Newsletter authoring

The newsletter composer gives you a few ways to write the same campaign. Keep it text-first, add common email elements, paste custom HTML, or send plain text. Shipmail keeps the managed footer, unsubscribe links, and pre-send checks in place for every mode.

Last updated July 5, 2026

Editor modes

Mode	Use it for
Write	A text-first rich editor for updates that should feel personal and direct.
Design	The same editor with insert controls for callouts, link lists, columns, images, videos, buttons, and more.
Code	Paste custom email HTML from your own template or an external design tool.
Text	Send a plain text newsletter when simple copy is the right format.

Design blocks

In Design mode, use Insert to add a heading, callout, boxed link list, two-column section, button, image, divider, spacer, quote, code block, video, or custom HTML fragment. Buttons require a safe web or mail link. Images are uploaded to hosted storage, require alt text, and can include captions with optional caption links. Images and videos can be uploaded one at a time, as a multi-select, or from a folder. The media picker shows recent assets, filename search, preview, insert, and copy URL controls.

Videos are stored with a thumbnail that has a play overlay. Emails get a linked thumbnail so they work across email clients; public web archives can play the hosted video.

The API, SDKs, CLI, and MCP server use the same block model as the editor. Block prose is plain text in public API requests; use newlines for paragraph breaks, and use custom HTML only when you need to control the markup yourself.

Custom HTML

Code mode is for complete custom HTML from a designer, a Figma email export, or a template you maintain yourself. Shipmail previews and sends the sanitized version. Scripts, forms, iframes, raw video tags, unsafe links, relative image URLs, external stylesheets, and unsupported attributes are removed before sending.

If you create drafts through the API or SDK with simple semantic HTML, Shipmail applies email-safe default spacing and typography to headings, paragraphs, lists, quotes, tables, and images. Explicit inline styles are preserved when you need a fully custom design.

Preview and review

Preview shows the sendable HTML with a representative Shipmail newsletter footer.
Reader check summarizes URL count, image count, videos, estimated length, media, column stacking, and whether the final section looks like a CTA or review ask.
Pre-send review fails unsafe or relative links and image URLs.
URL preflight explains that links, images, and video thumbnails count.
Missing image alt text and unsupported HTML show warnings before scheduling.
Test sends and real sends use the same render path, so the test email is the best final check before scheduling.
Draft newsletters can be deleted from the dashboard before they are scheduled.