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Design an Email with the New Builder

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Mailchimp’s new email builder gives you the tools to quickly design beautiful emails. Start with one of our stylish templates, then customize it with your own images, text, and branding. Mix and match specialized content blocks, and make your changes directly in the layout.

In this article, you’ll learn how to design an email with the new builder.

Before you start

Here are some things to know before you begin this process.

Choose the new builder

If you haven’t set a default builder in your account details, you can choose the new email builder when you design your content.

To choose the new builder, follow these steps.

  1. In the Content section of the email builder, click Design Email.
  2. In the pop-up modal, click Select in the new builder option.
    button-emaileditortoggle-neweditor-clickselect After you select the new builder twice, we’ll set it as the account default.

Nice! You’ll design your regular email in our new builder. Next you’ll choose a template to use as a foundation for your email’s design.

Choose a template

When you design your regular email, you’ll start with a minimal template. You can begin to add your content, or you can preview and switch to another template with a different pre-designed layout. Keep in mind that when you switch templates, changes will not be saved.

To preview and switch templates, follow these steps.

  1. In the new email builder, click Templates.
  2. Hover over the template you want to work with and click Preview to see the layout.
  3. When you’re ready, click Apply.
    button-newemaileditor-switchtemplatepreview-clickApply
  4. In the Change Template pop-up modal, click Apply to confirm your selection. Remember that any changes you’ve made may not transfer to the new template.

Nice! Next add and design your email’s content.

Add content

You’ll use content blocks to add different types of content to your email. The available content blocks are Heading, Paragraph, Divider, Button, Image, Social, and Video. Every Mailchimp template also includes a required Footer content block at the bottom of the layout.

To add a new content block, hover over your layout and click the plus (+) icon where you’d like it to go.

This opens the content block menu, where you can choose which type of block to add.

After you add a block, some editing options will appear. You can also click an existing block to access its editing options.

Heading

Use a Heading content block to add header text to your email. After you add or click a Heading block, you can enter your text directly in the layout. You’ll also see a toolbar and sidebar with specific formatting options.

To use a Heading content block, follow these steps.

  1. Click a Heading content block or add one to your layout.

  2. Add or edit your text, and use the editing toolbar to format as needed.

    In the toolbar, select the heading size, font attributes, and alignment. You can also choose to create a bulleted or numbered list, insert a link, or add merge tags

  3. In the Heading sidebar, use the Font drop-down menu to change the font type. Then, choose Type Size and Colors for the block text, links, and background.
  4. If you want to apply these styles to all Heading blocks in your content, click Apply style to all headings.

Paragraph

Use a Paragraph content block to add paragraph text to your email. After you add or click a Paragraph block, you can enter your text directly in the layout. You’ll also see a toolbar and sidebar with specific formatting options.

To use a Paragraph content block, follow these steps.

  1. Click a Paragraph content block or add one to your layout.

  2. Add or edit your text, and use the editing toolbar to format as needed.
    example-newemailbuilder-paragraphblock

    In the toolbar, select the font attributes, and alignment. You can also choose to create a bulleted or numbered list, insert a link, or add merge tags

  3. In the Paragraph sidebar, use the Font drop-down menu to change the font type. Then, choose Type Size and Colors for the block text, links, and background.
  4. If you want to apply these styles to all Paragraph blocks in your content, click Apply style to all paragraphs.

Divider

Use a Divider content block to add a divider line to your email. Dividers help you create distinct sections in your layout.

To use a Divider content block, follow these steps.

  1. Click a Divider content block or add one to your layout.
  2. In the Divider sidebar, choose your divider’s Thickness, Style, Padding, and Colors.
  3. If you want to apply these styles to all Divider blocks in your content, click Apply style to all dividers.

Button

Use a Button content block to add a button to your email. Buttons are a great way to include a prominent call to action, like a “Buy now” link to a product in your store.

To use a Button content block, follow these steps.

  1. Click a Button content block or add one to your layout.
  2. Add or edit your button text, and use the editing toolbar to format it as needed.
  3. In the Button sidebar, insert a link and choose your button’s Link to URL, Alignment, Shape, Style, and Colors.
  4. If you want to apply these styles to all Button blocks in your content, click Apply style to all buttons.

Image

Use an Image content block to add an image from the content studio to your email.

To use an image content block, follow these steps.

  1. Click an Image content block or add one to your layout.
  2. Choose an image from the content studio. If you’re working with a placeholder block, you’ll first need to click Replace in the Image sidebar.
  3. Click and drag the borders or corners of the image to crop or resize it as needed.
  4. In the Image sidebar, set the image Alignment as left, center, or right.
  5. If you want the image to link to a page or profile on the web, add a URL to the Link field.
  6. In the Alt Text field, add descriptive text to make your email more accessible.
  7. Click the Color selector to choose a background color for the block.

Social

Use a Social content block to add social icons that link to your social media accounts, so recipients can quickly find and follow you on different platforms.

To use a Social content block, follow these steps.

  1. Click a Social content block or add one to your layout.
  2. In the Social sidebar, toggle on the slider for each social network you want to include.
  3. Edit the URLs to make sure each icon links to your specific profile.
  4. Edit your icons’ Alignment and Color.

Video

Use a Video content block to add a video link to your email. We’ll automatically pull a thumbnail, or preview image, when you add the link to the video's URL.

To use a video content block, follow these steps.

  1. Click a Video content block or add one to your layout.
  2. In the Video sidebar, add a URL to the Source field.
  3. In the Alt Text field, add descriptive text to make your email more accessible.

Footer

Every Mailchimp template comes with a Footer content block at the bottom of the layout. The Footer block uses merge tags to pull in the required address and unsubscribe link, along with other content your recipients might find useful. The Footer cannot be moved or removed, but you can make some changes to its content and appearance.

In the Footer sidebar, toggle on the slider for each recommended component you want to include.

These are the available components.

  • Copyright
    Inserts the current year and the name of your company or organization that's listed in the required email footer content for your audience.
  • List Description
    Inserts your audience's permission reminder.
  • Update Preferences
    Inserts a link to the contact's Update Profile form.
  • Referral badge
    Inserts the Referral badge to your campaign.

You can also change your footer’s font, alignment, and colors.

Move or remove content

You can move content blocks anywhere in your template, or remove them as needed.

Move content

To move a content block, follow these steps.

  1. Click the block you want to move.
  2. Click and hold the drag icon.
  3. Move the content block to a new place in your design.

Remove content

To delete a content block, click it, then click the trash can icon.

Undo and redo changes

While you’re working on your email’s design and content, you can undo and redo any changes you’ve made.

To undo a change, click the undo arrow icon.

To redo a change that you’ve undone, click the redo arrow icon.

Edit background color

To edit the background color of your entire email, follow these steps.

  1. Click the Background Color icon.
  2. Choose a default template color or click the plus icon to add a new one.

Preview your email

When you’ve finished designing your email, preview it to make sure everything looks like you expect.

To preview your email, follow these steps.

  1. Click Preview.
  2. Click the desktop or mobile icons to see how your finished email design looks on those devices.
  3. When you're done, click Exit Preview.

Save your email design

When you’re ready to save your email design, click Continue.

Nice! You’ll be taken back to the campaign checklist, where you can continue to set up your email as needed.

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