommend reading my blog posts on Velocity. They're on the Marketo Products Blog as well, but easier to find in one place here: https://blog.teknkl.com/tag/velocity. Note: Velocity is a real programming language, layered on top of Java, and its critical details can't be picked up overnight if you don't have experience w/Java. So you need to give yourself plenty of time to learn.

[Elida_VanSledri]

Thank you Sanford, 

I have beginner experience in java, so I won't be completely lost. I will read your blog posts and get going on learning velocity. I appreciate your advice. Stay tuned!

[SanfordWhiteman]

Java though, not JavaScript. 🙂

[Elida_VanSledri]

I've done both 🙂 not nearly as well I can code html but I've done it!