Advanced Email Templating
Advance Email Templating allows for highly customized email templates. It can be used in both the drag-and-drop editor and directly on imported HTML.
Bird Email Template Language Documentation
Introduction
The Bird Email Template Language is a powerful tool based on Shopify's Liquid syntax, with custom extensions designed specifically for email marketing. This language allows you to create dynamic, personalized email templates efficiently, enabling you to deliver targeted content to your subscribers.
Key features of the Bird Email Template Language include:
Easy personalization using predefined variables
Conditional content display based on subscriber attributes or segments
Integration with your product catalog and external data sources
Support for internationalization through translations
Advanced formatting options with filters
This guide will walk you through the essential components of the language, providing examples and best practices to help you create effective email templates.
Predefined Variables
Predefined variables allow you to easily personalize your emails with recipient information and organization details.
Contact Variables
Use these to insert recipient-specific information into your emails:
You can also use any custom attributes that you've defined for your contacts.
Organization Variables
Include your company information consistently across all emails:
Email Address Variable
Reference the recipient's email address directly:
Best Practice: Always have a fallback for personalization variables in case they're not set for a particular recipient.
Tag Filters
Filters allow you to modify the output of your variables, ensuring that the content is formatted correctly for your emails.
default
: Set a fallback value if the variable is empty
capitalize
,upcase
,downcase
: Change text case
date
: Format dates according to specified patterns
currencyFormat
: Format numbers as currency
Best Practice: Use the currencyFormat
filter for all price displays to ensure consistency and proper formatting across different regions.
Special Tags
Special tags provide quick access to common email marketing requirements, such as unsubscribe links and web views.
Unsubscribe Links
Essential for compliance with email regulations:
Web View Links
Provide an option to view the email in a web browser:
Date Tags
Useful for displaying current dates in your emails:
Best Practice: Always include an unsubscribe link in your emails, typically in the footer.
Conditional Logic and Loops
Conditional logic and loops allow you to create dynamic content that adapts to each recipient's attributes or preferences.
If Statements
Use if statements to show different content based on recipient attributes:
Checking Segment Membership
Target content to specific segments of your audience:
Loops
Iterate over arrays of data to create dynamic lists:
Best Practice: Use conditional logic to tailor your message to different audience segments, increasing relevance and engagement.
Working with Products
Integrate your product catalog directly into your email templates for dynamic product displays.
Single Product Lookup
Display details of a specific product:
Product Feed
Display multiple products from a feed:
Best Practice: Use product feeds to create dynamic content like "Recommended Products" or "New Arrivals" sections in your emails.
Events
Leverage event data to create highly relevant, timely emails based on subscriber actions.
Best Practice: Use event data to trigger timely, relevant emails such as abandoned cart reminders or purchase confirmations.
Discount Codes
Generate and display unique discount codes in your emails to incentivize purchases.
Best Practice: Use unique discount codes to track the performance of different email campaigns or segments.
Translations
Create multilingual email templates using the translation feature.
First, set up your translation files (in JSON format) for each language you support. For example:
Then use the t
filter in your templates:
Best Practice: Use translations to create a single template that can be used for multiple languages, reducing maintenance overhead.
External Data Sources
Integrate real-time data from external sources into your emails.
Basic Usage
Using Dynamic URLs
For APIs that require dynamic parameters:
Best Practice: Use external data sources to include up-to-date, personalized information in your emails, such as account balances, loyalty points, or personalized recommendations.
Advanced Liquid Syntax
While the Bird Email Template Language provides powerful features specific to email marketing, it's built on top of Liquid, which offers additional advanced features. Here are some examples:
Array and Object Handling
Mathematical Operations
String Manipulation
Control Flow
Best Practice: While these advanced features are powerful, use them judiciously. Overly complex templates can be difficult to maintain and may impact email rendering performance.
Remember to thoroughly test your email templates across different email clients to ensure consistent rendering and optimal performance. The Bird platform provides tools for previewing and testing your templates before sending.
By mastering the Bird Email Template Language, you'll be able to create highly dynamic, personalized, and engaging email campaigns that resonate with your audience and drive results.
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