Quick Answer
What is the difference between a template and a campaign?
An Email Template is a reusable layout you can use as the starting point for future emails. An Email Campaign is the actual email you customize, choose recipients for, schedule, and send. Templates help you build faster; campaigns are the live sends.
Understanding What You Build vs What You Actually Send
You may be creating emails, but it is not always clear how templates and campaigns fit together.
Templates give you a reusable structure, while campaigns are the actual emails you customize and send to your audience.
Understanding the difference can make your workflow easier to manage and reduce repetitive rebuilding when you send similar emails regularly.
Simple rule
Templates are reusable blueprints. Campaigns are the live sends created from those blueprints or built from scratch.
Templates vs Campaigns at a Glance
Before You Begin
Decide whether you are creating a reusable email layout or preparing an actual message to send.
- Use a template when you want to reuse the same general layout.
- Use a campaign when you are preparing an email for a specific send.
- Decide which audience should receive the campaign.
- Prepare the campaign-specific text, images, offer, or call to action.
- Consider whether an existing template or campaign can be reused instead of starting over.
Step 1: Understand Email Templates
Email Templates are reusable layouts that act as a starting design for future emails.
Standardize Your Structure
Use templates to keep common elements such as headers, sections, footers, and buttons consistent.
Reuse the Same Layout
Replace text and images while keeping the overall structure and design intact.
Create Templates for Different Goals
You can create different reusable layouts for newsletters, promotions, updates, announcements, onboarding messages, or event invitations.
Build core layouts once
Create the layouts you use repeatedly as templates, then reuse them whenever you create a new campaign.
Step 2: Understand Email Campaigns
Email Campaigns are the actual emails you customize, schedule, and send.
Choose a Starting Point
Start with an existing email template or build the campaign from scratch.
Customize the Message
Update the text, images, sections, colors, backgrounds, and other design elements for the specific campaign.
Choose Your Recipients
Select the contacts, Smart Lists, or tags that match the audience for the campaign.
Schedule or Send
Once the campaign is ready, schedule it for the appropriate time or send it according to your campaign workflow.
Campaigns can be reused too
Campaigns can typically be cloned so you can reuse the existing structure and update the content for a future send.
Step 3: Select the Right Campaign Recipients
Campaign performance can improve when the message is sent to a relevant segment instead of automatically sending to your entire contact list.
Individual Contacts
Select individual contacts manually when the campaign is intended for a specific set of recipients.
Smart Lists
Use Smart Lists for dynamic groups based on filters or criteria, such as contacts engaged within the last 30 days.
Tags
Use tags for contacts who match a specific label or group, such as webinar registrants or another defined audience.
Match the targeting method to the audience
Smart Lists work well for ongoing dynamic segments, while tags can be useful for more specific or one-time targeting.
Email Template and Campaign Best Practices
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between an Email Template and an Email Campaign?
Can I customize an Email Template when creating a Campaign?
Can I reuse Email Campaigns?
How do I choose recipients for an Email Campaign?
Continue Learning
Continue with related guides for building email content, creating campaigns, reviewing engagement, and improving future sends.
