Using Preheaders and UTMs
This article applies to the Email builder in all plans.
Overview
Are custom-coded preheaders causing you frustration? Are you spending extra time manually entering UTM links? We know that this has been a pain point for many Beefree subscribers, and we're happy to tell you that you no longer need to worry about this! Now you can set a preheader and UTM parameters from the email details page. It will be easier than ever to create beautiful, ready-made emails with click-tracking and preheaders with no need for outside tools.
This feature is available for all Beefree accounts. Keep reading to learn more about these new features and how to use them.
The options for both UTMs and preheaders are inside the email details page. A new infobox has been introduced underneath the existing email details.
To change these settings, use the edit icon to the right of Subject, Preheader and UTM. This will open the menu displayed below.
Adding Preheaders
Inserting a preheader into your email is easier than ever. Simply use the form to type your preheader. This text will appear below the subject line of your email once the design is sent to your recipients. Keep in mind that there is a character limit for preheaders, but you will receive a message within the textbox if you exceed this limit.
Once you're ready, use the save button at the bottom of the form to save your new preheader.
You can test the preheader by sending a test message through Beefree to an email client that supports preheaders. If you're not sure whether the client you're using to test this supports them, Email on Acid has a great article that lists email client support for preheaders as well as the typical character limits for these clients.
If you're looking to learn more about preheaders and how they can help your email campaign, we recommend looking at this great article by our friends over at MailUp: https://blog.mailup.com/2018/02/email-preheader/.
Adding UTMs
Using UTMs to generate click tracking data is an integral part of email marketing, but creating each URL individually - even through an automated tool - can be tedious. To save you time and streamline your workflow, you can now simply enter your UTM parameters into the email details once. The builder will take care of the rest.
You can preview the resulting UTM parameters in the locked field below as you insert the values for your UTM links.
Use the save button at the bottom of the form to apply the UTM parameters to your links.
The UTM parameters will not be visible inside the builder, but you can verify the links through a test message, the permalink for the email, or an email preview service. All links in an exported design will include this information.
Looking to learn more about how to use UTMs and how they can help with your campaigns? Check out this article from Email on Acid: https://www.emailonacid.com/blog/article/email-marketing/how-to-use-utm-parameters-in-email-utm-parameter-checker/
Mandatory Fields
With the UTM form, you can use up to five parameters for your email. If you begin inserting keywords, you'll find that some of these fields are mandatory.
- Campaign Source
- Campaign Medium
- Campaign Name
Changing the preheader or the UTMs
Once you've added the information you need to the email details, you'll be able to preview the information on the email details page.
Using the edit icon, you can update or remove these details at any time.
Current Limitations
- The URL needs to follow either HTTP or HTTPS protocol in order to have the UTM parameters added.
- UTM parameters will not be added to special links.
- If you create a template with an email using UTM links, these parameters will not be carried over to your template.
- Updates to UTM links will not be reflected in the email history.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
Comments
9 comments
Thank you Willow!
Any plans to add this into the Plugin?
Hi Leslie! Sorry for the delay in our response. This feature for UTMs and preheaders exist within the BEE Pro platform, rather than in the editor itself. As a result, it's not something that we can release on the Plugin side - but your developers could certainly build a similar feature around your instance of the Plugin.
Can the UTMs be deleted once it has been added?
Hi Tarun! We just tested this and there is a bug that is impacting the ability to delete UTMs. Our team is aware of this issue and is working on resolving it. I apologize for any inconvenience this causes. If you need further assistance, our team can remove any unwanted UTM parameters through a support ticket.
Can you flag URL's in a way to NOT have the UTM added to them. (i.e. links to 3rd party sites?) That would be a nice addition to this feature.
Hi Douglas, thanks so much for sharing this idea! I'm passing this along to our Product team. We'll see if this is something we can implement in the future.
Hi,
Is it possible to have default UTMs ? So you don't have to start from scratch for every new email, since we don't need that much variations.
Thanks,
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
At the moment, it's not possible to save your UTMs or set a default value, but please know that I'm logging your suggestion as feedback for our Product Team to process.
For now, you can work around this practically by having an email design with the UTM fields filled out as a starting point and then making a copy of this design. The UTMs will then be carried over to the copied design.
I hope this helps. Thanks for sharing your feedback with our team!
Please sign in to leave a comment.