Most of the templates that come built-in to Direct Mail include in the footer a link to "Update Email Preferences". You can include the same link in your own custom templates, too. If your recipients click that link, they are taken to a web page where they can submit an update to their email address. Once submitted, Direct Mail automatically updates the contact in your project with the new email address.
If you would like to give your recipients the ability to change more than just their email address (or you just want to customize what the form looks like), you can create a custom email preferences form that replaces the default, email-only form. The custom form you create applies to all the contacts in your list.
Here's how to create a custom email preferences form:
- Navigate to the Contacts tab
- Select your list
- In the inspector, expand the Forms section
- Click the Customize button next to Preferences Form
A form editor window appears. If you have created an email signup form, it should look familiar. You use the same controls to edit your preferences form as you do to edit a signup form. There are a couple differences:
- Form analytics are not available for the email preferences form
- You can use the
[email address]mail-merge tag in text blocks to merge in the contact's current email address
Save Time With Copy and Paste
If you have already created an email signup form that contains elements you'd like to include on your email preferences form, remember that you can copy and paste elements between forms:
- In the email signup form, select an element (i.e. a form field or image block)
- Choose Edit > Copy from the menu bar at the top of your screen
- In the email preferences form, choose Edit > Paste from the menu bar at the top of your screen
Send a Contact a Link to the Form
As described in the introduction, the standard way for a recipient to use the email preferences form is to click the "Update Email Preferences" link in the footer of any email campaign they receive. However, you can also share a link to the form directly:
- Navigate to the Contacts tab
- Select a contact
- Choose Contacts > Open Email Preferences Page from the menu bar at the top of your screen
The preferences page for the selected contact opens in your web browser. Use the browser to copy or share the URL.
Cloud Required
Your project must be saved in the cloud in order to use custom email preferences forms. Projects not in the cloud will use the default email-only form.
Revert to the Default Form
If you no longer need a customized email preferences form, you can delete it:
- Navigate to the Contacts tab
- Select your list
- In the inspector, expand the Forms section
- Click the Trash button next to Preferences Form