Template-based designs are the normal, natural progression once you end up making a successful line of communication through newsletters, bulk email campaign mails, and event invitations. When you take the step of changing designs from custom-made HTML mails to download HTML email templates, you naturally are able to rack up your production output manifold. This is because there will now be order, consistency, and conformity around a structure. This is basically the reason why HTML templates are so popular. HTML templates are used for a wide variety of uses and even used to build entire websites. However, HTML email templates are used largely for sending out mailers with a touch of visual appeal.
It is however not as easy as it sounds when you use a template. There are design modifications that you will have to undertake and you might still require the expertise of a coder; if not for each and every mail but at least for the creation of style sheets. A style sheet is a file with the extension .css. This is a type of file that eases some of the coding effort in creating HTML pages and works by ensuring that the design layout and formatting information are in one file and can be called repeatedly from the main HTML file. Therefore, the first step after you download HTML email templates is to start analyzing the css file.
The next tip to bear in mind is that you need to ensure that you choose the correct template for your mailer. This requires considering the corporate branding that you espouse and that you also consider the end users. Many users might have email clients that block the display of multimedia and HTML components. Yet other users may have other kinds of problems like low bandwidth, so even if the mailer HTML content is displayed, the bandwidth restrictions could cause the mailer to take time to load. These few seconds can sometimes be a breaking factor.
The last tip to remember is to create or store a bank of templates for all kinds of purposes. While consistency and conformity are the very reason that templates are used in the first place, a break from the usual routine is as important to email communication as design itself. Therefore, create different templates for different purposes and promotions.
Sending a mailer is not just a simple matter of creating a design after downloading HTML email templates. The next and final part of the equation lies in the content that you will create with every mailer. This may not be directly part of the template but you can create a set of guidelines for the content. This is important because these guidelines should be created bearing in mind what kind of content is susceptible to spam filters. Therefore, when you create the content guidelines, take the trouble to understand how these filtering mechanisms work and what the trigger points are that alert a spam filter.