Create templates for email marketing campaigns with MailChimp – .com

In this tutorial we are going to see how to create an email template for email marketing campaigns with MailChimp.

Templates in MailChimp

MailChimp is an email marketing tool with which we can create and segment email lists. To start working with it, we have to open an account, create the subscriber list, forms and do some configuration.

We see all this in detail in the , so if you want to work with this tool or are just starting with it, we recommend you take a look at it, it is a very practical course.

Well, once the above is done we could start sending campaigns. However, it is very useful to have a template in advance since in this way we will not have to design or modify their appearance every time.

In MailChimp there are pre-built templates but design your own It is a very good idea because it allows us to personalize it and make its style resemble that of our website, which will bring coherence to the brand. Let us begin!.

Template Options in MailChimp

To create a template in MailChimp, the first thing we will have to do is enter the official website of and identify ourselves, we will go directly to the main control panel. Once here we will click on “Templates” located in the top menu and then on “Create Template” where we will see the available options.

Here we will find a multitude of templates, from the most visual to the simplest. Depending on the type of business or even the branding of the brand, one may work better than the other and be more or less appropriate in each case.

For example, in an eCommerce of products it is usually interesting to send campaigns with photographs where they are shown. If it’s a personal brand with close communication, a simple email might be better, it depends. All this is also discussed in the .

In any case, if we have doubts, A/B tests can help us check which one works best and decide based on this data. Well, on this page we have three tabs, “Layouts”, “Themes” and “Code your own”, we are going to see a brief summary of each of them:

• Layout: It is the tab that opens by default. Here we will find several predefined structures that we can use to create our own template. The first ones we see are the featured templates, somewhat more elaborate, then the basic ones and finally one with simple text.
• Themes: They are pre-made templates with your photos, your styles and so on. They can be modified but let’s say they offer a finished design. There are several categories available, specific for e-commerce, events, newsletter or alerts for subscribers among others.
• Code your own: From this section we can create templates by pasting the code of one that we have designed or by uploading it in HTML or in a zip file.

In this case we will use a template from the “Layouts” tab, more specifically we will choose the “SImple Text” option that is at the very end as the base. This option is the most minimalist and simple but it will also allow us to introduce other elements if we need it. Let’s see how to create and customize our template using it as a base.

Create a simple template in MailChimp

Once we have the chosen template open, we can begin to modify it to create one in keeping with the style of our site. On the left we will see its design, which in this case is very simple, and on the right the different options that we can use.

In the “Content” tab we will find the blocks available to add to the template and in “Design” the customization options for styles, typography, backgrounds, etc., to change its appearance.

It goes without saying that this is a simple example so that you can see a little how it would be. Well let’s go there, first of all we are going to modify the colors of the texts to assign them the ones we use on the web in question.

To speed up this process, it is convenient that we have the color codes of the site and also the typography collected somewhere, so everything will be much faster. In this case we use a white background, so it will not be necessary to modify it since it is the one that comes by default. The same goes for the font that is Arial. The colors, however, we are going to replace them.

For the web that we use as an example, the color code of the texts is “#333” and that of the links is “#428bca”. In addition, the buttons are orange, specifically this tone “#eb953a”.

So let’s start by changing the color of the texts. To do this we will have to open the “Design” tab that we find in the right area, and begin to inspect each of the available options, “Page”, “Header”, “Body” and “Footer”.

First of all, we open “Page” and, once here, we replace the default color of each header with the color code “#333” which is that of our website.

We do the same with all the headers, H1, H2, etc., save and go to the next “Header” option. We continue in the same way with each of the options.

When we’re done we can move on to change the style of the links. The links are found in “Design/Body”, specifically in the “Body Link” section. So we will only have to establish the new color and save the changes.

Now we are going to modify the footer to simplify it. To do this we will have to place ourselves on top and click. Then the available options will open, this happens with any of the blocks that we have on the left, so if you want to modify any of them, you already know that the procedure is similar.

In this case, we will only keep the address and the links to update the subscription preferences and unsubscribe from the list. This last link is essential in our campaigns, we do not want to retain users who are not interested in the campaigns we send.

Finally we are going to include a call to action or CTA. To do this we go to the “Content” tab and drag and drop the “Button” block where we want, in this case at the end of the text block.

The button options will open to the right, from here we can change its text, its URL as well as its style, color, font or size.

We could include any other block that we want and design the template as we want, this time we wanted to make a simple one but you can see that there are different blocks and predefined templates available so we can do something more elaborate.

Finally we are going to change the default text. To do so, we place ourselves on it and click, the editor will open on the right from where we can modify it.

And that’s all. Before finishing we recommend you access the preview from “Preview and Text/Enter a preview mode” and make sure that both on desktop and mobile and in the dummy inbox, the campaign is displayed correctly.

If so, we only have to save and that’s it. We already have our template ready to use in the following campaigns. We will only have to modify the texts of the same and change the URL and text of the button according to each case.

Summary and conclusion

MailChimp is an email marketing tool with an attractive interface with which we can create and segment mailing lists.

It has predesigned templates and also offers us the possibility of creating new templates. In this case we have seen how to customize the appearance of one of them so that it is consistent with the design of our site.

And that’s all! We hope it has been useful to you. Do not forget to visit if you are interested in taking advantage of this tool. If you subscribe to you will have access to this course and others on email marketing, online business or marketing in general. There are more than guided step by step 🙂