Want your subscribers to tell you what news they are most interested in? This is where custom attributes in signup forms come in handy. They will help you add additional value to a contact who subscribes through your signup forms in order to segment your audience further.
Create your custom attributes
First name, last name, email address, etc., are general attributes that fit all organizations. But your organization is unique and has different needs and opinions on what attributes you want on a contact.
To learn more about custom attributes and how to create them, click here.
ℹ️ You must create custom attributes before implementing them in your signup form. Available data types to use in signup forms are Multiple choice and Single Choice.
Add custom attributes to your signup form
For starters, go to Audience → Signup forms and open an old form or create a new one.
Your custom attributes will be available under All contact properties, together with the general attributes, in the left-hand menu. Choose one or several attributes to add to your form, and then use drag-and-drop to place them in the design area.
Edit preferences for your attribute
Once the attributes are in place - it is time to edit your preferences for each attribute from the design area. The edit panel will appear to the left when you click on one of the attributes.
Some preferences vary based on what datatype and field type you choose. The following preferences are available for all custom attributes and datatypes:
Make this field required means that the subscriber needs to choose at least one of the values for the attribute element. They won't be able to subscribe without it.
Make this field hidden can be used for attributes that you want to assign to all subscribers automatically. This checkbox will be part of your form but not visible to visitors. Hidden fields are shown in your editor for clarity but will not be visible in the published form on your website.
Label is the name the attribute will have when published on your website. This can be separate from the attribute name in MarketHype.
Unique preferences for datatype Multiple choice
Attributes of the datatype Mulitpule choice can have several values on one contact. Therefore, it allows the subscriber to choose more than one value when using your signup form. This is done by checkboxes.
Besides the general preferences mentioned above, the datatype also has these preferences:
Options are where you add different values from which the subscribers can choose. Label is the name that will be visible to the visitors, while Value is the value that will be saved on the contact in MarketHype.
Pre-selected options allow you to choose a value that should be selected by default. This can be used with the option Make this field hidden mentioned in the section above.
Unique preferences for datatype Single choice
Attributes with this datatype can only have one value. Therefore it only allows the contact to choose one. Unlike data type Multiple choice - Single choice has three different field types to choose from:
Text allows the subscriber to type the value themselves
Single-choice is shown by radio buttons with all values
Dropdown with all available values
Besides the general preferences mentioned earlier in this article, the field types for this data type also have other preferences:
Field type Text
Pre-defined text allows you to choose a default value that will be saved on the contact in MarketHype. This can be used together with the option Make this field hidden. If it's not hidden and the subscriber fills in a new value, that new value will override your default value.
Placeholder text, add a short description in the field to guide the user with what info to fill in.
ℹ️ The pre-defined and placeholder text will become one text field when published.
Field type Single choice and Dropdown
Options are where you add different values from which the subscribers can choose. Label is the name that will be visible to the visitors, while Value is the value that will be saved on the contact in MarketHype.
Pre-selected options allow you to choose a value that should be selected by default. This can be used with the option Make this field hidden mentioned in the section above.
Use the custom attribute in the audience filter
As mentioned, custom attributes will be assigned to each subscriber's contact in MarketHype. You can use the attributes in the audience filter by choosing Should include → Contact attributes.
This way, you can create a segment based on the attribute, communicate with these contacts through email, or apply the filter in Audience Overview to export them to Facebook.