The visual editor lets you build a custom email from blocks (text, images, buttons, columns) without writing HTML. Merge tags personalize it with the recipient's name, join link and meetings. The editor converts the design to email HTML when you move on to the Review step.

Before you start

You need to be an organization admin or an event admin.
The event must be Invite only. See Introduction to custom emails.
Complete the Settings step first. The editor opens at the Content step.
Warning: Switching to the HTML editor or loading a template deletes the content you have built.

Where to find it

Communications > Custom Emails > Create New > Proceed in the admin panel. The Visual editor is selected by default for new emails. An existing email opens in the editor it was built with; the switch is not shown.

The panels Templates, Merge tags, Content and Layout are on the left. The settings of the selected block are on the right, under Configuration, when the window is wider than 1400 px. In narrower windows they open in a drawer.

Content step with the Visual editor / HTML editor switch at the top

Start from a template

The Templates panel offers four starting points:

Basic invite template 01 (no QR code)
Basic invite template 02 (QR code included)
One-Click invite template light
One-Click invite template dark

Choose a template under Select template.
Select Preview to see it, then close the Template preview.
Select Load and confirm. The message reads "Loading a template will delete your existing content. Do you want to proceed?".

Templates panel with the template list, Preview and Load

Add content

Drag blocks from the Content and Layout panels into the email. Select a block to edit its settings.

Block	What it adds
Text	A text area with formatting tools.
Image	An image. See "Add an image" for upload.
Button	A button with a link.
Social	A row of social network icons with links.
Divider	A horizontal line.
Spacer	Empty vertical space.
Wrapper	A container that groups blocks and can have its own background and padding.
QR Code	The recipient's Brella QR code, 200 × 200 px. See "QR code".
Calendar	Two links, "Add to calendar" and "Add to Google Calendar", followed by "Sync frequency is controlled by your calendar app." See "Calendar links".
1 column to 4 columns (under Layout)	A section with that many columns, in several width ratios.

Content and Layout panels with the block list

Build a text-and-button email

Under Content, drag Text into the email.
Select the text in the email and replace it. Use the formatting toolbar for emphasis and alignment.
In Merge tags, select {{first_name}} to copy it. Paste it into your greeting, for example Hello {{first_name}}.
Drag Button into the email and select it.
Under Configuration > Setting, enter Join the event in Content. This is the visible button label.
In Href, paste {{join_url}}. This is the button's destination, not its label.
Under Color, set Text color and Button color. Check that the text is readable.
Under Dimension, adjust Padding for space around the button. Inner padding controls the space between its text and edge.
Select the email background to change page-wide settings, such as Text color, Background and Content background.

For example, increase the padding around a button when it sits too close to the paragraph above it. Check the result in mobile preview before adding more space.

$Selected Button with Content set to Join the event and Href set to {{join_url}}$

Add an image

Drag an Image block into the email and select it.
Under Configuration > Setting, upload a file from your computer, or paste a public image URL into the image address field.
Confirm that the image appears in the email, then check its width in desktop and mobile preview.

Uploaded images can be webp, jpg, jpeg, gif or png and up to 5 MB each. Brella stores an uploaded image immediately and inserts its address into the block.

Merge tags

Merge tags are placeholders that Brella replaces with the recipient's data when the email is sent. The Merge tags panel lists them; select a tag to copy it ("Copied!") and paste it into a text block, a button label or a link address. Tags use the form {{tag_name}}.

Tag	Value	Works for
`{{event_name}}`	The event name.	All recipients
`{{first_name}}`	The recipient's first name.	All recipients
`{{last_name}}`	The recipient's last name.	All recipients
`{{join_url}}`	The personal join link of the invite: a one-click link when Enable One-Click Authentication is on, otherwise a link with the join code. Attendees who joined through an invite get that invite's link; other attendees get a link to the event's People page.	Invites and joined attendees
`{{join_code}}`	The invite's join code. Attendees who joined through an invite get that invite's code; other attendees get the event code.	Invites and joined attendees
`{{seats_count}}`	Number of seats on the invite.	Invites only
`{{available_seats_count}}`	Number of unused seats on the invite.	Invites only
`{{all_admin_booked_meetings}}`	The recipient's accepted meetings that an organizer created in the admin panel.	Invites and joined attendees
`{{all_registrant_booked_meetings}}`	The recipient's accepted meetings created in the app.	Invites and joined attendees
`{{all_meetings_for_registrant}}`	All the recipient's accepted meetings.	Invites and joined attendees
`{{webcal_url}}`	A personal calendar feed link (webcal) with the recipient's accepted meetings and bookmarked sessions.	Invites and joined attendees
`{{google_calendar_url}}`	The same feed as a Google Calendar link.	Invites and joined attendees

A tag that does not apply to the recipient is replaced with nothing. For example, {{available_seats_count}} is empty in an email to a joined attendee.

Each entry in a meeting list shows the other participants (name, title, company), the meeting time in the event's time zone, and the location (booth, or networking area and table). The personal message from the meeting request is included when there is one. Recipients without accepted meetings get an empty list.

QR code

The QR Code block inserts the recipient's Brella QR code as an image. It encodes the recipient's QR string used for check-in and lead scanning; it is not a link and does not open the app or sign the recipient in. Use {{join_url}} for access to the event.

Brella leaves the QR code out for recipients who can't use one: when the event is virtual, when the recipient's Attendance type is Virtual, or when Show QR code is off for the recipient's list.

The editor can't show a real code. The preview shows a placeholder QR code, and a test email contains a static test image. The real code is generated for each recipient when the email is sent.

Calendar links

The Calendar block inserts the {{webcal_url}} and {{google_calendar_url}} tags as links. The feed is personal to the recipient and contains their accepted meetings and bookmarked sessions. How often it refreshes depends on the recipient's calendar app.

Links

Use link and image addresses that start with http://, https:// or mailto:, or use a URL tag ({{join_url}}, {{webcal_url}}, {{google_calendar_url}}) as the whole address. When Brella saves the design, it adds https:// to an address without a scheme, clears addresses with any other scheme, clears mailto: links without a valid email address, and removes scripts and other unsafe HTML. These changes show when you reopen the email.

Preview and test

Above the email, select the monitor icon for desktop preview.
Select the phone icon for mobile preview. Check text wrapping, image width and the button.
Select the editor icon to return to editing. Preview modes do not let you change the content.

Merge tags show sample values in the preview. These are not a recipient's actual details.

Mobile email preview with the phone icon selected

Select Send test to email the current design to your own address. The dialog Send a test email shows the recipient ("Send a test to <your email>") and notes: "The QR code is a static test image." and "Tags are displayed as tags." Select Send test in the dialog. The message "Preview sent successfully" confirms sending. In the test, {{event_name}} shows the event name; the other tags arrive as text.

Test email notes with Cancel and Send test buttons

Save

Select Review to convert the design to HTML and open the Review step. There, select Save as draft, or Send now, Schedule for later or Enable trigger and confirm. Changes to the email design are not saved before this; uploaded image files are already stored.

Sent emails open in a read-only Desktop / Mobile preview; they can't be edited.

Limits

Generated HTML: up to 100,000 characters.
Uploaded images: webp, jpg, jpeg, gif or png, up to 5 MB each.
The QR code is 200 × 200 px and is only included for in-person recipients whose list has Show QR code on.
The Visual editor / HTML editor switch is only available while creating a new email.

Troubleshooting

The QR code is missing from the email a recipient received
The event is virtual, the recipient's Attendance type is Virtual, or Show QR code is off for the recipient's list. The block is left out for these recipients.

A merge tag arrived as text, for example "{{first_name}}"
This is expected in test emails: tags are displayed as tags. In a real sending, check the tag spelling against the Merge tags panel.

A link address was gone when you reopened the email
The address did not start with http://, https:// or mailto: and was not a URL tag, or it was a mailto: link without a valid email address. Brella cleared it from the saved design. Enter a full address.

Build a custom email with the visual editor