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Marketo Email Template Syntax Guide

Marketo’s Email 2.0 Experience introduces templates composed of Elements, Variables, Modules, or Containers, defined using Marketo-specific syntax within HTML. While v1.0 email templates are supported, they lack the full features of the new editor. Note that Marketo syntax only works in templates and individual emails—not within snippets or Rich Text tokens. Marketo Support does not assist with CSS/HTML; consult a developer for such needs.

Key Notes:

  • Class values with Marketo syntax (e.g., mktoModule, mktoContainer, mktoText) are case-sensitive.
  • Custom attribute names (e.g., mktoimgwidth, mktoname) are not case-sensitive.

Elements #

Elements are editable content regions defined in the email template. Types include:

  • Rich Text
  • Images
  • Snippets
  • Videos

Rich Text #

Editable text regions defined using mktEditable or mktoText. Rich Text elements can be converted to snippets in the email editor.

Option 1 – mktEditable

  • Attributes:
  • class: “mktEditable”
  • id: Unique string (letters, numbers, dashes, underscores; no spaces)
  • mktoName: Display name in Email Editor 2.0
  • Default Value: Content within the element (if provided).

Example:

<div class="mktEditable" id="exampleText" mktoName="Main Body Text">Default text here.</div>

Option 2 – mktoText (Recommended)

  • Attributes:
  • class: “mktoText”
  • id: Unique string
  • mktoName: Display name
  • Default Value: Content within the element.

Example:

<div class="mktoText" id="exampleText" mktoName="Main Body Text">Default text here.</div>

Images #

Define editable image elements using <div> or <img>.

Option 1 – Using <div>

  • Attributes:
  • class: “mktoImg”
  • id: Unique string
  • mktoName: Display name
  • Optional: mktoImgClass, mktoImgSrc, mktoImgLink, etc.

Example:

<div class="mktoImg" id="exampleImg" mktoName="Example Image" mktoImgLink="https://www.example.com">
  <a><img style="border:10px solid red;"></a>
</div>

Option 2 – Using <img>

  • Attributes:
  • class: “mktoImg”
  • id: Unique string
  • mktoName: Display name
  • Optional: src, mktoLockImgSize

Example:

<img class="mktoImg" id="exampleImg" mktoName="Example Image">

Snippets #

Regions allowing users to select approved snippets. Defined using <div> with class="mktoSnippet".

  • Attributes:
  • id: Unique string
  • mktoName: Display name
  • Optional: mktoDefaultSnippetId

Example:

<div class="mktoSnippet" id="unsubscribeFooter" mktoName="Unsubscribe Footer" mktoDefaultSnippetId="12"></div>

Videos #

Editable video regions for embedding YouTube/Vimeo links. Defined using <div> with class="mktoVideo".

  • Attributes:
  • id: Unique string
  • mktoName: Display name
  • Optional: mktoImgClass

Example:

<div class="mktoVideo" id="productVideo" mktoName="Product Announcement Video"></div>

Variables #

Variables act as tokens, defined in the <head> section using <meta> tags. Their values are editable by users and can be either local or global.

Variable Types #

String #

Text input defined with class="mktoString".

  • Attributes:
  • id, mktoName, allowHTML, default, mktoModuleScope

Example:

<meta class="mktoString" id="textHeader" mktoName="Text Header" default="Edit Me">
${textHeader}
List #

Dropdown selection defined with class="mktoList".

  • Attributes:
  • id, mktoName, values, default, mktoModuleScope

Example:

<meta class="mktoList" id="textFontFamily" mktoName="Main Text Font Family" values="Arial,Verdana">
${textFontFamily}
Number #

Numeric input defined with class="mktoNumber".

  • Attributes:
  • id, mktoName, default, min, max, units, step, mktoModuleScope

Example:

<meta class="mktoNumber" id="textFontSize" mktoName="Main Text Font Size" default="12" min="8" max="18" units="px" step="1">
${textFontSize}
Color #

Color picker defined with class="mktoColor".

  • Attributes:
  • id, mktoName, default, mktoModuleScope

Example:

<meta class="mktoColor" id="textColor" mktoName="Main Text Color" default="#FFFFFF">
${textColor}
Boolean #

Toggle switch defined with class="mktoBoolean".

  • Attributes:
  • id, mktoName, default, false_value, true_value, false_value_name, true_value_name, mktoModuleScope

Example:

<meta class="mktoBoolean" id="showFooter" mktoName="Show Footer BG?" default="false" false_value="transparent" true_value="black">
${showFooter}
HTML Block #

Raw HTML input defined with class="mktoHTML".

  • Attributes:
  • id, mktoName, default, mktoModuleScope

Example:

<meta class="mktoHTML" id="trackingPixel" mktoName="Add Tracking Pixel">
${trackingPixel}
Image Variable #

Editable image defined with class="mktoImg".

  • Attributes:
  • id, mktoName, default, mktoModuleScope

Example:

<meta class="mktoImg" id="heroBackgroundImage" mktoName="Hero Background Image" default="https://www.example.com/image.jpg">
${heroBackgroundImage}

Modules #

Pre-built sections in templates allowing insertion into emails. Modules can only exist in containers.

  • Attributes:
  • id, mktoName, mktoActive, mktoAddByDefault

Example:

<tr class="mktoModule" id="headerModule" mktoName="Header Module"></tr>

Containers #

Define placement and organization for modules. Containers must contain only modules.

  • Attributes:
  • id

Example:

<table class="mktoContainer" id="emailContainer"></table>
email
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