Time is a depleting resource, especially for email marketers.
Yet, 62% of email marketing teams spend two weeks or more building an email. And why just time? It’s also about volume. And at any given time, nearly a quarter of teams juggle 5 emails in production simultaneously.
Considering everything that goes into an email, if the methods to build an email are not optimal, strategy takes the back seat, and innovation gets sidelined. You’re so focused on getting emails out the door that we often can’t step back to ask: “Is this working?”
While streamlining email production workflows is a struggle we all face, the good news is that smarter solutions exist.
Modular email templates are one transformative solution. Going modular significantly reduces the time spent on email production, increases productivity, and makes it easier to iterate on your email designs.
Modular email templates represent a transformative approach that can dramatically shave off production time, boost productivity, and make design iterations painless.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through the best practices for integrating modular email templates into your workflow. So that your future self will thank you for making the switch.
What Are Modular Email Templates?
First off, you can certainly learn to create modular designs yourself. Yet, partnering with trusted custom email template services gives you a significant head start.
These services handle coding and deliver ready-to-use modules tailored to your marketing needs. You can use them endlessly without needing HTML expertise. If you manage a high volume of campaigns, ask them to develop your modular email templates.
Coming to modular email design now.
A modular email design is the process of crafting emails from a variety of pre-made elements rather than starting with a blank canvas for every campaign.
Each module is a custom, reusable element or section of email content. It is created or edited in advance so you can snap them together to form complete emails. Perhaps a header, a product showcase, a testimonial section, or a call-to-action footer. You can prepare a whole bank of modules necessary for various types of email campaigns.
These pieces are coded once but deployed countless times. Your team can mix and match them to craft unique emails without reinventing the wheel. Such an email creation workflow is more manageable. Plus, the email templates you create are on-brand and visually consistent.
Better yet, establish a modular email design system using reusable content modules. These are the most commonly used content sections that your team can pull into brand-new campaigns over and over again.
In a nutshell, adopting modular email templates and reusable patterns into your email design workflow improves the quality and consistency of your emails while speeding up your daily output. By saving time, you also create space for strategizing better email programs.
Actionable Tips For Your Modular Email Design Strategy
Before you start building modular email templates with efficiency and consistency, we recommend you have an email design system ready. The system is your playbook that categorizes and standardizes your modules right from day one. Because of this, your team gets time back to execute quicker and reduce errors.
Then, follow these best practices when start building modular email templates using the reusable blocks:
- Prepare Use Cases By Auditing Existing Email Templates
When designing your modular email templates, you first need to build use cases that apply to your brand. To begin with, ask yourself these questions:
- What email types do we mostly send? Transactional, promotional, seasonal, re-engagement, survey, announcement, or any other category.
- Which content sections do we see repeatedly across the email templates?
- Can I divide my emails into different sections? What those sections could be?
You will soon realize you have some recurring basic elements, such as a header and footer, payment details, social links, and contact information. Those are your prime candidates for creating reusable modules.
Categorize the modules for templates and identify the repetitive ones. Then, zero in on the elements you want to focus on for modularizing. Later, you can add these modules to create cohesive template designs and customize them to suit your needs if the need arises.
- Have A Pattern Library Ready
Now that you know the use cases for your modular email templates, building a robust pattern library is much more manageable. The understanding of how your modular email templates will be used enables you to create a solid pattern library.
The pattern library functions like an orderly toolbox that arranges every module into specific areas.All independent modules that can form complete email layouts are stored within this system.
Important>> See that each module is self-sustained. Meaning that it should be able to stand alone and be easily integrated into various email templates with no design disruption.
Also, don’t stop at just one version of each module. Create multiple variations. Having several options gives design flexibility and variety to fit the need. Always ensure to review and update your patterns as per your brand’s visual identity and brand guidelines.
- Iterate On Your Designs
A modular system achieves its best form when designers refine it throughout development. Establish the practice of continuously enhancing your modular designs as a regular commitment. What are the specific methods through which you can optimize your modular email templates using the iterative process?
Track your email metrics. The data they provide allows you to determine which elements succeeded and which failed to deliver. The data insights enable you to create small improvements that enhance your foundational design.
The great news is that modular design makes A/B testing pretty straightforward.
You can swap out modules to see their impact and find which components engage your audience best. Add tracking tags to your links to monitor engagement metrics like clicks and conversions.
- Test Your Modular Email Templates
Assessment of email templates through online platforms checks for compatibility problems to ensure delivery and accessibility. The tools present previews of emails across various devices and email clients. This allows subscribers to achieve the best inbox results.
Wrapping Up
Incorporating modular email templates into your workflow is a smart move for marketers wanting to boost productivity and make design iterations easier. Yes, it takes time and effort to get started, but the payoff is worth it. When it comes to email production, the process becomes five times faster and scalable.
