Creating an HTML email
Creating beautiful templates that can be used for marketing is easy to do with our HTML email design suite. HTML emails are rich in content, they can contain anything from images to social media links to video thumbnails. When you receive newsletters or promotional emails from online companies you are receiving HTML emails.
Follow the steps below, or watch the video above, to get started with HTML email templates.
1. Go to the Emails page (found under the Marketing tab on your left navigation menu.)
2. Select New Email
3. In the popup menu, select "Workflow/Campaign" under the Marketing section. Then Select "HTML"
4. Below this, you will then select a template base to start from.
You can always start with a blank slate, but we have several great templates to give you some inspiration. Click "Create Email"
5. At the top of the new page, you will find the following options and information:
A. Email Name (Required): The name of your email is only visible internally.
B. Subject (Required): Subject of the email when it is sent
C. Preheader: If nothing is added here, the recipient will see the beginning of the email body
D. Folder: Which folder you would like the email to be added to in Lawmatics
E. Recipient Type (Required): The intended recipient of the email. Can be Matter, Contact, or User. The selection will affect which merge fields you can add to the email template (a Contact type email will not have Matter merge fields available. Keep in mind that most marketing emails will be created as Any Contact recipient type, whereas case-specific emails for leads and clients will be saved as Matter type.)
F. Tags: If you have applicable tags in your account, you can add them for organization
G. Promotional Email: Select the toggle for Promotional Email if you would like to include an unsubscribe link with the email.
H. Show/Hide Structure: This will help you see the structure of the email while building it by adding guiding lines. These lines are not visible when sent.
6. Build your email, including any design elements and content pieces that you would like.
For more specifics on the email creation, watch the video above.
7. When you are done designing your template, click the "Save" button at the bottom right.
8. If you click edit on an existing email, you will be taken back to the HTML email editor canvas.
You will see the entire template, as you created it, available for editing. You can easily replace all your placeholder content with new, fresh, relevant content.
Please Note: Depending on your screen size, the edit icon may require horizontal scrolling to see. If you don't see the icons in the table, just scroll to the right.
9. Click on "Save" at the bottom when your email content is ready.
Your email is now ready to be sent via any channel in Lawmatics!
Using the editor
The editor has a canvas on the left and a settings panel on the right. The panel has three tabs: Content, Rows, and Settings.
Content tab — building blocks
The Content tab lists all available content blocks. Drag any block from the panel onto the canvas to add it to your email.
Block Type | Description |
Title | Large heading text with full formatting controls. |
Paragraph | Body text block for longer content. |
List | Bulleted or numbered list. |
Image | Upload an image, import by URL, or search stock photos. |
Button | Clickable button with customizable text, color, and URL. |
Table | Configurable rows/columns with header row and striped row options. |
Divider | Horizontal rule to separate sections. |
Spacer | Adds vertical space between blocks. |
Social | Social media icon links with configurable URLs per platform. |
HTML | Custom HTML code block for advanced formatting. |
Video | Paste a YouTube or Vimeo URL to generate a clickable thumbnail. |
Icons | Icon set block with sizing and link options. |
Menu | Navigation menu for email headers. |
Text | Flexible text block for general use. |
When you click on a block in the canvas, its settings open in the right panel. Text blocks show formatting options (font, size, weight, color, alignment, line height, letter spacing). All text blocks include a Merge tags option in the inline toolbar — use this to insert dynamic fields like first name, matter name, or any custom field from your account.
Rows tab — layout structure
Rows define the column layout of each section in your email. Before adding content blocks, add a row to define how many columns that section should have — single column, two columns, three columns, and more. Drag a row layout from the panel onto the canvas, then drag content blocks into the columns.
Clicking a row (not a block inside it) opens the Row Properties panel, where you can set:
Background color for the row and content area
A background image for the row
Borders and rounded corners for the content area
Mobile stacking behavior — whether columns stack vertically on small screens and in what order
Settings tab — global styles
The Settings tab controls the overall appearance of the entire email, including content width, default font family, background color, link color, and text alignment defaults. Changes here apply globally unless overridden at the block level.
Adding images
When you click an Image block and select Browse, the File Manager opens with three options:
Upload — upload a file from your computer.
Import — import an image by URL.
Search free photos — search over 500,000 stock photos. All images are available under the Creative Commons Zero license.
To resize an image after placing it, click the image block and disable Auto width in the settings panel. This unlocks a manual width control.
Previewing your email
Click Preview in the bottom right to see how your email will look when sent. The preview supports both desktop and mobile views — toggle between them to check that your layout holds up on smaller screens.
Template strategy
Think of HTML email templates as reusable frameworks. For example, if you send a monthly newsletter, build the layout once with placeholder content, save it, then duplicate it each month and swap in new content. This way you're not starting from scratch each time.
FAQ's
How can I add an unsubscribe link to my emails?
Simply turn on the toggle option for Promotional Email, found at the top of the email when editing it. You won't see the unsubscribe link added in the editor, but when the email is sent it will include that link at the bottom. When someone unsubscribes they are automatically prevented from receiving future promotional emails.
How do I add attachments to an email template?
You actually won't save attachments on the template itself, rather you will select attachments when sending an email, either manually or via automation. First you will need to hover on the orange plus sign in the top right, select Upload File, and upload any files you wish to attach. Then, when sending an email, you will see an attachments option where you can select from any of your uploaded files. For HTML emails, you can also link to a web-hosted file using a button rather than attaching a file.
What is the best way to send out my newsletter?
You will want to use a "run once" email campaign for sending newsletters.