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Email Builder Framework: Gmail Annotations
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About Gmail Annotations
The Gmail Promotions tab is part of Gmail’s tabbed inbox feature, where marketing and promotional emails are delivered if the setting is enabled. Gmail Annotations enhance these emails by displaying images, offers, and expiration dates in the Gmail app before opening the email. This makes promotions more engaging and interactive, allowing users to click on annotations for more details. Marketers can customize annotations to suit their campaigns, even if the email is not offer-based, by including logos and product images.
Prerequisites
The feature must be toggled ON via the Advanced tab during template/message creation and before sending the message. This is an on-demand feature. If it was not included in your standard CMS onboarding, you can request activation later.
Ensure all relevant assets and promotional details are added to the Advanced tab settings before sending the message.
After the initial implementation, test the feature using a test audience group of 100+ active users.
This feature will only render for Gmail domain users accessing emails via the Gmail app and within the Promotions Tab. It will not function in any other email client.
How to use
When your system is set up to use Gmail Annotations, you can toggle them on and off in the Advanced tab.
Go to Content > Email > Email Messages.
Open the message you’d like to edit.
Click the Information icon
.
Click Advanced tab, and go to 02. Gmail Promo.
Example
This annotation feature was created using the assets listed below.
02. Gmail Promo
|
03. Gmail Carousel
Images
| |
Headlines (Optional)
| |
Promo Price (Optional)
Currency Format (Optional)
| |
Discount Value Guidelines (Optional)
Image Position Guidelines (Optional)
|
Best Practices for Gmail Annotations
Follow these guidelines to maximize campaign impact:
1. Images
✔ Use high-quality visuals instead of text-only designs.
✔ Ensure images align with supported aspect ratios (4:5, 1:1, 1.91:1).
✔ Use unique images for each campaign to maintain freshness.
✔ Secure links: Use HTTPS URLs for all images and logos.
2. Deal Badge
✔ Keep it short and clear (e.g., 20% Off, Free Shipping).
✔ Avoid lengthy text—use a maximum of 4 words.
✔ Ensure promo details are accurate (e.g., discount percentage, code).
3. Expiration Dates
✔ Set a valid expiration date to maximize email visibility.
✔ Emails with expiration dates get a second preview near the offer’s end date.
✔ Use the correct ISO 8601 date format, e.g., 2024-12-30T23:59:59-0700
.
4. Discount Codes & Logos
✔ Use discount codes only if featured in the email.
✔ The system automatically adds "Code:" before the text—ensure it’s an actual promo code.
✔ Company logos (favicons) should be in HTTPS format.
Additional Resources
For more details, visit Google’s official best practices guide: Gmail Promotions Best Practices.