Modular email design can help you build responsive messages much faster due to reusable modules. You can always put these modules in various combinations and edit them to meet the goals of your email marketing campaign.
But still, it may seem challenging and time-consuming to start using a modular email system. To make your life easier, we will guide you through the essential steps to take when trying to adopt this system for your further campaigns.
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What is a modular email design system?
A modular email template consists of several content modules responsible for numerous email elements like headers, signatures, product cards, banners, and footers.
These modules are editable, so you can equip them with your brand design styles and save them to your content library. Then, you can connect your modules in various combinations and insert relevant information aligned with the goals of your marketing campaign.
In one of our previous articles, we identified the key benefits of using modular email design. You can find this information in the article below:
First steps to take when adopting modular email design
We have compiled a detailed list of the essential steps you need to take when migrating to modular email design.
1. Define what email elements you use most frequently
Before you start designing your content modules, it’s crucial to decide what email elements you use most often. When components like headers and footers are used for most of the messages, elements like product cards and AMP modules are not so common. But still, it’s better to design these modules and update them with relevant details, as necessary.
Take a look at a list of modules you can use with our platform:
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headers;
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blog post;
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set of blog posts;
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product card;
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set of product cards;
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banners;
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info on orders;
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info modules;
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signature;
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footers;
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AMP modules.
2. Specify email elements you want to use as modules
Once you have come up with a list of email elements you use most frequently, it’s time to clarify which ones you are going to use as modules. You can design components like header, signature, and footer just once as they usually remain intact across all of your campaigns. Thus, it will be a good idea to use these email elements as modules to save time.
The situation is a bit different when it comes to modules like blog posts, banners, and product cards. You will have to update information every time you use these modules. But still, adding new special offers, product photos, and descriptions to your reusable content blocks is much easier and faster than designing new ones from scratch.
(Source: Stripo template)
3. Create a separate template you can use to drag and drop modules
By using this template, you will be able to arrange your modules in different combinations for various purposes and shuffle content modules according to a certain marketing campaign and email types.
Here are some tips to make the most of this template:
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create a mockup for each of your modules. You will be able to edit these mockups and fill them with relevant content;
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develop a unified style for all modules. It’s a great way to maintain brand consistency across all of your messages, from newsletters to transactional emails;
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you can also hire a designer. A specialist will create brand-consistent content modules tailored to your specific needs and save them to your personal library so that you can use them as often as you need. If you work with outsourced designers, you can always revoke access to your content from them.
4. Design modules for different email types
Remember that it’s important to create modules for various email types you use as they require different content blocks. For instance, you will need an “Info on Orders” module for a transactional email, while a review request should be equipped with an AMP form.
Take a look at a few email types and what modules they can include:
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welcome emails: header, banner, info module, footer;
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transactional emails: header, banner, product cards, info on orders, info module, signature, footer;
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interactive emails: header, banners, set of product cards, info module, footer, AMP modules (carousels, accordions, forms, etc.);
(Source: Stripo template)
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review requests: header, banner, AMP form, signature, footer;
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abandoned cart emails: header, product card, set of product cards, info module, footer, AMP module;
(Source: Stripo template)
- promotional emails: header, banner, info module, product cards, footer.
5. Test if everything is working as planned
Don’t forget to test every email before you hit the “Send” button. With Stripo, you can preview your email to make sure your content looks exactly as intended on desktop and mobile. Just click on the “Preview” button above your template in the editor.
Now that you have checked everything in the “Preview” mode, it’s time to actually send a test message to yourself. Click on the “Test” button above your template, enter your email address, and hit the “Send” button.
That’s it! You can check your inbox now to ensure your email looks the way you intended.
Besides sending emails to yourself, it’s vital to make sure they display properly across all email clients. To make it happen, you can always use our testing tool. Click on the “Test” button once again and go for the “Run the test” option. Thus, you will see a bunch of screenshots of your message in various email clients.
To make the most of this testing tool, please watch our informative video guide below:
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6. Reuse your modules across upcoming email campaigns
Now you have a personal library of content modules aligned with your brand design styles, making your newsletters memorable and unique. You can reuse these modules across your upcoming campaigns to speed up the production process. All you have to do is update modules with relevant data.
You can save our smart modules and reuse them as well. For instance, you don’t have to fill in your product descriptions and add images manually — just provide a link to your website and the editor will analyze it and add all the necessary data to your product cards.
After that, you can save these smart modules to your library and update links as needed. It’s also possible to edit product descriptions Stripo got from your website if you want to add or delete any information.
Wrapping up
With a general understanding of how to start on modular email design, you can speed up the production process, rearrange your templates much faster, and stay brand consistent without any coding knowledge. Stripo is always happy to help you use the entire functionality of our easy-to-use modular system.
Modular email design will enable you to build emails much faster. Produce your first template straight away!