A rich text email template is a text-first email, like one you type in Gmail or Outlook, that can also hold images, video, attachment links, and merge tags. Use it for intro emails, meeting reminders, follow-ups, and automated emails that should read as personally written.
How to Create a Rich Text Email Template
In the left navigation, click Email.
Click Templates.
Click Create.
In Template Title (For Your Internal Reference), enter a name for the template.
In Subject, enter the subject line your recipients will see.
Under Builder Type, click Rich Text Builder.
VipeCloud creates the template and opens it in the rich text editor. The title and subject are both required, and you can change either one later.
How to Add Attachments, Images, and Video
The insert buttons sit at the left end of the rich text editor's toolbar, and each one adds content where your cursor is.
Click in the email where you want the content to go.
In the toolbar, click Insert Attachment As Trackable Link, Insert Image, or Insert Video.
Select a file from your content library, or click Add Content to upload one from your computer.
For an image, set the width and an optional link, then insert it at the cursor.
Click Save Email Template.
Other toolbar buttons:
Insert Audio - adds an audio file from your content library.
Insert Merge Tag - adds a merge tag. See the next section.
Link - turns the selected text into a tracked link.
Insert Emoji - adds an emoji.
Insert Scheduler - adds a link to one of your schedulers. [UNVERIFIED]
AI Draft (review before sending) - drafts email text with AI for you to review.
An attachment goes in as a link to the file, which VipeCloud hosts, rather than as a file attached to the email. For images, about 600 pixels fills the width of the email, and about 250 pixels suits a smaller inline image.
For more on video, see How to Send Video Emails.
How to Personalize a Template With Merge Tags
A merge tag is replaced with real information when the email sends, such as the recipient's first name.
Click in the email where you want the merge tag.
In the toolbar, click Insert Merge Tag.
Open Standard Fields for the contact's information, or Your Information for your own.
Click the merge tag to insert it.
Click Save Email Template.
Merge tag groups:
Standard Fields - replaced with the recipient's values, such as first name, company name, and job title.
Your Information - replaced with the sender's user information. On a template shared with your team, each teammate's own details fill in.
The %SIGNATURE% merge tag, under Your Information, inserts your current signature from your user settings, so updating your signature updates every template that uses the tag. If a contact has no value for a field, the merge tag shows blank. Merge tags also work in the subject and preview text.
How to Paste Text From Word or Another Document
We recommend writing templates directly in the rich text editor. Text copied from Word and similar programs carries hidden formatting that can break your email's layout, so paste it as plain text and reformat it in VipeCloud.
Copy only the text from your document, without images.
Right-click in the rich text editor and select Paste as plain text. Some browsers call it Paste and Match Style.
Add paragraph breaks, bold, and other formatting with the toolbar.
Replace names and other personal details with merge tags.
Click Save Email Template.
Images can't be pasted into the editor. If you paste text that includes images, VipeCloud removes the images and shows a message, and pasting an image on its own is blocked. Use Insert Image instead.
How to Save and Test a Rich Text Template
To add text that shows after the subject in inboxes, click Add Preview Text and enter it.
Click Save Email Template.
To see the email in your own inbox, click Send Test To Yourself.
To check the email for spam triggers, click Spam Check.
Inboxes display between 35 and 140 characters of preview text.
How to Send a Rich Text Template
In the left navigation, click Email.
Click Templates.
Hover over the template and click Send.
Select Send to Contact or Send to Contact List(s).
Choose your recipients and finish sending the email.
Changes you make to the email while sending apply to that send only. To keep them in the template, click Save as template on the Send an Email page. You can also pick the template under Start from a template (optional) when you compose an email. See Sending Mass Emails.
Key Notes
Rich text templates are shared the same way as HTML templates, one at a time or in a folder, and teammates find them under Shared With Me. See How to Organize and Manage Templates In Folders.
Only a template's owner can edit it. Teammates can send a shared template, or copy it into their own templates to edit it.
Rich text templates work in mass emails, one-to-one emails, and series.
For a designed email with a logo and buttons, use the HTML builder. See How to Build a Text-Based HTML Email Template and Getting Started With The HTML Builder.
Video Walkthrough
Use the timestamps below to jump to specific sections:
1:03 - What rich text templates are and when to use them
3:11 - How to create a rich text email template
4:26 - Adding attachments, images, and video
5:45 - Personalizing with merge tags
7:30 - Pasting text from Word or another document
10:13 - Saving the template
10:17 - Sending to a contact list
11:30 - Sending to a single contact
12:51 - Sharing rich text templates with your team
13:49 - Why you shouldn't paste images into a template