Learning Objective
By the end of this guide, you'll know how to browse campaign templates, create and save email templates, customize them with subject lines and content, and reuse templates across multiple campaigns to save time and maintain consistency.
Why This Matters
Writing emails from scratch for every campaign wastes time and creates inconsistency. Email templates let you:
Save time – Reuse proven email structures instead of rewriting from scratch
Maintain consistency – Ensure brand voice and messaging stay uniform across campaigns
Scale faster – Launch new campaigns in minutes by starting with templates
Test systematically – Compare template variations (A vs. B) to optimize performance
Share best practices – Teams can share high-performing templates with each other
Templates turn successful emails into reusable assets that compound your outreach effectiveness over time.
Prerequisites
Before creating templates:
You have a lemlist account with access to the Templates section
You know what email to save – Have a proven email structure or new concept ready
You understand your use case – Know whether this template is for cold outreach, follow-ups, event invites, etc.
Core Lesson: Step-by-Step Workflow
Phase 1: Access the Templates Section
Step 1: Navigate to Templates
Click your workspace/profile name in the bottom-left, then click Templates.
Phase 2: Browse Campaign Templates (Community Templates)
Step 2: Open Campaign templates
In the Templates page, make sure you’re on the Campaigns tab to browse community campaign templates.
Step 3: Filter campaign templates by type (optional)
To narrow down the templates shown, open the Campaign type filter and select the type you want (for example, Emails only).
Step 4: Review the filtered results
After you apply the filter, the template list updates so you can quickly pick from the relevant options.
Phase 3: Create a New Email Template
Step 5: Open Email templates
In the Templates page, click the Emails tab, and click Create new template.
Step 6: Name your template
A modal appears asking for a template name.
Naming best practices:
Use descriptive names that explain the template's purpose
Include use case or campaign type: "Cold Outreach - Intro", "Follow-up - No Response", "Event Invite - Webinar"
Avoid generic names like "Template 1" or "Email"
Example names:
"SaaS Cold Intro - Problem-Solution"
"Follow-up 2 - Case Study"
"Re-engagement - 6 Month Inactive"
"Event Invite - Q1 Webinar"
Enter your template name, then click Confirm.
Phase 4: Add Email Content
Step 8: Enter the subject line and write your email body
In the template editor:
Enter your subject line.
Write your email content in the body editor.
Tip: Leave the subject line blank if you want follow-up emails to remain in the same thread as previous emails. Blank subject lines keep the conversation threaded in the recipient's inbox.
Example subject lines:
"Quick question about
{{companyName}}"Idea for improving your marketing"
Leave it blank to create email threads
Email structure best practices:
Opening line: Personalize with a variable (
{{firstName}}{{companyName}}Value proposition: Explain why you're reaching out in 2-3 sentences
Call to action: Clear, simple ask (reply, book meeting, click link)
Signature: Your name, title, company
Example email template:
Hi {{firstName}}
I noticed {{companyName}}{{industry}}
We help [similar companies] solve this by [brief solution]. Would it make sense to explore how this could work for {{companyName}}
Happy to share a quick example if useful.
Best, [Your Name]
Use personalization variables like {{firstName}}{{companyName}}{{industry}}
Step 9: Format your email (optional)
Use the formatting toolbar to:
Bold important text
Add links (e.g., calendar booking link, case study URL)
Insert images (company logo, screenshots)
Change text color or size (use sparingly)
Keep formatting minimal for better deliverability. Plain text emails often perform better than heavily formatted ones.
Step 10: Save your template
Your changes are auto saved in the editor as you build the template, and the template remains available in your template list for reuse.
Phase 5: Manage Email Templates
Step 11: Delete a template (optional)
If you no longer need a template, open it and click the trash icon to delete it.
How to Use Saved Templates in Campaigns
Step 1: Create or open a campaign
Go to Campaigns and open the campaign you want to edit.
Step 2: Go to the Sequence tab
In the campaign, click Sequence.
Step 3: Add an email step
Click the + button to add a step, then select Email.
Step 4: Select your template
In the email step editor, click Templates, choose the template you saved, then click Use template to load it into the email step.
Step 5: Customize if needed
You can edit the loaded template for this specific campaign without changing the saved template.
Adjust content, add campaign-specific details, or modify variables as needed.
Step 6: Save and continue building your sequence
Save the email step and continue adding follow-ups or other steps to your campaign.
Practical Application / Real-Life Example
Marketing Agency Builds Template Library
A marketing agency runs cold outreach campaigns for 10 clients across different industries. They create a template library to streamline campaign launches.
Their template structure:
Template 1: "Cold Intro - Problem-Solution"
Generic intro focusing on a common pain point
Used for initial outreach across all clients
Variables:
{{firstName}}{{companyName}}{{industry}}{{painPoint}}
Template 2: "Follow-up 1 - Social Proof"
Shares a case study or testimonial
Used 3 days after the initial email with no response
Variables:
{{firstName}}{{similarCompany}}{{result}}
Template 3: "Follow-up 2 - Breakup Email"
Final attempt signals you're closing the file
Used 7 days after sthe econd follow-up
Variables:
{{firstName}}{{companyName}}
Template 4: "Event Invite - Webinar"
Invites to a webinar or event
Reused for monthly webinar campaigns
Variables:
{{firstName}}{{webinarTopic}}{{webinarDate}}
Workflow:
New client onboarding → Agency selects relevant templates
Customize variables for client's industry and offer
Launch campaign in 15 minutes instead of 2 hours
Result:
10x faster campaign setup – Templates eliminate writing from scratch
Consistent messaging – All clients get proven, high-performing emails
Easy optimization – Update the template once, and it improves all future campaigns using it
Key takeaway: A well-organized template library turns campaign creation from a writing task into a configuration task, much faster and more scalable.
Troubleshooting
Issue: My template variables aren't working in campaigns
Root cause: Variable names in the template don't match the lead data column names
Fix:
Variable names must match exactly (case-sensitive):
{{firstName}}{{FirstName}}Check your lead data to confirm column names (e.g.,
firstName,companyName)Update the template to use correct variable names and re-save
Issue: I saved a template, but can't find it when creating a campaign
Root cause: Template may not have saved correctly, or you're looking in the wrong place
Fix:
Go back to Templates → Emails and verify the template appears in the list
If it's there, try refreshing the campaign page and looking for the Templates button again
If it's not there, recreate the template and ensure you click Confirm when naming it
Issue: The preview shows {{variable}}
Root cause: Variable syntax is incorrect or there's a formatting issue
Fix:
Check that variables use double curly braces:
{{variableName}}{variableName}or[[variableName]]Remove extra spaces inside braces:
{{firstName}}{{firstName}}Re-type the variable manually instead of copy-pasting (sometimes hidden characters cause issues)
Optimization Tips
Build a template library by use case: Create templates for each stage of your funnel (intro, follow-up 1, follow-up 2, breakup, re-engagement). This covers all scenarios.
Use descriptive names: Name templates clearly so you can find them quickly. "SaaS Cold Intro" is better than "Template 1."
Include variables for flexibility: Use variables like {{industry}}{{painPoint}}{{productName}}
Keep templates concise: Shorter emails (50-100 words) generally perform better than long ones. Templates should be brief and easy to scan.
Test template variations: Create two versions of the same template (e.g., "Cold Intro - Short" vs. "Cold Intro - Long") and A/B test them to see which performs better.
Update templates based on data: Review campaign analytics quarterly. If a template consistently underperforms, revise it and save the improved version.
Version your templates: If updating a successful template, save the new version with a version number (e.g., "Cold Intro v2"). This lets you compare old vs. new performance.
Include placeholders for manual personalization: Add brackets like [mention their recent LinkedIn post] to remind yourself to personalize specific sections before sending.
Export templates as backups: Periodically copy template content to a Google Doc or spreadsheet as a backup in case you need to restore or reference old versions.