Create engaging, accessible, and personalized newsletters with ease using the CDP's Drag & Drop email builder
📌 Overview
The Drag & Drop Email Builder in Data Talks CDP is the recommended tool for creating and managing email templates and newsletters, while the Custom Email Builder is used in rare, highly customized and layer-based template scenarios. With a visual interface, rich personalization options, reusable presets, and accessibility support, it’s built for both efficiency and performance—no coding needed, but available if you prefer.
🧭 Getting Started
You can begin by creating a new email template under:
Email Builder > Email Templates > Create New
Choose:
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From scratch or an existing template
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Drag & Drop Builder
Once selected, you’ll enter the builder interface.
🖼️ Builder Interface Breakdown
The builder screen is divided into three key sections:
🎨 Canvas (Center)
A live preview of your email. Every change you make is reflected in real-time here but editing occurs on the Right Panel.
🛠️ Right Panel
This is your main editing area, where you:
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Configure general styling settings
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Add and customize components
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Manage saved presets (orange icon on each component once a styled preset is saved)
🔧 Top Action Bar
- Undo/Redo button for template edits
- Template name editing
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Send test preview to your email
- Preview (desktop & mobile): in-app preview function for both desktop and mobile. Emails may render differently on different email clients, and sending real preview sendouts is recommended.
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Actions: the dropdown include Save template function and other, more technical solutions, such as downloading the entire template as HTML or JSON
⚙️ General Styling Settings (Best Practice: Start Here)
Before dragging in components, begin with your General Settings to define the template-wide styles.
Options include:
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Template width, padding, background color
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Font styles and sizes
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Button styling (background, border radius, text)
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Link formatting
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Mobile responsiveness
💡 All added components will inherit these settings by default, unless specifically overridden at the component level.
🧩 Components Library
You build emails by dragging components onto the canvas. There are two categories:
🔀 Complex Components
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Header
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Footer
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Hero (image + title + text + button)
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Horizontal List
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Vertical List
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Image List (Horizontal)
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CTA (Call to Action)
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Button List
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Custom HTML Block
➕ Base Elements
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Text
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Image
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Button
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Spacer
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Separator
🔍 Deep Dive: The Components
The different components contain different elements. For instance, the Header component includes an image, and links—ideal for top-of-email headers.
🧭 When dropped onto the canvas:
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The Right Panel shows two tabs:
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Content: Edit text, links, personalization, toggles
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Style: Customize padding, fonts, borders, background (can override general settings)
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🧰 Features:
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Toggle individual elements on/off (e.g., hide text, show only image + button)
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Images come from your Content Library or can be uploaded directly
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Each image or button can be made clickable via URL
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All text areas support:
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Font and color formatting
- hyperlinking
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Dynamic fields:
{first_name},{email},{loyalty_points}, etc. -
System fields:
{unsubscribe_URL},{preference_center_URL},{browser_URL}
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Discount codes: If uploaded in the system, they can be inserted as dynamic tags
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Accessibility: Add ALT text to images and buttons to support screen readers
♻️ Saved Presets (NEW FEATURE)
Speed up your workflow by saving custom component presets.
How it works:
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Customize a component (e.g., a green ticketing header)
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Click the save icon on the canvas
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Name your preset and save
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Next time, click the orange preset selector on a component to reuse your saved design
✅ Use cases:
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Multiple headers (Sponsors, Ticketing, Merchandise)
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HTML blocks provided by partners or sponsors
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Footers for different brands/languages
This allows you to reuse individual components, not just full templates.
👀 Preview & Send Test
Internal Preview
Click the preview icon to view your email in both desktop and mobile modes within the builder.
Send Preview
Use the Send Preview button to send a test email to yourself or a colleague.
⚠️ Note: Dynamic fields will appear as placeholders ({first_name}) in preview emails. They will only populate when used in a live campaign and a preview sent from the campaign page, where an audience segment is connected.
✅ Best Practices & Tips
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Start with general style settings before adding components
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Use saved presets for faster email creation
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Preview your email on desktop and mobile before sending
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Send a test email to check layout and link behavior
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Use ALT text for images/buttons to support accessibility
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Insert dynamic fields for personalization—but test them in live campaigns
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Organize content library to streamline image use across campaigns
🔁 Summary
The Drag & Drop Builder empowers you to create professional, personalized, and responsive emails with ease. With flexible styling, reusable blocks, and native personalization tools, your campaigns will be more consistent and efficient than ever.