The Ultimate Guide to Email Templates – Everything You Need to Know!

Email is complex. It takes time, requires expertise, and insists on a by-the-book approach. And, most people do it wrong. 

However, businesses seeking to adopt email don’t like to hear these things. Why? Because they’re primed to look at email as the ultimate giving tree. 

High ROI — that’s the phrase that fires one up, so much so that the complex infrastructure of email is not considered. Email is treated as a tag-along, the principal focus being on other channels such as social media. 

If all this sounds like you, you should reconsider. Email is complex. (There, we said it again.) But if you take it one step at a time, you can succeed. 

So the first step is knowing what email templates are. That’ll be the focus of this guide. You’ll learn what templates are, types of email templates, how to design, test, and optimize emails, and a lot of other things as well. Let’s get started.  

• What Is An Email Template?
• Components of An Email Template
• Pre-built, Custom, & Modular Templates
  • What Is A Pre-built Email Template?
  • What Is A Custom Email Template?
  • What Is A Modular Email Template?
• Features of An Email Template
• Plain-text, HTML, & Responsive Emails
  • What Is A Plain-text Email?
  • What Is An HTML Email?
  • What Is A Responsive Email?
• Types of Emails
• Where to Find Email Template Examples?
• How to Build An Email Template?
  • Brand Guidelines
  • Visual Hierarchy
  • Personalization & Dynamic Content
• How to Code An Email Template?
  • Responsiveness & Compatibility
  • Building Accessible Emails
  • 4 Things to Consider while Coding
• Common Mistakes to Avoid in Email Templates
• Experts Speak…
• Wrapping Up!
• FAQs

What Is An Email Template?

An email template is a preformatted, reusable email file that includes a logically arranged stack of content blocks, starting from the header all the way to the footer. 

Below is the anatomy of an email template.

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Components of An Email Template

An email template typically comprises the following key elements:

• Subject line and pre-header: The subject line and pre-header are the first things that the recipient looks at in the inbox.  It is meant to hint at the email’s content, effectively communicating its purpose without being misleading.
  
• Header: The upper part of the email where you place your brand’s logo.
  
• Body copy: The core content of your email is found here. The body copy is where you showcase your products/services.
  
• Call to action (CTA): As the name suggests, the CTA is a call to the viewer to take a desired action. The call to action is ultimately a call to convert.
  
• Footer: The bottom portion of the email features social media buttons, preference options, website URL, your business’s physical address, phone numbers, and your brand’s privacy policy. 

Pre-built, Custom, & Modular Templates

Based on structure and customization, there are three ways to design email templates:

• Pre-built templates
  
• Custom templates
  
• Modular templates

Let’s explore each of these in some detail. 

What Is A Pre-built Email Template? 

A pre-built email template is a pre-designed, customizable template provided by email service providers (ESPs). 

Email service providers (ESPs) offer a collection of email templates that you can utilize for your campaigns, which is especially valuable for new email marketers. Additionally, these pre-designed templates are ideal for launching last-minute campaigns. Many of these templates are available at no cost or for a nominal fee, making them an excellent option for lowering overall email production expenses.

However, using ready-made templates can compromise brand identity, customization options, and exclusivity. They are becoming less favorable, as most people now prefer personalized, tailor-made, custom emails.

What Is A Custom Email Template?

A custom email template is designed and hand-coded from scratch. It requires excellent coding skills and ESP-agnostic expertise.

Custom-coding an email template for a specific ESP demands a solid practical understanding of the ESP’s technical conventions and ecosystem. It certainly comes with a steep learning curve.

For instance, Mailchimp often removes the attributes that specify the height and width of images. Without these attributes, the images may appear larger than intended, disrupting the viewing experience.

Likewise, HubSpot mandates the use of specific HubL variables for custom-coded email templates to function correctly.

These quirks, unique to each ESP, can restrict the effectiveness of custom email templates if your developer lacks experience with various platforms. However, when managed well, the primary advantage of custom email templates is the potential for innovation.

Which brands should opt for custom solutions? Brands with distinct identities and complex design needs. For companies with multiple in-house design teams, the control and flexibility provided by custom email templates are essential advantages.

What Is A Modular Email Template?

A modular email template consists of flexible designs, with reusable, interchangeable, content blocks or modules. 

A master email template serves as a versatile framework that allows you to create any type of email using various content blocks within a specific ESP editor. This is especially helpful when branding is consistent, as the header and footer sections can remain the same.

A modular email template is a component of a master email template and is useful for:

• Email marketing agencies sending similar-looking emails for different brands.
  
• Brands with multiple sub-brands that have distinct branding guidelines.
  
• Transactional emails, such as invoices, cart reminders, and abandoned cart notifications.
  
• Automated emails like welcome series, social media follow-ups, and birthday greetings.

Features of An Email Template

Any email design is based on four pillars:

1. Email layout: An email layout determines the arrangement and hierarchy of various elements within your email. A well-designed layout lets subscribers quickly scan the content while grasping the main message. 

There are two primary styles of email layouts:

• Single-column layout: In this layout, email elements are arranged in a single column, minimizing eye movement. It is often preferred for mobile emails, as it effectively uses the narrow screen width to display all elements without clutter.

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• Two-column/Multi-column layout: As the name implies, this layout divides email elements into two columns. Typically, the elements are arranged in a zig-zag pattern since subscribers tend to scan content in an ‘F’ pattern. This zig-zag layout, along with sufficient white space, effectively directs the subscriber’s attention in the HTML email template.

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2. Typography – While the email copy delivers your message, the presentation of that message is equally important.

This is where typography and formatting come into play. Different fonts evoke different emotions, so selecting the right font is crucial. Although emails have limited support for custom web fonts, there are various methods to implement them.

3. Colors – Similar to typography, different colors convey different emotions. Background colors, CTA button colors, hyperlink colors, and images all contribute to the brand guidelines and shape the personality of an email.

4. Images and visual media: A picture is worth a thousand words. By balancing text and visuals in your email, you foster greater interaction from your subscribers, ensuring that the message isn’t obscured by too much text. This is particularly crucial in the online retail and eCommerce sectors, where product visuals enhance the overall description.

Plain-text, HTML, & Responsive Emails

Based on design style, there are three types of email templates: plain-text, HTML, and responsive. Let’s look at each of these in some detail. 

What Is A Plain-text Email? 

Before HTML coding was introduced in the early 1990s, emails were only available in plain text, using Unicode formatting with left-aligned text. 

But even with the widespread adoption of HTML, plain text emails remain important, and ESPs still send a plain text version along with the HTML one. Many email marketers ensure they create a plain text version to prevent emails from being flagged as spam.

The benefits of using plain text emails include:

• Bypassing spam filters in email clients like Outlook and Gmail, which require plain text versions of HTML emails.
  
• Ensuring compatibility with email clients that do not support HTML, preventing emails from going to spam.
  
• Catering to recipients who prefer plain text emails.

Although plain text emails tend to have higher open rates compared to HTML emails, they lack the visual appeal of HTML and therefore rely heavily on strong copy to drive click rates.

What Is An HTML Email? 

An HTML email is an email that is created using HyperText Markup Language, allowing for the addition of various design elements such as images, layouts, fonts, colors, etc. An HTML email can feature interactive elements such as links, buttons, and multimedia, lifting it to a higher aesthetic level than plain-text emails. 

In simple terms, an HTML email is the feature-rich version of a plain-text email. For instance, the following email by tentree is an HTML email. 

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The benefits of using HTML email templates include: 

• They help brands maintain a seamless experience across websites, emails, and landing pages.
  
• HTML allows for the aesthetic placement of multiple hyperlinks within different buttons.
  
• Image support in HTML enhances communication, as pictures can convey more than words.
  
• HTML emails enable tracking of campaign performance.

What Is A Responsive Email?

A responsive email is designed to adapt to various devices and screen sizes, including desktops, mobiles, and wearables.

In the past, fixed-width emails required mobile users to swipe horizontally to read the content. Responsive design eliminates this issue, enabling users to view emails comfortably on any device. Here’s an example of responsive design in action. 

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Responsive design is essential, especially during special events and certain times of the year, such as limited sale campaigns.

Limited offers, countdowns, and back-in-stock emails require quick action. If these emails are only viewable on desktops, what happens to those checking their emails on the go?

During the holiday season, when people are often traveling, mobile devices and wearables are their main access points to the online world. If your emails aren’t optimized for these devices, you risk losing potential revenue and alienating subscribers.

Here are some key benefits of responsive email design:

• Enhanced subscriber experience through increased interactivity.
  
• Improved engagement, which can lead to fewer unsubscribes.
  
• Consistent design and branding across all devices, ensuring a smooth user experience.
  
• Higher conversion rates compared to non-responsive emails.

Types of Emails

Based on campaign purpose, there are various types of emails, such as welcome emails, promotional emails, transactional emails, cart abandonment emails, etc. 

1. Welcome Email: This email welcomes and expresses gratitude to the subscriber for joining. It should introduce your brand and include a call-to-action encouraging the subscriber to complete their profile or update their preferences.

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2. Newsletter email: This periodic email keeps subscribers informed and educated about your brand as well as its products and services.

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3. Sale Promotion/Announcement Email: These emails aim to convert subscribers into customers. They should have a marketing-focused tone and convince the subscriber that their purchase will address the issue that initially drew them to your brand.

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4. Order Receipt Email: This email confirms a subscriber’s purchase and should be triggered upon completion of the transaction. It can also promote related products, but the content should be 80% transactional and 20% promotional. A simple HTML email template from Polaroid effectively illustrates this approach.

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5. Re-engagement Email: Since not all subscribers remain active and engaged, this email aims to gently encourage dormant subscribers to reconnect with your brand and re-enter the sales cycle.

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6. Cart Abandonment Email: Due to various reasons, a well-engaged subscriber may leave their purchase incomplete. This email aims to bring those customers back and reconnect them with their abandoned carts. It’s an essential email for eCommerce businesses. Check out this simple HTML email template from Dote for a better understanding.

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Depending on your brand’s industry, you may also require additional emails, such as birthday or anniversary emails, survey or review requests, and reorder reminders, among others.

Where to Find Email Template Examples?

Having some competition is beneficial. By analyzing the email template designs of your competitors, you can gain insights into current industry trends and decide whether to adopt them or carve out your own unique approach. 

Regardless of your choice, the following websites can help you find email templates for inspiration, allowing you to stay ahead of the competition:

• Really Good Emails
  
• Curated Emails
  
• Milled
  
• The Best Of Email
  
• MailCharts 

How to Build An Email Template?

Once you finalize your email type, the next step is designing the template. This stage is crucial as it shapes your visual identity and defines your brand personality. Before sending your design requirements, consider the following prerequisites:

• Your brand guidelines
  
• Images of your products
  
• Target audience or buyer’s persona
  
• Plans for A/B testing
  
• Whether the mobile layout will be separate
  
• Email content copy
  
• Hyperlinks to the landing page
  
• Any interactivity involved, and if so, what kind

Building an email template requires considering the following three factors, to begin with: 

1. Brand guidelines
   
2. Visual hierarchy
   
3. Personalization & dynamic content

Brand Guidelines

Brand guidelines are a collection of rules that dictate how to use your branding elements, including colors, fonts, logos, watermarks, and brand tone. An email that adheres to brand guidelines is more recognizable and helps subscribers build trust in your brand.

Visual Hierarchy

Every campaign you create has a specific purpose, and it’s crucial to ensure that your subscribers recognize that. Certain elements must capture their attention as soon as they open the email. This is why establishing a visual hierarchy is essential. 

Many email designers visualize an inverted triangle while designing, positioning the most important information—such as sale announcements, hero images, CTA buttons, and navigation links—in a way that guides the subscriber’s eye from a broad opening to a focused point, which is the CTA button.

In the following example email from inVision, you can see that proper text formatting and semantic tags contribute to a textual hierarchy that enhances the overall visual hierarchy.

Let’s explore two elements of visual hierarchy that are sometimes placed together and sometimes at opposite ends.

1. Hero image: Hero images are placed in the first fold to introduce the email, often featuring compelling text to prompt subscriber action.

These images can be real-life photos or illustrations. Real-life photos help subscribers visualize products, while illustrations convey abstract concepts.

Photographs are commonly used as hero images in online retail, eCommerce, and the travel and hospitality industries. For example, see the email from HomeAway below.

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2. CTA placement: This is crucial. As mentioned earlier, the CTA button is a key indicator of how effectively your email converts subscribers into customers.

The placement of the CTA button is a debated topic. Many marketers believe that subscribers need to read the email copy before clicking the CTA button. However, this approach has a drawback: fewer people may scroll back up to click the CTA, reducing click rates if there isn’t a secondary CTA button at the bottom of the email.

Ensure your CTA placement is strategic, and consider A/B testing to find the best position.

We suggest adding another CTA button at the bottom of the email if it extends beyond two scrolls. This practice ensures that subscribers have an easy opportunity to take action without having to scroll back up. In the following example, the CTA is placed toward the end of the email.

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Personalization & Dynamic Content

Personalizing emails by using the subscriber’s first name is a good start, but it’s just the beginning. Subscribers provide their email addresses in exchange for engaging content tailored to their preferences, not what you want them to read. To create customized emails, observe their online behavior and the stage of their buyer’s journey to meet their needs.

This is where dynamic content comes into play. In email marketing, a dynamic approach focuses on timing rather than the quality of a campaign. It’s crucial to avoid using “dynamic” in a vague sense. Dynamic emails mean sending the right message to the right people automatically, without manually adjusting each email’s content.

To fully leverage dynamic content, gather extensive data beyond just first names and email addresses. Ensure criteria match exactly with your contact’s profile, or the system won’t recognize it, and the dynamic content won’t display. Include a default content block to ensure visibility for recipients who don’t meet the defined criteria.

How to Code An Email Template?

Learning how to make an email template involves quite a bit of coding knowledge. This is where you need the help of an email developer. But we’ll just go through the basics. 

An email marketer doesn’t need to dive deeply into email coding, but having a basic understanding of commonly used HTML tags can help you troubleshoot minor email issues independently. So here they are.

Responsiveness & Compatibility

Around 81% of emails are opened on mobile devices, each with varying display sizes. Therefore, it is crucial that your emails render flawlessly on all your subscribers’ devices. Most email marketers adopt a ‘mobile-first’ approach when designing emails.

A mobile-first approach involves creating a one-column layout at 600px width and adjusting to a two-column layout for desktop views if necessary. Additionally, responsive email template design should consider the following factors:

• Use preheader text
  
• Keep body copy minimal
  
• Include a clear and easy-to-click CTA button
  
• Increase the font size of the body copy compared to the desktop layout
  
• Resize images appropriately

A simple, plain email without many bells and whistles will typically render well across all email clients. However, it’s important to address rendering and workarounds for three main email clients:

• Apple Mail
  
• Gmail
  • Responsive design
    
  • Incompatibility with non-Gmail IDs
    
  • Material design glitches
    
• Outlook
  • Background image support
    
  • Bulleted lists
    
  • DPI scaling
    
  • Unnecessary spacing

HTML was originally used for coding web pages, and developers adopted this practice for emails. While web page coding has evolved with various technologies for a better user experience, emails are still coded using <table> layouts.

Though email clients like Apple Mail, iOS Mail, Gmail, and Yahoo support the <div> tag, developers stick to table layouts because Microsoft Outlook relies on outdated rendering engines that don’t support <div>. Each <div> can be nested inside individual <td> tags, but this increases code weight. If the email exceeds 120kb, Gmail will clip it.

Coding for Maximum Compatibility or Selective Email Clients?

Different email clients use various rendering engines, so some subscribers might not see the email as intended. While a ‘View Online’ link helps subscribers view the original email, it requires extra clicks and may hinder conversions.

You must weigh the pros and cons and code for maximum compatibility. If you include interactive elements, adding fallback support is advisable, though it may limit creativity. Alternatively, segment your email list by email client and send emails only to those with supporting clients.

CSS Inlining

Web developers specify styles in the <head> section or link to an external stylesheet. Email developers must inline styles, increasing code bulk but improving email loading speed.

Building Accessible Emails

Accessibility in emails has become a crucial topic, with many emphasizing its importance. Designing for accessibility involves following specific regulations and respecting certain limitations when creating an email.

Following these guidelines makes emails accessible to over a billion people with disabilities worldwide and enhances readability for all subscribers. Additionally, it can significantly improve the conversion potential of your email list.

4 Things to Consider While Coding

1. Use Semantic Code: People using screen readers rely on semantic code to understand emails. Using appropriate tags for headings (<h_>) and paragraphs (<p>) allows screen readers to differentiate between them, enhancing the reading experience.
   
2. Add a Relevant Title: Including a title in your emails can serve as both the preheader text and context for subscribers using screen readers.
   
3. Use Tables for Presentation: Adding role=”presentation” to tables ensures screen readers focus on the email content rather than reading each cell individually.
   
4. Accommodate Ample White Space: Whitespace is essential for readability, especially on devices held at arm’s length in crowded environments. It provides breathing space between elements and helps subscribers easily scan the email.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Email Templates

• Balance Between Promotion and Problem Solving: According to inbound marketing principles, customers should approach your brand, believing your products or services will solve their problems. Some marketers overly promote their offerings, neglecting the problem-solving aspect.
  
  Solution: Transactional emails should be 80% transactional and 20% promotional. For lead nurturing automation, focus primarily on educating the subscriber.
  
• Single Image Emails: Many marketers make the mistake of relying on a single image for their email content. Since email clients often disable images by default, text within an image can remain unseen, especially without alt-text.
  
  Solution: Avoid placing your entire message in a single image and always include relevant alt-text for your images.
  
• Illegible Email Copy: Custom fonts may look attractive but can lose their effectiveness if they’re hard to read in the email copy. Some fonts work well for headlines but not for paragraphs. Ensure proper line spacing and appropriate line length for readability.
  
• No CAN-SPAM Compliant Footer: The CAN-SPAM Act of 2009 requires commercial emails to include specific information in the footer, such as a valid physical address and an unsubscribe link, to avoid penalties.
  
  Solution: Always include a CAN-SPAM compliant footer in your email template.
  
• Misleading Email Copy: Avoid misleading email copy. While it may get clicks, it can lead to unsubscribes and damage your reputation. ISPs monitor unsubscribes and may flag your email address as spam, affecting deliverability.
  
• Not A/B Testing: A common mistake is assuming you know exactly what your subscribers want. Preferences change over time, so regularly perform A/B testing to determine what works and what needs improvement.

Now that you know how to create an email template, let’s turn to the experts now. 

[Keep the experts panel image as is]

Sam Hurley	John Thies	Matthew Smith	Kath Pay	Kait Creamer	Dave Charest
Annette West	Erik Harbison	Dennis Dayman	Michal Leszczynski	Nick Crawford	Syed Balkhi
Nout Boctor-Smith	Alex Papadopulos	John J. Walsh	Paul King	Veronica Williams	Tammi Myers

Sam Hurley Founder @ OPTIM-EYEZ Q: First thought that comes to your mind on hearing the word ‘Email Templates’? A: #1 THOUGHT: The really bad ones I receive on a daily basis! #2 THOUGHT: Wishing people spent more time / care ensuring templates are personal. Q: Which email templates are must-have in an email marketer’s template library? A: It SHOULD go without saying, but you need a professional signature and/or footer – for both your brand and personal emails. This counts for a lot, when it comes to first impressions. Here are 5 templates I believe are must-haves: Template #1: Blogger outreach template Template #2: Sales-focused template Template #3: Newsletter template Template #4: Drip-feed template [educational / value-focused] Template #5: ‘Special’ template [HTML crafted / standout] Q: Do you believe in sending innovative emails (planned months in advance) or plain-looking emails (less time consuming)? A: A mixture of both is best to try & You won’t ever know if you don’t experiment! It’s all about what YOUR target audience expects, and every business will require different strategies. For example, I find results are better when sending plain-looking emails – although beautifully-designed templates would probably work infinitely better for a home decor brand… Apply different styles, split test, and measure performance! Q: What are the 3 things you first notice when you open an email you just received? A: “Subject line, email address, formatting, signature and language! Just one of those can put me off for good … i.e. An email coming from rankfastSEO@gmail.com or a copied and pasted outreach template that literally says, ‘Hey Name,’. ** FACE PALM ** It sounds silly, but this occurs on a daily basis! Take care on the details, because EVERY detail matter when it comes to email.”

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John Thies CEO/Co-Founder of EmailOnAcid Q: First thought that comes to your mind on hearing the word ‘Email Templates’? A: When I think of “Email Templates”, my first thought is a library of emails to support the email needs of the business that don’t have to be recreated for every campaign. They consist of newsletters, transactional, promotional, informational, product updates, on-boarding and many others. Q: Which email templates are must-have in an email marketer’s template library? A: Newsletter, transactional and on-boarding (welcome emails) Q: Do you believe in sending innovative emails (planned months in advance) or plain-looking emails (less time consuming)? A: I think its a combination of the two. At Email on Acid we do both. We want to inspire email marketers about what they can do within email while also being able to leverage the power of email by regularly engaging with our subscribers. Innovative email development can be time consuming and expensive which reduces the ROI of a campaign. Q: What are the 3 things you first notice when you open an email you just received? Preheader Text (pre-open) White space Calls-to-action Read Other Experts>>

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Matthew Smith Founder @ Wimp Decaf Coffee Co Q: First thought that comes to your mind on hearing the word ‘Email Templates’? A: Cheap, like stock photos. Website templates means something that’s already done, not something that a tool. It feels cheap. Q: Which email templates are must-have in an email marketer’s template library? A: Welcome, Newsletter, List, Article series, Article, Thank you, Unsubscribe, Survey. Q: Do you believe in sending innovative emails (planned months in advance) or plain-looking emails (less time consuming)? A: Both are appropriate. Depends on the audience. Sometimes both are appropriate with the same audience. Q: What are the 3 things you first notice when you open an email you just received? A: Is it what I thought it would be according to the subject line? Is it succinct and clear? Is it valuable? Read Other Experts>>

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Kath Pay CEO @ Holisticemailmarketing Q: First thought that comes to your mind on hearing the word ‘Email Templates’? A: Strategic, Ease of use Q: Which email templates are must-have in an email marketer’s template library? A: A Master Template from which all emails can be created from Q: Do you believe in sending innovative emails (planned months in advance) or plain-looking emails (less time consuming)? A: Both – it depends upon the objective for the email and the audience. Having said that, just because you use a template which allows you to create emails quickly and easily, doesn’t mean they have to be plain-looking. We develop Master Templates which are very visual and have made allowances for innovation within the relevant modules within the template – yet are easy to create an email from. Q: What are the 3 things you first notice when you open an email you just received? A: From name, Subject line and preheader Read Other Experts>>

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Kait Creamer Digital Marketing Manager | WanderingKait Q: First thought that comes to your mind on hearing the word ‘Email Templates’? A: Time savers Q: Which email templates are must-have in an email marketer’s template library? A: Well, it totally depends on the audience. For my markets, I most frequently use webinar, featured blog content, newsletter, welcome, and onboarding/educational templates. Q: Do you believe in sending innovative emails (planned months in advance) or plain-looking emails (less time consuming)? A: I actually don’t mind plain emails. I think the content of the email is what shines most often. With thoughtful design, you don’t need a lot of flash. It’s nice to delight with innovative emails when the time’s there, but that’s not a luxury we often have. Q: What are the 3 things you first notice when you open an email you just received? Overall message Ability to understand CTA Visual hierarchy Read Other Experts>>

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Dave Charest Content Marketing Director at Constant Contact Q: First thought that comes to your mind on hearing the word ‘Email Templates’? A: Starting designs that can easily be customized to your needs. Q: Which email templates are must-have in an email marketer’s template library? A: Welcome, Birthday, Anniversary, Holidays, Sales, Announcements, Thank You, Newsletter, and Invitation. Q: Do you believe in sending innovative emails (planned months in advance) or plain-looking emails (less time consuming)? A: Both. Use the email that best fits the goal and nature of your business. Q: What are the 3 things you first notice when you open an email you just received? A: Image, headline, call to action. Read Other Experts>>

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Annette West Project Manager @ NewZapp template design Q: First thought that comes to your mind on hearing the word ‘Email Templates’? A: Library of options Q: Which email templates are must-have in an email marketer’s template library? A: Welcome, news digest, announcement Q: Do you believe in sending innovative emails (planned months in advance) or plain-looking emails (less time consuming)? A: I believe in the middle ground, as planning months in advance is a luxury thats not always an option for SME marketing Q: What are the 3 things you first notice when you open an email you just received? The subject line and preview text before opening. Does the email have impact visually and give me key information before the need to scroll? If it’s not one of ours, how we could have made it better ? Read Other Experts>>

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Erik Harbison Acadium Plus: Marketing Career Membership Program Instructor & Career Coach Q: First thought that comes to your mind on hearing the word ‘Email Templates’? A: An often overlooked, critical piece in a successful email campaign puzzle. Q: Which email templates are must-have in an email marketer’s template library? A: Regardless of business type or industry, there should be an image-centric template (hero image, product image) and one that is a succinct ‘plain’ text-centric template. Q: Do you believe in sending innovative emails (planned months in advance) or plain-looking emails (less time consuming)? A: I believe there is a need for balancing both. New feature/product releases can require a more integrated promotional approach that includes a more robust, image heavy email. Whereas a quick update, tip or simple ‘thank you’ to your subscriber with an all text email can strengthen engagement and trust. Q: What are the 3 things you first notice when you open an email you just received? Pre header text – Have become obsessed on if/how brands are using it. CTA – scanning for the ‘WIIFM (What’s In It For Me)’ promise & if it is via text link or button. Signature – how personal does a brand try to be. Use a “Team” sign off? Headshot from one person? I think a personal touch matters as a key piece of the overall process of building trust with people that agreed to join your list. Read Other Experts>>

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Dennis Dayman Chief Information Security Officer, Code42 Q: First thought that comes to your mind on hearing the word ‘Email Templates’? A: Impersonal. Nothing screams “impersonal” more than a templated email. Most brands use templates, but as formulated approach to message design and that is where they stop. Customization is key. Yes, templates can help keep a consistent tone in your emails when you use templates, but I feel that most marketers use that as an excuse to not go beyond making a connection using the data they already have on you to really personalize it more than just Hi . Emailing your list should feel like emailing a friend and the content behind it should reflect that. So sure, you can say that you are using email templates, but lets use the type of templates that help formulate the look and branding, but make sure the content itself is personalized for the user and based on past interactions whether it be purchases or their visit to your website. Q: Which email templates are must-have in an email marketer’s template library? A: I’d say things like a welcome, a trigger, a retention, a referral or discount, card abandonment, order confirmation, maybe even a survey, and last but not least a thank you. All of these will at some point need to be used in the lifecycle of a normal client who is buying something for you or engaging. These emails help raise conversions and convince existing customers to purchase again and should be set up as soon as possible. Q: Do you believe in sending innovative emails (planned months in advance) or plain-looking emails (less time consuming)? A: It really depends on several factors. Things such as if this is B2C vs. B2B. B2B usually has a longer sales cycle where in B2C the buyer already has done a great deal of research on their own or possibly visited a store to see the product before going online to find a lower price. I’ve always been a data fan, yes I know that sounds odd now in my career as a privacy officer, but you can respectfully and properly use data to make a closer and more meaning connection to a buyer if you’ve crossed all your T’s and dotted your I’s as they say. Now, there are some emails that should be plain and quick, usually alerting emails about flight changes or delay’s etc that need to be delivered in a quick fashion and using less bandwidth, but yes I like to see brands and marketers to attempt to at least know what might be coming down the pipeline especially for companies with multiple divisions who might be sending emails to the same person for different reason and SHOULD know if the brand itself is fatiguing the user. So, a little preparation and data use in my opinion is now a bad thing in today’s overload world of information. Q: What are the 3 things you first notice when you open an email you just received? A: The sender in which I’m looking for the status of our relationship and what priority this email will get. The subject line, to understand again what the purpose of the message is and again where it calls in the priority OR if I will continue to read it into the content. And then last, but not least, the first paragraph to see what sort of tone they sender is sending to me. If there might be an action that I need to further read down into the message for or hold this message for something else more important. Read Other Experts>>

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Michal Leszczynski Head of Content Marketing & Partnerships @ GetResponse Q: First thought that comes to your mind on hearing the word ‘Email Templates’? A: Re-usable pieces that can help you get your campaign up and running within a couple of hours. Q: Which email templates are must-have in an email marketer’s template library? A: It mostly depends on the industry, but one can never skip these three: welcome email, post-purchase thank you message, and a customer survey. These three will not only help you build long-lasting relationships with your audience but they’ll also equip with you knowledge that’ll make your campaigns more targeted and impactful. Q: Do you believe in sending innovative emails (planned months in advance) or plain-looking emails (less time consuming)? A: Use templates whenever possible but if you want to make one particular campaign stand out – then put your creative hat on. Only the most-creative ones have the chance to become viral. Q: What are the 3 things you first notice when you open an email you just received? A: Email subject line, header, and the hero image – these either make or break my email experience. Read Other Experts>>

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Nick Crawford Owner & Principal Consultant, Twist Consultancy Ltd Q: First thought that comes to your mind on hearing the word ‘Email Templates’? A: Simple, easy, consistent and tested for render across email clients. Restrictive, repetitive and can reduce creative execution. Q: Which email templates are must-have in an email marketer’s template library? A: If you want to work with separate templates then base this on your current most common or successful sends. Welcome, solus, newsletter, and simple postcard (short image and text that can be used for most ad-hock needs) A more flexible approach would be to build a single modular template that has your most used content layout options in rows of content blocks that can be removed and moved as needed. Q: Do you believe in sending innovative emails (planned months in advance) or plain-looking emails (less time consuming)? A: There is a place for both, If you have a clear idea of what you want to say, the best approach for that audience segment and what action you want the reader to take, you’ll be able to match approach with rich content or resource/time limitations with simpler, but effective execution. Q: What are the 3 things you first notice when you open an email you just received? Banner image – has it been made to work hard and portray key message and value (or is it just a stock or generic brand image with no extra info specific to that email content) Large blocks of text (does it look like this email will take effort to absorb) Does the headline or key banner message look like it will be of benefit to me (should I invest more time in reading this email fully) Read Other Experts>>

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Syed Balkhi Founder and CEO of Awesome Motive   Q: First thought that comes to your mind on hearing the word ‘Email Templates’? A: Great starting point for those that are new to email marketing, but nothing beats continuous A/B testing to maximize conversions. Q: Which email templates are must-have in an email marketer’s template library? A: Welcome email, new blog post, feedback email from CEO, and we miss you email to bring back churned customers. Q: Do you believe in sending innovative emails (planned months in advance) or plain-looking emails (less time consuming)? A: I think the less fancy the better. Sometimes too many images looks too corporate and customers want to know that they are talking to a human being. This is why you’ll notice that most of our emails come from people that you can email back. Q: What are the 3 things you first notice when you open an email you just received? A: Who’s it from? What do they want? Is it important? Read Other Experts>>

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Nout Boctor-Smith Managing Partner / Cofounder, Nine Lives Digital Q: First thought that comes to your mind on hearing the word ‘Email Templates’? A: An email template is a reusable HTML file that includes HTML and CSS and placeholder images and text where all you’d need to swap out is the copy and images. I like to use the blueprint and house analogy. An email template is a blueprint, while your email itself is the house. Q: Which email templates are must-have in an email marketer’s template library? A: It really depends on what type of marketing you’re doing and whether you want to use a master templates with all available elements to build out your specific templates. For me, I focus on B2B marketing (technology), so I recommend the following types of templates: newsletters, webinar invites, event invites, asset downloads, product updates. If you’re engaged in B2C marketing, you’ll need some product templates for sales, new products, Q: Do you believe in sending innovative emails (planned months in advance) or plain-looking emails (less time consuming)? A: I believe in sending both. I’d recommend the 80/20 rule for this, where 80% of your emails are planned in advance and 20% are more ad-hoc. Of course, every company is going to vary. Q: What are the 3 things you first notice when you open an email you just received? Headlines, button copy How the email renders in my email client or on my phone: is it responsive, do they use hi-res images, does the email look good without emai What’s the offer or value presented. Read Other Experts>>

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Alex Papadopulos Chief Operating Officer, fusionZONE Automotive, LLC Q: First thought that comes to your mind on hearing the word ‘Email Templates’? A: Simple, easy, consistent and tested for render across email clients. Restrictive, repetitive and can reduce creative execution. Q: Which email templates are must-have in an email marketer’s template library? A: Welcome Email, Seasonal Marketing Emails, Triggered Emails such as post purchase and abandoned cart emails plus administrative emails such as lost password, new account set up and billing related emails, Newsletters

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John Walsh Director Of Annual Giving, St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary Q: First thought that comes to your mind on hearing the word ‘Email Templates’? A: Mobile responsive code that allows email marketers to quickly and easily add content, images, links, link sourcing and allows them to move these pieces around in any order. Q: Which email templates are must-have in an email marketer’s template library? A: A newsletter template, a simply designed email with one image, text and one call to action, and a skeleton responsive template that I can quickly add the content, images, and links I need to. Q: Do you believe in sending innovative emails (planned months in advance) or plain-looking emails (less time consuming)? A: We believe in sending both types of emails, innovative and plain text. The planning for our end of year email campaign begins in August and will include our most innovative emails including ones where we use GIFs. I also feel it is important to send plain text emails interspersed with HTML emails. Our newsletters rely hevily on HTML. When we send thank you emails and simple emails with one call to action, we use plain text. I believe it feels more pesonal, like an email you would receive from a friend. Q: What are the 3 things you first notice when you open an email you just received? A: Does it feel, look and sound personal, has thought gone into if I would be interested in this email? Is it too busy? If there are too many images, lots of color and tons of links I usually skip over it. Who has the time? Lastly, as a email marketer, I notice if there is anything innovative or usual about the email, something that catches my attention. I like a litle whimsy so a well-timed GIF, animation, or quiz is welcome.

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Paul King Email Marketing Manager at Marshalls Garden   Q: First thought that comes to your mind on hearing the word ‘Email Templates’? A: Pre-designed layouts that require minimal work to adapt for future use. Q: Which email templates are must-have in an email marketer’s template library? A: Welcome emails, Re-engagement, regular newsletter, basket abandonment Q: Do you believe in sending innovative emails (planned months in advance) or plain-looking emails (less time consuming)? A: While there is a time and a place for plain-looking email we prefer to plan creative emails that will engage subscribes. Q: What are the 3 things you first notice when you open an email you just received? A: Header image, interactivity and CTA’s

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Veronica Williams Manager of Marketing Automation at Simpleview Q: First thought that comes to your mind on hearing the word ‘Email Templates’? A: A tool for technical or non-technical users to delight and inform their subscribers in an easy-to-use way. Q: Which email templates are must-have in an email marketer’s template library? A: Since I work with DMOs (Destination Marketing Organizations), their template libraries are going to be a little different than most: Newsletter Invite/Registration Announcement Press Release Welcome/Thanks for signing up Bid Book/Proposal/Sales Lead Q: Do you believe in sending innovative emails (planned months in advance) or plain-looking emails (less time consuming)? A: There is a land of happy medium between over-planning and over-simplifying emails that I feel the clients I work with, DMOs, have been able to capture. Together, we work on newsletters based on the type and then plan from there. For example, the big, monthly emails that go out to their entire subscriber base will sometimes be planned months in advance – knowing there are portions that must be added in right before sending to capture events happening around the email send. On the other hand, there are the weekly member/partner newsletters that are not as fancy and more utilitarian in nature. They have a far smaller planning period due to the weekly nature. The thought I would like to leave you with is that, you don’t have to be on one side or the other of a planned email – you can find what works for the type of email that you are sending and make that work for you. Q: What are the 3 things you first notice when you open an email you just received? I look to see if it is broken anywhere – I guess a habit I just can’t break – lol! I look for any interactive elements so I can see how they work and how many people are using them IRL – I have Gmail so they *could* work there. I then look at their layout to see what article types/section types are being used and of course compare it to the templates I work on to see how I can make mine better!

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Tammi Myers Senior Email Marketing Manager @ Zumba   Q: First thought that comes to your mind on hearing the word ‘Email Templates’? A: Guides to maintain consistency within a brand’s style & cross-browser rendering. Q: Which email templates are must-have in an email marketer’s template library? A: General notification, newsletter, sale, ecommerce/suggested products, cart/browse abandon Q: Do you believe in sending innovative emails (planned months in advance) or plain-looking emails (less time consuming)? A: Always striving for innovative emails but still realistic about our actual turn-around time. Q: What are the 3 things you first notice when you open an email you just received? A: The sender logo/identity, the imagery & any main headlines.

Wrapping Up!

Email templates are crucial for your email marketing strategy. Knowing the process behind email template production can help you create effective templates. This guide will assist you in creating templates for Mailchimp, Pardot, Marketo, Salesforce, and other ESPs.

FAQs

Q) Can you help me code a responsive HTML email template?

A) Yes, we can assist you in creating a custom responsive HTML email template. After coding, our experts will test the template across 40+ email clients and 15+ devices to ensure a great user experience for your subscribers.

Q) Can you recommend a service that provides free email template coding?

A) Absolutely! You can get your first email template coded for free with us. We offer a pixel-perfect email template valued at $131 as part of our first order free service.

Q) I don’t know how to code HTML email templates. Can I hire an HTML expert from you?

A)  Yes, you can hire an HTML email developer from us. Coding HTML emails can be complex, especially for platforms like Klaviyo. Our developers are certified experts in 50+ ESPs, and they will ensure quality assurance on 40+ email clients and devices. Learn more about our dedicated HTML email developers at Email Uplers.

Q) Can you help me code multiple HTML email templates?

A) Yes, Email Uplers is a full-service email marketing agency. We offer various services for email template production. You can share your requirements with us, and we can code an HTML email for you. Alternatively, our master modular email template service allows you to create multiple templates from a single master template. You can also hire a dedicated resource for your email template production.

Q) Can you help me create HTML templates for Gmail and Outlook?

A) Yes, our team of email experts will design and code a pixel-perfect email template tailored to your needs and target devices. We also test the template across 50+ ESPs and 40+ email clients, including Outlook, Gmail, Apple Mail, and more.