Templates make it easy to create consistent, professional emails without starting from scratch each time. By using templates, you can save time, maintain brand consistency, and quickly launch campaigns across different audiences.
Templates can be reused across one-time, automated, and drip campaigns, making them a core building block of Smart Marketing.
Why Templates Matter
Using templates helps you:
Maintain consistent branding across all emails
Reduce setup time for new campaigns
Reuse proven layouts and messaging
Ensure emails look good on both desktop and mobile
Personalize content using merge tags
Instead of redesigning emails for every campaign, you can build once and reuse often.
How to Create or Edit a Template
Go to Templates
Navigate to Smart Marketing > Templates.
You’ll see:
Templates created by SmartMoving
Any custom templates you’ve already built
Create a New Template
Click Create New Template
Enter a template name and optional tags
The editor opens with a blank canvas
Edit or Duplicate an Existing Template
Click an existing template
Choose Duplicate
Rename it and make your edits
Duplicating templates is the fastest way to build new designs.
Customize Your Design
In the editor, you can:
Drag and drop content blocks (text, image, button, divider, video, HTML)
Update text, colors, spacing, and layout
Add images from free stock photos or upload your own
Insert merge tags (like Contact Name, Move Date, or Company Details)
Be sure to save your changes before exiting.
Importing an HTML Email
If you already have an email built in HTML, you can import it into the template builder instead of rebuilding it block by block. The builder converts your HTML into standard content blocks, so you can edit every part the same way you would a template built in the editor.
Note: Importing replaces whatever is on the open template.
Before You Start
Make sure your HTML meets these requirements.
It includes an
<html>tag, a<body>tag, and a<meta charset="UTF-8">tag.All images and other external resources are hosted at publicly reachable URLs.
The builder will strip any JavaScript fragments from the HTML as emails don’t support it.
Your HTML cannot exceed 1 MB in size
How to Import an HTML Email
Open the template you want to use in the editor.
In the editor toolbar, click Import HTML Template. The Import HTML Template window opens.
Paste your HTML into the HTML Template field.
Click Import Template. The button stays disabled until you add content, and it shows Importing with a spinner while the conversion runs.
When the import finishes, the window closes and your converted template opens in the editor in edit mode. Each block is ready to select and edit.
💡 SmartTip: Make sure you review your imported template, as some formatting might be required to match your design perfectly.
What to Expect After Importing
The conversion is best effort. Layout, text, images, links, and button styling carry over wherever they can be matched to builder blocks.
Only static HTML and CSS are converted. Any JavaScript is removed.
Complex custom CSS may not translate exactly, so review your template after importing.
If an image cannot be reached, it may come in as an empty image block. Check your images after importing and replace any that are missing.
💡 SmartTip: Host your images on a publicly reachable URL before importing. Images behind a login or on a private server cannot be reached and will not import.
Troubleshooting
"Your HTML is missing a required tag: ..." Your HTML must include
<html>,<body>, and<meta charset="UTF-8">. Add the tag named in the message, then import again."This template is too large. Reduce it to ensure all Email Providers support it properly." Your HTML is over the 1 MB limit. Reduce its size by removing some sections and import again
"Import Failed. We weren't able to import your template. Review your HTML and import again." The conversion did not complete. Review your HTML and try again. A reference ID appears with the message. Share it with SmartMoving Support if you need help.
Checking Your Template for Errors
Smart Marketing checks your email template content for problems that would break the email before it reaches your customers.
The check runs when you save your template content in a campaign.
Results appear as banners in the campaign builder, on both the Craft Content step and the Launch Campaign step.
Errors stop you from scheduling or activating the campaign. Warnings do not.
On a draft campaign, your save always completes, even when problems are found.
On a campaign that is scheduled or active, errors stop the save, so broken content cannot reach a campaign that is already sending.
What is the difference between an error and a warning?
Smart Marketing sorts every problem it finds into one of two kinds:
Errors are problems that will break the email for your recipients. Errors appear in a red banner and have to be fixed before you can schedule or activate the campaign.
Warnings are worth a second look, but they do not stop you. Warnings appear in a yellow banner, and you can schedule or activate the campaign with warnings showing.
Each banner shows a count, such as 2 errors in this template, followed by a list of the specific problems found.
What does Smart Marketing check in my template?
Smart Marketing checks your merge tags and your button links. The table below lists every check, whether it is an error or a warning, and what the message looks like in the campaign builder.
Check | Kind | What it means | Example message |
Merge tag formatting | Error | A merge tag is not written correctly, such as unbalanced or extra braces, the wrong characters around the tag, or extra spaces inside the braces. | Malformed merge tag: {{first_name} (unclosed braces) |
Unrecognized merge tag | Error | The tag is written correctly, but the field it refers to is not one Smart Marketing supports. | Unknown merge tag: {{customer_nickname}} |
Missing button link | Error | A button has no link on it at all. | Missing button link: "Get a Quote" button has no URL |
Invalid button link | Error | A button links to a web address that is not valid. | Invalid button link: "htp://smartmoving.com" is not a valid URL |
Unreachable button link | Warning | A button links to a web address that could not be reached when the check ran. | Unreachable button link: "https://example.com/old" could not be reached |
Anchor only link | Warning | A button links to an anchor, such as #, instead of a real destination. | Anchor only link: "Learn More" button links to "#" only |
How do I fix template errors before scheduling a campaign?
To clear template errors in the Smart Marketing campaign builder:
Open your campaign and go to the Craft Content step.
Edit or select your template as usual, then save your content. The save completes and any errors or warnings appear in a banner on the step.
Read the banner to see exactly which merge tags or buttons need attention. Each line names the specific tag or link.
Click Edit Template, fix everything listed as an error, and save again. The check runs on every save.
Go to the Launch Campaign step. When no errors remain, the banner clears and Schedule or Activate becomes available.
Schedule or activate your campaign. The campaign moves out of draft and begins sending on the schedule you set.
While any template on the campaign still has an error, Schedule and Activate stay disabled. Hovering over the disabled button shows Resolve template errors to activate this campaign.
How do template checks work on a drip campaign?
On a drip campaign, Smart Marketing checks every email in the sequence and reports the results in two places:
A single summary banner at the top of the drip sequence card, reading 2 errors in this template that block campaign launch. See below for details.
A detailed banner under each individual drip step, listing that step's own errors and warnings.
While any banner is showing on a drip campaign, the summary banner takes the place of the information box that normally sits at the top of the drip sequence card. Fixing every error restores the information box.
An error on any single email in the sequence blocks the whole drip campaign from being scheduled or activated.
Why can't I save my template on a scheduled or active campaign?
When you edit a template inside a campaign that is scheduled or active, Smart Marketing checks your content on save and refuses the save if it finds any errors. A campaign in either of those states is already lined up to send, so template content with an error never reaches it.
Open the campaign and go to the Craft Content step. While you work, a banner across the top reads Changes you make will apply to future sends. Contacts who already received emails are not affected.
Click Edit Template, make your changes, then click Save. Smart Marketing runs the template check. If the save takes longer than 5 seconds, the message Checking your template… Larger templates can take a little longer. appears while it runs.
If no errors are found, the save completes and the editor closes. Any warnings appear as a yellow banner on the Craft Content and Launch Campaign steps.
If errors are found, the save is refused and none of your changes are written. The editor stays open, a red banner appears above the design area listing every error it found, and the Save button turns grey. Hovering over Save shows Resolve the errors in this template to save.
Read the banner. Every error is listed in full, so there is nothing to click or expand.
Fix one of the errors in the design. Changing anything in the template makes Save clickable again, while the banner stays on screen as your checklist.
Click Save again. The check re-runs on every save attempt, and the save completes once no errors remain.
To take the block off entirely, turn the campaign off from your campaign list, make your template changes, then turn the campaign back on. A campaign that is paused or turned off is not scheduled or active, so its template saves are not blocked.
⚠️ Warning: A refused save keeps none of your edits. If you leave the template editor before a save completes, the changes you made are lost, and the campaign keeps the template content it had before. Fix the errors and save successfully before you close the editor.
Why was my template change undone when I picked a template for a scheduled or active campaign?
When you pick a different template for a campaign that is scheduled or active, Smart Marketing checks that template before it attaches. A template with errors is refused, and the campaign goes back to the template it had before.
On the Craft Content step, click Change Template to open your template list, then click Use Template on the one you want.
If the template you picked has errors, a message appears with the title Errors in selected template and the text Pause campaign to solve or manage in the template library.
The campaign keeps its previous template. Nothing about the campaign changes.
The message does not list which errors were found.
To see the errors and fix them, take one of these two paths:
Turn the campaign off from your campaign list, then pick the template again with Change Template and Use Template. With the campaign turned off, the template attaches and the errors appear as a red banner on the Craft Content step, where you can fix them.
Open the template from your template library and correct the merge tags or button links there, then return to the campaign and pick the template again.
Note: The template library does not display error or warning banners. If you fix the template from the library, check your work by attaching it to a campaign that is not scheduled or active and reading the banner on the Craft Content step.
Previewing and Editing for Mobile
Every template can be previewed in both desktop and mobile views.
To preview:
In the editor, click Actions > Preview
Toggle between desktop and mobile views
For best mobile results:
Use short paragraphs
Keep buttons large and easy to tap
Avoid overly wide images
Check spacing between sections
Most recipients read emails on mobile devices, so always review mobile formatting before sending.
Sending a Test Email
Before using a template in a campaign, it’s a good idea to send a test email.
To send a test:
In the editor, click Actions > Send Test Email
Enter your email address
Review formatting, links, and personalization
This helps confirm the email looks correct in a real inbox.
Best Practices for Effective Templates
Include a clear call-to-action (CTA) in every email
Keep designs simple and easy to scan
Use merge tags to personalize when appropriate
Avoid large blocks of text
Test templates before using them in live campaigns
Well-designed templates improve engagement and make your campaigns easier to manage.