Email marketing is one of the best ways to connect with potential customers. The only trouble is, it can take a while to create an attractive email newsletter.
One of the easiest ways to create a newsletter subscribers will love is to use an email newsletter template. This gives you a professional design while saving time.
In this tutorial, I'll show you how to find and customize an email newsletter template so you can quickly get started with email marketing.
Why Use Mailchimp For Your Email Newsletter?
There are several reasons why Mailchimp is a good choice for creating your email newsletter. For small business owners, the starting price of free is very attractive.
Plus, since you can email up to 2,000 contacts and send 12,000 emails monthly, you can communicate with your audience for quite a while before you need to upgrade.
Mailchimp is also easy to use, with clearly outlined newsletter creation steps built into the app. And there are automations to help you save time when sending email newsletters, as well as plenty of help online if you need it.
To find out more about the benefits of Mailchimp, read:
What to Look For in an Email Newsletter Template
One of the best ways to create your email newsletter is to use a template. These save you time because you don't have to worry about the design—that's already done for you.
If you're looking for the perfect email newsletter template, you should get:
- A responsive email template so that it resizes automatically to look great, whether people are reading your newsletter on a smartphone or a huge computer monitor
- Colors and style that match your business branding or brand personality. Alternatively, pick a template where it's easy to change colors
- A template in HTML, which is the standard for web content, or one that's specifically designed to work in your email marketing software
While you can use the free Mailchimp templates included in your account to create your email newsletter, sometimes you need even more design options to get the perfect fit for your business.
A good place to find eye-catching Mailchimp newsletter templates is Envato Elements. There are hundreds of templates available, and there's a great offer you can get today: download as many Mailchimp newsletter templates (and other design assets) as you want for one low price.
Once you join Envato Elements, get as many Mailchimp free HTML email templates as you want. There are templates for every type of business in a wide range of color schemes. Then all you've got to do is customize them so they're right for your business.
What You'll Need to Customize Your Email Newsletter Template
To make the customization process really quick it makes sense to get some key items ready in advance. Here's a list:
- Have your company logo handy, as you'll want your subscribers to recognize that the newsletter is coming from your business.
- Get any images you want to include. Images grab subscribers' attention, so it's a good idea to use a relevant image within the content.
- Plan your newsletter content in advance. Whether you're sharing a piece of blog content or telling subscribers about a sale, have the copy ready so you can just drop it into your template. That means you should also think about headlines and subheadings for each piece of content.
- Consider what you want subscribers to do after they read your newsletter. This will be the call to action (CTA). Typically, the CTA might direct subscribers to another piece of content, a resource you're offering, or perhaps an offer on a product or service. Get the links for these ready so you can put them in the right place in your newsletter.
Once you've gathered your information, you're almost ready to create a newsletter. There's just one more thing to do before you get started…
How to Find Mailchimp Newsletter Templates to Download on Envato Elements
Before you can customize your newsletter, you'll need to find the perfect Mailchimp responsive email templates (unlimited download with Envato Elements, don't forget).
Visit Envato Elements, and select
Web Templates to search only this type of template. Type Mailchimp into
the search box. Refine your search further by clicking Email Templates in the filtering menu to the
left of the page. This will give you access to all the email templates that work with Mailchimp.
To pick the right one, click on each template that interests you to get more information. You can also check out Mailchimp examples via the Live Preview tool on some template pages. This will give you a good example of exactly how the template will look once you customize it.
For this tutorial, I'm going to use the Idea - Responsive Email and Newsletter Template. This modular Mailchimp newsletter template is easy to edit and customize.
However, you can find even more Mailchimp newsletter templates to download in the following article:
How to Create an Email Newsletter With a Pro Template
Now you've found the perfect Mailchimp email newsletter template, here's how you customize it to create your own email newsletter.
1. Download & Unzip the Email Newsletter Template
If you already have an Envato Elements account, add your template to a project. Then click Add & Download to download the zip file to your computer. Click on the file to unzip it.
2. Explore the Template Folder
Next, check out what's inside the folder. Many email newsletter template providers give you access to a free online builder where you can customize the template before uploading it to Mailchimp.
This template has four folders. Go to the Builder folder and click on Builder to open the file within your browser. This will open the designer's proprietary builder.
Click on the email newsletter provider you want to customize for: Mailchimp.
The template will load in the template creator's proprietary builder.
3. Explore the Builder Interface
Each builder is slightly different, so explore the builder for your template. This builder includes menu items so you can easily change colors and elements.
There are also more customization options that appear when you hover your mouse over any page element. These allow you to change colors and background images.
Both menus allow you to remove page elements. The hover menu lets you remove them one by one, or you can use the sidebar menu to remove all the elements from the page and start from scratch.
4. Remove Unwanted Page Elements
The next step is to remove any elements you don't need before adding your content. If you accidentally remove something you'd prefer to keep, visit the Elements menu and click on an element to add it back in.
I've used the X that appears when hovering the mouse to remove most of the template content, as I'm creating a simple newsletter. You can also use drag and drop to rearrange elements on the page.
Here's how the newsletter looks before I start customizing:
It also includes a bottom bar for a CTA.
5. Replace Placeholder Images
The next step is to replace the placeholder images with images that represent your business. With this template, you'll need to link to where the image is stored online, rather than upload it directly.
Click on the image icon in the hover menu to bring up the Edit Background Image interface.
.png)
.png)
.png)
Grab a link to your image online (for example from your cloud storage solution or online image library) and paste the link into the box where indicated.
Click the Save button to save it to your email template. Repeat the process for each image you want to change. Here's how the template looks after changing both images.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
6. Replace Placeholder Text
Next, it's time to customize the text. Click on a piece of text to bring up the Edit link.
.png)
.png)
.png)
Click on that link to get an edit window where you can change and format the text.
Use the color picker to change text color if needed.
.png)
.png)
.png)
When you're done, click Save.
Repeat the process till you've edited all the text. If there's text you don't need, just delete it in the editing window. Here's how the newsletter looks after editing the text.
7. Edit the Rest of the Template
Follow a similar process to edit the call to action under the text, and the call to action at the end of the newsletter. Here's how it looks once that's done.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
8. Preview and Proofread
Once you're done, make sure the template looks the way you want, and proofread to avoid unprofessional errors. Consider getting help with proofreading if this isn't one of your strengths.
Next, export your template using the Download button in the builder. It's now ready to import into Mailchimp. Note that it's easier to edit this template in the proprietary builder than in Mailchimp, so make sure you've tweaked everything you need to before exporting.
9. Import Into Mailchimp and Create Your Newsletter
Next, login to Mailchimp and press Create Campaign > Email > Design Email in your dashboard. Use the default options.
Select a template. It doesn't matter which one, as you won't be using it. The template will open in the Mailchimp design window. Hover over each element and click on the bin icon to remove it. You can safely ignore any warning messages.
To the right of your screen, there are blocks you can add. Click on the Code block and drag it across to the design interface. This will allow you to work with your own HTML.
Find your downloaded template and open it in your browser. Select View page source in the browser menu to show the HTML.
.png)
.png)
.png)
Copy this and paste it into the HTML window in Mailchimp.
Save and exit, then continue. Click the Send a test email link in the campaign builder to check that your newsletter looks good in your subscribers' inboxes.
Get More Mailchimp Newsletter Templates on ThemeForest
While you can get lots of responsive Mailchimp newsletter templates on Envato Elements, there's another option if you just want a template for a one-off event. There are also hundreds of affordable Mailchimp templates on ThemeForest.
3 Tips on How to Make an Email Newsletter
Want to get even more from your email newsletter design? Whether you're getting a pro template from Envato Elements or are using free responsive Mailchimp templates, here are some tips for even more successful email newsletters.
- Pay attention to template width. Most experts suggest that a template that's 600px wide will look great on most devices. When choosing your own template, check both desktop and mobile previews to ensure it looks the way you expect.
- Remember to use alt text for images. The research shows that many people have images disabled in their email program by default. Unless you add alt text to tell them what the image shows, they'll never know what they're missing. More importantly, alt text helps those using assistive devices (like those with visual impairments) find out what the images show so they can still benefit from your content.
- Keep your email newsletter text short. The most successful email newsletters, especially for business, are under 350 words. Edit your content to make sure that every word serves a purpose. If it doesn't, cut it out.
Learn More About Mailchimp
Find out more about using Mailchimp for email newsletters with the articles below:
How to Create an Email Newsletter with MailChimp for Free
Quick Course: How to Create an Email Newsletter in MailChimp
Get Started on Your Own Mailchimp Project
Now it's your turn. Use your Envato Elements account to grab a free responsive email template for Mailchimp for each project. Or get a one off design from ThemeForest for a single project. These unique email newsletter designs are sure to help your newsletter stand out from those who have downloaded free Mailchimp templates.
