Yuka Kato
Do you use Gmail to send out work emails?
Email templates could save you a lot of time. Well-designed templates boost email productivity, aid conversions, and add a professional touch to your outgoing mail. Although you cannot and should not do away with drafting original content, a good template can make life a lot easier.
If you’re looking for ways to incorporate email templates into your campaigns, you’re in luck. In this article, we provide several methods you can use, including email template builders that work with Gmail. Our recommendations are all easily accessible and don’t have steep learning curves.
4 Ways To Create Email Templates in Gmail
Did you know that there are 4 cool ways to create an email newsletter in Gmail without using third-party service providers?
1. Google Docs
The easiest and simplest way to get started is by using Google Docs. Log in to your Gmail account and click on Docs. You’ll find a Template Gallery with a handful of options. There are also three templates that have been specifically designed for email newsletters.
You can pick from any of these templates to start building your email. These templates allow you to add a logo, embed links, and change images to suit your needs.
However, the amount of customization they allow is limited.
Nonetheless, these templates are enough to draft a basic email newsletter. You can copy-paste the newsletter you created in Docs to the body of your Gmail. Give it a once-over and make minor formatting adjustments in Gmail. Once you’ve done this, you can send it to your mailing list.
2. Select a Layout in Gmail
Another way to use templates in your email newsletters is to use the Select A Layout option. A built-in feature in Gmail, it’s available to some Google Workspace users. If you’re unable to find the Select A Layout feature in your Gmail inbox, it may be because Google has yet to roll it out to all Workspace users.
Click on Compose > Select A Layout icon at the bottom toolbar to access a host of interactive email newsletter templates. You can change the font style, color, add links, and upload a logo by clicking on the Default Styling option at the bottom left of the pop-up.
Once you’re happy with the layout, click Insert.
Compared to Google Docs, Select A Layout affords you greater flexibility when it comes to the email newsletter template’s customization. For instance, you can add or delete sections in the body of the email. The built-in templates are also much more immersive. Despite these advantages, however, you still can’t change the size of your images or freely modify the templates for Gmail.
3. Chrome Extension for Gmail
If you feel that the restrictions we mentioned are far too limiting, you can try the Gmail extension Mailsuite. It also offers access to templates you can use in Gmail.
Mailsuite is a pixel-based email monitoring extension of Chrome. With a subscription, you can access additional features and functionalities like Campaigns. This allows you to send personalized mass emails to up to 10,000 recipients in one go.
To access this feature, you need to subscribe to Mailsuite’s Advanced Plan and install the extension on Chrome. Then, go to Gmail and compose an email as you normally would. You’ll notice a Download A Template sticker on the right side of the draft box as you start typing.
Click on the sticker to get redirected to Mailsuite’s selection of email newsletter templates. Choose one to your liking and start composing your email.
Though this option has a paywall, the monthly fee of less than $6 is very reasonable in light of the features you’re getting and how easy they are to use.
4. Email Template Builder
Another option is to use one of the many Gmail newsletter template builders available online. You’ll be spoiled for choice since there are so many.
Our personal favorite is BEE, a drag-and-drop HTML editor that lets you create immersive email newsletters in a few clicks. Here’s why:
- BEE has more than 1,500 ready-to-use templates that you can customize to your heart’s content. You can embed buttons, videos, images, social media icons, and more.
- These ready-to-use templates have been created by BEE’s team of coders and are ideal even if you don’t know how to code. You can just drag-and-drop copy, images, and links to draft an attractive newsletter.
- There’s a Preview feature that shows you how the email newsletter will appear across different devices.
- You can download the email newsletters from BEE’s dashboard and use them to draft personalized email campaigns via Chrome extensions like Mailsuite.
- All these features are free to use.
Without an iota of doubt, BEE comes out on top.
Like BEE, there are other nifty newsletter builders that are free. We discuss 5 other free editors later in the article. But first, let’s understand how you can send an email newsletter campaign once you’ve designed your newsletter.
How To Send Newsletters in Gmail
You can send email marketing campaigns such as newsletter via Gmail, a paid subscription isn’t always required. In this section, we describe the best free and paid options.
Free Option: Sending Emails via Mail Merge
Gmail’s built-in mail merge feature is designed to send mass emails. Any Google Workspace or Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus user has access to it.
You can use mail merge to send customized emails to 1,500 to 2,000 recipients per day. That’s why it’s great for sending group emails. It is fairly easy to use and you can even add an unsubscribe link to your bulk emails.
However, newsletters sent using mail merge have a high chance of landing in the recipient’s spam folder.
Another disadvantage is you can only track so many aspects of your emails. Its mail merge function doesn’t provide you with a full-spectrum analysis of your email campaigns so you cannot measure how effective your campaigns are.
But if you’re only looking to send mass emails to small groups of people, mail merge could be sufficient for your needs.
Paid Option: Sending Emails Using a Chrome Extension
If you want to send more personalized newsletters, Mailsuite is the superior option.
Mailsuite lets you send customized campaigns to 10,000 recipients in one go. These can also be individually tracked so you can closely monitor your email’s analytics. You can even schedule your newsletter campaign for a later time and modify email tracking key performance indicators (KPIs).
Another useful feature is the ability to securely share documents with restricted access, request signatures, and avail of add-ons thanks to its Zapier integration.
Mailsuite comes with fully functional customer relationship management (CRM) features. Its Salesforce integration lets you monitor your email campaigns in real-time. Even better, it’s so easy to use.
The only bone you may have to pick with Mailsuite’s Campaigns feature is that its higher-tier plans aren’t free. It’s still extremely cheap for the value it provides though.
5 Best Free Email Template Builders for Gmail
Now that you know how to use Gmail for email campaigns, here’s a brief review of the top 5 free-to-use template builders and editors. Understand what each of them offers so you know exactly what to expect if you choose to use any of them.
1. MailerLite
MailerLite is a web design agency that helps you send emails, build websites, generate leads, and sell products. It has an AI-driven drag-and-drop editor that comes with an entire suite of pre-designed, fully responsive templates that are device-agnostic. Newsletters created using MailerLite templates look good on PCs, tablets, and phones.
You can also avail of their rich text and HTML editors if you want to gain full control over designing your newsletter template. Anyone with or without any knowledge of coding can use the platform.
Overall, it’s an end-to-end digital marketing platform that lets you automate your email marketing, nurture leads, and analyze campaign metrics.
2. Mailjet
Mailjet is a dedicated email delivery service provider that lets you design gorgeous emails and newsletters. You can send automated email campaigns using the platform. The free plan has a limit of 6,000 emails per month with a cap of 200 emails per day but you can still access the advanced editor to create impactful newsletters.
You can use the drag-and-drop editor to customize their pre-existing newsletter templates or build one from scratch.
Mailjet’s email template editors are very intuitive and easy to use. All emails created using Mailjet are optimized for conversion on any device.
3. Stripo
Stripo is another email template builder that comes with drag-and-drop as well as HTML editors. The best part is you can design a newsletter using Stripo’s pre-made templates and customize it with the HTML editor at the same time. You don’t need to switch between editors. It’s one seamless process that’s been developed with only one goal—creating email templates that convert.
With more than 1,400 email templates, Stripo lets you create emails that collect real-time data, are highly engaging, and let customers take action while they’re reading your email.
We highly recommend Stripo to everyone who uses Gmail for sending email marketing campaigns because you can link the two. In other words, you get hassle-free access to professionally designed newsletters in Gmail. You can also create and save up to 10 newsletters or email templates with Stripo’s free version.
That’s plenty for a small business. You can always upgrade to a paid plan to avail of more features and it won’t burn a hole in your pocket.
Check out the template gallery here.
4. TOPOL
Topol.io is a simple, easy-to-use, and forever-free email template builder that requires zero coding knowledge. That’s right. Topol is a drag-and-drop editor with a highly intuitive and fluid UI that anyone can use. Although it only has 150 free email templates, you still have plenty to choose from.
The templates are industry/category-specific and designed with conversions in mind. You can export and insert them into Gmail once you’re done designing them.
The only drawback of Topol is it takes considerable manual effort to get things done. You have to perform a few more steps compared to other template builders.
It’s a fair trade if you ask us because you’re getting one of the simplest and most easy-to-use editors.
Check out the template gallery here.
5. Unlayer
The last email template editor on this list is perhaps the most dynamic of the lot. Unlayer claims that it can help you create a “beautiful email in minutes”—and so it does. It comes with a wide selection of templates that are chic, vibrant, and interactive. The templates look great on all devices and can be used to add dynamic content to your newsletters.
It also uses a drag-and-drop editor like other template builders. If you want to design impressive templates from scratch, you can opt for Unlayer Studio and Unlayer Embed. That’s another good thing about using Unlayer: you can easily scale it as your business grows.
Unlayer is compatible with Gmail and you can insert your designs in a few clicks.
Check out the library of newsletter templates here.
Sending a Newsletter in Gmail? Use a Template
Creating impressive newsletters that are optimized for conversion, dynamics, and immersion isn’t a big deal these days. There are so many different options to make your newsletter stand out from the crowd. Although it can be confusing to choose one method over another, this guide should give you a good head start.
Remember that just because you’re using a template builder, your newsletter or any email doesn’t have to be complex. Above all, your design should cater to the taste and preferences of your target audience.
So, keep it simple, make it effective, and choose an editor that lets you do that.
