Create an Email Template in Salesforce
The San Francisco-based software company Salesforce provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) for businesses by subscription. Salesforce's CRM allows you to keep track of contacts, conversations and other information related to business accounts. This database allows people from different departments to interact with the information with increased efficiency. Salesforce also boasts a number of ways to streamline communication, such as website data and email templates. You can create an email template that can be sent out en masse, allowing you to reach customers quickly. This article will tell you how to create an email template in Salesforce.
Steps
- Sign into your Salesforce account. You will be asked for an email and a password. A company signs up for the Salesforce software, and then each user is assigned a unique login and a set of permissions to change the data in the system.
- Click on the small arrow next to your user name in the upper right hand corner. Click "Setup."
- Select "Create or edit an email template," under the "Email" heading. Select "New Template." There are probably a number of templates that the company has created already. Some can be edited and some may be protected from editing.
- Choose the type of email you would like to create. Most likely your options are to create a simple text email, an HTML email, an HTML email that includes a Letterhead, a Visual Force email or an email without letterhead. Your company has most likely added the letterhead into the emails and it has been written in HTML code. This is the code that much of the Internet and email programs use. Click "Next" once you have chosen.
- All of these types will allow you to type in text, attach files and select people to receive your email. Both text and HTML emails can be used when sending mass emails, but they cannot be sent out with a Visual Force template. Only HTML and Visual Force templates allow you to place images within the text. There is likely a company standard for sending emails with or without letterhead.
- Salesforce HTML emails are set up for tracking, so you can easily find out if someone has opened your email and how many times they have read it. A text email does not have tracking, but it runs a high risk of being filtered by anti-spam programs.
- Go to "Letterhead Creation" if you have chosen an email with letterhead. This will give you a number of visual layouts for your letterhead. You can choose whether you want it on the top, top and bottom, etc.
- Type in your email template's name and choose letterhead and layout options. Also specify any encoding you desire, a description and what folder you would like it to be placed in. Make sure to check the box that says "Available For Use" or you will not see it as an option on your Salesforce email template list.
- Move forward to the email template after you have created your letterhead. You will need to type in a greeting, a body of your email and a signature, as well as any other important things.
- Use the "Merge Fields" values below the formatting toolbar. Salesforce merge fields allow you to define something that you would like to be personalized for each person and it creates a code that you will place in your template. When the email is sent out, it will populate those fields with values in the contact's information page.
- For example, perhaps you want to put the contact's first name in the greeting of your email. In the "Available Merge Fields" section, select the field type, such as contact information. Select the field, in this case "First Name." When those fields are filled in, a code will appear to the right. Copy that code and place it after "Hello" and before the comma. When your email is sent out it will say "Hello Betty," and your email will continue below.
- You can also do this with the company name or any other information that is part of your contact's information. Make sure you choose something that is always filled in, or you will have blank spots in some emails.
- Click "Save" to save your email template for future use.
- Return to your user name, setup and "Create or edit an email template" to change or delete an email template. Select your template under "My templates." Select "Edit" or "Del" to edit or delete, respectively.
- Use your email template by going to a contact page, scrolling down to the bottom and clicking the "Send an Email" button under "HTML Email Status." Click "Select Template" at the top and choose your newly created template.
- You can also mass email contacts with your template. Go to the "Contacts" tab, scroll to the bottom and click "Mass Email Contacts" under the "Tools" section. You will be led through the process of choosing a template and choosing a contact list before sending.
Tips
- Always test your email template with your own email or a contact created for testing purposes before sending it out to clients.
- You need special permission through the Salesforce administrator to edit HTML email templates.
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