Hey Brian, just wanted to reach out and get your opinions on what you would be looking for in a theme – specifically the email template component. Part of what I’m trying to figure out is just how much flexibility people expect, because as I mentioned in the public thread, making a fully customizable template where all parts can be edited, removed, buttons changed, etc. is tricky right now with Mautic!
It’s easier to create a specific design that doesn’t offer a lot of customization, other than the text and swapping out images. But I wonder if that would be helpful for many. I feel like that’s tough because then if it doesn’t match your brand you’re stuck with sifting through piles of templates or hiring someone to build one.
Anyway, would love to hear your thoughts. I’ve done template conversions, offered up free (less flexible) templates, and also created one “premium” template that is pretty customizable and flexible. But would love to hear your thoughts on what you think most people are looking for.
Hey Brian, just wanted to reach out and get your opinions on what you would be looking for in a theme – specifically the email template component. Part of what I’m trying to figure out is just how much flexibility people expect, because as I mentioned in the public thread, making a fully customizable template where all parts can be edited, removed, buttons changed, etc. is tricky right now with Mautic!
It’s easier to create a specific design that doesn’t offer a lot of customization, other than the text and swapping out images. But I wonder if that would be helpful for many. I feel like that’s tough because then if it doesn’t match your brand you’re stuck with sifting through piles of templates or hiring someone to build one.
Anyway, would love to hear your thoughts. I’ve done template conversions, offered up free (less flexible) templates, and also created one “premium” template that is pretty customizable and flexible. But would love to hear your thoughts on what you think most people are looking for.
Hey Chris,
I think Mailchimp gets the gold star for what building marketing emails could look like, while Salesforce is a great example of what to avoid (although Salesforce Marketing / ExactTarget is better), leaving lots of room in between.
I think there are also two primary use cases. The first is building the templates and that’ll be done by the more savvy Marketer, but ideally without needing an HTML/CSS/JS developer. That should be OK if it has a higher learning curve and some dedicated time to complete. I would want to add/move blocks, define styles, set headers/footers, etc. I think it would be reasonable to have a few email templates for the users in the next case to choose from.
The second would be using the templates. This will be by relatively non-technical marketing members and using the templates will need to be quick, easy and error proof. So I think you can significantly cut back on the flexibility then, that’s even a feature. 
Here I think I just want to edit the content blocks created in the first use case.
Those two uses seem combined into one in Mautic today, which I’d consider changing if I was the PM there. But if you’re wanting to bootstrap people with the first use case, I think that’s a great idea. I can think of two very basic templates I’d find useful, both using the same underlying theme, and I think the basic functionality you mentioned is a good start. And it might be cool if I could point the template builder to a web page and it sucks in the basic styling.
Content email
- static header and footer (after swapping out images, text and colors)
- big content block in the middle with a WYSIWYG editor
Call to action email
- probably the same header and footer
- main content block might be two columns and/or have a embedded form
I hope that’s a little helpful! I’d be happy to help more, especially if I end up with a Mautic template I can use.
Thanks,
Brian
This is awesome, thanks so much for your feedback Brian. MailChimp really is fantastic.
Your first use case – essentially creating a template builder for Mautic – is something I’ve thought about. But with the current state of Mautic, it would require an external email template builder that plays well with Mautic. I like the idea of pulling in styles from an existing page, too. I think that’s really what will be needed long term – the ability to easily create emails that match existing branding, without requiring a developer. But I’m not sure it’s a project I would take on, because I expect the Mautic email builder to move in this direction - closer to MailChimp. How good it will be and how quickly we get there… I’m not sure. But the community will want something like that built in, I suspect.
For the limited-flexibility templates – I really appreciate your thoughts. This is more what I’m leaning towards offering. I’ve been riding the line between lots of customization and trying to keep things error-proof, but it sounds like for those who just want to plug and play that error-proof and less customization to deal with would actually be a good thing?
I also think the idea of 2-3 templates with a single theme is very attractive for many businesses. I’ve spoken with others who have said the same thing – they’d love a few templates that match their branding that they can use for multiple types of emails (such as content, CTA, as you mentioned). I’ve had a few people hire me for this, actually. Might be doable to create some “template packs” that include 3 versions of an email that all have the same theme, and make those available.
Again, thanks so much for your thoughts, Brian. I’d love to keep in touch.