How to create interactive content without code hassle using an Interactive module generator

Interactive content is proven to increase customer engagement since it provides a convenient way to interact with elements and play games inside emails. Gamification, open-form feedback, questionnaires, and more. Stripo, as one of the main advocates of interactive content, is always at the forefront of innovation. Now, take a look at this little email game.

What if I say that you can create the same game in only 10 minutes? No coding skill is required. That’s where our Interactive module generator comes into play. Let’s take a closer look at what this generator is, what problems it solves, and how you can benefit from it.

What is an Interactive module generator?

First of all, let’s start with the basics. Our Interactive module generator is a separate product in the Stripo ecosystem that allows marketers to easily and quickly create interactive content for their emails. Its main idea is to make interactivity easy to handle and allow you to generate and edit your mechanics using an intuitive interface. Despite the fact that the generator is in the Stripo ecosystem, using the generator does not require an account. As a result, you have an easy-to-use tool for creating complex email mechanics in a matter of minutes.

What email marketing problems does our Interactive module generator solve?

The idea of ​​an Interactive module generator did not appear out of nowhere. There are two technical dialects used to create interactivity: AMP, which is used for Gmail and Yahoo, and HTML5 with CSS3, which is well-suited for Apple Mail and other email clients. Since recipients can use multiple email clients at the same time, both emails should contain both versions of the game, which will be displayed depending on the email client. Also, don't forget those who use Outlook. Here, a third version of the email is needed because Outlook doesn't work very well with interactive mechanics in emails. But this is only one side of the coin.

In addition, testing and compatibility with ESP/email clients becomes a huge stumbling block as not all ESPs support all coding dialects, which results in the wrong rendering of interactive emails. Adopting interactive code to be supported with all possible ESPs is always related to time and monetary spending.

Despite the fact that interactive content is a real boost to email engagement, its creation and implementation in email are quite complex. You need:

• to have technical knowledge, be able to code emails, and generally be a tech-savvy marketer;
• or have in-house developers who can code the mechanic and implement it in the email for you;
• or you need to hire outsourced specialists to make the interactive content according to your specifications.

Not all marketers have the necessary knowledge and resources to accomplish it. 

The last thing worth mentioning is data tracking and saving. A lot of email marketers don’t use interactive content as they don’t know how to track interactions within these mechanics. And that’s a fair approach, as making email more engaging is good, but making a value of this engagement is better.

This is exactly what the Interactive module generator was created for. To solve the following problems.

Creating interactive content requires tech skills

Our main goal was to erase the barrier between marketers and interactivity. We provide marketers with an intuitive tool where they can create the game using a simple interface. The great thing is that interaction with the code occurs only at the moment of pasting it into an email (while working with a ready-made code). Each mechanic that can be made in the editor is unique, but the creation step sequence remains almost unchanged (except for unique controls for certain mechanics).

Creating interactive content requires time

Coding a game from scratch takes a lot of time. Since the generator eliminates the need to manually create interactive mechanics, this leads to the following benefit for marketers. Creating a game in the generator from start to finish takes a few minutes. Due to the fact that when creating the generator, we focused on a smooth workflow, the creation process is intuitive. 

To create a ready-made mechanic, you only need to work with the most necessary controls, after which you can add the game to your email. However, you can sit over the creation of the game longer for its maximum customization and uniqueness (change its appearance, add more questions to the questionnaire, and so on).

Creating interactive content requires thorough testing both for functioning and compatibility

Creating interactive mechanics manually without errors is difficult. One typo in the code, and your email game does not work. The core mechanics of our games are 100% tested. All you do in the generator is add your own content. As a result, you get working mechanics with your content.

In addition, our Interactive module generator provides the following to cover the widest possible audience:

• an AMP version of your email that works in Gmail, Yahoo, and FairEmail;
• an interactive fallback that works on all devices and with all email clients that support HTML5 and CSS3 (it also works in Apple Mail and Samsung Email);
• a text fallback version that works with email clients that do not support HTML5 or CSS3, such as some Outlook apps.

As a result, you receive a fully working interactive mechanic with all the needed versions for all possible email clients. With the Interactive module generator, every recipient can experience interactive email content with ease.

Important note: Even though we provide fully working game mechanics, you should not neglect the stage of testing your email with interactive content before sending it live. We will talk about possible testing options a little further in the article.

Adding a tracking feature to interactive mechanics can be tricky

Tracking which recipients from which emails responded to your interactive questionnaire or filled out a feedback form is extremely important for thinking through further strategies. However, previously, attaching tracking to interactive mechanics also required technical knowledge. The Interactive module generator erases barriers here too. You can add a Data service to your interactive mechanics in the generator and thus track the responses of your recipients. Creating and adding a Data service takes only a couple of minutes and does not require you to dig "under the hood" of your email. We will tell you more about this feature below.

What interactivity can you create in our generator?

At the time of writing, the generator has 11 mechanics available that you can use to diversify your email. Our Interactive module generator is regularly updated with new mechanics, so the current list is far from final. Let's briefly consider what mechanics you can generate.

Questionnaire

This game was the first one we’ve created for our generator and it’s the most basic one. It’s a simple questionnaire where recipients can answer your questions and see the results.

Wheel of Fortune

Remember the American game show Wheel of Fortune? We thought that it would be a great idea to create something similar for emails and add this game mechanic to our Interactive module generator. You can now give discounts and promo codes to your recipients in a fun way — through the Wheel of Fortune in this luck and chance game mechanic.

Puzzle quiz

In the technical aspect, this game is quite complex, yet the rules are simple. You must ask the recipient a riddle, like guessing the character. The recipient must assemble the correct picture by solving the puzzle. The puzzle consists of a correct picture and a decoy picture(s), which makes it difficult to see the correct one and confuses the recipients to make the game more engaging.

Scratcher

Remember lottery tickets where you need to scratch the circles to reveal the numbers necessary to win? We decided to make a similar element that will help add intrigue to your emails and make receiving promo codes and other gifts more interactive. You can write any message and hide it behind a cover that the recipient has to “scratch” using the mouse cursor or a dedicated button.

Name match

This is a game mechanic where recipients can insert two names (or other words, depending on the context) in the respective field and see how they match each other. Simple, but still adds sprinkles of intrigue to your emails.

Memory match

The rules of the game are pretty simple. The recipient will need to search for pairs of similar pictures until all pairs are found. Since you can add any pictures in the game, this mechanic will fit well into the emails of any industry to make email newsletters more engaging.

Find a pair

At first glance, this game is pretty similar to the previous one, yet the rules are a bit different. The email recipient needs to find pairs of logically related pictures until all pairs are found. The great thing about this game is that you can add any image you want, which makes it incredibly flexible and easily adaptable to any industry or event.

Image quiz

Give your recipients a fun quiz where they can answer your questions supported with images. Walk them through it to give them an answer, depending on your context. The beauty of the Image quiz is that such an interactive mechanic can be tailored to any occasion due to the fact that you can create quizzes with appropriate images, where you are limited only by your imagination.

NPS survey

NPS questionnaires are the foundation of any business that wants to retain existing customers, attract new ones, and reach new heights. An NPS questionnaire is a convenient interactive feedback collection tool that allows you to understand what your customers love about your services and which aspects need improvement using a transparent scale.

Poll

Can’t make a decision? Give your recipients a full-fledged poll so they can vote for the options they like to give you a hint on what they want.

Product review

The main goal of this module is to provide a convenient interaction process for the marketer and the recipient during the feedback collection. It’s supported with a visual scale and a feedback form that the recipient can fill with text.

Data service: What is it, and how to use it?

Some interactive mechanics in our generator allow you to collect responses and emails and store them using the Data service. It is storage, where you will be able to receive responses and feedback from your customers from various blocks, and you can create it within Stripo. This is a cornerstone of our tracking feature that you can implement in your interactive mechanics. 

Now, let’s create a Data service. It’s a straightforward process, and it won’t take long:

• to create your own Data service, click on the “Data” and “Create a Service” button;
  
  
• name your Data service (once you name it, it will be saved automatically);
  
  
• copy service URL, as this URL will be needed in the games you create with our generator;
  
  
• paste your Data service link into a respective field to attach it to the game so all answers will be saved in your created Data service;
  
  
• your Data service is saved in the “Data” tab, as all the answers you can gather with it;
  
  
• clicking on the “Download” button, you’ll save a .csv file with all emails and answers;
  
  
• your .csv file will have the needed emails, answers, and submission dates.
  
  

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Stripo Data Service: What is it and how does it work?

Data source or how to save your game and paste it into the generator

Sometimes, when you need to rebuild the mechanics, you need to change some things. In order not to create the mechanics from scratch, you can save its code, then load it into our generator, make the necessary tweaks, and download the mechanics again. All this is possible thanks to a Data source. It is a place where you can pull information into emails by connecting these emails to the server. Connecting emails to servers is time-consuming, but we created Stripo Data sources for your convenience. 

So here’s what the whole process looks like:

• to have an option to reuse your game within our generator and tweak it without rebuilding it, click on the “Save” button;
  
  
• enter your email in a respective field and click the “Send” button;
  
  
• you’ll receive a special email with all the game content, so click on the “Download JSON” button;
  
  
• copy this code you’ll see once you open the link;
  
• create a source in the “Data” tab by clicking on the “Sources”;
  
  
• then click on the “Create a Source” button;
  
  
• enter the name of your Data source in the respective field (once named, the additional fields will appear, and your Data source will be automatically saved);
  
  
• scroll down to this window and paste the JSON code you copied into this window;
  
  
• to use your saved game, copy the URL of your Data source by clicking the “Copy” button;
  
  
• to use your game again within our generator, click on this message;
  
  
• paste your Data source link here and click “Confirm.”
  
  

And that’s pretty much it. Now your game is loaded into the generator, so you can tweak it however you need.

Important note: JSON you use to load the game is only applicable to the respective game page. If you saved a JSON from the questionnaire game, you need to paste on the questionnaire game page. The same goes for any other game in the Interactive module generator.

Check out our dedicated video to see how this works.

Word of advice

Here's just a friendly reminder. To be able to send AMP content, you need to:

• get whitelisted with Google and Yahoo;
• fix all the bugs if any occur. You will see them in the Preview mode (otherwise, recipients will see HTML email). Please remember if you use our code the way you get it, there will be no errors in your email. If you have to modify it, be sure to check your email code;
• make sure that your ESP/CRM is capable of sending AMP emails;
• AMP emails lose their AMP properties if you forward them. This was made out of data protection reasons;
• 30 days after the email was delivered to your valued recipients, the email loses its AMP properties.

If any of these requirements is not met, recipients will see the interactive fallback.

Wrapping up

Our ongoing goal is to make email creation simple and accessible to everyone, from techies to email marketers who have never touched the code.

With our Interactive module generator, you get a piece of code that contains AMP elements that will work properly in Gmail, FairEmail, and Yahoo; an interactive HTML fallback that works in Apple Mail and Samsung Mail; and a fallback that will render in those email clients that do not have support for interactive content, such as some versions of Outlook apps.

Stripo now lets you generate games, quizzes, and surveys that your subscribers can interact with directly in the email. Working with interactive content has never been easier.