Turn a Sent Email Into a Template

You've probably noticed that every VerticalResponse newsletter uses the same layout: main article in the upper left, table of contents on the right, etc.

We do change the design occasionally, but when we find something we like, we stick with it for a while.

I'm guessing your company probably does the same thing.  So it's good that VerticalResponse and Salesforce make it easy to turn previously created emails into templates, and then share those templates with other people in your Salesforce Org.

Let's take a look at how you can create templates and share them.

Create a Template from a Previously Sent Email

After you send an email out from your account, that email is archived within your VR Statistics tab.  Each sent email includes an Actions menu that can be accessed via a link to the far right of the screen.  To use a previously sent email as a template:

1. Click Actions.
2. Select “Make a Copy.”
3. Give the copy a name.
4. Then you can:
          
   - Go to Draft Emails page (this will take you to the page where all your unsent email drafts are saved).
   - Edit the new email immediately.  
   - Make another copy of the email and give it a different name.
5. Click the Copy Email button.

Following these instructions will turn a previously sent email into a template for a new message.  You can always find copied messages under VR Email >  Quickstart > View Drafts until you edit them and send them out.

But how can you share a copied email with other people in your company, so that they can also use it as a template?

Share Templates Across Your Salesforce Org

Note that this does not work with the Email Wizard tool.

1. Go to VR Email > Quickstart > View Drafts
2. Open the email you want to share as a template.
3. Click the green “Make Changes to this Campaign” button near the top of the page.  This will open up the Canvas or Freeform editor (depending on which one was used to build the message, of course).
4. Select the “Edit Source” tab within the editor, select all of the HTML code and copy it (CTRL-C on a PC, Command-C on a Mac).
5. Click the “Setup” link found at the top of your Salesforce account. 
6. Expand the Email menu found under “My Personal Information” on the left hand side of the screen.
7. Click “My Templates” and then click the New Template button on the page that opens up. 
8. Select the option to create a “Custom (without using Letterhead)” template.
9. What happens on the next page is crucial:  For the “Folder” prompt, you MUST select a Public folder, otherwise you won’t be able to share the template with other people in your company.  If you’ve not previously created a public folder or don’t know how, see the instructions for doing so at the end of this post.
10. You must also tick off the “Available for Use” box found on this same page.  Otherwise your template will not be available for people to use.
11. Give the Email both a name and a “unique name.”  You can usually just use the same names in both fields.   Continue on to the next page.
12. Give the email a subject (this can be changed when the template is used for an actual email), and then paste the HTML code you copied earlier into the “HTML Body” field.
13. Preview the template.  If you like what you see, save it and you’re done.

For you or anyone else in your org to access the saved template:

1. Go to VR Email > Quickstart > New Email
2. Give the new email a name and click the Refresh Templates button at the bottom of the New Email page.
3. Use the drop-down menu to select a saved template.
4. Click Next and then use the provided editor to make changes to the message and send the email out.

And if you need to know how to create a Public folder (as referenced in the instructions for sharing a template):

1. Click the “Setup” link found at the top of your Salesforce account.
2. Expand the Email menu found under “My Personal Information” on the left hand side of the screen.
3. Click “My Templates”
4. Click the Create New Folder link.
5. Give the folder a label and a “unique name.”
6. Use the provided drop-down menu to make the Public Folder Access “Read/Write.”
7. Make sure the folder is set as “accessible to all users.”
8. Save the folder.  Now you can start adding templates to this folder and they’ll be accessible via VerticalResponse.

Post a comment if you have any questions!

Comments

[Kamasha]

When will you be able to do this with the e-mail wizard. This is the method that may of our staffers use to create emails.

[Richard Huffaker]

Hi Courtney,

Yes, it is definitely possible to do what you've described here. You can simply copy the code out of Freeform, start a new Canvas email, click the Edit Source tab (which appears right above the Canvas toolbar) and then paste in the code. You can then go back to the Edit Graphical tab and make changes to your design using our Canvas editor.

I'll send you an email about this in a bit.

Richard

[Courtney King]

Richard,

Thanks for this response. However, I'm not sure I was clear. If my original email is in freeform, can I save it as a template in a canvas form, eliminating the need to edit in the code? If possible, please respond to my email as well.

Thanks,
Courtney

[Richard Huffaker]

Hi Courtney,

It becomes a template, just like in the Canvas editor. So I think you hit it pretty close to the mark to call this our solution to providing 100% customizable templates.

Richard

[Courtney King]

Thanks for this information. A question: when you 'copy' and then 'edit' the template, do you have to make the edits within the code, or does it actually become a template (like the canvas or wizard templates provided by VR) that you can type into, like one does in dreamweaver? Is this VR's solution to providing 100% customizable templates?