Overview
After you’ve chosen a goal and an Audience, it’s time to build your inbox message. Inbox messages are different from Push and In-App message in that they go to a dedicated inbox within your app. This inbox is totally customizable to you and your app—so how it displays to the end user might be different.
You can use the inbox feature to recommend personalized content—like showcasing articles based on their viewing history. You can also use the inbox to showcase new app features—bringing relevant information to your users and encouraging them to become power users.
Parts of an Inbox Message
There are two parts to the inbox message creative: a message listing and the main body of the message.
The listing appears on the inbox page of your app, and the main body is the full-page content that appears when the end user clicks on the listing.
Building an Inbox Message
Like all other message types, you have the option to name the creative. This is a great option if you’ve chosen to A/B test your messages (more on that here). You should also name your creative for better data analysis in the future. You’ll also be able to use the name as an Event Attribute when creating an Audience in the future.
Listing
After you’ve chosen a creative name, you’ll have the option to write the copy for the listing. The listing can have both a title and a summary. Think of this as the preview part of the message—what you’d see as the teaser to encourage your end users to click into the full message body.
You also have the option to add a thumbnail to the listing. This image can be uploaded to Localytics under the following specifications:
- Smaller than 500KB
- 64X64 px
- PNG, JPG, or GIF file type
Main Body
The main body of your inbox message is the full-page display that your end users will see after they click on the listing.
For the main body you have 3 options:
- Build a message (right in Localytics)
- Upload Custom
- No Body
Each of these options will have different use cases, so you’ll want to pick the one most relevant to you.
Building a message in Localytics is a quick and easy way to get your message out to your users without much need to involve design or development in the process.
Aside: Keep in mind, the listing preview is likely not what your final message will look like when it’s displayed. Your developer team has likely specified custom fonts and colors to align with your design. If you’d like to see the true display, we recommend viewing the message using test mode.
Your message can have any of the following:
- Header image
- Message title
- Message body
- Action button
- Button text
- Button URL
Let’s walk through each.
Header Image
The header image is displayed at the top of the inbox message. This file must be:
- Smaller than 500KB
- 600x100px
- PNG, JPG, or GIF file type
Message Title
The Message Title appears under the image header. This is a title for your message. Keep in mind, the display will look different than the finished creative on an end user’s device, because your inbox customizations likely have a custom design through your app.
Message Body
The message body is the heart of your inbox message. It will display below the message title, but above the (optional) action button.
Action Button
Your last item in your message is the Action Button. The action button is a CTA for your end users—a way to get them to take action based on your message.
You can customize the action button text and the URL.
You can also customize the color for the button (and the color for the text). By default, this is a hexcode color (which you can paste into the line to see in the preview), but you can also enter values for RGB, HSB or choose a color from the color picker.
Custom Upload
Alternatively, if you’d prefer not to use the inbox builder in Localytics, you can upload your own custom creative to the builder.
You can generate your own custom creative using HTML, CSS, and Javascript which allows for a more branded look and the ability to add multiple images or buttons. You can upload your creative in one of two formats:
- A .zip file that must contain an index.html file along with any referenced CSS or images, or
- a single HTML file with all CSS and base64-encoded images embedded inline. We recommend using a responsive template like this to optimize for different screen sizes.
The max file size for a custom upload inbox message is 1MB.
No Message
Finally, you have the option to display no message at all. If you choose the No Message option, your inbox message will just consist of a message preview (ie, the listing copy). This is a great option if you have a custom implementation of the inbox feature, or if your messages don’t require additional copy or end user action.
Key/Value Pairs and A/B Testing
Like all message types, you have the option to include a Key/Value Pair with your message. For more on Key/Value pairs, click here.
You also have the option to include multiple creatives in your message. Click here to learn more about A/B Testing.
Next Steps
Once you’ve built your message, your next step is to head to the scheduling phase. Click here to learn more.