But with many users yet to take the plunge and migrate to the new builder, it’s clear there’s still apprehension around overhauling internal email marketing processes, going all-in on Salesforce Lightning, and embracing this new tool.
As an Account Engagement marketer and a number in cambodia first-time user of the new email builder, I’ve written about some of my learnings (and failings) in an effort to alleviate concerns and help you navigate the more common pitfalls around setting up and using this fancy new feature. I’ve also spoken to platform experts for insights and valuable context on where this tool should fit into your marketing strategy.
Read on for actionable advice, and a video sharing a more casual ‘roundtable’ discussion on the drag-and-drop email builder.
If you're keen to upskill in email marketing and coding, check out the mini-course ‘Pardot Email for Reluctant Coders‘, available immediately online.
Talking shop on the drag-and-drop email builder
Perhaps users don’t yet appreciate the potential of its new features, have fears around the technical setup of the CMS and new builder, or simply don’t have the time to rebuild email templates using the new wizard. Either way, I’ve personally experienced the take-up rate of the new builder being quite slow.
That’s why, for my first foray into the drag-and-drop email builder, I invited along a supergroup of Salesforce, Marketing Cloud, and Account Engage (Pardot) expertise for a casual and honest chat around why we need this in our lives. Namely, why marketers will love using the new tool, how it compares to other Salesforce products, any considerations for moving from the old email builder, and commentary on the features that will take your email marketing to the next level.
Alongside myself, a no-code marketer, we have Tom Ryan, Founder and Co-Owner of MarCloud, as well as Marketing Cloud specialists Kumar Gurrampalli and Carl Mortimer, and MCAE (Pardot) development and email specialist Gulbiz Croasdale. This is quite a loose chat and we go on plenty of tangents, so feel free to have it on in the background while you work!
Mistakes to avoid
1. Email Builder / Salesforce CMS setup and access issues
Something you won’t see in the video above is me trying and failing to access the new builder, as I didn’t yet have sufficient permissions. This is because we cut that from the video out of embarrassment.
Setting up the tool with all of the necessary prerequisites is one thing, and those instructions will need to be followed closely, but giving users relevant access is a step that’s often overlooked.
Add ‘Contributors’ to CMS channel
After ensuring your domain supports CDN, and setting up Salesforce CMS with a Workspace and Channel, you’ll need to add each team member as a ‘Contributor’ to the channel, which will effectively give them access to any of the content uploaded there for use in emails etc.
Permission sets and assignment
To access the builder, you’ll need to ensure the relevant permission set exists and all users have been assigned it. Fortunately, when creating this new permission set, Salesforce has already created a premade set labelled ‘Use CMS with Email Templates and Email Content’, with the relevant permissions already enabled. After this has been set up, click ‘Manage Assignments’ and assign to your marketing users.
Another thing worth mentioning is to make sure the relevant items have been added to your navigation in Pardot in Lightning - you’ll need at least Email Content and Email Templates, along with any CMS items.