How to Use the Email Builder for Crafting Email Templates

How to Use the Email Builder for Crafting Email Templates

An email template serves as a customizable framework within the email builder, allowing you to incorporate images, videos, and text elements to create a design foundation for future emails. Remember, a template is not the final email you will send—it's merely a placeholder structure. The actual email that is sent out to your contacts is called an email campaign.

Tip: When setting up an email template, it’s recommended to use placeholder text and custom values. The unique content and messaging should be added when you're sending out the email campaign using the template.

You can create an email template using one of the following editors:

1. Code Editor:

In this editor, you can directly work with HTML to design and customize your email template, allowing for complete control over the structure and style.

2. Plain Text Editor:

The Plain Text Editor is for basic text emails, where you can write and format the text without incorporating images or other design elements. It’s straightforward but limited to text customization.

3. Design Editor:

This editor allows you to use drag-and-drop elements and predefined layouts to design your email with greater ease and flexibility. You can quickly customize the template by inserting different content blocks, making it a user-friendly option for creating visually rich emails.

How to Create an Email Template

Part 1: Starting with a Blank Template

1. Navigate to the Marketing Tab:
   Go to the "Email Marketing" section and click on "Templates."

2. Create a New Template:
   Click on "New" and choose the option for a "Blank Template."

3. Select the Design Editor:
   This gives you access to drag-and-drop functionality for building your email template.

4. Compose Your Template:
   Insert images, adjust fonts, and modify text to match your design needs. You can also leverage the AI feature to help generate content.

5. Use Settings & Preview Options:
   Click the three dots in the editor to access the settings, preview your email, or send a test version.

6. Save Your Template:
   Once you’re satisfied, click "Save template" to preserve your work. You can choose to use a pre-made template or build upon an existing one from your account.

Part 2: Understanding the Builder

The email builder provides several customizable options to help you fine-tune your template:

• Template Title: You can rename the default title at the top of the editor.

• Content Elements (on the left): These include a variety of blocks like:

  • Text, image, button, divider, social links, footer, code, video, shopping cart, RSS header, and RSS items.

• Layouts Section: Here, you can add rows with one or more columns to structure your email layout.

• Appearance Tab (also on the left): This tab lets you adjust the background color, body style, background image, button settings, divider style, and even add custom CSS for more precise styling. You can also configure mobile formatting for responsive email designs.

• Right-Side Settings (three dots): On the right side of the editor, click the three dots to test your email, preview the template, review version history, or adjust various settings.

• Save Button: Located at the top-right corner, this button saves your changes to the template.

Text Customization Options:

Using the inline editor, you can further customize your text with the following formatting options:

• Heading levels: Choose from H1 to H5 for different text hierarchies.

• Fonts: Select from approximately 18 available fonts, with plans to integrate custom Google fonts in the future.

• Font Sizes: Ranging from 8px to 96px, allowing flexibility in typography.

• Color Options: Customize text colors and highlights with precise hex code selections.

• Formatting Tools: Bold, italic, underline, and strikethrough for text emphasis.

You can also:

• Add hyperlinks for word redirection.

• Align text as needed.

• Use bullet points for ordered or unordered lists.

• Copy and paste text from external sources, automatically stripping any unwanted formatting.

• Incorporate custom values to tailor emails for specific recipients.

Additional Features:

• Content AI: Utilize AI tools to assist in generating content faster and more efficiently.

• Padding Defaults: Updated padding settings:

  • Top: 12px

  • Bottom: 12px

  • Left: 24px

  • Right: 24px

Part 3: Working in the Email Builder

The default template will come with a placeholder text block, often labeled "Start from scratch." You can edit this text or delete it by hovering over the block and clicking the trash icon.

To create a personalized layout:

1. Choose a Layout: Drag and drop a row layout (with your preferred number of columns) into the email body.

2. Add Elements: Next, drag and drop any content element (text, image, button, etc.) into the layout you’ve created.

3. Edit Elements: When you add an element, its customization options will appear on the left side of the screen, allowing you to edit it as necessary.

You can add more rows and content blocks to expand the design, tailoring it to your needs.

If you’re unsure how to begin or need design inspiration, explore the pre-made templates available, which you can use as a starting point for your own customized emails.