How to Use Microsoft Dynamics 365 Email Marketing

This blog post is based on a short demo that we recently did featuring Microsoft Dynamics 365 Email Marketing in the Dynamics 365 Marketing application.

If you’d like to follow along and watch as you read, you can tune in here.

When you open Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing, navigate to “Marketing Execution” on the left-hand sidebar and click on “Marketing emails.”

For the purpose of this demo, our team pre-created a marketing email.

In this demo, when we click on the email, we see that it is a pretty basic layout and includes information about upcoming Ledgeview Partners webinars.

To create this email, our specialist used a preset template provided by Microsoft, but there are many ways you can customize this template. In your Toolbox on the right-hand side of your screen, you will see the ability to add sections, basic elements (text, images, dividers, buttons, videos, code), design elements (content blocks), advanced elements (like Customer Voice, Marketing Pages, or Surveys), and event communications.

It is fairly easy to edit the email.

So, for example, if you go to your Toolbox and click on “Image,” blue plus signs will appear on your email indicating where you can add an image.

For this email, we want the image to appear right next to our logo.

To decide what image we put into our email, we have to go to “Properties.” You have to tell Microsoft Dynamics Marketing where you are getting this image from. Inside the system, there is a place where you can store all of your images.

When we click on the source icon, we see a pop-up in the middle of our screen that says “Select a file.”

Our specialist had uploaded all of these images already for the purpose of this demo. To upload images yourself, you can simply click “upload” in the toolbar that appears at the top of your pop-up screen.

Once you’ve uploaded your images, you have the ability to sort them.

If you already see the image you want to add, you don’t need to do much except click on it!

For this demo, we want Ledgeview’s Inner Circle status to appear next to the logo.

Once you click on it, it goes right where you want it to. You can leave it as is or resize, realign, and further customize it under your “Properties” menu, if you wish.

Now that we’ve made the email that we want, the next thing we want to do is ensure that the email passes our SPAM filters.

To verify that it passes your SPAM filter, simply click on “Spam Checker” that appears next to the stethoscope above your email template.

Once you click on it, you should see the results of your SPAM check fairly quickly. It will pop-up on the right-hand side of your screen. This check tells us that our SPAM risk is relatively low, and explains what we can revise within our email to make it even “healthier.”

Every time you make a change in your email, the SPAM risk will change. So, for example, if we remove the subject line, it may increase the SPAM risk.

You can also go into your email and change your template if you decide that you’re unhappy with it, but you may have to make a fair amount of changes if you do this.

At Ledgeview Partners, we do recommend that you create your own email templates so that you stay consistent with your brand identity and communications. This will make it easier to develop a set of best practices for your marketing team.

Though, if you prefer, you can choose from a slew of preset templates provided by Microsoft.

Once you have your email how you want it to look, you can start to preview it.

You can edit HTML if you are comfortable and want more customizations, but if you don’t, you can skip right to “Preview.”

If you are familiar with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales, you may recognize this preview mode look.

This allows you to see what the email will look like on different devices from mobile to tablets to desktop.

You can also flip the email to see how it will look at different orientations.

When you click on “Inbox Preview,” you can preview how your email will look with different email clients.

There are 500 free email previews per month with your subscription to Dynamics 365 Marketing. If you want more email previews per month than this, you can sign up for more with a Litmus plan.

For most organizations, 500 is enough, but if it doesn’t work for you as you start working more and more in D365 Marketing, you can sign up for more.

Once you’ve checked everything, you can move forward and send your email.

Before you send, it is a good idea to send a test email to yourself or other members of your marketing team. It never hurts to have a second set of eyes on your work, especially if you are sending it to a large audience!

However, if you feel confident and are ready to go, you can click “Send Now.” The system will automatically send it.

The third and most common way to send your email is through a Customer Journey. The Customer Journey is the automation inside of your system, covered in another quick Ledgeview Partners demo that we will also cover in another blog.

Once your email has been sent, you can see how it’s doing in your “Insights” tab.

You are also able to do A/B testing to measure the success of different versions of your email. You can alter certain aspects of each version, like the header or subject line, send to a sub-set of your segment to see what performs better, either based on opens or on clicks.

Over time, the results from each test will tell you what resonates better.

Watch the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Email Marketing Demo and more like it via our resource library.

If you would like to learn more about what’s possible with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing for your organization, contact us to request a personal demo.