Design once and code once! Email template systems are the fast, flexible way to quickly publish email campaigns from ONE template. Plus templates are a great catch all for email best practices in mobile, social, images-off and more.

1. Template Systems
Matthew Caldwell
VP Creative & Agency Services

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Topics
1. Why do we need a Template System?
2. What is a Template System?
3. Benefits of a Template Systems
– efficiency & email best practices
4. Sticky Content

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What you’ll learn about template systems
1. Efficient – design once, code one
2. Flexible – use one master for all emails. Every. Single. One.
3. Catch-all for best practices - mobile, social, images off, testing
4. Collaborative – Template Guide gets the teams speaking the same
language. Design expectations are set before email is even created
5. Sticky – small, bite-sized content marketing that works

4. Why do we need a
Template System?

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Why do we need to use one?
1. Multiple templates are inefficient
1. Designing each email in Photoshop and slicing/coding every time
time is inefficient and error-prone.

6. What is a Template System?

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Template System
• Unified headers and footers with a large
variety of internal stacked sections
• The sections can be reordered, deleted
or duplicated to make many message
combinations – from long newsletters to
short postcards
• One template for all messages

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All Sections Newsletters Hybrids Postcards

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All Sections Newsletters Hybrids Postcards

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Commonly used sections
• Feature – 2 to 5 different styles
• All Image – flexible, fixed width, variable height
• Article – 2 to 5 different styles: small, medium, large
• Product 2, 3 and 4 across
• Video, large & small
• Social Dispatch & product reviews
• All text – best for transactional

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A Template System Consists of:
1. All Sections Master Layout 2. Template Guide 3. Style Guide (optional)

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Template Guide
• Shows all sections and their names
• Image sizes
• Word counts
Medium
Article
Image
Right

14. Benefits of a Template System
Efficiency & Best Practices

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Why use a Template System? Speed & Efficiency
• Design once, code once
• “Design into the code” instead of “Photoshop > Slice > Code”
• Designers simply change copy, images & URLs
• When you first see initial email layout, it’s the actual coded
message and could be sent within hours
• Avoid designing each email in Photoshop then slicing every time
– It’s inefficient, much time spent coding
– It increases likelihood of errors

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Why use a Template System? Consistent & Standardized
• Highly consistent branding
• Email Teams (Manager, Designer, Copy,
Coder) all with a clear understanding of the
layout
• Teams refer to same sectional names…
“For this message I want one feature, one video large
and one small article”
• Everyone involved will have clear
expectations of what will be created
• Surprise, delays or redesigns are avoided
Email
Management
Production
Design
& Copy
Strategy

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Why use a Template System? email best practices
• Mobile Ready
• Images-off Ready
• Social Ready
• Dynamic
• Quick Versions for testing

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Why use a Template System? Mobile Ready
• Desktop is scalable
• Responsive code for phones
• CSS3 @media queries create
a 2nd, true mobile layout

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Why use a Template System? Images Off Ready
• Bulletproof buttons
• Under image color
blocking
• Alt tags with style
• Clear separation of copy
and image (no copy in
images)

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Why use Template System? Social Ready
• First design your button / Call to Action
hierarchy
• Then attach optional sharing icons
– Shares a part of your email,
not the entire email

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Why use a Template System? Dynamic
• Fully hybrid layouts mean all copy is html, not images
• Merging and database automation
• Clean separation of copy and images means that anything can be
merged in dynamically (images, copy, urls)

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Why use a Template System? Flexible & Testable
• Use one template for all (yes, ALL) emails
• Everything from transactional to newsletters to postcards
• The modular sections opens up major possibilities for testing

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Why use a Template System? Easily Rebrandable
• Simple color changes (background, button, type, etc) allow you
to use it for multiple business lines or different brands

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Q: Doesn’t it look similar each time?
It does not have to.
• The template is simply a container
• The content in it is what keeps it fresh
• Also we recommend regularly mixing and matching sections to
create new combinations
Q: Is it part of the mailing system?
No, but it can be.
• Basically, it’s nothing more than a single HTML document
• But it can easily be plugged into CMS tools, WYSIWIG editors
and drag & drop tools

25. Sticky Content

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Sticky Content
• Small, repeatable, value-added, non-product content
• Trains users to open
“What are they going to do this time”
• Keeps users opening and engaged
TIP: Create sticky content as a project; for example, create 1
year worth of sticky content at one time

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Sticky Content

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Sticky Content
Callaway
Funny Golf Quote
Warner Bros Trivia
Question

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Sticky Content
HP Tech at Work
Jargon Watch
My Coke Rewards Comic

30. Conclusion

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Summary:
Template Systems
1. Efficient - code once and “design into code” each time
2. Flexible – use one master for all emails. Every. Single. One.
3. Catch-all for best practices - mobile, social, images off, testing
4. Collaborative – Template Guide gets the teams speaking the same
language. Design expectations are set before email is even created
5. Sticky – small, bite-sized content marketing that works

32. Thank you
Matthew Caldwell
VP Creative & Agency Services
matt.caldwell@yesmail.com
@matty_caldwell
Questions?