Email templates in 360Onboard are reusable, fully branded emails that you build once and reuse from any workflow — confirmations, reminders, resume-link nudges, kickoff emails, the works. The editor is block-based (think Notion / Typeform), supports merge variables like {{client.first_name}}, and gives you an inline preview of exactly what your client will receive.
Where Email Templates Live
In the left sidebar, click Email Templates (the envelope icon, just above Settings). The page shows three counts at the top — Total, System, and Custom — followed by two sections:System Templates (the defaults 360Onboard ships with: Reminder, Resume link, Welcome) and Custom Templates (anything you've built yourself).
System templates are sent automatically by the platform, but their content is fully editable — you can rewrite them in your own voice without losing the trigger.
Pro Tip: There's also a Branding button in the top-right (next to + New template) where you set the workspace-wide colors and logo that wrap every email. Set this once and every template inherits it.
Creating a New Template
Click the blue + New template button in the top-right of the Email Templates page. A Start a new email template modal appears with a row of category tabs — All, Kickoff, Nudges, Confirmations — and a grid of starter templates underneath.
Starters include things like Blank template, Branded welcome, One-click invitation, Pre-call brief, Discovery for brand & design, SaaS implementation, Resume saved progress, Friendly 3-day check-in, Final reminder — closing soon, Approval needed — assets ready, Feedback request, and Onboarding complete.
Pick one and the editor opens with the structure pre-built. Pick Blank template to start from an empty canvas instead.
Subject Line & Preview Text
At the very top of the editor canvas, two fields sit just above the email body:
- Subject — the subject line itself (supports merge variables, e.g.
All set, {{client.first_name}} — here's what happens next) - A second line directly below it — the preview text that shows in the inbox under the subject. Clients read this before they ever open the email, so use it like a second headline, not a throwaway.
Both fields are click-to-edit inline, exactly where they'll appear in the final inbox.
Live Preview
At the top of the editor, the toggle in the center switches between Edit and Preview. Click Preview at any time and the canvas swaps to a pixel-accurate render of the final email — subject, preview text, every block, all variables resolved against sample data. This is what your client will actually see; no need to send yourself a test just to check spacing.
For an honest test against your real inbox, click Send test in the top-right (next to Templates and Save) — it ships the email to your own address so you can see how Gmail/Outlook render it.
The Block Toolbox (Left Sidebar)
The left sidebar of the editor is the Blocks panel, organized into Content and Layout sections:
Content blocks:
- Heading — H1 / H2 / H3 with hierarchy levels (Display, Section, Subhead, Eyebrow) selectable from the right Inspector panel
- Text — rich text with inline variables
- Button — call-to-action with a link target (fully customizable color, radius, alignment)
- Logo — your workspace logo
- Image — URL or optional file upload
- List — bulleted or numbered
Layout blocks:
- Divider — horizontal rule
- Spacer — vertical breathing room
- 2 Columns — side-by-side layout for things like name/value pairs
Drag a block onto the canvas, or click to append. Click any existing block on the canvas to open its Inspector in the right sidebar, where you tune presets, spacing, alignment, and typography.
Hierarchy, Sections & Subheadings
Inside a Heading block, the right-side Inspector lets you pick a Preset (Display, Section, Subhead, Eyebrow) and a Level (H1, H2, H3). This is how you build clean visual hierarchy — a big Display headline at the top, Section headings between major chunks, Subheads to break up long bodies. The presets enforce consistency so your emails always feel "designed" instead of stacked.
Merge Variables (The Personalization Magic)
In any text or subject field, type {{ and an autocomplete picker opens with every available variable. The most common ones:
{{client.first_name}}— the client's first name{{client.last_name}}{{client.email}}{{flow.name}}— the name of the onboarding flow they're in{{workspace.name}}— your agency / company name{{resume_link}}— a deep link back to where they left off{{completion_link}}— direct link to the flow itself{{onboarding_link}}— their personalized onboarding URL
Variables render as little colored pills inside the editor so you can see at a glance which parts of the email are dynamic. When the email actually sends, every pill is replaced with the recipient's real value, per-recipient.
Pro Tip: Use {{client.first_name}} in the subject line, not just the body. Personalized subjects measurably bump open rates, and it takes ten seconds to add.
A Note on Images
The Image block works fine, but emails with images are flagged as spam far more aggressively than text-only emails — especially by Gmail, Outlook, and corporate filters. Two rules of thumb:
- Skip images entirely for high-deliverability moments like reminders, resume links, and password-style flows.
- If you must include an image (e.g. a logo or hero in a welcome email), keep it to one, and pair it with plenty of real text so the image-to-text ratio stays healthy.
If you need maximum deliverability, also wire up SMTP so emails come from your own domain — see The 360Onboard Settings Page Walkthrough.
Saving & Using the Template
Click Save in the top-right when you're done. The template is now available everywhere in 360Onboard that sends email — workflow actions, manual sends from a client row, and the system-template overrides.
To trigger a template automatically between two steps of a flow, jump into the Workflows tab of any flow and add a Send email action — see Workflows in 360Onboard (planned).
What's Next?
- Wire templates into flow automations — Workflows in 360Onboard (planned)
- Send from your own domain — The 360Onboard Settings Page Walkthrough
- See who opened what — View Client Activity & Audit Trail
- Build the flow these emails support — Build an Onboarding Flow with AI