Email editor: blocks, variables and preview

EffortNo-codeChannelEmailPlanFree

Create on-brand emails without writing a line of code. You stack ready-made blocks, greet each contact by name and see exactly how the message will arrive before you send it.

#What you'll get

• A template ready for any campaign, built with blocks: heading, text, image, button, signature and social networks.
• Text with the contact's name, city or any other field, with a fallback value for anyone missing that data.
• The right subject and preview text in the inbox.
• An on-screen preview and a test in your own inbox, without using sends.
• A footer with the contact's preferences link on every send, without you building anything.

#How it works

1. 1Create the template and fill in the name, subject and preview
2. 2Build the email with blocks and contact variables
3. 3Check the preview, send a test and save

The editor has two areas. On the left, the email as it will look. On the right, the settings panel:

• click a block to edit its content, colors and spacing;
• click an empty area, outside the blocks, to adjust the email's background and the box that holds the blocks.

Every new template starts as a Draft. It only becomes available to pick in a campaign after you click Save. The campaign reads the template at the moment of each send: a saved change applies to the next sends of every campaign that uses that template.

#Step by step

#1. Create the template

1. In the menu, open Emails Templates and click New Template.
2. BIP creates an [untitled] template with the Draft badge and opens the editor. It already comes with a gray background, a white box in the center and a welcome heading with the contact's first name. Edit or delete whatever you want.
3. To start from an email you already have, click Duplicate (copy icon) on its row. BIP creates a copy with "(Clone)" in the name and opens the editor.

dash.bip.marketing/…/emails-templates

Screenshot coming soon

#2. Fill in the template settings

1. At the top of the editor, click Settings. The Email Template Settings panel opens.
2. In Name, use a name your team will recognize, like Welcome · Padaria Aurora. Next to it, pick an emoji for the icon.
3. In Description, note what the template is for (optional).
4. In Group, choose which group the template appears under in the list. Groups are created in Settings → Groups → Email Templates Groups.
5. In Language, choose the language the email is written in: English, Portuguese or Spanish. New templates start in English.
6. In Subject, write the subject line. Type @ to include contact data.
7. In Preview, write the line that shows in the inbox right after the subject. It also accepts @.
8. Click Save.

dash.bip.marketing/…/emails-templates/…

Screenshot coming soon

#3. Adjust the background and the container

Click an empty area of the email. The right-hand panel shows Container, in two parts:

• Main: the outer background, which fills the whole screen. Choose the Background and the Padding.
• Container: the inner box that holds the blocks. With Enabled on, you set Background, Max Width (px), Rounded (px) and Margin / Padding (px). With it off, the blocks take the full width, right on top of the main background.

A safe start: a light Main background and a white Container with Max Width (px) at 600 and Rounded (px) at 10.

dash.bip.marketing/…/emails-templates/…

Screenshot coming soon

#4. Build the email with blocks

1. To add a block, use the purple + button in the bottom-right corner (the block goes at the end of the email) or select a block and click the + on its bottom edge (the new one goes right after it). In an empty template, click Add Block.
2. Choose the block: Add Heading, Add Text, Add Divider, Add Image, Add Grid, Add Button, Add Signature or Add Social Networks.
3. Click the block to open its panel on the right. Every field of every block is in the Reference.
4. Use the bar that appears over the selected block: Move Up, Move Down, Duplicate, Copy to Clipboard, Paste from Clipboard and the trash can, which asks for confirmation.

To reuse a block in another template, click Copy to Clipboard, open the other template in the same browser tab and choose Paste Block in the block menu.

dash.bip.marketing/…/emails-templates/…

Screenshot coming soon

#5. Personalize with variables

1. In a heading, a text block, a grid text column, the Subject or the Preview, type @.
2. The Variables list opens. Keep typing to filter: the name of a custom field (@Date finds Date of birth) or the English term for standard data (@first finds the first name, @city finds the city). Pick one with the arrow keys and Enter, or with a click.
3. The variable goes in as a gray tag. An orange dot means it doesn't have a fallback value yet.
4. Click the tag and fill in Fallback Value: the text shown to anyone who doesn't have that data. For the first name, use something like friend. Without a fallback, that spot stays blank.

To format text, select a passage. A bar appears with paragraph size, heading level, alignment, bold, italic, underline and link. The link opens Add Link, with URL and, if nothing is selected, Text.

dash.bip.marketing/…/emails-templates/…

Screenshot coming soon

#6. Check the preview

1. At the top, click Preview → Preview Email.
2. On the Preview tab, the Inbox part shows the email in the inbox: sender name, subject and preview text. The Body part shows the open email, footer with preferences included.
3. The HTML tab shows the code BIP generates.

Variables show up filled in with a sample contact, so you can see the full text.

dash.bip.marketing/…/emails-templates/…

Screenshot coming soon

#7. Send a test and save

1. Click Preview → Send Preview Email.
2. Type your email address and click Send Preview. The message Preview email sent successfully! confirms it.
3. Open the email on your computer and on your phone. Click the links and buttons.
4. Go back to the editor and click Save. The Draft badge goes away and the template is ready to pick in Campaigns.

The preview uses what's on screen, even before you save. It goes out from a BIP address, with variables filled in by a sample contact, and doesn't use sends.

dash.bip.marketing/…/emails-templates/…

Screenshot coming soon

#Reference

#Emails Templates list

#Editor top bar

#Email Template Settings

#Container

#Selected block bar

#Heading and text

Add Heading and Add Text open the same panel, Text Block. The heading already comes with the text formatted as a title.

#Divider

Divider Block panel.

#Image

Image Block panel. A new block comes with a sample photo: replace it with yours.

#2-column grid

Grid Block panel. A new block comes with text in Column 1 and an image in Column 2.

#Button

Button Block panel.

#Signature

Signature Block panel. Phone, email and website become clickable links.

#Social networks

Social Networks Block panel. A new block comes with Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn and YouTube, with no links.

#Most used variables

The Variables list shows a description in English and the variable's code. Type part of either one to filter.

Custom fields and KPIs appear with the names you gave them in Settings.

#Automatic footer

Every email BIP sends to a contact ends with the line We respect you, adjust your contact preferences any time. The contact preferences part leads to the preferences portal, where they choose what they want to receive. You don't need to build this footer or an unsubscribe block.

#Ready to copy

#Structure of a welcome email

#Email copy

Wherever you see [@first name], type @first, pick lead.firstName() and use friend as the Fallback Value.

[@first name], your breakfast is waiting ☕

Fresh-baked bread from 7 a.m. and a treat on your first visit.

So glad you're here, [@first name]!

Padaria Aurora bakes bread, cakes and savory snacks fresh every day, starting early. From now on, you'll be the first to hear about special batches and what's new on the menu.

On your first visit, show this email at the register and get a pour-over coffee on us.

See the menu

#Signature

#Fallbacks that work

#How to measure

• Before sending: use Preview Email to check the subject, preview text and variables, and Send Preview Email to see the email in your inbox. None of this uses sends.
• After sending: in Campaigns, open the campaign and click Campaign Stats. Track Opens, Open Rate, Click Rate and Click-to-Open Rate.
• Links: BIP counts clicks on every link in the email on its own, with no setup. In Top clicked links, you see which button or image drew the most people.
• Subject test: duplicate the template, change only the Subject and use each version in a campaign for similar segments. Compare the Open Rate of the two.

#Frequently asked questions

#Do I need to create an unsubscribe link?

No. Every email BIP sends to a contact has the contact preferences link in the footer, which opens the preferences portal. There, they choose what they want to receive or leave the list.

#What shows up when the contact doesn't have the variable's data?

The Fallback Value you set. Without a fallback, that spot stays blank. That's why you should fill in the fallback for every variable: the orange dot on the tag shows which ones are still missing it.

#If I change the template, do the campaigns that already use it change too?

Yes, starting with the next send. The campaign reads the template at send time. To keep an older version, use Duplicate before editing.

#Does the preview use sends from my plan?

No. Preview Email and Send Preview Email don't use sends. Variables show up filled in with a sample contact.

#See also

• Campaigns: one-time, recurring and API-triggered
• Your own sending domain
• Segments: the 10 criteria to filter contacts
• Compliance: preferences portal, opt-out and topics
• Getting started with BIP