Designing an email that gets read

A great marketing email does one job well: it gets someone to read it and take a single, clear action. You do not need to be a designer to make that happen. With the BlueyEmail editor you drag blocks into place, keep the layout simple, and let the content do the work.

This guide walks through the choices that matter most — where to start, which blocks to use, and the small habits that keep your email looking sharp in every inbox.

Start from a template or a blank canvas

When you create a campaign, you can begin two ways. A template gives you a ready-made layout you can edit — the fastest route, and a safe bet if you are not sure where to start. A blank canvas gives you an empty editor to build exactly what you want, block by block.

• Pick a template when you want a proven structure and just need to swap in your words and images.
• Start blank when you have a clear idea, or when a short, simple message will do better than a designed layout.

Build with drag-and-drop blocks

The email editor has three panes: an add-blocks rail on the left, the canvas in the middle, and a contextual inspector on the right for editing whatever block you select. Drag a block from the rail onto the canvas. A handful of blocks cover almost everything you will ever send:

• Text — your headline, body copy, and sign-off. Keep paragraphs short.
• Image — a photo, product shot, or header graphic.
• Button — your call-to-action. Make it look clickable and say what happens next.
• Divider — a thin line to separate sections and give the eye a rest.

1. 1

   Drag in your content blocks

   Add a text block for your message, an image if you have one, and a button for the action you want.

2. 2

   Write the copy first

   Get your words right before you fuss over styling. Lead with the point, not a long warm-up.

3. 3

   Add one clear button

   Give your reader a single next step. Label it with a verb — "Shop the sale", "Read the guide", "Book a call".

4. 4

   Preview on mobile

   Toggle Desktop / Mobile and use Send test to check how it looks on a small screen before you send.

Keep it single-column and mobile-first

Most people open email on a phone. A single-column layout — one block stacked on top of the next — reads cleanly on any screen without pinching or side-scrolling. Multi-column designs often break or shrink text too small to read on mobile, so save them for the rare case you truly need them.

• Use large, tappable buttons — a thumb is not a mouse pointer.
• Keep line length short so text does not feel cramped.
• Put the most important thing near the top, where it shows without scrolling.

One clear call-to-action

Every email should ask for one thing. When you offer five links and three buttons, most people choose nothing. Decide the single action you want — a click, a reply, a purchase — and make that the star. Supporting links can live lower down, but the main button should be obvious and appear once, prominently.

Balance images and text

Images make an email feel alive, but an email that is all image is a problem. Many inboxes block images by default, so if your message lives inside a picture, a blocked image means a blank email. Aim for a healthy mix of real text and images.

• Never put your core message or your button inside an image — keep those as real text blocks.
• Add alt text to every image. Alt text is the words shown when an image cannot load, and it is read aloud by screen readers. Describe what the image shows in a few plain words.
• Keep file sizes down. Large images load slowly and can push your email toward the spam folder. Resize photos before uploading rather than shrinking a huge file in the editor.

Dark mode and load speed

Many people read email in dark mode, where light backgrounds flip to dark. Designs that assume a white background can end up with invisible text or awkward boxes around logos.

• Use logos and images with transparent backgrounds where you can, so they sit on any color.
• Avoid black text on a colored box that will not flip well — test your email in dark mode before sending.
• Trim anything you do not need. A lean email loads fast, renders reliably, and is less likely to be clipped by inboxes that cut off long messages.