Manage Messages
How to edit a message: set the From name, Reply To and subject, write the email with the editor, start from a template, personalize it with tokens, work with images, save your own templates, attach files, preview it, and switch the message to and from the Message Builder.
On this page
Each message in your Message Library has its own edit page. This is where you set who the email is from, write the subject and the message itself, attach files, and preview it before it goes out. The page was redesigned with a cleaner layout, a new template library, a token toolbar right inside the editor, drag-and-drop attachments, and the option to move a message into the Message Builder.
To get here, go to Settings → Messages and click the name of a message.
The page at a glance
The page has a toolbar across the top and four panels:
- Message details – who the email is from, the Reply To address and the subject line.
- Message – the email itself. Click the dashed box to open the editor.
- Attachments – files sent with every email that uses this message.
- Tokens (on the right) – personal details such as the lead’s first name that are filled in when each email is sent.
To rename the message, click its name on the tab at the top of the page (next to Message Edit:), type the new name and press Enter.
The toolbar
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Message List | Goes back to your Message Library. |
| Preview Email | Shows the message the way a lead will see it, on a desktop or a phone. Save any changes first. |
| Test Inbox Deliverability | Checks the saved message for things that send email to spam, then sends a test to your own inbox so you can see where it lands. This button only appears on accounts where the test is turned on. |
| Help | Opens this article. |
| Delete Message | Deletes the message. You are asked to confirm first. |
Message details: From, Reply To and Subject
Click From or Subject to edit it. The row opens in place:
- Name – the sender name leads see in their inbox, for example your business name or your own name.
- Reply To – where replies go when a lead answers the email.
- Subject – the subject line. Tokens such as
[First]work here too.
Click Save to keep the change, or Cancel to leave it as it was. A thin green line on the left of the row shows it was saved.
Writing the message
Click the dashed Compose / Edit Message box to open the editor. It opens right inside the Message panel.
Above the editor are two buttons:
- Load Template – start from a ready-made design (see below).
- Clear Message – empties the editor so you can start again. You are asked to confirm first.
The editor has three rows of tools. The first two are the usual formatting tools: undo and redo, paragraph styles, bold and italic, alignment, lists, images, links, source code, text color, highlight, font size and font. The third row is new and is all about personalizing the email (see Tokens below).
A brand-new, empty message starts with your [Signature] already in place, with the cursor above it ready for you to type.
Start from a template
Click Load Template to open the template library. You can browse by category, search by name, and click Preview to see a template at full size on a desktop or a phone.
- My templates – templates your account has saved, from this page or from the Message Builder.
- Categories such as Generic, Follow-up & Nurture, Appointments, Newsletter, Holidays & Seasonal, Reviews & Referrals, Real Estate, Senior Living and New Homes – professionally designed starter templates. If your account has a brand kit, its colors and logo are applied automatically.
Click Use to load a template. A template replaces the whole message, so you are asked to confirm if the editor already has content. If you change your mind, press Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on a Mac) to get your previous message back. Then replace the sample text, links, photo and address with your own.
Tokens: personalize every email
Tokens are placeholders in square brackets, such as [First], that are replaced with each lead’s own details when the email is sent. The third row of the editor’s toolbar has everything you need:
- Insert token – every token, grouped into Signatures, Lead name, Company & contact, Address, Alternate address, Links, your account’s Custom fields and Update forms. Pick one and it is placed where your cursor is. Link tokens such as
[Unsubscribe]go in as a real link; if you select some text first, that text becomes the link. - Token with fallback – choose a lead field and the words to use when that field is empty. For example,
[First there]becomes “Hi Sarah,” or “Hi there,” for a lead without a first name. - Insert signature – adds
[Signature], the signature of the user sending the email. - Insert unsubscribe link – adds an Unsubscribe link at the cursor.
You can also click any token in the Tokens panel on the right. With the editor open, the token is placed at your cursor; with the editor closed, it is copied so you can paste it anywhere, such as the subject line.
Working with images
Click an image in the editor and a small image toolbar appears on it:
- Align left, center or right – moves the image within its space.
- Size – makes the image 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% wide.
- Move out of column – some older messages place an image inside a column next to other content, which stops it from being moved. This lifts the image out onto its own centered line, at the same size. The button is greyed out when the image is not in a column.
- Image settings (the last button) – change the picture, its description (alt text), size and more.
To add a new image, use the image button in the main toolbar. Each change can be undone with Ctrl+Z.
Saving, templates and cancelling
Below the editor are four buttons:
- Save Message – saves the message. Any autoresponders that use this message are updated too.
- Save As Template – saves the current message to your account’s template library so anyone in your account can start from it. Give it a name and click Save template. If a template with that name already exists, you are asked whether to replace it. Your saved templates appear under My templates in Load Template, here and in the Message Builder.
- Switch to Message Builder – moves the message into the drag-and-drop Message Builder (see below). Only shown on accounts that have the Message Builder.
- Cancel Compose – closes the editor without saving. If you made changes, you are asked before they are thrown away.
If you try to leave the page with unsaved changes in the editor, your browser asks you to confirm first, so work is not lost by accident.
Switching to the Message Builder
If your account has the Message Builder, you are no longer locked into the editor you started with. A message can move into the Message Builder and back again.
- Click Switch to Message Builder, either in the Message panel header (no need to open the editor) or below the editor.
- Confirm in the window that opens. The message opens in the Message Builder in a new window.
What happens to your message:
- A message that was designed in the Message Builder before gets its original design back, exactly as it was.
- Any other message is turned into rows, text, images and buttons that you can edit on the Message Builder’s canvas.
- If the message was switched out of the Message Builder and then changed here, you are asked which version to open: the earlier Builder design, or the message as it is now.
To come back, open … → Switch to regular editor in the Message Builder. The message opens here, ready to edit.
Attachments
Files in the Attachments panel are attached to every email sent with this message.
- Add files – drag one or more files onto the panel, or click browse. Each file shows a progress bar while it uploads. Files can be up to 10 MB each.
- Each attached file shows its type, size and its
[File n]token. Click the file name to open it. - Insert link – with the editor open, adds a link to the file at your cursor (selected text becomes the link). With the editor closed, it copies the
[File n]token. - Remove – click the trash button once (it turns red), then again to remove the file.
Autoresponders that use this message are updated with the same attachments automatically.
Previewing the message
Click Preview Email in the toolbar to see the saved message. Use the phone and desktop buttons at the top left to switch views, and the close button at the top right to go back.
Tokens such as [First] show as they are in the preview; they are filled in with each lead’s details when the email is sent.
Tips
- Always include an unsubscribe link and your mailing address in marketing email. If you leave out the unsubscribe link, a standard one is added automatically when the email is sent.
- Use Token with fallback for names so no lead ever sees “Hi ,”.
- Keep images reasonably small and include some real text – emails that are one big picture are more likely to land in spam.
- Save before you preview or run the deliverability test; both use the saved version of the message.