Countdown timers in AWeber

AWeber does not document a countdown timer of its own for email. What its knowledge base does document is how to put a timer from another service into a message, and that route works for any timer image, one from EmailTimer.App included.

Does AWeber have its own countdown timer

Not that AWeber documents. Both of its help articles on timers point outside. How do I add a countdown timer to my messages and landing pages using Sendtric? has you build the timer on that service, copy the image URL out of the code it gives you, and place it in your message. The landing page article is broader: “You can embed content from sources like Sendtric, Countdown Mail, Mailtimers, Promofeatures, and MotionMail.”

Where the timer goes in AWeber

There are two places, and the one to use depends on whether every subscriber sees the same deadline.

The Image URL field. AWeber’s instruction is one line: “paste this link to the Image URL field using an image element in your message.” For one deadline across the whole send, that is all you need. Paste the signed image address exactly as you copied it, set the link on the image element, and write alt text.

A block’s Source view. To paste a full snippet instead, AWeber’s article How do I add my own HTML to my message? says “You can add your own HTML coding to any of the following blocks: Paragraph, Article, Product, Coupon, and Signature.” Click the block, choose the Source icon from its toolbar, paste the code, and click OK.

The Drag & Drop builder strips tags such as script, style, iframe and form from pasted code, plus on* event handlers. An img inside an a is not on its list, and neither is an inline style attribute, so a timer snippet survives.

Use the Source view for a deadline per subscriber, because the field tag has to sit inside the src attribute.

One deadline, or one per subscriber

A timer from EmailTimer.App is an image whose address is signed, and the HMAC signature covers every parameter in it. That one fact decides how personalization works in AWeber.

One deadline for everyone is one address, pasted as it is. The free generator makes one without an account: the timer works for 500 opens without signing in, and for 1,000 once you sign in and claim it. A free account covers 5,000 image opens a month. Readers still see the time left at their own open, because the image is drawn when it is fetched.

One deadline per subscriber cannot be built by putting an AWeber variable inside the image address.

Instead, generate one signed address per subscriber before the send, with the REST API’s batch endpoint or from a CSV of recipients, and store each address in an AWeber custom field. That field’s tag then becomes the entire src. This route needs Growth, at $49 a month, or Agency. The tiers are on pricing.

Variables still belong in the link around the image and in its alt text, because neither is signed.

The custom field tag in AWeber

AWeber’s variable list gives {{ subscriber.first_name }} for a first name and {{ subscriber.custom_field['Name of custom field'] }} for a custom field. Case matters: “make sure that the letter case matches exactly what you’ve entered.” A field named et_image_url that holds a signed address goes in as the image source, pasted through the Source view:

<a href="https://yoursite.com/offer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">
  <img src="{{ subscriber.custom_field['et_image_url'] }}" alt="Your offer ends soon" width="600" height="200" border="0" style="display:block; width:100%; max-width:600px; height:auto; border:0;" />
</a>

The single quotes around the field name sit safely inside the double-quoted src.

AWeber says personalization “can be used anywhere in your message editor, including the subject line”, in its Dynamic Content overview. It does not mention an image attribute specifically, so confirm the result with a test that carries a real value, as described below.

Fallbacks in AWeber

AWeber’s Dynamic Content reference describes a default that “Provides a fallback if the variable has no value assigned”, with the example {{ subscriber.first_name or "friend" }}. That works in body text. Its double quotes would close a double-quoted alt or src, so keep it out of attributes.

No fallback rescues an empty image source. If a subscriber’s et_image_url is blank, the image is missing, so make sure every subscriber in the segment has it filled.

What breaks in AWeber workflows

AWeber’s automation is called Workflows. Its article What is a workflow? describes a workflow that starts “when someone subscribes through a specific method” or “when a tag is applied to a subscriber”, with a Wait action to set “a delay before the next step”.

A message inside a workflow is written once and sent for as long as the workflow runs. A fixed deadline pasted into it is right for subscribers who reach that step before the deadline and wrong for everyone after. Once the date passes, the timer shows its ended state to every new subscriber who arrives, and nothing in the workflow tells you it happened.

A deadline that starts from each subscriber’s own entry has to be a per-subscriber address, written to the custom field before the workflow reaches the message. A workflow started by a tag gives you a clean order of events: write the field first, then apply the tag.

Every EmailTimer.App timer loops: after a short run of seconds it starts again from its first number. Show the smallest unit the deadline needs, and put the deadline in the email text too.

What your subscribers will see

Once AWeber has delivered the message, the mail client decides what the image does. For Outlook, Microsoft’s support page says “If only the first frame of the animation appears, you have animations, or animated GIFs, disabled.” A reader in that position still gets a correct number, because the first frame of a timer from here is drawn with the time left in it.

The email client support page covers Gmail, Apple Mail and the rest, from what the mail vendors document rather than from renders in real inboxes.

Test before you send

AWeber’s test article gives the path: while editing, click Preview & Test at the top right, enter your address in the Email Address field, fill in the Personalize section, and click Send Test Message. A saved draft has Send a Test under the subject line, with its own Personalize button.

The Personalize step matters more for a timer than for a name. From Why is my name not appearing in my test message?: “Unless you manually add the value for your personalization field for your test message, the system will omit that field for your test message.” With the image source omitted, the test shows no timer at all. Paste a real signed address into the et_image_url value before you send the test.

A shared deadline pasted into the Image URL field needs none of this. Send the test to a Gmail address and an Outlook address in the same pass, and check the number on the first frame.

If you send from Kit or Drip as well, each has its own page: Kit and Drip.

Questions and answers

Does AWeber have a built-in countdown timer?

AWeber documents none for email. Its knowledge base walks through timers from third-party services instead, placed with an image element’s Image URL field.

Where do I paste a countdown timer in AWeber?

Paste the image address into the Image URL field of an image element. To paste a full HTML snippet, use the Source icon on a Paragraph, Article, Product, Coupon or Signature block.

Can I put an AWeber variable inside the timer image URL?

Not inside a signed address. A value written in at send time breaks the signature, and every subscriber gets a blank, transparent image. Store a complete signed address in a custom field and make {{ subscriber.custom_field['et_image_url'] }} the entire src.

Why is the timer missing from my AWeber test message?

AWeber omits personalization fields from a test unless you type a value into the Personalize section. Put a real signed address in the image field’s value and send the test again.

Which plan covers a timer in AWeber?

One deadline for everyone fits the free plan, which includes 5,000 image opens a month. A deadline per subscriber needs Growth, at $49 a month. The tiers are on pricing.