Design your email
Design an email in Mailsoftly. Start from a template or a blank canvas, build it in the visual drag and drop editor with your images and brand colors, or keep it as a simple plain text email, then preview and save.
The editor is where a campaign turns into something people want to open. This guide shows how to design one, whether you want a rich branded layout or a clean, personal note.
You will choose a starting point, build the email in the visual editor with blocks, images, and your brand colours, see when a simple plain text email is the better call, then preview and save. Each step shows the screen you should see.
Start from a template or a blank canvas
When you create a campaign, the Create Campaign window asks you to choose how you want to create your campaign. Pick Design for a rich email with templates, images, and styling.
The Pick a Template section then opens:
- Choose one of your saved templates, or a Recently Sent or Popular layout, to start from a proven design you can adjust.
- Hover a card for Preview, then Use this template to load it.
- Or pick Start Blank to build from an empty canvas with full control.
You can also use the Generate with AI panel to draft a starting design from a short brief. Whichever you choose, the next screen opens the editor.
If none of the templates fit, Start Blank is never the wrong choice. The editor makes it quick to add what you need.
Start a new campaign in Mailsoftly
Design with the visual editor
The visual editor is a drag and drop canvas. Down the left are the Content, Blocks, and Body tabs. From Content, drag blocks onto the email, such as Columns, Button, Divider, Heading, Paragraph, Image, Menu, and HTML, and drop them where you want them. Click any block to edit its text, swap an image, or adjust spacing.
Along the top bar you have the tools that keep an email on brand and quick to build:
- Theme colors applies your brand palette across the whole email at once. Its panel lets you pick a colour theme, set a custom colour, or reset the original colours.
- Insert Template and Generate with AI help you drop in a ready layout or draft one from a brief.
- Save and Continue saves your work and returns you to the campaign, and an Auto Save badge keeps a running copy as you go.
A layout you have built once does not have to be rebuilt: Save and reuse a content block turns a section into something you can drop into any future email.
Set your logo and brand colours in your Brand Kit first. The editor pulls them in, so every email you design starts on brand instead of needing manual tweaks each time.
Prefer a simple email? Use plain text
Not every message needs a designed layout. A short, personal note often reads better as plain text, so choose Plain Text in the Create Campaign window instead of Design.
The simple composer gives you From, Recipient List, Reply To, Subject, and Preview Text fields, plus a writing area with a light formatting toolbar for bold, links, lists, and images. The Reply To menu includes your teammates and any reply-to addresses you have verified on the Senders screen. You can insert Personalize variables, add a Signature, and even use Write with AI for a first draft. The result looks like an email a person actually wrote rather than a designed broadcast.
Plain text is a strong choice for welcomes, replies, and one to one style updates.
Preview and save
When the design feels right, use Save and Continue to return to the campaign screen and check the branded Preview panel. This is exactly what your subscribers will see, so read it end to end, confirm every image loads, and click each link before you move on to sending.
With the design saved, your campaign is ready to test and send.
Ready to try it in your own account?
Free to start with your Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 account. No credit card required.
