Slides

Dave: Today’s session is an exciting one. It’s a bit nerdy because we’re diving into the details, but it’s a crucial topic—templates. There’s a huge opportunity to improve both the ease of use and effectiveness of your campaigns by better understanding how to use templates in PropFuel.

There are three types of templates in PropFuel. First, master templates, which are stored in the settings and can be used across multiple campaigns. Then, campaign templates, which are specific to a particular campaign and help maintain consistency across all check-ins within that campaign. Lastly, check-in templates, which are for individual emails and allow more customization at the check-in level.

There are also three categories of templates. The email template defines what the email looks like, including formatting and design. The check-in page template is used when there’s a secondary question that follows the main email question. Lastly, the thank you page template, sometimes called a landing page template, is where you customize the response after someone answers a question.

Ashley, Megan, and Melissa will walk you through best practices for making templates more conversational, visually engaging, and effective. Megan, you’re up.

Megan: Thanks, Dave. Today, we’re covering several aspects of templates. We’ll talk about how to make them more conversational and engaging, share some design tips, and show unique template ideas that other clients have successfully used.

A great way to make templates feel more human is by adding a headshot and signature line to emails and thank you pages. It makes the communication more personal, rather than looking like a generic automated message. You can format this in a couple of ways, either placing the image next to the text or stacking them. When editing templates, remember that wherever you select in the template editor, any new content blocks will be added below that point.

Check-in page templates can also be customized with text to provide additional warmth and context. For example, a welcome email might include a short message like, "Thanks for joining! We’re excited to have you." These small touches make a big difference.

For email templates, the golden rule is to focus on one clear call to action—the question. If you absolutely must include a hyperlink, put it below the question rather than alongside it. The question should be the most prominent part of the email. Also, make sure your question appears above the fold, meaning it’s visible without scrolling. Test this by sending yourself a test email and checking it on both desktop and mobile.

Ashley: Making your emails visually engaging is just as important. First, ensure that images are no larger than 600 pixels wide. Even if you resize a large image in PropFuel, email clients may not display it properly, causing formatting issues on mobile devices.

Limit the number of content blocks in your template. It’s tempting to add multiple sections, but too many blocks make emails longer and harder to read, especially on mobile. Keep your design clean and simple.

Before sending, always test your email on a mobile device. The PropFuel editor has a mobile preview, but real-world testing is better. Some email clients display content differently, so it’s worth checking.

Using branding elements effectively is another way to make your templates stand out. VMUG, for example, includes event details such as the date and location in their email headers, along with an image of the city where the event is being held. The National Institute of Building Sciences ensures their check-in pages match their website by using a full-width header. Another creative approach is using a subtle background image instead of a solid color—this works well if done tastefully.

Accessibility is another crucial consideration. Always add alt text to images so that screen readers can describe them to visually impaired users. Also, ensure good color contrast between text and background; for example, avoid using light-colored text on a white background, as it makes reading difficult.

Other small but impactful tweaks include customizing button colors to match your branding and reducing padding between elements so the submit button stays visible without scrolling.

Melissa: Now for some unique and creative ways to use templates. One of my favorites is using GIFs in emails. They add a dynamic touch without overwhelming the reader. For example, a conference email might include an animated header featuring the event name.

National Wellness Institute adds GIFs to their thank you pages to reinforce responses in a fun way. One example includes a thumbs-up GIF for members who say they plan to renew soon. It’s a small but effective way to make emails more engaging.

Another approach is using mascots. EPCOR’s Hoodie Hoot, an owl mascot, appears in their event campaigns to make their messaging more recognizable and friendly. Similarly, check-in pages can display key event details in a visually appealing way rather than listing them in plain text.

Holiday-themed campaigns can also boost engagement. One client used a Halloween-themed check-in for inactive email subscribers, asking if they were still interested in receiving emails. The campaign saw a great response rate and helped clean up their contact list. Another client used a ghost-themed email for lapsed members, bringing back people who hadn’t renewed.

AFA took a different approach by creating a holiday-themed onboarding campaign featuring an elf mascot. This campaign welcomed new members and asked them what they were most excited about, making the experience feel more personal.

For birthday check-ins, some clients use PropFuel to collect birthdates for future outreach, while others send personalized birthday messages. These emails often include a question like, "How can we make this your best year?" or offer a special renewal discount as a birthday gift.

Dave: Cameron will now walk us through upcoming product updates.

Cameron: One of our biggest recent updates is SMS campaigns, allowing organizations to send real-time text messages to members. We also added AMS integration to pull SMS opt-ins directly into PropFuel.

Right now, we’re focused on improving the admin experience. We’ve enhanced page load speeds and introduced email engagement metrics, including open rates and bounce lists. Soon, we’ll be adding a draft status for campaigns, allowing you to test and tweak before going live.

Another big priority is better reporting. We want to make it easier to track campaign performance, so we’re building tools that will let you generate detailed reports showing response rates and conversions. For example, if you run a renewal campaign, you’ll be able to see exactly how many people renewed after receiving your emails.

We’re also developing campaign blueprints—pre-built campaign structures that you can activate with one click. These will help you set up common use cases like renewal campaigns, new member onboarding, or event engagement without having to build everything from scratch.

Dave: The goal is to make it easier for you to launch campaigns and to provide better data to showcase your success. We want to give you tools to demonstrate your impact to leadership.

Melissa: We’ll share the recording and slides in the help desk. You can access all roundtable recordings through the help section in PropFuel.

Dave: Thanks for joining! Looking forward to next time.

‍