Important: Although we are talking mostly about the Guest Mailer, the Visual Builder is available to use in other functions which utilize emails. Here are all the functions for which you can use the Visual Builder:
- Guest Mailer emails (menu Settings->All Settings->Guest Mailer)
- Booking Enquiries (menu Settings->All Settings->Booking Enquiry template)
- MICE documents - Banquet Event Orders; Event Agendas and more (menu Settings->All Settings->Event document templates)
- Folio email templates (menu Settings->All Settings->Folio email templates)
Intro
The design and content of an email is of utmost importance in order to make a good impression to your guests, be in line with your brand identity and provide all the relevant information.
The Visual Builder editor is a tool that will enable you to create stunning and responsive emails. One of the main benefits of this tool is that it is extremely user-friendly allowing even users with little to no experience in email design to build a template.
In order to start creating your templates, you first need to create your Mailer. THIS article explains how to create the Mailer. Once it is created, click on the green button to start with the design.
Once you click on the green Templates button, you will see:
- Language selector buttons (1) - you can create the same email template in different languages. The ones that will be offered here are the languages that you have added in the 'Languages and Texts' menu in the Settings. By having the same email in different languages you personalize the communication with the guests - the system will check if the Guest Profile has a specific language selected and will send the respective email template.
- Subject of the email (2) - enter the 'Subject' of the email.
- The Edit button (3) opens the builder itself.
Ready-to-use templates
Although the Visual Builder is very user-friendly, we understand that building a template from scratch might be a somewhat difficult task. That is why we have created for you Ready-to-use templates in terms of structure, which you can load and simply apply changes to the design and text.
Important: Depending on what type of email you are creating, different templates will be offered. For example, if you are creating a mail in the Guest Mailer, ready templates for Confirmation email will be available; If you are creating a Booking enquiry, a ready template for the enquiry will be offered, etc.
Content
Once you have loaded the preferred template, you can start making changes to the design and content of it. The user-friendliness of the Visual Builder allows users to easily change colors, fonts, sizes and more.
Changing the design features of the templates is done from the left-side toolkit. You will be able to find a plethora of different options allowing you to create a stunning and interactive message. The toolkit is relatively user-friendly and does not have a high learning curve, allowing users with little experience to create premium design templates.
Note: In the near future we will be providing a more detailed guide on using the Visual Builder.
Placeholders / Merge tags
The Merge tags (otherwise called 'Placeholders') are a vital part of your email message as they primarily refer to variable information which is different from booking to booking. Guest names, dates of stay, Price and many more can be very different from one booking to another. To avoid having to manually edit each message before sending it and to allow automatic sending of emails, you should be using the placeholders extensively. In order to use placeholders, simply click on the part of the message where you want to write text and from the 'Merge tags' dropdown menu select the piece of information you want to include in your message.
Modules
Modules are completed parts of an email that you can directly drag and drop in your template. Those parts span from tables with booking/event information; buttons directing guests to the Online Check-in or MyBooking portal and more.
Their main benefit is that you do not need to do anything in terms of configuring the table/button. You can simply drag and drop and apply the necessary design changes.
Important: Please make sure you are using Modules related to the type of message you are creating. If you are creating a message in the Guest Mailer, use the Modules in the 'Guest mailer' section only. If you are creating an Event document, use the modules under the 'Event' section only. If you use Modules that are not related to the type of message you are creating, they will not work.
