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A
Anonymous
November 2, 2015
Question

Make languages dynamic?

  • November 2, 2015
  • 5 replies
  • 3019 views

Hi all,

I've just gone through the process of setting up a complex nurture program - which is fun - and then cloned it into 5 languages. Created dozens of emails, dozens of Smart Campaigns, Transition Rules and so on. Very repetitive, error prone and eventually too complex to actually maintain - the opposite of fun.

Now I wonder if I should use email scripting - I'd favor that over dynamic content through snippets and segmentations - to make the emails dynamic to languages.

Has anyone ever done that? Or is there a disadvantage of using email scripts vs. using snippets? (We don't deal with landing pages in our scenario.)

Thanks,

Michael

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5 replies

Josh_Hill13
Josh_Hill13
Level 10
November 2, 2015

Why not just use Segmentations and Dynamic Content?

    J
    Adobe Employee
    JohnCl9Adobe Employee
    Adobe Employee
    November 2, 2015

    Hi Michael,

    Email scripting can only display information that is actually written to the lead record, or one of the other objects you have access to through the scripting editor. This means that any content you wanted to display through scripting would have to be placed on on those objects before the email could access them through the scripting tokens.

    The thing about dynamic content and segmentations is that you don't have to actually write the content to the lead record or any other object.  The content is also much easier to edit through the UI, and as long as you have your segmentation smart lists set up correctly your leads will get the correct content.

    John

    Josh_Hill13
    Josh_Hill13
    Level 10
    November 2, 2015

    I did have a client who did something like this with webhooks and HTML because they had dozens of variations and newsletters in 5 or 8 languages and alot of custom HTML. I can't say I recommend it, but they got it working.

    In this situation, I using dynamic content will work much better unless there is something more complex going on. I know it's a trite saying, but I always look to use the built in features first before I look to scripts and programming.

    J
    Adobe Employee
    JohnCl9Adobe Employee
    Adobe Employee
    November 2, 2015

    Thanks for keeping me on my toes, Sanford.

      A
      Anonymous
      November 3, 2015

      First of all: Thanks for all your responses!

      I haven't totally made up my mind whether or not I should go that route. Guess I have to do it to see if it actually works as I think it should.

      @Sanford - yes, that would be my approach. The translations (body copy, headlines, links, images, URL parameters) would pretty much live within the script token as static text. And yes, the conditions need to based on information on the lead record.

      Also I'm not sure where to use email script and where to use snippets. Snippets have to be based on Segmentation, whereas Email Script rules are easier to build, I think. I can instantly create a rule based on whatever I want instead of having to create a segmentation first. That's the main reason, scripts are more appealing to me.

      Thanks again, folks! Appreciate it!

      A
      Anonymous
      November 3, 2015

      Keep in mind the reporting implications of this choice. When you use dynamic content in Marketo with segmentations, you have the ability to report on that email grouped by segmentation so you can understand how the various dynamic content elements performed. When you use email scripting to personalize your email, you do not have any of this segmented reporting. All of the variations of the email are reported on together.

        A
        Anonymous
        November 4, 2015

        That's true, I have filed reporting under downsides.

        But I thought about adding language filters to the Smart List tab on email performance reports. That should allow for regional reporting.

        A
        Anonymous
        December 14, 2015

        Good morning everyone,

        first of all: I'm pretty happy with my project so far. Email scripts work fine for my use case - but I have one issue yet to solve:

        As all content in my email needs to be dynamic, the subject line has to be, too. So my program has a token:

        {{my.email-subject}} - with the value: $emailsubject

        The script token looks like this:

        #if(${lead.Language_Preference__c} == "English")

        #set($emailsubject = "Good Morning")

        #elseif(${lead.Language_Preference__c} == "German")

        #set($emailsubject = "Guten Morgen")

        #elseif(${lead.Language_Preference__c} == "Italian")

        #set($emailsubject = "Buongiorno")

        #else

        #set($emailsubject = "Good Morning")

        #end

        That works fine with either {my.email-subject}} or $emailsubject in the subject line of the HTML email. BUT: Not in the text version of the email. For whatever reason the text version does not resolve the variable, but prints "$emailsubject". Only on the actual email that is sent, the preview works fine.

        Marketo Support says that email scripting is outside of their scope and sent me to services@marketo.com, but they haven't replied yet. Any idea from you knowledgeable folks?

        Oh, and more additional fact I learned after hours of trying: URLs have to formatted like this: ${url}. The brackets are necessary for Marketo to decorate the link and make it trackeable. Usually it makes no difference if you use brackets or not, but for URLs you need to have them. Although $url works in the email preview, the link is corrupt after sending.

        Thanks,

        Michael

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