How to use custom email templates (legacy email editor)

The below instructions apply to using links in the "legacy" email editor, that is now deprecated. Please use the new email editor.

In addition to using SpotMe's verified email templates that are available by default in your workspace and can be edited, you can create or add your own custom email templates using HTML and CSS.

Creating your own emails from scratch can however be delicate due to the lack of standardization between systems: there are many different email design tools available, and each of them can produce emails that may display differently depending on the email system or browser your recipients are using.

This article will provide some guidance on how you can successfully add to and use custom email templates in your workspace.

Tip: Before using custom emails, if your event is internal to your organization (or you know specifically what email client or software your recipients will be using), check that the email client or software will properly support/display HTML.

Designing or obtaining a custom template

Below are some recommendations on how you can create/design your own custom email templates:

1. Use a professional email design tool (for example Mailchimp, BEE Free, Pardot, or Marketo).
2. Purchase an email template from verified provider (for example Envato or Theme Forest).
3. Have your own web or marketing team develop the custom email templates for you.
4. Test the custom email template out on several email systems. You can do this using a service such as Litmus, or you can manually test on the most frequently used email systems (Gmail, Outlook 365, Outlook 2016 and Apple Mail) and on different platforms.

If you have any issues with a custom template, we recommend that you contact the service or person that has designed/built the template.

Importing a custom template into your workspace

Once your email template is designed, you can export and copy the code, and then import it into an email template in your workspace:

1. Export/access the HTML code of the email template (via the design tool or the custom email template itself), and copy it to your clipboard.
   
   
2. In Backstage, in the workspace main menu, go to Design > Emails.
   
   
3. Above the list of default email templates, click on New template.
   
   
4. In the new empty template, click on the More icon, then Source code:
   
   
   
5. Paste the copied custom email template’s HTML code into the window, and click on OK to close the source code window.
   
   
6. Click on Save, to save the changes to the template.

Note: Remember to convert any variables or to merge any tags from the source design tool, so they align with SpotMe’s conventions, and then test the template on multiple email clients.

Below is a table containing the most frequent conversations that are needed: