How to Create and Send Email Campaigns Using Gmail Layouts

The Layouts feature in Gmail lets you build responsive, branded HTML emails—such as newsletters, announcements, or event invitations—directly inside Google Workspace without needing third-party marketing tools.

Locating the Layouts Button

• Open Gmail on your web browser and click Compose in the top-left corner.

• In the bottom formatting toolbar (next to the paperclip attachment and emoji icons), look for the Layouts icon. It resembles a small rectangle split into distinct header/body tiles.

Note: If your browser window is narrow, click the three vertical dots (More options) at the far right of the formatting bar to reveal the icon.

Selecting a Layout

• Clicking the Layouts icon opens the template gallery, divided into two sections:

• Default layouts: Pre-designed structures created by Google (e.g., Newsletter, Call to action, Announcement, Simple service).

• My layouts: Custom templates you or your team have previously modified and saved.

• Click on any template to see the preview. Click Edit layout (or select Default styling in the lower-left to configure global brand settings like logos, primary brand colors, and footer details).

Setting Up Default Styling (Brand Kit)

Before picking a template, configure your global branding. Any settings saved in Default styling will automatically pre-populate across every layout you open in the future, saving you from re-uploading logos or re-typing footers each time.

• In the bottom-left corner of the layout picker window, click Default styling.

Customize your organization's core elements:

• Logo: Upload your company logo (PNG or JPG). Once saved here, it automatically populates in template headers without getting cropped out.

• Color Palette: Select a preset color theme or input your brand's exact hex color code (e.g., #1A73E8) to tint buttons, accents, and section backgrounds. You can find the hex codes in the ICOM Brand Style Guide located in the Communication & Marketing folder on the Resources shared drive.

• Font: Choose your default web font (e.g., Roboto, Arial, Georgia) across titles and body text.

• Footer Details: Enter standard legal and compliance details, such as your organization's legal business name, physical mailing address, and contact info.

• Social Links: Add URLs for your company’s profiles (LinkedIn, YouTube, X, Facebook, Instagram, or custom web portals).
• Click Save in the bottom-right corner.
• You can return to Default styling at any point to update brand assets across future drafts.

The Layout Editor & Right-Hand Insert Panel

Clicking Edit layout opens a full-screen, drag-and-drop workspace similar to Google Sites. On the right side of the screen, you will find the Insert panel:

• Content Blocks: Pre-configured content sections featuring 1, 2, 3, or asymmetrical multi-column arrangements.
• Text Boxes: Standalone headline, subhead, or body text frames.
• Images: Image containers to add standalone visuals.
• Buttons: Direct action buttons where you can customize display text and set click-through URLs.
• Dividers: Clean horizontal divider lines to break up dense sections.
• Social links: Standardized icon bars linking directly to organizational channels (LinkedIn, YouTube, X, web portals).
• Drag any element from the right panel into the main canvas, or click to add it to the bottom of your draft.

Customizing Placeholders & Content

Every template comes with placeholder text, buttons, and graphics. Click directly into any placeholder box to replace its contents:

• Buttons: Click the button to type a new label (e.g., Register Now, Read More, Sign Up) and paste destination links.

• Sections: Drag blocks up or down using the six-dot grab handles on the left side of each row.

Working with Images: Sizing, Cropping, Zoom & Repositioning

Gmail Layouts uses responsive CSS containers, meaning images placed in the email body will automatically scale to fill the width of the column they occupy.

• Default Layout Logos (No Cropping): If you upload your organization’s logo via the Default styling / logo placeholder in the header, Gmail preserves the logo's full dimensions and aspect ratio—it will not get cropped out. The system scales it to fit within the designated header boundary rather than applying a fixed crop frame.

• Standard Image Containers & Aspect Ratios: For body sections, banners, and multi-column rows, image slots have fixed aspect ratios determined by the template. If an uploaded image has different proportions (e.g., placing a tall vertical photo into a wide 16:9 banner container), Gmail will automatically crop outer edges to fill the container without distorting the visual proportions.
• Alt Text: Click the options icon on the image toolbar to add alternative text for screen readers and recipients whose email clients block remote images by default.

• Zoom Slider: Click on any body image to reveal the floating editing toolbar. Use the slider handle to zoom in or out within the frame boundaries.
• Reposition (Pan): Click and drag a zoomed or oversized image inside its frame to center the subject or adjust what part of the visual remains visible.

Changing and Styling Text

Clicking any text box reveals an inline formatting bar with typography controls:

• Font Hierarchy: Switch between Title, Heading, Subheading, and Normal text to maintain clear visual hierarchy.
• Font Family: Select from Google Workspace web-safe fonts (e.g., Roboto, Arial, Georgia).
• Text Formatting: Standard options for bold, italic, underline, alignment (left, center, right, justified), and bulleted or numbered lists.
• Inline Hyperlinks: Highlight specific words and click the link icon to link phrases directly without using a standalone button.

Section Style Options

To the left of each row or block is a vertical toolbar controlling row-level design:

• Section Background: Click the palette icon to toggle between Regular (plain white), Light background, or Dark / Emphasized styling based on your brand palette.
• Duplicate Block: Duplicate an entire section to maintain styling while adding more items.
• Delete Block: Click the trash can icon to remove unnecessary placeholders.

Multi-Device Previews (Desktop, Tablet, Mobile)

Before inserting the layout into your draft, verify how the content reflows across different screen sizes:

• Click the Preview icon (shaped like a computer monitor and phone) in the top menu bar.

• Toggle the three viewport options in the bottom-right corner:
  • Desktop: Shows wide headers, side-by-side columns, and horizontal button placements.
  • Tablet: Shows intermediate responsive scaling.
  • Mobile: Confirms that multi-column blocks stack cleanly into a single vertical column, font sizes remain readable, and buttons expand to full width for easy tapping.
• Click the back arrow (X) to exit preview mode and return to editing.

Inserting the Layout into Your Draft

• Once your adjustments are complete, click Insert in the top-right corner.

• The designed layout will load directly into your Gmail Compose window.
• Add your recipients in the To field, set your Subject line, and send.

Quick Tip: To send personalized individual copies with automated unsubscribe footers, enable

Managing and Editing Saved Layouts

Custom layouts are never lost after sending:

• Accessing Saved Layouts: Click Compose > Layouts icon > My layouts tab.
• Re-editing: Select any previously created layout and click Edit layout to tweak content, update links, or adjust images for a new campaign.
• Drive Integration: Gmail stores custom layouts as dedicated files in your Google Drive. You can organize them into shared folders or grant edit access to teammates so the entire department can use consistent email templates.

Contact the Helpdesk for additional assistance.