By: Amanda Zacharias

Salesforce recently released a highly anticipated new feature to Pardot – the drag and drop email builder! This new feature is optimized for the lightning version of Pardot. Now, marketing automators across the Salesforce platform can finally utilize this new feature.
Screen Shot 2021-08-02 at 11.40.12 PM.png
Here’s my take on what I like – and don’t – about it!

  1. Buttons! Buttons! Buttons!
    1. As a marketing specialist, I spend a lot of time designing email templates. In the classic email template builder, I would try coding my own buttons or making a table with only one cell in an attempt to make it look like a button. The end product hardly even came out great. Thankfully, now there’s a button you can just drag and drop anywhere into the template you want!! This feature allows me to customize the button with custom fill color, border color and text colors. Having this button icon is a dream come true. A clear call-to-action can now be perfectly placed within any of the email templates.
  2. Moveable Blocks
    1. There is nothing more satisfying when building email templates than moving one content block and having it actually work! It’s a great feeling knowing that I can simply move rows of content up or down without undoing formatting for other areas in the template!
  3. Customizable Rows
    1. As I move each row of content around the template and they hold their formatting, it opens a new world of design possibilities. I can customize each row how I want.. With any number of columns and widths full of content. If I was feeling bold I can create a content row that is 1/3 image + 1/3 text + 1/3 button and have each element styled in its own way.

  1. Only List Emails
    1. These new highly customizable email templates are only available for list emails. They cannot be added into engagement studio campaigns or auto responders. For me, this is a major drawback. I don’t understand why these drag and drop templates are only available for list emails. Isn’t an engagement studio campaign just a series of list emails…how is that so different?? Anyway – this is the #1 dislike for the new lightning email builder.
  2. Lacking Advanced Sending Options
    1. One thing I do really like about the classic email template builder is the advanced sending option. Being able to send and receive from separate email addresses is great! And being able to name the account owner as the reply address makes handling replies a breeze. I, the marketer, don’t have to spend time sorting through my inbox and distributing replies accordingly because Pardot sends it back to the person with the best answers.
  3. Missing dynamic content connection
    1. Dynamic content is a less often used tool within Pardot, but when used correctly, can be a powerful one. It’s a game changer when you have the power and ability to display custom HTML within a template based on the prospects criteria. For example, dynamic content could be utilized when building an email template for a global company that shows text in multiple languages based on a prospects location. Unfortunately, this is not possible with this lightning email builder yet.

The new drag-and-drop email builder within the Pardot lighting app is a welcomed update – and will continue to have more upgrades in its future. I look forward to creating and sharing email content that amazes readers with its enhanced layout abilities.