Writing Campaign Emails

Every campaign in Booked55 needs an email — the subject line and body that your contacts receive. The fastest way to create beautiful, impactful campaign emails is to load a drag-and-drop template — but you can also write emails using the visual rich text editor, write custom HTML for pixel-perfect layouts, or use AI tools to generate professional HTML emails with graphics, branded colors, and responsive layouts.

Using drag-and-drop templates

The most powerful way to create campaign emails is to build a template with the drag-and-drop builder first, then load it into your campaign. These templates produce professional, responsive HTML with images, buttons, multi-column layouts, and more — no coding required.

1. Create a template using the Drag & Drop Builder.
2. In the campaign modal, select your template from the Load from Template dropdown. Templates built with the builder are marked with a Visual badge.
3. The modal switches to a read-only preview showing the full email design. The subject and body are loaded from the template automatically.
4. Click Next to create the campaign with your visual template.

Using the visual editor

The visual editor is the default mode when composing campaign emails. It works like a word processor with a formatting toolbar.

1. 1

   Open the campaign modal

   From the Contacts page, select your contacts and click "Send Emails" to open the Email Campaign modal.

2. 2

   Write your subject line

   Enter a subject. Use variables like {{contact.first_name}} for personalization — click any variable button to insert it at your cursor position.

3. 3

   Compose in the visual editor

   The rich text editor is open by default. Use the toolbar to bold, italicize, create lists, insert links, add images, and attach files.

4. 4

   Preview and create

   Scroll down to see the live preview of your email. When satisfied, click "Next" to create the campaign.

Toolbar features

Writing custom HTML

For emails that need custom layouts, branded designs, or advanced formatting, switch to HTML mode. This gives you a raw HTML textarea where you have complete control over the email markup.

1. 1

   Switch to HTML mode

   In the email editor toolbar, click the code bracket icon (< >) on the right side. The editor switches to a raw HTML textarea.

2. 2

   Paste or write your HTML

   Type HTML directly or paste code from an external source. The textarea supports the full HTML that email clients render — tables, inline styles, images, and links.

3. 3

   Insert variables in HTML

   Click the variable buttons above the editor. Variables like {{contact.first_name}} are inserted at your cursor position in the HTML code, and they are replaced with real data when the email is sent.

4. 4

   Apply and preview

   Click "Apply Changes" in the top-right corner of the code editor to switch back to the visual preview. You can toggle between modes while editing.

HTML email best practices

• Use tables for layout — Unlike web pages, emails rely on <table> elements for multi-column layouts. Flexbox and CSS Grid are not supported in most email clients.
• Inline all styles — Place CSS directly in style attributes. External stylesheets and <style> blocks are stripped by Gmail and many other clients.
• Set image dimensions — Always include width and height attributes on <img> tags so the layout does not break if images are blocked.
• Keep the width under 600px — Most email clients render at 600px width. Use a centered table with max-width: 600px as your outer wrapper.
• Test with a real email — After creating the campaign, send a test email to verify the HTML renders correctly in your email client.
• Use web-safe fonts — Stick to Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, Times New Roman, or other web-safe fonts. Custom fonts may not load in email clients.
• Verify all links — Double-check every href value in your HTML. A broken link in a campaign email sent to hundreds of contacts is difficult to undo.

Using AI to generate HTML emails

If you want a polished, professional email with graphics, branded colors, and responsive layouts but do not want to write HTML from scratch, you can use AI tools to generate the HTML code and paste it into the Booked55 email editor.

Recommended AI tools

We recommend using Claude (Anthropic) for generating HTML emails. Claude's Opus 4.6 and Sonnet models are particularly strong at producing clean, well-structured HTML that works across email clients. You can use Claude through claude.ai or through any tool that connects to the Claude API (such as Cursor, or the Claude desktop app).

How to generate an HTML email with AI

1. Open Claude (or your preferred AI tool) and describe the email you want. Be specific about:
   • The purpose of the email (follow-up, announcement, newsletter, event invitation)
   • Your brand colors and logo URL
   • The sections you need (header, hero image, body text, call-to-action button, footer)
   • Any images you want included (provide URLs to hosted images)
2. Ask Claude to use email-safe HTML — Include a prompt like:
   Create an HTML email template for a product launch announcement. Use table-based layout (not flexbox or grid). All styles must be inline (no <style> tags). Maximum width 600px, centered. Use these brand colors: #4F46E5 (primary), #1E1B4B (dark). Include a header with logo, hero section, 3 feature highlights with icons, a CTA button, and a footer with social links. Make sure all links use https:// and point to valid URLs. Use web-safe fonts (Arial, Helvetica).
3. Copy the generated HTML — Claude will produce the full HTML code. Copy everything.
4. Paste into Booked55 — In the campaign email editor, click the code bracket icon (< >) to switch to HTML mode, then paste the code into the textarea.
5. Add personalization variables — Replace placeholder text with Booked55 variables. For example, replace “Dear Customer” with Hi {{contact.first_name}},. You can click the variable buttons above the editor to insert them at your cursor position.
6. Verify all links — AI-generated HTML may contain placeholder URLs like https://example.com. Review every link and replace them with your actual URLs (your website, landing pages, social media profiles, unsubscribe page, etc.).
7. Click “Apply Changes” to switch back to the visual preview and confirm the layout looks correct.
8. Send a test email — Before launching, always send a test email to see how the HTML renders in a real email client.

Example AI prompt for a follow-up email

Tips for better AI-generated emails

• Provide your brand colors — Give hex codes so the AI matches your brand identity.
• Specify the layout structure — Tell the AI exactly what sections you want (header, hero, features, CTA, footer).
• Request email-specific constraints — Always mention table-based layout, inline styles, 600px width, and web-safe fonts.
• Include your real URLs — Provide your actual website, demo page, and social media links in the prompt so the AI uses them instead of placeholders.
• Iterate — If the first result is not perfect, ask the AI to adjust specific sections. For example: “Make the header taller,” “Change the CTA text to ‘Schedule a Call,’” or “Add a second column for testimonials.”

Loading from templates

If you have already created an email template, you can load it into the campaign editor instead of writing from scratch:

1. In the campaign modal, click the Load from Template dropdown.
2. Search for or select a template. Templates built with the drag-and-drop builder are marked with a Visual badge.
3. For visual (drag-and-drop) templates: The modal shows a read-only HTML preview. The subject and body are loaded automatically and cannot be edited in the campaign.
4. For basic text templates: The subject and body are pre-filled with the template content. You can edit them as needed.

Using variables in emails

Whether you use the visual editor or HTML mode, you can personalize your emails with variables. Click the variable buttons above the editor to insert them, or type them manually. Available variables include:

For the full list and details, see the Variables Reference.

Next steps

• Drag & Drop Builder — Design professional email templates visually.
• Embedding YouTube Videos — Add clickable video thumbnails to your emails.
• Campaign Detail — Test your email and preview the final result.
• Launching & Monitoring — Send the campaign and track progress.
• Creating Templates — Save your email designs for reuse.