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How to create an email template in Connect

Email templates in Connect let you design a polished email once and reuse it whenever you need it. Templates have no sending information attached, so they're perfect for emails you'll send again and again — monthly newsletters, automation messages, form confirmation emails, or any branded layout you want to be consistent.

This article walks you through creating a template from scratch in the drag-and-drop editor, testing and previewing it, and restoring an earlier version. For editing, duplicating, tagging, or deleting templates you've already built, see How to manage your email templates in Connect. For a block-by-block reference of everything you can drop into your email, see Getting started with the Connect email editor.

Before you start

  • You'll find Templates in the top right of the global navigation in Connect

  • Custom fonts aren't supported in email. See Fonts in emails — can I use other fonts? for the full list of web-safe fonts you can use
  • Supported image formats are JPEG, PNG, and WebP
  • Templates differ from campaigns — a campaign is the email you send, a template is the reusable design behind it

Topics

Start a new template

  1. In Connect, click Templates in the top right of the navigation
  2. From the left sidebar, choose how you'd like to start — New Template (blank canvas), Recent email (reuse a recent campaign as a base), Featured Template (pick from me&u's curated library — Welcome to the club, Monthly newsletter, Special of the month, We want your feedback, and more), or Code Your Own (bring in your own HTML)
  3. The email editor opens and you can start building

 

Bring in your own HTML

If you select Code Your Own, you have three options:

  • Paste in code — paste your HTML straight into the editor
  • Import from ZIP file — upload a ZIP that contains your HTML and assets
  • Import from URL — pull the HTML directly from a hosted URL

Build your template in the email editor

The editor is split into two panes — your email on the left, and the Content Block and Design Options tabs on the right.

  1. Drag any block from the Content Block tab into your email
  2. Click a block to open its settings in the right pane and edit its content
  3. To move a block, hover over it and use the move icon — blocks can sit above, below, left, or right of other blocks
  4. Switch to the Design Options tab to set defaults that apply to the whole email — font, link colour, content width, and the email background
  5. Enter a name in the Template Name field at the bottom of the editor

  6. Click Save when you're happy with the design

💡 Tip — Use a naming convention like "01 [Venue Name] Newsletter" or "Automation — Welcome email". Templates list alphabetically, so a consistent prefix makes them much easier to find later.

ℹ️ Note — Connect uses web-safe fonts only. See Fonts in emails — can I use other fonts? for the full list.

For full detail on every block (Text, Image, Button, Voucher, and more) and every design option, see Getting started with the Connect email editor.

Send a test, preview, and view history

Before you save, use the buttons at the bottom of the editor to check your work.

Send a test email

  1. Click Send a test at the bottom of the editor
  2. On the Email tab, enter one or more test recipients
  3. Click Send

Share a preview link

If you'd rather share the design without sending it as an email — for example, with a colleague reviewing the draft — generate a public link.

  1. Click Send a test
  2. Switch to the Link tab
  3. Click Generate link

⚠️ Warning — The generated link is internal-only. Don't use it to share your campaign on social media or your website. Mail merge values and some interactive parts of the email won't function in this link.

Preview on desktop and mobile

Click Preview to see your template rendered side-by-side on a desktop screen and a mobile device. Use this to check that text isn't being cut off and that images scale correctly on smaller screens.

Preview the email as a specific contact

If your template uses Mailmerge tags or dynamic content, you can preview the email as it would render for any contact in your database. This is the best way to confirm personalisation is pulling the right values before you send.

  1. From the Preview screen, click View email as to open the Enable merge tag preview screen
  2. Use the Select a segment dropdown to narrow the list (or leave it on All contacts)
  3. Optionally click Search your contacts to find a specific person
  4. Click Select next to the contact you'd like to preview as
  5. The preview re-renders with that contact's real data — first name, surname, and any other fields you've merged in

💡 Tip — Always preview as a real contact before sending if you're using Mailmerge. It's the fastest way to catch fields that are blank or missing a fallback.

Restore from saved history

Connect saves a version of your template every time you click Save. If you want to roll back to an earlier design:

  1. Open the template in the editor
  2. Access the version history panel
  3. Click any previous version in the list on the left to preview it
  4. Click Restore this version to make it the current version, or Cancel restore to go back

💡 Tip — A saved version is created each time you click Save, so save often as you build — it gives you safe checkpoints to roll back to.

Save and reuse your template

  1. Enter a name in the Template Name field at the bottom of the editor
  2. Click Save
  3. Your template now appears in the Templates list, ready to use in a campaign or automation

Use your template in a campaign

Once your template is saved, you can pick it up in any new email campaign. From within the campaign builder, choose My templates as your starting point and select your saved template.

For the full campaign setup walkthrough, see How to create and send an email campaign.

Tips for great templates

What to include in a great email template

A great template gives you brand-aligned visual appeal so you can focus on what you're actually saying to your audience. The elements most common to high-performing marketing emails are:

  • Heading — an engaging phrase or sentence that captures attention and hints at the main topic of the email
  • Hero image — a photo or illustration that pairs with your headline to create a compelling first impression
  • Subheading — a short sentence or two that supports your headline, shows personality, and builds curiosity
  • Body — the main content of the email, featuring clear and concise copy, images, and subheadings between sections as needed
  • Call-to-action (CTA) — a link or button that directs guests to do something, adding details on a form or receiving a pdf, or learning more about your venue
  • Responsive design — mobile-friendly HTML that looks just as good on phones and tablets as it does on desktops and laptops
  • Personalisation — Mailmerge tags let you greet guests by name and pull in their data

While you build

  • Always send a test before you save and use the template — it's the fastest way to catch broken links, weird spacing, and missing images
  • Add alt text to every image so your email is still readable if images don't load (Connect calls this Fallback/Alt Text in the image settings)
  • Use Mailmerge fallbacks for personalisation so guests without a first name on file still get a friendly greeting — see How to create and send an email campaign for an example
  • Keep image widths sensible — most templates are around 600 pixels wide. Oversized images slow the email down and can crop awkwardly on mobile
  • Save versions as you go — every save creates a checkpoint you can restore to

Troubleshooting

Your template isn't appearing in the campaign builder

  • Cause: The template was saved without a name, or was deleted before the campaign loaded
  • Fix: Open Templates and confirm the template exists with a clear name. If it's missing, restore it from a duplicate or rebuild

Changes aren't saving

  • Cause: You navigated away from the editor without clicking Save
  • Fix: Reopen the template, make your changes, and click Save before leaving the editor. Use Send a test as a sanity check before saving

Fonts look different in your test email

Mailmerge field shows the raw tag (e.g. {contact.firstname}) or renders blank in your test

  • Cause: The contact you sent the test to doesn't have that field populated, and no default value was set on the Mailmerge tag
  • Fix: Always add a default value when you insert the Mailmerge tag — the value after the pipe is what guests see if their field is empty. For example, "Hi {contact.firstname|mate}" or "Hi {contact.firstname|there}" — guests without a first name on file will see "Hi mate" or "Hi there" instead of a blank space or the raw tag

A test email never arrives

  • Cause: It's been filtered to spam, or your sending domain isn't fully authenticated
  • Fix: Check your spam folder first. If it's not there, verify your domain in Settings > Domain Setup before retrying

Related articles

Your template is now set up to be reused across campaigns and automations, with a tested, on-brand design every time.

Any questions? Reach out to us via email at support@meandu.com