TL;DR: Spark adds email templates that allow you to write an email once, include placeholders for names, numbers, etc, and re-use it when needed to save time.
Update: Email templates are now available on Android. Update Spark to version 2.3.0 and start using templates right now!
Email has become an integral part of our lives today, predominantly so as part of our work lives. Email is used for all kinds of purposes and tasks, related to both internal and external communication. If sending out or replying to emails is a core element of your day-to-day schedule, then there’s a very good chance that repeatedly sending out the same emails has gotten boring and frustrating.
More often than not, the text in the email body is reused when contacting clients, sharing project updates with your team, and especially when responding to queries and support requests. In most of these cases, a majority of the message stays the same while only certain parts of it change, like the recipient’s name or numeric values. It’s deeply frustrating to keep reusing the same text manually every time you have to send out emails.
At Readdle, we strive hard to build products that make people productive and one of the core principles behind Spark is to make you love your email again. In order to get rid of all the annoyances described above, we’re introducing email templates.
With the new Templates feature in Spark, you can create reusable blocks of text that you can include in an email with a few simple clicks. Spark even gives you additional control over templates by letting you specify placeholders, which are then replaced by actual values when the email is being sent out.
Here are a few types of email where Templates can save you time:
- Reports
- Team updates
- Pitches
- Client quotes
- F.A.Qs
Creating Templates in Spark
To get started with templates in Spark, open Spark’s Preferences and navigate to the new ‘Templates’ tab.
Now, click on the ‘Create template’ button to create a new template with your own copy of the text.
Here, add a name for your template and include any placeholders you want to add.
Similarly, continue adding new templates in Spark if you have other blocks of reusable text that you want to add.
Shared templates for teams
Your templates can be categorized either as your own personal ‘My Templates’, or you can have templates for your team as well. They're most beneficial when you create F.A.Qs or replies to common customers or clients' requests and use them across all of your team. All templates can be dragged and dropped between the Personal and Teams sections.
The free plan includes up to 5 free shared templates for your team.
Using Placeholders in Spark Templates
The new templates feature in Spark allows you to use placeholders within your templates. Placeholders are values of text that can change on the fly when composing or sending an email. You can choose from a readymade set of placeholders offered by Spark, or you can even set and define your own placeholders in Spark.
To create placeholders in Spark, use the ‘Add Placeholder’ button in the toolbar. Spark supports two types of placeholders in templates.
Blue Preset Placeholders:
Blue Presets are placeholders that are built into Spark and pull up the information automatically from Spark since the app already knows this information. These presets are great for when you need to include information about the email itself in the template text.
The default list of the blue presets consists of:
- Recipient’s First Name
- Recipient’s Last Name
- Recipient’s Full Name
- My First Name
- My Last Name
- My Full Name
As you can see, you can use the blue presets as placeholders for greeting someone in the email or to mention or sign off your own name.
Orange Custom Placeholders:
Orange Custom Placeholders are placeholders where you can enter your own custom values. The values for these placeholders can be added by users when composing an email and any type of information can be entered inside them.
These placeholders are great when you want to type a custom value, and want Spark to remind you to about it. If you’ve included an orange placeholder in your email template and forget to add a value there, Spark will warn you before sending out an email.
Using Templates in Spark
Now that we have created templates in Spark, let’s take a look at how we can use them when composing an email.
At the bottom of the email composer window, you will find a new Templates icon using which you can select and add any of the templates you’ve created.
Let’s find out some real-world use-cases of the email templates.
Example 1 → Query Response:
Let’s take the example of someone emailing you asking about the release date of your new app in the market. You can easily create a template in Spark as follows (as of now, you can't add a placeholder by just typing in brackets, you have to use the 'Add placeholder' button).
Hi {{Recipient’s First Name}},
Thank you for your interest in our new app. We’re glad to know you’re eagerly awaiting its release. We’re wrapping up the final few stages of development and will be releasing the app sometime in {{planned_release_month}}.
If you’d like to help us beta test the app, please visit {{TestFlight_beta_url}}.
Thank you.
Best,
{{My Full Name}}
Readdle Team
Example 2 → Sales Quote
For this example, let’s consider that you’re a manufacturing company and a prospective customer has emailed you asking for a quote for a bulk order. Here’s a handy template in Spark for you.
Hi {{Recipient’s First Name}},
Thank you for emailing us with your query.
We’d be happy to fulfill your bulk order of {{product_name}} and submit the attached quote for your perusal.
Product Name: {{product_name}}
Desired Quantity: {{product_quantity}}
Cost Per Unit: {{product_cost_per_unit}}
Discounted Total: {{discounted_total}}
The order can be completed and delivered to you within {{delivery_day_number}} days from the receipt of first payment.
Kindly let us know if you have any questions.
Thank you.
Best,
{{My Full Name}}
Needless to say, with the new Templates feature in Spark, possibilities are endless. This feature has been designed to help you save time and get more productive.
Download Spark for your device for free and let us know what you think:
Preshit Deorukhkar 
