Ok, let’s get this clear in the first line: you cannot send files as attachments on Pardot emails.
Sorry to break the bad news.
“But Salesforce emails can do it!”, the disgruntled marketer says.
This is a question that gets asked time and time again. I get it – you want to get your swanky new brochure in front of prospects, or any other content you’ve invested energy in producing.
I’m here to tell you the good news today – how you should include files in Pardot emails, and reasons why the alternative is actually better in the long run.
How to Include Files in Pardot Emails
You include files in Pardot Emails as hyperlinks. Once you have uploaded your files into the ‘Content’ section within your Pardot account, you will be able to access them from the Email Builder.
In the Email Builder, highlight the text you want to hyperlink and click the link button. A pop-up window appears.
Select the Link Type as ‘File’, and magically, the dropdown underneath will pull in all your file names! So go ahead and select the one you want to use.
Why Linked Files Are Better
Here are 4 reasons why:
1. Tracking
When a file is uploaded into your Pardot account, it is now ‘hosted’ in Pardot and is given a URL. This is a tracked link that Pardot will use to recognise which specific prospect clicked on it, instantly. The link click and file name appear in a prospect’s activity history:
2. Automation
On the file edit screen, there is also the option to add Completion Actions. This type of Pardot automation fires every time a prospect interacts with your files, as soon as it happens.
Examples of Completion Actions actions are: Assign to / Notify a user, Increment Score, Change a field value, create a Salesforce Task, and much more. This is an added benefit you would not be able to set on attachments, which are essentially dislocated from (not linked to) your marketing automation tool.
3. Update & Recall Painlessly
How many revisions do content files go through? You probably need more fingers to count them up! Each time there is a new version, you will only need to replace the file once in Pardot. There’s no need to recall old linked documents, as any link that has been sent out previously will also link to the current file version.
4. Emails Send Faster
There are factors that affect your email sending speed, and so avoiding attachments avoids additional loads on your emails that could cause sending delays.
Summary
I wrote this post to put the age-old question about file attachments and Pardot emails to bed. Not only is it so easy to add files as tracked links into your emails, there are other reasons that will help heal your loss of attachments, and make linked files a no-brainer!
Ps. If having files as attachments in marketing emails is an absolute non-negotiable, then the Salesforce Engage product does offer this functionality – at an additional cost.