Email in WorkZeal is your regular mailbox connected to the application: messages come in and go out through the system and are filed to the client card. There is no need to open a separate webmail site, you can write a message right from the section you are currently working in.
What you can do
- Connect a mailbox
- Write a message
- Build an email template
- Insert variables into a template
- Add reaction buttons to a message
- Compose an outreach email
- Send a mailing
Write a message
First connect an email account. Without a connected mailbox there is nothing to send messages from: Connecting an email account.
After that, you can write a message from any section of the application, wherever you see the @ icon:
- from the client card;
- from the contact card;
- from the Email section;
- from a task, a deal, and other places with the @ icon.
Instead of typing the text again, it is convenient to take it from a template.
The message itself is composed at the Content step. The panel at the top is the familiar editor toolbar: font and style, color and highlight, link, image, lists, table, and HTML code insertion via the <> button.
On the left of the toolbar is the AI button, the built-in AI assistant Lucy. Select a fragment of the message and choose a ready-made prompt: check spelling, soften the wording, and others. The assistant edits the selected text right in the message.
Email templates
A template is a pre-made message that you insert instead of typing by hand. It can be plain text, contain images, or be built in a third-party builder, for example in Tilda: you copy the HTML code from there and paste it into the editor.
Templates live in the Email application, on the Templates tab in the top menu, next to Messages and Lead generation. A saved template is available to all users: it can be selected when writing a message, when creating a mailing, and in outreach emails.
Template editor
| No. | Element | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Folders | The tree of folders with templates. Folders group messages by purpose: sales, invoices, promotions |
| 2 | Editor / Preview | A switch: editing the template or viewing the message as the recipient sees it. Next to it are the template name, the author, and the dates of creation and last change |
| 3 | Editor toolbar | Font and style, link, image, alignment, color and highlight. The AI button is the AI assistant Lucy, and under ••• are the remaining tools, including <> for inserting HTML code |
| 4 | Save changes | Saves the template edits. The Add button on the right creates a new folder or template |
| 5 | Variables | Card fields that are substituted into the message when it is sent, see Variables |
| 6 | Reaction buttons | Reply buttons inside the message and the actions they trigger, see Reaction buttons |
| 7 | Content | Copy from template takes the content of another template as a basis. Below it is a link to the guide on building emails in Tilda |
How to create a template
- Create a folder: Add - Section, enter a name, for example "Sales department emails", and click Add.
- Create a template: Add - Template, set a name and the folder it will go into. To avoid starting from scratch, click Copy from template and take a ready-made message as a basis.
- Type the text in the editor. If the message was built in a third-party HTML builder, copy the code from there and paste it using the <> button. The Source Code window will open.
- Insert variables where the message should address a specific client.
- If needed, add reaction buttons.
- Switch to Preview and check how the message looks.
- Click Save changes.
Warning
Without Save changes the template edits will not be kept: neither the text, nor the variables, nor the buttons.
Variables in a template
A variable is a label in curly braces that is replaced at sending time with data from your database: the recipient company and its contact. One template goes to a hundred clients, but each of them sees their own name and the name of their company: "Hello, {contact_first_name}!" turns into "Hello, Anna!".
The substitution works everywhere the template is used: both in a message created from the template manually and in automations.
How to insert one:
- In the Variables panel on the right, click the field you need. The label is copied.
- Place the cursor at the right spot in the template and paste it: Ctrl+V (⌘+V on Mac).
Do not type the label by hand: one extra letter and the substitution will not work, and the client will see curly braces in the message.
The full list is opened by the How it works link above the panel, in the Variable values window. There each variable has its own copy button.
If a field in the client card is empty, there is nothing to substitute. So it is better to place variables where the phrase reads well even without them, and before a bulk send to check that the recipients have the required fields filled in.
Reaction buttons
Reaction buttons are buttons inside the message that let the recipient respond in one click, without a reply email or a call. The click is recorded in the CRM: the incoming message gets a tag with the reaction, and an automation can be triggered by this tag.
| Button | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Interested | The client is ready to talk, so it is time to get in touch |
| Not interested | The offer is not needed right now, so do not pester them with follow-up emails |
| Do not email me again | An opt-out from emails. You must not write to this recipient again |
In the Reaction buttons block, click Insert buttons. The design window will open:
| Setting | What it defines |
|---|---|
| Style | The look of the buttons, for example Fill + outline: the first button is filled with color, the second one is outlined |
| Rounding | How rounded the button corners are |
| Size | Large or Small |
| Color | One of the preset colors or Custom, to match your company's brand color |
| "Interested" button, "Not interested" button | The button labels. You can replace them with your own, for example "I want a demo" and "Not now" |
| Unsubscribe link | The text of the opt-out link |
| Preview | The buttons as the recipient will see them |
Then click Configure and define what happens after each button is clicked. Until the actions are defined, the block shows the Actions not configured label: the buttons are in the message, but the client's reaction will not lead to anything.
If the message was built in a third-party builder, you can draw the buttons there and put the variables {reaction_link_interested}, {reaction_link_not_interested}, and {reaction_link_unsubscribe} into the links. The clicks will be counted the same way.
Outreach emails
Outreach (literally "reaching out") is the first email to a company that does not know you yet and is not expecting to hear from you. It is not a mailing to your own database but a cold introduction: the goal of the email is not to sell right away but to get a reply and start a conversation.
Warning
An outreach email must not turn into unsolicited advertising: many jurisdictions restrict commercial email sent without the recipient's prior consent and fine senders for violations. Keep outreach a personal business message to a specific company, not a text intended for an indefinite group of people, and always give the recipient a way to opt out. If you have doubts about the text, show the template to a lawyer.
How to compose an outreach template
Keep such templates in a separate folder and check each one against this list:
| Rule | Why |
|---|---|
| Address the recipient by name and company name using variables | The email is addressed to a specific person, not to a "dear customer", and does not look like advertising |
| Explain why you are writing to this particular company | The recipient sees that the email is not a mass one |
| One offer, not a catalog of products and promotions | The recipient understands within a few seconds why they were contacted |
| Sign with a real name, position, and company | It is clear who is writing and whom to reply to |
| Insert reaction buttons and configure the actions | The client's response triggers the next step by itself. Without buttons the chain breaks off at the first email |
| Keep the Do not email me again link and honor the opt-out | A legal requirement and the sender's reputation |
Outreach together with the Insider agent
Most often outreach emails go out in tandem with the AI agent Insider. On a schedule, the agent searches the internet for companies that match your client profile (industry, city, size) and adds them to the CRM with a Tax ID, email, and phone, without duplicates.
The agent itself does not send emails. Emails, tasks, and status changes are handled by automation: you create the scenarios for it in advance. So that automation can tell the companies from the agent apart from the rest of the database, the agent assigns them a separate type, for example Found by Insider. Do not use this type anywhere else, otherwise the outreach will also go to your existing clients.
| Step | Where it is configured | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Insider agent | Finds companies and adds them to the CRM with the Found by Insider type |
| 2 | A scenario in Automation: clients, Add, type Found by Insider | Sends the company an outreach email based on the template |
| 3 | The client replies to the email or clicks a reaction button, and the incoming message gets a tag, for example "Interested" | |
| 4 | A second scenario in Automation, triggered by the client's reply | Changes the type and status of the client, for example to Client in progress, and creates a task for the manager with an assignee and a due date |
The type names here are examples. Create your own in the client types directory.