Building Time-Saving Email Templates

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Building Time-Saving Email TemplatesPresented by Chris Smith, Design Services Team Lead

Exactly what makes an email template time-saving?

– It’s flexible enough to add, subtract or reposition items of importance

– Any admin can manage the content– The styling is all in the template– If you’re thinking mobile, think simple & one

column (at first)

Flexibility is all in the design

– The number of articles can easily be adjusted

– Column content can be easily repositioned

– News items must be added by 3’s

– Adding events would cause awkward white space

– Content position is locked in place

Tame those “wild” admins by using the News Module

– Create a newsletter specific News Listing Type

– Create a hidden Newsletter Admin page in your sitemap and go to that page

– Drop the News Module that utilizes the newsletter listing type on this admin page


– Turn on Content Builder– Edit the News Module pattern

to show thumbnail images


– Save the default options for the Manage Calendar / Listing step to advance to the Listing Format step

– Select the Edit checkbox and choose Next

– Select the HTML view


Paste the code below as your listing format and choose Next to advance through the rest of the steps:

<p><strong>[Link][Content Name][/Link]</strong>[Tool Icons]</p><img src="[ThumbnailUrl]" alt="[Content Name]" /><p>[Preview]</p>


Was all that worth it?By patternizing the content in your template you’ve reduced the burden on the admin down to 3 things:• Article Title• Thumbnail Image• Preview Text

Basic styling: Skin Builder setup tips

Set a max width of 600 and units to px

Set default styles as a backup

Make sure all hex colors have the #

Stay calm, we’re going to talk about the HTML editor

Why should I use the HTML editor?

– You have better control over the layout and styling of content

– You will reduce the amount of unnecessary markup

– Troubleshooting issues will become much easier

– You’ll never achieve consistency without it

Getting to know HTML TablesWhy should I use tables?

– Tables provide the best structure and reduce the risk of your template breaking

– Styling is more consistent when driven by tables vs. header or paragraph tags

– Tables override a lot of inconsistent formatting from different email readers

Things to think about

– Tables cancel out most of the skin builder font styling

– All styling must be handled inline

– You can, and should, nest tables when necessary to achieve your desired layout. This can be overwhelming at first so stick to easier layouts while learning

Getting to know HTML TablesSo what is an HTML Table?

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0">

</table><table> = HTML Table

<td width="600" align="left" style=""></td>

<td> = Table Data or Table Cell

<tr>

</tr>

<tr> = Table Row

Getting to know HTML TablesRemember the News Module?

<table width="400" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" style="border-collapse:collapse; "> <tr> <td width="95" align="left" valign="top" style="padding:0px“><img src="[ThumbnailUrl]" alt="[Title]" width="75" /></td> <td width="305" align="left" valign="top" style="padding:0px"> <table width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0 " style="border-collapse:collapse; "> <tr> <td width="100%" align="left" style="padding-bottom:8px; font-weight:bold; font-family:Arial,Helvetica, sans-serif;

font-size:16px; color:#229bcd;">[Title]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="100%" align="left" style="padding-bottom:5px; font-family:Arial,Helvetica, sans-serif; font-

size:13px;">[Preview Text]</td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr></table>


<table width="400" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"> <tr> <td width="95" align="left" valign="top"> <img src="[ThumbnailUrl]" alt="[Title]" width="75" /> </td> <td width="305" align="left" valign="top"> <table width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"> <tr> <td width="100%" align="left">[Title]</td> </tr> <tr> <td width="100%" align="left">[Preview Text]</td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr></table>


So where do I get started?Must have resources for anyone interested in building email tempaltes

http://www.campaignmonitor.com/css

http://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/will-it-work/guidelines

http://www.campaignmonitor.com/guides/mobile

http://www.emailology.org/#2

http://litmus.com



http://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/will-it-work/guidelines



http://www.emailology.org/

http://litmus.com/

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Building Time-Saving Email Templates

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