Create an Email Template

Templates are easy to use and can strengthen brand recognition for your company by providing your message branding with a professional, well-organized, and consistently formatted appearance. 

Act-On provides a range of email templates that are ready to use in our Catalog, but you also have the option to make and use your own templates. Designing an email template from scratch allows for the greatest degree of creative flexibility, and you may find that a refreshing new design is just what you need to make your message branding stand out.

Method 1: Create a New Template

See the Email Composer User Guide for more details on the steps below.

1. Navigate to Outbound > New Message > Blank Message.
   • At the top, you will see four tabs: Address, Design, Review, and Send
     
     
2. Address tab:
   • Fill in the Message Title field to give your email template a name 
   • Fill in the Subject Line and Preview Text fields
   • Select your Sender and Reply To addresses
   • Optional: Use the menu on the right to add an Act-On Campaign, Google Analytics information, or advanced custom analytics
     
     
3.  Design tab: 
   • Stationery (optional): Style the background, borders, and alignment of your email template 
   • Content: Drag and drop Blocks or Sections to customize your email template 
     • Use Blocks to add: Greetings, Images, Rich Text, Signatures, Media File Downloads, Webinar Form Links, and more!  
     • Use Sections to format your email template.  
   • Message Styling: Customize the font, line spacing, colors, and padding for the email template message, header, and footer
   • Additional Design features: 
     • Edit Plain Text Version lets you view and edit the plain text version of the email your contact may receive
     • Validate Clickthrough Links lets you check to see if the links in your email template are working
     • Download Creatives lets you download HTML and text for the email template
     • Check Spelling 
       
       
4. Review tab:
   • Preview your email template using the HTML, Text, and Mobile tabs located at the bottom of the Review window
   • Click Validate Message to see if all the required sections of your email template have been filled out
   • Open Check Spam Score and click the Check Score Now button to see your message's spam score
     
     

5. Click on the Save dropdown arrow and select Save As Template.

After saving, a pop-up will confirm that your message has been successfully saved before closing the window.

Method 2: Create a Template From an Email Draft

1. Navigate to Content > Email Templates > Create template (top right), and then select Draft Message.
   
   
2. Select the email you wish to base your new template on, and then click Submit.
   
   • At the top, you'll see three tabs: General, Design, and Review
     
     
3. General tab:
   • Fill in the Message Title field to give your template a name
   • Fill in the Subject Line and Preview Text fields
   • Specify the Sender and the address that recipients will Reply To
   • If subscription management is set up, specify the Subscription Category for your email template on the right
   • Optional: On the right, add an Act-On Campaign, Google Analytics information, or advanced custom analytics
     
     
4. Design tab:
   • Stationary (optional): Style the background, borders, and alignment of your email template
   • Content: Drag and drop Blocks or Sections to customize your email template
     • Use Blocks to add: Greetings, Images, Rich Text, Signatures, Media File Downloads, Webinar Form Links, and other content
     • Use Sections to format your email template
   • Message Styling: Customize the font, line spacing, colors, and padding for the email template message, header, and footer. 
   • Additional Design features:
     • Edit Plain Text Version lets you view and edit the plain text version of the email your contact may receive
     • Validate Clickthrough Links lets you check to see if the links in your email template are working
     • Download Creatives lets you download HTML and text for the email template
     • Check Spelling 
       
       
5. Review tab:
   • Preview your email template using the HTML, Text, and Mobile tabs located at the bottom of the Review window
   • Click Validate Message to see if your email template is ready to be used
   • Open Check Spam Score and click the Check Score Now button to see the message's spam score
     
     
6. Click Save.

After saving, a pop-up will confirm that your message has been successfully saved before closing the window. 

Your new email template is now ready to use! When you want to use it, just select Template Message in the Act-On Message Composer to find your template and get started.