Create a template

Build a working email template end-to-end. By the end you’ll have a Confirmation Email template ready to wire into an automation.

Before you start

• Admin permissions on Email Studio
• A clear answer to “what category does this fit?” — see the Template categories reference
• Any logo, brand colors, and link URLs you’ll embed

Steps

1. Open Settings → Email Studio.
2. Click New template.
3. Fill in the basics:
   Name — Case Received Confirmation (descriptive; this is what shows up in pickers)
   Description — Sent automatically on inbound email to acknowledge receipt.
   Category — Automation
   Status — Draft (we’ll flip to Active after we’re done)
   Default language — English (or whatever your team’s primary is)
4. Click Open editor. The visual editor opens with an empty template.
5. Drop in structure blocks. For a confirmation email, a sensible base layout:
   Logo Left — your logo at the top
   Section — header content (heading + intro paragraph)
   Section — main content (body text)
   Divider
   Section — footer text
6. Fill structure blocks with content blocks:
   In the header section: a Heading block with We've received your message and a Text block with Hi {{contact.name}}, thanks for reaching out. We've assigned you case {{conversation.human_id}}.
   In the main section: a Text block with the expected response time and any reassuring context.
   In the footer section: a Text block with Reply to this email if you have additional details — your reply will be added to the same case.
7. Style as needed. Block-level styling overrides template-level defaults; use the template-level defaults to set brand colors and font once.
8. Preview. Use the mobile preview to check it doesn’t break on small screens, and the dark mode preview to check it doesn’t render unreadably in dark inboxes.
9. Save. Save with status Draft while you iterate; flip to Active when ready.

Verify it worked

The template should appear in the template list under Email Studio. Click into it and confirm:

• The structure renders as you designed it
• The merge tags ({{contact.name}}, etc.) appear as {{...}} in the editor (they only resolve at send time)
• Mobile preview is readable

To verify it actually sends correctly, wire it into a test automation — see Send a template from an automation. Trigger the automation manually with a test conversation; the merge tags should resolve to real values in the delivered email.

Iterate before going live

Templates are easy to iterate. Common second-pass improvements:

• Tighten the copy. First drafts are always too long. Cut filler.
• Add a button. A confirmation email with a “View case status” button (linking to a self-service page if you have one) is more useful than text-only.
• Translate. Add the languages your team handles. Customers receiving emails in their own language is one of the easiest CSAT improvements available — see Add a translation to a template.
• Test in real inboxes. Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, and mobile clients all render slightly differently. Send yourself test copies before flipping to Active.

Common missteps

• Using a Heading block for body text. Heading blocks have specific large sizes; they don’t read like paragraphs. Use Text blocks with rich-text formatting instead.
• Missing alt text on images. Some clients block images by default; alt text is what your customer reads when the image doesn’t load.
• Hardcoded customer details. A template with Hi John, instead of Hi {{contact.name}}, only works for one specific customer. Always merge.

Troubleshooting

• Symptom: Template doesn’t appear in the automation action’s template picker. Fix: Check the category. The picker only shows templates whose category matches the calling surface. Re-set to Automation.
• Symptom: Status is Draft and pickers don’t show it. Fix: Flip status to Active. Draft templates are intentionally hidden from pickers so half-built templates don’t accidentally get sent.

See also

• Block types reference
• Use merge tags for personalization
• Add a translation to a template