Templates

What Templates Are

Templates are reusable email designs stored inside Virtual Mailer. A template can contain layout, images, styled content, buttons, and personalization placeholders so you do not need to rebuild the same design every time you create a new campaign.

Templates are stored in the application database, not as loose files on disk. This keeps them together with the rest of your application data and makes them part of your normal backup and restore process.

What You Can Do with Templates

• Start a new campaign from a prebuilt design.
• Save your own finished campaign layout as a reusable template.
• Reuse consistent branding, sections, and formatting.
• Reuse personalization tokens so future campaigns are already prepared for merge data.
• Maintain a library of designs for newsletters, promotions, announcements, events, and reminders.

Important: Importing a Template Does Not Change the Base Template

When you import a template into the Campaign Editor, Virtual Mailer copies the template content into that campaign. After the import, you are editing the campaign copy only.

• Changes made in the Campaign Editor after import do not change the original template.
• Changing text, images, links, or tokens in the campaign affects that campaign only.
• If you want to update the reusable template itself, save the edited campaign as a new template or overwrite the existing one using your intended template-management process.
• Deleting a template later does not remove or alter campaigns that were already created from it.

System Templates Are Immutable

System templates provided with Virtual Mailer are intended to be read-only starting points. They are not meant to be edited directly as reusable library items.

• System templates should be treated as immutable base designs.
• Importing a system template into a campaign does not edit the system template itself.
• If you want a modified version of a system template, import it into a campaign, make your changes there, and then save the result as a new custom template.
• The practical way to "edit" a system template is to create your own copy from it.

Browse Templates in the Templates Module

The Templates module shows the template library in a visual tile view with preview images. This is where you review saved designs and delete templates you no longer need.

• Each tile represents a saved template in the database.
• You can select one or more templates and delete them from the library.
• Deleting a template removes it from the template library only. It does not affect campaigns that already imported it.
• Preview images are for quick identification and may not show the entire full-length email.

Import a Template Into a Campaign

1. Open an existing campaign or create a new one from Campaigns.
2. Open the Campaign Editor.
3. Click Import Template.
4. Select the template you want to use.
5. Confirm the overwrite warning if you want to replace the current campaign body.

After import, the selected template becomes the current campaign content. You can then customize the campaign for that specific send.

Create a Template from a Campaign

1. Open Campaign Editor from Campaigns.
2. Build or edit the email content you want to reuse later.
3. Add any images, tables, links, and personalization placeholders you want preserved.
4. Click Save as Template in the Include ribbon group.
5. Enter a descriptive template name and confirm.

Saving a template captures the current campaign body and the images used by that content, then stores them in the template library for future import.

Creating Templates with Contact Field Placeholders

You can build templates that already contain contact merge fields such as first name, last name, company name, email address, or other supported placeholders used by your mailing list data.

Those placeholders are saved as part of the template content. When you import that customer-created template later, the placeholders are already present and ready to be merged during mailing.

• If you save a template containing contact tokens, those tokens stay in the template.
• When the template is imported into a campaign, the campaign receives those same tokens automatically.
• You do not need to reinsert those placeholders each time you reuse the template.
• As long as your mailing list contains matching fields, Virtual Mailer can merge those values at send time.

What Is Saved with a Template

• Email body content and layout
• Images used by the template
• Formatting and structure
• Links and call-to-action buttons
• Contact field placeholders and other supported tokens already present in the content
• A preview image used in the Templates list

Campaign-level settings such as recipients, scheduling, and mailing-list selections are managed separately from the template itself.

How Templates and Campaigns Relate

• A template can be imported into many campaigns.
• Each campaign receives its own editable copy of the template content.
• Editing Campaign A does not affect Campaign B.
• Editing a campaign does not change the original template in the library.
• If you want a reusable revision, save the updated campaign as a template.

When to Save a New Template Instead of Reusing One

Save a new template when the changes are meant to become part of your standard reusable design, not just a one-time campaign variation.

• Any time you start from a system template and want your own editable reusable version
• New brand layout or section structure
• New standard hero image or header format
• A different campaign type such as webinar, newsletter, or promotion
• A version that includes a standard token set you want to reuse repeatedly

Recommended Practices

• Use descriptive names such as Monthly Newsletter - Product or Service Announcement - Premium Support.
• Keep your reusable templates generic enough to be reused, then customize details after importing into a campaign.
• Use placeholders consistently so personalization behaves predictably.
• Test campaigns after import to confirm links, token placement, and layout.
• Maintain a clean library by deleting outdated or duplicate templates.
• Save major layout revisions as a new template instead of manually rebuilding them for each campaign.

Common Questions

If I edit a campaign after importing a template, does the template change?

No. The campaign receives its own copy. Your campaign edits do not modify the base template.

Can I edit a system template directly?

No. System templates should be treated as immutable. To create a modified version, import the system template into a campaign, make your edits, and save it as a new custom template.

If I delete a template, will existing campaigns break?

No. Existing campaigns keep their own stored content.

Do placeholders stay in the template when I save it?

Yes. If you save a template that already contains contact field tokens, those tokens remain in the template and will be present again when you import it later.

Can I use templates for different campaign types?

Yes. Templates work well for newsletters, promotions, announcements, event invitations, reminders, and recurring branded mailings.