This post will walk you through how to design beautiful emails using Flodesk! I’ve shared a step-by-step guide covering everything you need to know regarding choosing a template to adding custom elements, hitting send, & more!
As a blogger, content creator, & network marketer, email marketing has been a staple of my business & growth strategy. I started my email marketing journey through a platform called Mailchimp on a free plan but as my audience & businesses expanded, I knew I wanted to invest in something that would be visual appealing, high converting, & supported my goals to scale! Plus who doesn’t want to design emails that you audience actually wants to read!
Flash forward to now, I’ve been a very happy Flodesk user for years. Especially as they too have expanded the capabilities & features available on their platform, I have to say, it’s been a complete game changer for my business. I’ve been able to communicate with thousands, stay organized with all of my contacts, create aesthetically beautiful emails, popups, & even a checkout page where I launched my very first paid offer! You can check it out here!
So with that said, if you’re a fellow content creator, blogger, or in network marketing & have yet to dive into email marketing due to fear of it being too overwhelming, I hope this Flodesk step by step guide inspires you to get started!
What is Flodesk? Why I Chose It
There’s a few main reasons why I chose Flodesk when really leaning into my email marketing strategy. As I mentioned, I started my email journey with a basic & free Mailchimp account. With limited features & an increase in price as you gathered more & more contacts, I knew it wasn’t going to be a long-term option for me.
Free Trial
I honestly can’t remember when or how I first stumbled upon Flodesk, but I immediately signed up for a their 30 day free trial, because why not! I had to see what the hype was about! They offer a free 30 day trial to everyone, so you can scope it out before investing! You can even send emails during your trial! Want to see for yourself? Use my link to get your first 30 days for free & if you decide to invest, you’ll be able to enjoy 50% off your first year!
One Monthly Price, Unlimited Subscribers
Unlike competitors, Flodesk doesn’t penalize you for growing your list. Enough said! This is a big deal especially if you have a ton of contacts.
Intuitive Email Builder
When I was new to the platform, I really appreciated how easy it was to navigate the process of creating, designing, & sending my first few emails! They even have gorgeous ready for you templates where you can truly just plug in your own copy & photos & hit send! It’s that easy!
Features that Support Growth
With the many features Flodesk has, it makes growing your list SO doable. Between creating beautiful landing pages (this is especially helpful if you don’t have a website), pop ups, & embedded forms you have so many ways to capture attention, deliver value, & of course grow your list.
Automation
For anyone who wants to scale, automation is a top priority. With Flodesk, automations is a breeze. The ability to create something once & have it running without a second thought was a game changer as my audience, blog, & network marketing business grew. You can also schedule emails ahead of time!
Getting Started with Flodesk
First things first, you’ll want to make sure you sign up for the 30 day trial so you can go in to play around with the features, send an email or two, & just see the capabilities you have being a paying member. Use my link here to enjoy your first 30 days for free!
Signing up for Flodesk is so easy! Follow the steps below to complete your own sign up process.
- Visit the Flodesk website
- On the homepage click “get started”
- Enter your email address
- Create a password
- Verify your email address
- Start exploring the dashboard, designing, & sending emails!
Choosing the Right Email Template
Now as I mentioned, Flodesk already has a variety of beautiful plug & play templates that are right on your dashboard covering a handful of different categories. The photo below gives you a peak into what you would see! The template categories include: making money, saying hello, sharing news, saying thanks, inspiring, plain text, & welcome! And of course you can start from scratch & make your own too!
But once you’ve landed on your template, the fun begins, You can go in & easily pick your fonts, change colors & different pieces of the template layout to really make the email feel like YOU.
When I was new to Flodesk & still figuring out what I wanted my email marketing branding to be, I relied on the pre-made templates as I established my own feel for the templates I wanted to create. As I got more familiar with the platform & sent emails consistently, I really got the hang of the visual flow I enjoyed & started to piece together my own templates. This email template customization is such a game changer, but more on that below.
Customizing Emails with your Branding
Flodesk has incredible support when it comes to tutorials, walkthroughs, & articles to truly answer any question you could possibly have about using their platform, customizing emails is no different.
When you’re diving in to the email design piece, it’s important to add your own branding to make the experience cohesive to the rest of your business/brand. You’re able to do this through adding your logo, saving brand colors to easily grab & apply, & choosing a few go-to fonts. See the photo below for an example!
I have a few different logos based on the emails I’m sending, so I just swap them out & then you can also see my two brand fonts saved so I can easily add them to the email I’m creating!
Another big piece of customizing emails & really creating a visually appealing reader experience is the use of high quality images. Even if you don’t have high quality images of your own, with Flodesk, you have the ability to upload & add beautiful, free images from UpSplash to really give your email that elevated feel.
Also, one you have a template you love, you can easily copy the email & continue to use the same template over & over again to save you time in the future. This is something I do on a weekly basis, especially because I’ve pieced together templates that work really well for me. The fact that I don’t have to go in & make those same edits every time I send an email is so helpful.
Formatting Your Email Content
Below are some tips for formatting your email content so that it keeps readers engaged, increases your conversion rate, & decreases your unsubscribe rate!
- Use white space & keep things clean & simple to improve readability
- Use headings for structure, so it’s not just one big photo or block of text, I like to keep the font I use for headings consistent, again to tie in that branding
- Add high quality images, as I mentioned, if you don’t have any of your own, you can utilize free images from UpSplash. You can also add in gifs!
- Be consistent with your brand colors
- Utilize call to action buttons towards the beginning & end of the email to encourage readers to click & take action
- If it makes sense for your audience, add a Link Action which automatically adds or removes a subscriber from a specific segment based on where they click (shown in the image below)
- Add your personality to your writing style, branding, & images
- Make sure your email is optimized for both a computer & a mobile device
By following these tips, you will learn how to create a well-structured, visually appealing email that begins to engage your audience which is the most important thing!
Sending Your First Email
Another huge perk of utilizing Flodesk is the ability to preview & test your emails before hitting send. This is important because readers will be opening & reading your emails on both a computer & phone. What I love about the Flodesk templates is the fact that they are optimized for both views, computer & phone. And with the preview feature, you can easily adjust anything that looks wonky on either views. For example, this could be adjusting the spacing, increasing or decreasing the font size, making text bolder, etc.! Anything to keep the reader’s experience a 10/10 so that they keep coming back! The image below is what you’ll see when you go to preview the email on the mobile view.
Anytime I’m about to send an email, I sent a test email to myself to make sure everything looks good & to make sure my links are all working.
Sending an email with Flodesk is such a breeze. After you add your copy, make your edits, incorporate your own branding, you will add a subject line, choose the contacts you’d like to send the email to, & then either send immediately or schedule a time for the email to go out. This is where that automation really comes into play, because you can schedule the email for any date & any time.
When you do go to choose a day or time, based on the activity of your contacts & the data Flodesk collects based on the emails you send, they will actually give you the best time of day to send the email in the morning, afternoon, or evening, based on when the majority of people open your emails. I use this feature often. To give you an example, my ideal time in the afternoon to schedule or send my emails is around 2:10pm Eastern Standard.
Analyzing Email Performance
After you send an email, Flodesk will provide analytics that you can utilize as your email marketing skills evolve. You’ll want to keep an eye on your open rates (how many people open the email), click through rates (who clicks what), & overall engagement metrics. You will also see if an email bounced & who unsubscribed. All of these analytics will be important to really help you hone in on your own personal strategy & goals.
In Conclusion
If you’re someone that creates ANY type of content in the online space, it is so incredibly important to utilize the tremendous perks of email marketing. Especially if your primary focus in on Instagram or a social media platform. With social media, it’s crucial to remember that you do not own your followers. If those platforms were to disappear, how would you communicate with your audience? Email marketing gives you complete ownership over your audience, it provides an excellent touchpoint because you’re not fighting against an algorithm, & you can really provide beautiful content to add tremendous value to your audience. Plus, emails have a high conversion rate if you are selling something, sharing links, etc. I even think of my own buying behavior & know that I do the majority of my shopping due to an email I get!
If you’ve been on the fence about trying Flodesk OR just need the extra nudge to dive into email marketing, I hope this post inspires you & also shows you how simple & enjoyable it can be to design beautiful emails with Flodesk.
Flodesk has been a game changer in my business. It’s given me back so much time, & has simplified the ability to create beautiful email templates that are actually enjoyable to read.
Don’t forget, if you’re brand new to the platform, go ahead & sign up for a free trial using my Flodesk link! And if you decide to invest after your 30 days, you’ll be able to enjoy 50% for your first year!
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