{"id":31107,"date":"2016-02-17T08:01:57","date_gmt":"2016-02-17T08:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revolutionparts.com\/step-by-step-guide-to-creating-your-own-email-template-for-parts-promotions\/"},"modified":"2020-10-14T17:23:06","modified_gmt":"2020-10-14T17:23:06","slug":"create-email-template-with-mailchimp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revolutionparts.com\/blog\/create-email-template-with-mailchimp\/","title":{"rendered":"Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Your Own Email Template for Parts Promotions"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re trying to win back shoppers who abandoned their carts or looking to update your customers on the latest sales and events, a clean, professional-looking email is the best way to send out the word. It looks so much better than a plain-old email, and will boost customer impressions of your dealership.\u00a0Here is a complete walkthrough step-by-step on how to design your own email template in Mail Chimp.<\/p>\n

Making email templates through an email provider like Mail Chimp<\/a> is easy and inexpensive. If you have less than 2000 subscribers, it\u2019s free!<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019re signed up, here\u2019s our step-by-step to create your very first template:<\/p>\n

1. Click \u201ctemplates\u201d and then navigate to \u201ccreate template.\u201d<\/h2>\n

Once you select \u201cbasic,\u201d you can see the layout options to choose from.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Choose a template.<\/h2>\n

This should be based on how you want the layout to look and if you want multiple columns within the email. For this example, we\u2019ll keep it simple and choose the single column layout.<\/p>\n

\"pic_1.png\"<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Add a header with your logo.<\/h2>\n

First, we\u2019ll change the background color. To do so, navigate over to the \u201cdesign\u201d tab, and then click \u201cheader.\u201d From there, select a color by clicking on the color square beneath the background title.<\/p>\n

We strongly recommend setting the color background to match your logo\u2019s background. If your logo is on a white background, then set the header background to white. Our example has a black background.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re done hit the save & close button (make this a best practice so you don\u2019t lose your work)!<\/p>\n

\"pic_2.png\"<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve chosen the right background color, click \u201cbrowse\u201d on the header box to upload your logo. If necessary, resize (we resized ours to be 200px wide) by clicking \u201cedit photo\u201d and then \u201cresize.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Add text or an image for your promotion.<\/h2>\n

You don\u2019t need to have crazy designer skills to create great images. A free program like canva.com<\/a> makes it incredibly easy for us regular folks to make professional-looking images to highlight promotions and sales. The first step is signing up for a free account with Canva.<\/p>\n

a. To get started with a design, click on the Canva logo in the top left corner to see all of your design options. Then start a design, go to the upper right corner, and click \u201ccustom dimensions.\u201d Type 600 for width and 400 for height (this is a good size for an email banner).\u00a0 You don\u2019t want your email images to be any wider than 600px or else the email formatting might look weird in people\u2019s inboxes.<\/p>\n

\"pic_3.png\"<\/p>\n

b.\u00a0Once you\u2019re on the canvas, you\u2019ll notice all your menu options on the left side. Add a manufacturer compliant photo by clicking \u201cupload,\u201d then click on the photo to bring it on to your canvas. You can zoom in on the photo and make it bigger by dragging the corners. It\u2019s best if you pick a photo that has some room on the side of the vehicle or main image so that you can add text that is easy to read.<\/p>\n

c. Click \u201ctext\u201d from the side menu and add a heading with your offer (free shipping, percent discount, etc). Change the font and color as you see fit. You can change the spacing between lines by clicking the drop down arrow next to the trash can icon, then click \u201ctext spacing\u201d to adjust the line height.<\/p>\n

\"pic_4.png\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0d.\u00a0You can add an element to highlight free shipping, how long the promo lasts, or any extra information. Adding text like \u201c24 Hours Only\u201d helps create a sense of urgency and is more likely to make the buyer take action. To create a badge like the one in our example, click on \u201celements\u201d followed by \u201cshapes,\u201d then find one that you like. You can then resize and recolor to fit your email banner, then add text and put it over the badge.<\/p>\n

e. Additionally, you can add a bar at the bottom to give shoppers a promo code. To do this, click on \u201celements,\u201d then \u201cshapes,\u201d then add a rectangle. Stretch the rectangle out to be long and thin. Add text with your promo code and you\u2019re good to go!<\/p>\n

f. When you\u2019re happy with your design, go to the top right corner to find the \u201cdownload\u201d button. Choose a jpg format and download.<\/p>\n

g. Back in Mail Chimp, delete the template content block that has sample content. Click on the content tab and drag an image block onto the content block below the header (the section will say \u201cdrop content blocks here\u201d).\u00a0 Once you\u2019ve uploaded your image, click on it to add a link to your website. This way, people can start shopping as soon as they click on the image in their email.<\/p>\n

5. Keep adding information.<\/h2>\n

Below the main image banner, you can add featured parts, specific deals, or a section of content highlighting your fast shipping and great customer service. No matter what you\u2019re promoting, Mail Chimp has a lot of layout options to choose from.<\/p>\n

In our example, we chose to add a grid of featured products (for you, we recommend adding titles over the images so people know what the products are). Ours was just for show so you can see the different things you can do with Mail Chimp.<\/p>\n

To add a grid like this, just click the \u201ccontent\u201d tab, drag the image group over, and add the images. Make sure to link the images to your product pages. You can also drag a text box over above the image grid to give the section a title like Featured Parts.<\/p>\n

\"pic_5.png\"<\/p>\n

6. All of the details of your coupon and promotion should be readily available at the bottom of the email.<\/h2>\n

Include:<\/p>\n