Welcome to Email tool!
The Email tool is where you create, design, and send email campaigns in Apsis One. Whether you're sending a weekly newsletter, a one-off product announcement, or a targeted offer to a specific segment — it all starts here.
This article gives you an overview of what the Email tool can do, how it's structured, and what you need before you send your first email. For the step-by-step walkthrough, head to Email: Create and Send.
In this article
What can you do with Email tool?
Capability | What it means |
Design emails visually | Build emails with a drag-and-drop editor using pre-built design elements — headings, paragraphs for text, images, buttons, dividers, social links, and more. No coding required. |
Use Templates and Assets | Save complete email designs as Templates for reuse. Save individual content blocks (headers, footers, CTAs) as Assets to drop into any email for consistent, on-brand design. |
Personalise with data | Pull Profile data into your email using Data tags — like first name, city, or any Custom Attribute. Show different content to different Segments within the same email using Row Segmentation. |
Pull in external feeds | Use Dynamic Assets to automatically fetch content from external sources — product feeds, blog RSS, or event listings — into your email. |
Target your audience | Send to one or more Subscriptions, filter by Segments or Tags, exclude recent recipients with Frequency settings, and include/exclude specific imports. |
A/B test | Test versions of your email against each other — different subject lines, designs, or content — and automatically send the winner to the rest of your audience. |
AI-assisted copywriting | Use the built-in Apsis AI Assistant to generate subject lines, preheaders, and body copy directly in the editor. |
Preview and test | Preview how your email looks on desktop, mobile, and plain text. Send test emails to yourself or colleagues before going live. |
Schedule or send immediately | Choose to send right away, schedule for a specific date and time, or set up a split send to deliver in batches. |
Analyse results | Review detailed reports with open rates, click rates, CTOR, bounces, spam complaints, and unsubscribes. Export data and create follow-up Segments directly from the report. |
Common use cases
Use case | How Email tool helps |
Regular newsletter | Create a Template with your brand header, footer, and layout. Each week or month, duplicate it, swap in new content, and send to your newsletter Subscription. Assets make this even faster — save your header and footer once, reuse everywhere. |
Product launch or announcement | Design a one-off campaign with hero imagery, product details, and a clear CTA. Use Segments to target only the audience most likely to be interested. |
Event invitation | While the Event tool handles full event workflows, Email tool is ideal for standalone invitations, save-the-dates, or follow-ups that don't need the full event registration flow. |
Personalised offer | Combine Data tags (to pull in personal details) with Row Segmentation (to show different offers to different groups) within a single email send. |
Re-engagement campaign | Build a Segment of Profiles who haven't interacted in your emails in 90 days, then send a targeted "we miss you" campaign. Use the report to identify who re-engaged and who to clean from your list. |
A/B testing subject lines | Not sure which angle resonates? Create two versions, test on a subset of your audience, and let the winning version go to the rest automatically. |
Before you start
To create and send an email, you need the following in place:
Prerequisite | Where to set it up | Why it's needed |
At least one Section | Emails are created and sent within a Section. Your account has one by default. | |
At least one Subscription with Profiles | You need consented Profiles to send to. No Subscription = no recipients. | |
DKIM authentication | Via your Account Manager and Apsis Delivery team | Strongly recommended. Without DKIM on your sending domain, emails are far more likely to land in spam — especially at Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook. Read more |
Email tool access | Your user account needs Email tool permission. Account Owners and Admins have this by default. |
💡 Not set up yet?
Follow the Set up Account – Checklist to work through all the prerequisites in order, including DKIM, Subscriptions, and user access.
How Email tool works — the step-by-step wizard
Every email you create in Apsis One follows a guided, five-step wizard. Here's what each step covers:
Step | What you do | Key decisions |
1. Template | Choose a starting point — a pre-defined template, a themed template, or one of your own saved templates. | Starting from your own Template saves the most time. Pre-defined templates are a good starting point if you're new. Contact us if you want to order a nicely designed template using your brand guidelines. |
2. Design | Build your email content in the drag-and-drop editor. Add Rows, Columns, and design Elements. Insert Assets, images, text, buttons, and Data tags. | This is where you spend most of your time. Save reusable content blocks as Assets. Save the full email as a Template for next time. |
3. Settings | Configure Sender name, Sender email, Reply-to address, Subject line, and Preheader. Set design options (width, colours, padding). Configure Unsubscribe settings and Google Analytics / UTM tracking. | The sender details and subject line are your first impression in the inbox — get tips in the Best Practice article. |
4. Send To | Select one or more Subscriptions. Optionally filter by Segment, Tag, or Import. Set Frequency exclusions. Calculate the recipient count. | Always click Calculate now before proceeding — it confirms how many Profiles will receive your email and lets you review the details. |
5. Schedule | Choose to send immediately, schedule for a specific date/time, or set up a split send. Review the Overview page, then confirm. | The scheduled time follows the time zone set in your User Profile settings — double-check this if your audience is in a different time zone. |
💡 Tip: You can leave and come back
If you leave the wizard at any point, your email is automatically saved as a Draft. You'll find it on the Email tool start page under the Drafts tab.
For the full walkthrough with detailed instructions at each step, see Email: Create and Send.
The Email tool start page
When you open the Email tool from the left-hand navigation, you land on the start page. This is your hub for managing all email activities.
Tab / area | What it shows |
Drafts | Emails you've started but not yet sent or scheduled. Click to continue editing. |
Scheduled | Emails scheduled for future delivery. You can still edit, reschedule, or cancel from here. |
Sent | Completed sends. Click any sent email to open its Report. |
Templates | Your saved Templates — both pre-defined and custom. Create new emails from a Template directly. |
Assets | Your saved reusable content blocks. Create, edit, or organise Assets. |
Create New Email (button) | Starts the step-by-step wizard. This is always in the top-right corner. |
The drag-and-drop editor at a glance
The editor is where you design your email content (Step 2 of the wizard). It's split into two areas:
The Canvas (left side) is your working area. This is where you build the email by arranging Rows, Columns, and Elements. You can click any element on the canvas to select and edit it.
The Design Panel (right side) contains the building blocks you drag onto the canvas:
Category | What's in it |
Elements | The core content blocks: Heading, Paragraph, Image, Button, Divider, Social links, HTML, Video, Icons, Menu, and Table. |
Rows | Pre-built layout structures (1-column, 2-column, 3-column, etc.) that define the horizontal structure of your email. |
Assets | Your saved reusable content blocks — drag them in to add pre-built sections (headers, footers, product cards, etc.). |
Images | Your image gallery — upload and insert images directly. |
💡 Undo and Redo
Made a mistake? Use the Undo and Redo buttons in the bottom-left corner of the editor. Note: if you select a new Template after you've started designing, your content will be replaced and cannot be recovered with Undo.
For detailed guidance on the editor, see Rows and Columns and Design Elements.
Personalisation and targeting
The Email tool gives you several ways to make your emails more relevant to each recipient:
Data tags
Insert Profile data directly into your email content using the ##attribute## syntax. Use Default Attributes like ##firstname## or any Custom Attribute you've set up. Data tags work in the email body, subject line, and preheader. Read more about Data tags
Row Segmentation
Show or hide entire Rows within the same email based on Segment membership. For example, show a "loyalty discount" row only to Profiles tagged as VIP customers, while everyone else sees a different offer — all in one send. Read more about Segments in Email
Dynamic Assets
Automatically pull in content from external data feeds — product recommendations, latest blog posts, event listings, or any structured data source. Dynamic Assets keep your emails fresh without manual updates. Read more about Dynamic Assets
AI Assistant
Use the built-in Apsis AI Assistant to generate subject line and preheader suggestions, or help draft body copy. You'll find the AI Assistant inside the Text element in the editor. Read more about AI Assistant
After sending — reports and follow-up
Every email you send generates a detailed Email Report. The report shows:
Opens — total and unique open count
Clicks — total and unique click count, plus click-to-open rate (CTOR)
Bounces — soft, hard, and technical bounces with explanations
Spam complaints — Profiles who reported the email as spam
Unsubscribes — Profiles who opted out through this email
Device breakdown — desktop vs. mobile opens
The report also provides pre-built Segments based on recipient behaviour (e.g. "Profiles who opened but didn't click").
You can save these Segments directly and use them in your next campaign — for example, to retarget engaged recipients or re-engage those who didn't open.
💡 Tip: Learn from every send
Check your report within 24–48 hours of sending. Look at CTOR (not just opens) to understand how well your content performed. High opens but low clicks often means the subject line worked but the content or CTA didn't land. Use the pre-built Segments to feed learnings into your next email.
Read more: Email Report | Bounce rate and Spam complaints
Email tool vs. Marketing Automation emails
You can send emails from two places in Apsis One — the Email tool and the Marketing Automation tool. Here's when to use which:
| Email tool | Marketing Automation (Email Node) |
Best for | One-off campaigns, newsletters, announcements, ad-hoc sends | Triggered, behaviour-based emails that are part of an automated flow |
Triggered by | You — manually or on a schedule | A Profile action: subscribing, clicking, reaching a date, submitting a form, etc. |
Audience selection | You choose Subscriptions, Segments, and Tags at send time | Profiles enter the flow based on the Listen node trigger — the Email Node sends to whoever reaches that step |
Sending frequency | Counts towards your monthly Email sending quota | Does not count towards the Email tool monthly quota |
Reports | Dedicated Email Report per send, accessible from the Sent tab | Per-node statistics within the flow, plus overall flow reporting |
Editor | Full Email tool editor with all features | Same editor, embedded within the MA flow builder |
💡 They work best together
Use the Email tool for your regular campaigns, and Marketing Automation for triggered journeys. For example: send a product launch campaign via Email tool, then set up a Marketing Automation flow to follow up with Profiles who clicked but didn't convert.
Read more: About Marketing Automation
Accessibility
The Email tool includes features to help you create emails that are accessible to all recipients — including those using screen readers or who have visual or cognitive disabilities. Since June 2025, the European Accessibility Act sets requirements for digital products and services, and Apsis One is equipped to support compliance.
Key accessibility features in the editor:
Feature | Where to find it | Why it matters |
Heading and Paragraph elements | Design Panel → Elements | Use Heading for headings and Paragraph for body text — screen readers use these to navigate content structure. |
Alt text on images | Image element settings | Describes the image for screen readers. Always add a meaningful description — don't leave it blank. |
Screen reader labels on links/buttons | Link / Button element settings | Tells screen readers what happens when a link is clicked — for example, "Opens the product page in a new tab". |
Language setting | Settings tab → Email tab | Select the language of your content so screen readers pronounce text correctly. |
Web-based fonts | Inline text editor | Using supported web fonts ensures text displays consistently across email clients and devices. |
💡 Accessibility is for everyone
Around 18% of the adult population has a cognitive or visual disability, but accessible design benefits all recipients. A well-structured email with clear headings, good contrast, and descriptive link text is simply easier to read — on any device, for anyone.
Read more: Email – Best Practice
What's next?
Ready to start creating? Here's the recommended reading order:
Optimising Email creation — Set up your Templates and Assets before your first send. It saves time on every email after that.
Email – Best Practice — Design, content, deliverability, and accessibility tips from our experts.
Email: Create and Send — The full step-by-step walkthrough of the five-step wizard.
Email: Rows and Columns — Understand how email layout works in the editor.
Design Elements — Reference for every element available in the Design Panel.
Deeper topics when you're ready
A/B Test — Test subject lines, content, or design against each other.
Dynamic Assets — Pull in external content feeds automatically.
Google Analytics and UTM tracking — Track email traffic to your website.
Keep Deliverability High — Protect your sender reputation and inbox placement.
Email Authentication – Safe Sending — DKIM, SPF, DMARC, and how to set them up.
HTML code for Email — For those who prefer to build emails in code.