How To Create Email Templates in Gmail: The Easy Guide

What are email templates in Gmail?

An email template is a pre-made email with certain structure and elements. It can have text, images, signatures and other customizable parts. When you create a template, you set up the bones of your future email. You can then use it as a starting point for your brand communication, whether you are reaching out to a single contact or need to send mass email. 

In Gmail, templates can be accessed through a menu right in your message box. You can load, edit and save them at any time if you have templates enabled in settings. Gmail features HTML support, which means you can even upload templates made in specialized services that give you more flexibility and customization options.

Why use templates?

Templates make your work easier by taking out the need to create everything from scratch. Gmail is best suited for running a smaller business where you approach each client more personally. Alternatively, you can use this Google service to communicate with your colleagues or partners.

In these situations, each dialogue may be unique, but it still follows a certain scenario. Save time and effort by narrowing down such scenarios and making templates for the ones that you expect to encounter a lot.

Here are some examples of situations that templates can help you with:

• Cold outreach to potential clients
• Sales activities
• Gathering feedback
• Running a newsletter
• Scheduling a call
• Setting up and managing tasks for your team  

Standardize company emails

When working for a brand, you need to create and maintain a certain tone of voice. What’s more, if you run a team, it’s not an easy task to keep everybody aligned with the chosen communication style. Using Gmail templates for each possible situation will help you and your employees follow your company’s guidelines and provide consistent results.

Optimize employee time

Coming up with the right things to say takes precious minutes and even hours. And typing the new email each time may be a long and tedious process. Gmail templates make work easier by cutting the need to create each email from scratch — just take the existing structure, tweak a few things and send it. This saves lots of effort, reduces employee stress and improves response time, which is crucial for customer experience.

How to create an email template in Gmail?

1. Enabling settings

Templates need to be switched on to appear in your Gmail. Let’s go together through this process.

• Open your Gmail inbox.
• Open the Settings menu (the gear icon in the top right).
• Click “See all settings”.

• Switch to the “Advanced” tab.
• Find “Templates” and click on “Enable”.
• Save changes at the bottom of the screen and leave the Gmail settings.

2. Creating a template

Now to the fun part. You can create a template by just typing it right in your Gmail box.

• Click on “Compose” to open a message box and start writing.
• Once you’re done, save the template by clicking on the three dots menu and choosing “Templates”, then “Save draft as a template”, then “Save as new template”.

• If you need to update or replace an existing template, you can overwrite it by going to the same three-dot menu, choosing “Templates”, then “Save draft as template”, and then clicking on an existing template name.
• To delete an old template, open the three dots menu, then choose “Templates”, go to “Delete template” and click on the entry you no longer need.

3. Using templates in an email

To use a Gmail template, create a new email and use the same three dots menu at the bottom of the message box. Go to “Templates” and pick the one that you want to use for your current email. Your template will be inserted at the current cursor position — be sure to move it to the exact place that you want your pre-made text to appear in. If your email subject line is empty, it will be loaded from the template as well.

That’s it!

Now that you’ve loaded the Gmail template, it’s time to add relevant links and double-check everything. Be sure to personalize your message if you are reaching out to a certain person. And don’t forget to go through the contact list and fill the CC and BCC fields if you plan to send the email to multiple recipients.

Tips for creating effective email templates in Gmail

To really do their job, emails must follow certain rules. Your Gmail templates are no exception. But using these tips in general will greatly improve the potential of your Gmail messages.

1. Define your goals

Whenever you write an email, think of what you want to achieve with it. Getting in touch with a new prospect, setting up a meeting, or sharing company news — these are just a few things that you can do with your Gmail. Each one of these goals requires a different approach.

It’s best to have a separate template for each step of any given communication scenario. Tailor your Gmail messages for any possible situation. Define several recurring scenarios and create basic outlines for each of them. This way you can pick the right one at any moment and reply within minutes.

2. Write like a professional

Keep a professional tone and provide useful information that will get the recipient on the same track as you. Your subject line is where you establish the purpose of the email, and the main body of the text should be focused on more specific details. Write in an approachable and warm manner to leave a good impression — even if the email is strictly business-wise. Remember to use greetings and send-offs to make the message more personal and friendly. Gmail templates are a great way to ensure that you don’t forget about these elements and maintain the necessary tone of voice.

3. Be concise

Get right to the point. You use templates to save time, both yours and your potential clients’. One of the main rules of marketing is not to overstay your welcome. Create short and comprehensible Gmail templates that make it easy to understand what you want and how exactly you can help. In advertising emails, focus on the main features of your product. If you write about company news, pick the relevant ones for the particular audience.

Email template size is another thing to be mindful of. The dimensions are important for the look and feel of your email, and an overblown size can create a negative impact. While designing your template, keep the balance between text and visuals, and edit your images to fit the screen. This way your Gmail message will be easy to read through while staying informative and engaging.

4. Personalize your emails

Speak directly to recipients. Personalized emails are more effective than generalized ones. And it’s not just about greeting by the name. 

Do your research and find out as much as you can about your contacts to reflect it in your messages. Apply different personalization tactiques based on the job title, field of work, interests and previous interactions with your business. For example, you can send different proposals to upper and middle managers of the same company. Or remind a potential buyer of an abandoned cart if they didn’t finish the purchase. This will help you cater your emails to specific situations and establish a more meaningful personal contact with your audience.

You can unlock the full personalization potential by using a proper marketing software. Usually, it allows you to use merge tags — marked down fields that automatically fill up with respective entries from your contacts database. Still, you can incorporate the same idea into your Gmail templates.

Let’s say you want to address your contacts by name or mention their job position. To easily do so, use placeholders like [Name] and [Title] wherever you need these variables to go, as in examples that you’ll find further in this article. Then replace them by hand with actual names/titles before sending the email.

5. Use visual elements

Graphic design makes things more memorable. 

Add your company logo or a header for a professional, established look. And remember that photos or renders could tell more about your product than wordy descriptions. Templates are of great help here, as you won’t have to struggle with formatting and correct sizing of images each time you create an email.

Google mail engine may not be the most convenient tool to create well-structured and colorful emails. It’s better to use a specialized email builder for better designs and additional tools such as analytics integrations or interactive elements. Still, Gmail allows you to insert and edit images within the email body.

6. Add a call to action

Let the reader know what you need from them. A call to action directs a prospect by suggesting their next move. CTA can serve as an entryway into the sales funnel or simply as a point in an ever-branching tree of business communication and team management.

Make your CTA visible and comprehensive, so taking said action comes as the next logical step as soon as your contact finishes reading your email. Here are some tips:

• Use clear and practical language, e.g. “Download PDF”, “Get in touch”, “Order now”.
• CTA should be connected to the overall theme of your email — don’t start selling stuff out of nowhere, build up to it first.
• Create a sense of urgency to promote a quick reaction — set a discount with an expiration date or explain why a certain day would work best for a meeting.

7. Use a signature

Using a signature is an easy way to tell something about yourself without wasting precious real estate within your email body. You can manage signatures within your Google mail settings and insert them the same way as templates. Be sure to include the information about your company and highlight your expertise in the area that you address within your email.

8. Test and improve your templates

Send out your emails and learn from the feedback. Do your templates bring in more clients and ensure increased sales? Are there any improvements in response times? Did your inner communication become easier? Use your findings to modify your Gmail templates and create new, better versions.

Professional marketing software like Selzy features additional tools that may give you tips on composing templates, running A/B tests, gathering statistics and analyzing the results. Alternatively, you can boost your Gmail experience with app integrations that will analyze your emails in a similar way, such as email tracking software.

Examples of email templates in Gmail

Here are examples of templates that you can use in your Gmail. These are just a few situations that you can prepare for in advance. Square brackets in these templates signify variables that you can use to personalize the email or add your own information.

For sales

Company news

Request for feedback

Conclusion

Gmail templates are an easy tool to greatly improve your email efficiency. Using a template can help you get through writer’s block and escape the loop of writing the same words over and over again. Save time and effort for more creative tasks!

To unleash the full power of templates, think of the most common scenarios and create basic structures for them. Don’t forget to personalize the messages and tweak the formula until you get a unique and professional-looking result. After all, Gmail templates are here to make life easier, not make the whole work for us.