Dynamically adding content to an email via a CSV upload

[Mx_Braze]

I've been tasked with sending an email to a large number of people were the text in it is specifically tailored to each recipient. I'm not sure the best way to go about this so I'll lay out ideally what I'd like to happen and I'm hoping someone can point me towards a solution.

1. I set up an email template that has an empty set of <p> tags where I would dynamically add copy later.

2. I receive a CSV from my data team that contains the recipients' emails and the copy I want to send to each person.

3. I upload that data into Marketo.

4. When the emails are sent, the copy from the CSV is added to the email template on a person by person basis.

Is this something I can do in Marketo? I know I could probably make this happen via some sort of bridge table that links to Salesforce, but I'm not sure my team and I would the have the time to implement that. That said, I am still open to any and all possible solutions, as this project is of high importance.

I appreciate any insight the community has to offer.

[SanfordWhiteman · Accepted solution]

What you’ve sketched out will work fine. Assume you’ll be importing into a single Textarea field on the Person.

I personally would probably not do that, instead using a Textarea on a Marketo Custom Object. Never been a fan of temporary fields that get overwritten when/if you do this again, killing the audit trail.

[Michael_Florin · Accepted solution]

How long is that piece of dynamic text you want to insert per person? If it is below 255 characters you might want to consider using a Program Member Custom Field (PMCF). PMCF are program-specific, thus eliminating Sanford's concern of a temporary field being overwritten.

1. Create a field like "PM 01" as a member field in the database.
2. Use PM 01 as the column head of your list and Import that list into the program you want to send the email from
3. Create your email and reference that text snippet with the token {{member.PM 01}}

[SanfordWhiteman]

Good call Michael. If it’s under 255 a PMCF would work. I would call it something descriptive, though, like Last Personalized Content.

@Mx_Braze you have a limited number of PMCFs in your instance, so make sure you have enough headroom. (Unlike CO definitions, PMCF definitions can’t be deleted to reuse the slot.)

[SanfordWhiteman · Accepted solution]

What you’ve sketched out will work fine. Assume you’ll be importing into a single Textarea field on the Person.

I personally would probably not do that, instead using a Textarea on a Marketo Custom Object. Never been a fan of temporary fields that get overwritten when/if you do this again, killing the audit trail.