Interactive email forms are a great way to engage recipients directly within the email itself, allowing them to take actions without needing to click through to a landing page or website. These types of forms can boost engagement and streamline user interactions, such as collecting responses, feedback, or conducting surveys directly from within an email.

Types of Interactive Email Forms

Interactive email forms can include a variety of form elements such as:

• Surveys and Polls: Collect feedback or opinions from your audience.
• Forms for Data Collection: Gather user data such as contact information, preferences, or subscriptions.
• Event Registration: Allow recipients to sign up for an event without leaving the email.
• Quiz and Assessments: Engage users with interactive quizzes that they can answer directly within the email.
• Ratings: Let recipients rate products, services, or content with a simple star or emoji-based rating system.

How to Create Interactive Email Forms in Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC)

Salesforce Marketing Cloud allows you to create interactive email forms through the following steps, with a focus on HTML and AMPscript for creating dynamic and interactive content within emails.

1. Use AMPscript for Personalization

AMPscript allows you to create dynamic email content by pulling data from your data extensions. For an interactive form, AMPscript can be used to:

• Pre-populate fields in a form with data from your Data Extensions.
• Track form submissions by integrating with your back-end systems or databases.

Example:

<form action=”http://example.com/submit” method=”POST”>

    <label for=”email”>Email Address:</label>

    <input type=”email” id=”email” name=”email” value=”%%email_address%%”>

    <label for=”feedback”>Your Feedback:</label>

    <textarea id=”feedback” name=”feedback”></textarea>

    <input type=”submit” value=”Submit”>

</form>

In the above example, the recipient’s email address will be pre-populated based on their data stored in the Data Extension.

2. Use HTML Forms with Action URLs

You can embed simple HTML forms in your email, but one important thing to keep in mind is that email clients (such as Gmail or Outlook) may not support form submissions directly. To overcome this, you need to set the action attribute of the form to an external URL where the form data will be processed.

Example:

<form action=”https://yourwebsite.com/formSubmit” method=”POST”>

    <input type=”text” name=”first_name” placeholder=”Enter your first name” required>

    <input type=”text” name=”last_name” placeholder=”Enter your last name” required>

    <button type=”submit”>Submit</button>

</form>

In this case, when the user fills out the form and clicks Submit, the form data is sent to an external URL for processing.

3. Embedding Dynamic Content in the Form

To make the form interactive and personalized, you can embed dynamic content. For example, you can use Dynamic Content Blocks to show different questions, surveys, or offers based on subscriber data or preferences.

Example (Dynamic Content):

%%[

IF @subscriber_interest == “Sports” THEN

]%%

    <label for=”sports_question”>What’s your favorite sport?</label>

    <input type=”text” id=”sports_question” name=”sport” required>

%%[ ELSE ]%%

    <label for=”non_sports_question”>What’s your favorite hobby?</label>

    <input type=”text” id=”non_sports_question” name=”hobby” required>

%%[ ENDIF ]%%

In this example, different questions are shown based on the subscriber’s interests (e.g., sports or hobbies).

4. Including Email Feedback Forms with Star Ratings

If you want to gather feedback on your email campaigns, you can create star rating systems within the email using custom HTML. Below is an example of how you can include an interactive 5-star rating form.

<form action=”https://yourwebsite.com/submit-rating” method=”POST”>

    <label for=”rating”>Rate this email:</label><br>

    <input type=”radio” id=”star5″ name=”rating” value=”5″>

    <label for=”star5″>☆</label>

    <input type=”radio” id=”star4″ name=”rating” value=”4″>

    <label for=”star4″>☆</label>

    <input type=”radio” id=”star3″ name=”rating” value=”3″>

    <label for=”star3″>☆</label>

    <input type=”radio” id=”star2″ name=”rating” value=”2″>

    <label for=”star2″>☆</label>

    <input type=”radio” id=”star1″ name=”rating” value=”1″>

    <label for=”star1″>☆</label><br><br>

    <input type=”submit” value=”Submit Rating”>

</form>

This form allows users to rate the email with one of five stars.

5. Use Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s ‘Interactive Content’ Blocks

In SFMC, interactive content blocks allow you to integrate interactive elements like surveys, forms, and buttons directly within your email.

You can use the Content Builder to create custom content blocks and add interactive elements, such as forms and surveys, to your emails. This could involve:

• Survey Blocks: Embed simple surveys to gather feedback.
• Polls and Ratings: Allow users to vote directly within the email.
• Event Registration: Let recipients register for an event directly from the email.

Challenges with Interactive Email Forms

Although interactive forms in emails offer exciting possibilities, there are some limitations:

1. Email Client Support: Many email clients (e.g., Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail) do not support certain forms of interactivity, such as form submissions or embedded JavaScript. Most email clients only support basic HTML forms with action URLs.
2. Spam Filters: Including too many interactive elements (especially those that require form submission) may increase the likelihood of your email being marked as spam. It’s crucial to follow best practices and ensure your email’s content is not overly complicated or likely to trigger spam filters.
3. Tracking Form Submissions: Since forms in emails often require external URLs for processing, you must ensure that you have proper tracking and data collection in place to capture and manage form submissions. This may involve using an external platform or CRM system to collect and process the form data.

Best Practices for Interactive Email Forms

1. Keep It Simple: Limit the number of fields in your forms to avoid overwhelming your subscribers. Only ask for essential information.
2. Test Across Clients: Test your interactive email forms in different email clients to ensure compatibility and smooth performance.
3. Provide Clear CTAs: Make sure the form has a clear and compelling call-to-action so that recipients know what to do next.
4. Ensure Mobile Optimization: Since many users open emails on mobile devices, make sure that forms are mobile-friendly and easy to complete on smaller screens.
5. Use a Clear Privacy Policy: Make sure that recipients understand how their data will be used and stored. Include a link to your privacy policy, especially if you’re collecting sensitive information.

Example Use Cases for Interactive Email Forms

1. Surveys and Feedback: Create a survey to collect feedback about your product, services, or email campaigns.
2. Polls: Ask your audience about their opinions on a new feature, product, or service.
3. Event Registration: Allow users to register for webinars or events directly from the email.
4. Contest or Giveaway Entries: Let users enter a contest by submitting their details within the email form.
5. Product Preferences: Gather preferences from your audience to better tailor your email content or offers.

Conclusion

Interactive email forms are an innovative way to increase engagement and provide a more immersive experience for your recipients. While they offer tremendous potential for boosting interactivity, it’s important to carefully consider the limitations and challenges associated with email client compatibility and form submission.

Salesforce Marketing Cloud offers powerful tools like AMPscript and Journey Builder to help you create dynamic, personalized, and interactive email forms, although you may need to rely on external systems to process the data due to limited form support in certain email clients.