You can add a countdown timer to an email campaign in two ways: with a Dotdigital Personalization Countdown SmartBlock, or with an embed code from a countdown timer generator. EasyEditor has a Countdown block under Tools, but it works in Surveys, pages, and forms only, not in email campaigns.
Here are some examples of where you might want to add a countdown timer:
Sales or discounts that are only available for a limited time.
Upcoming events, such as webinars or product launches.
Deadlines for registration or sign-ups.
Reminders for subscription renewals or payment deadlines.
Urgent notifications or important updates.
Before you start
To use a Countdown SmartBlock, you need a Dotdigital Personalization account connected to your Marketing account. Learn more in Connect Dotdigital and Personalization.
To use an embed code, you need an account with a third-party countdown timer generator. Dotdigital doesn't provide one.
Choose a method
Use this if you have Personalization. It supports one-off, repeating, and personalised countdowns, and can show different content before, during, and after your event.
Use this if you don't have Personalization. Your countdown timer generator controls how the timer looks and behaves.
Add a Dotdigital Personalization Countdown SmartBlock
A Countdown SmartBlock is an HTML block that displays a countdown timer, using real-time data to show the remaining time until an event starts or ends. To use one in an email campaign, create the SmartBlock in Personalization, add it to a Slot, then push that Slot to Marketing as an App block.
Learn how
Countdown SmartBlocks (Personalization help article)
If you set both a start and an end date, your countdown has three stages: before, during, and after your event, each with its own message and destination URL.
Count down to a different date for each contact
Countdown SmartBlocks can count down to a different date for every contact, such as a course date, a renewal date, or a birthday. Choose the Personalized tactic, then use a Jinja expression in the date field to pull the date from the person record.
For example, to count down to a date held in a departure_date field:
{{ person.extend.departure_date }}
If the date is stored as text, use:
{{ parseDate(person.extend.departure_date) }}
Learn more in Countdown SmartBlocks.
Add a countdown timer code snippet
Countdown timer generators are third-party tools, and Dotdigital doesn't provide one. Choose a generator that produces an animated GIF or an image. Email clients can't run the JavaScript that website countdown timers rely on, so a script-based embed code won't display in your campaign.
In your countdown timer generator, create and copy your embed code.
In Marketing, go to Campaigns > Email, and either edit or create a new campaign.
In EasyEditor, drag a Text block onto the canvas. Place it where you want your countdown timer to appear.
Select the text box and select the Edit HTML icon in the top toolbar.
Paste your Countdown timer embed code into the HTML box.
Select Apply. You should now see a countdown timer in your text box.
Select Save and continue designing your campaign.
Your countdown timer doesn't appear
If nothing appears after step 6, your embed code is probably script-based. Check that your generator can give you an animated GIF or an image, then copy the new embed code and repeat from step 5.
Test your countdown timer
Send a test campaign to yourself before you send to your contacts, and open it in the email clients your contacts use most. A countdown timer renders when the email is opened, so a real inbox is the only place to confirm what your contacts see.
Check that:
The timer shows the time you expect.
Your message still makes sense to someone who opens the email after your deadline has passed.
What contacts see once the countdown ends depends on how you set it up. A Countdown SmartBlock shows your after stage. An embed code shows whatever your generator produces.
Compatibility with email clients
Most email inboxes show countdown timers correctly, but some contacts might see the wrong countdown time or no time at all. Check this before you choose a method.
Apple Mail
Apple Mail Privacy Protection opens emails as soon as they arrive and masks the opening details. If your countdown starts from the time the email is opened, it can start when Apple opens it rather than when your contact reads it. Countdown timers in email are built from a 60-second animated GIF, so only the first minute of the countdown is accurate for these contacts.
If you're using a Countdown SmartBlock, add a rule to show alternative content to contacts with privacy protection enabled. Learn more in Email privacy protection guidance.
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook 2013 and older can't play animated GIFs. Since most countdown timers display as a GIF, contacts using these versions see the first frame only. Include your deadline as text next to the timer, so your message still works for contacts who can't see the countdown.
See also