BNTouch divides marketing templates into two distinct types and the difference matters for what shows up in a borrower’s inbox. Design templates function like stationery: they are the look-and-feel container that wraps every email your team sends (logo, header image, signature block, footer disclaimers). Letter templates are full pre-written messages with content already inside, used when an entire email body should be reused. Templates can be set as public for everyone on your team or private to just you, and any template you build is selectable in every campaign step editor and one-off email composer.
“Marketing messages need to be interesting, clear, and consistent in order to be most effective. In the [BNTouch] CRM, you can use templates in your marketing campaigns to design unique email and print media stationery” [IU3K40VHYhQ m0]. So templates do two jobs at once: they keep your brand consistent across every touch a borrower or partner sees, and they reduce the time it takes to send a polished message because the design is already done.
The two template types explained
The walkthrough is precise on the distinction:
Design templates (stationery)
“A design template functions like a type of stationery. It is a style and [framework]” [IU3K40VHYhQ m1]. So a design template is the wrapper, not the content. It might include your brokerage logo at the top, a footer with compliance disclaimers, a signature block placeholder, and a specific color scheme. The actual email body is empty when you start composing; you write the unique message inside the design template’s frame.
Use design templates for the standard look of every email your team sends. One brokerage-wide design template that every LO uses gives you brand consistency across thousands of touches.
Letter templates (full pre-written messages)
Letter templates are different. They are the full content. A letter template is an entire email message ready to send (subject, body, CTA), often with meta tags for personalization. Common letter templates: standard pre-approval letters, anniversary emails, holiday greetings, rate-quote follow-ups.
Use letter templates when an entire message structure should be reused. You pick the letter template, the body fills in with the pre-written content, you make small edits if needed, and send.
Public vs private templates
Every template has a visibility setting. “[Yes] for public to all users in your office, no signifies that the template is only available to you, its creator” [IU3K40VHYhQ m2].
Public templates are the brokerage’s shared library. Designs that should be consistent across the team (logo placement, compliance footer, brand colors) should be public. Form letters that all LOs should use (standard pre-approval, post-funding congratulations) should also be public.
Private templates are individual to the LO. An LO might have a personal style they want on their own emails (different signature block, specific tone, custom meta tag arrangements) that they do not want to push to the rest of the team. Private templates handle that case.
Pre-existing templates on your account
BNTouch ships pre-built templates. “Your account may already have templates listed on this page. These have been added to your account or created for your use by your administrator” [IU3K40VHYhQ m2]. So when you open the templates list, expect to see existing ones. Some come from BNTouch (industry-standard templates), some are added by your account administrator for your team specifically.
Building a new template from scratch
“If you want to start a new template from scratch just click the add new template button above the list” [IU3K40VHYhQ m3]. The editor opens with a name field, a description field, a type selector (letter or design), a public/private toggle, and the text editor.
The text editor is the same one used for marketing campaign steps and email composition. “When creating or editing a template, you will see a screen much like a marketing step editor” [IU3K40VHYhQ m3]. So everything you can do in a campaign step (insert images, link to external sites, embed videos, use meta tags) you can do in a template. The template is just a saved version of that content.
The design type configuration
For design templates specifically: “Like stationery, choose design. Next choose whether you want the template to be public for all users in your office or for your own private use. In the text editor below, you can design your template just like a marketing [step]” [IU3K40VHYhQ m4]. So you build the visual wrapper here. Header image at the top, footer with disclaimers at the bottom, signature block placeholder in the middle.
The actual email content gets inserted into this frame when an LO uses the template for a campaign step or one-off email.
Source-code editing for advanced users
If you have HTML design skills (or a developer), you can paste raw HTML into the template editor. “[The text editor supports source code editing for HTML]” [IU3K40VHYhQ m5]. Useful when you have brand-compliant HTML built in another tool and want to bring it into BNTouch directly.
Where templates show up later
“Once you have added templates to your account, they will be available whenever you are creating or editing marketing campaign steps or composing email messages” [IU3K40VHYhQ m6]. So templates are not used only for campaigns; they are also available for one-off email composition. An LO writing a one-time email to a specific borrower can apply a template to that email for brand consistency.
“Depending on your account settings and the configuration of the campaign [the template applies automatically or is selectable per step]” [IU3K40VHYhQ m6]. Some campaigns are configured to use a default template across every step; others let you pick the template per step.
The paste link: pull template content without applying the template
One useful detail. “Even if you don’t end up applying a template, you can still add the material from it to your message by clicking the paste link, which will add all of the templates material to the text editor below” [IU3K40VHYhQ m7].
So the paste link lets you pull a letter template’s content into an email without committing to the template itself. Useful when you want to start with a pre-written message but plan to customize it heavily; you get the structure without the constraint.
A specific scenario: setting up a brokerage-wide template library
A brokerage with five LOs decides to standardize their email marketing. The right setup looks like:
One brokerage-wide design template (public). Logo header, color scheme, footer with compliance disclaimers, signature block placeholder. Every LO uses this as the default design on every email.
Five letter templates (public). Standard pre-approval letter, post-funding congratulations, anniversary email, refinance opportunity outreach, lost-deal follow-up. Each with meta tags for personalization.
Per-LO private letter templates. Each LO builds their own private versions of templates they use heavily, with personal touches their style demands.
Result: every email from the team looks brand-consistent (design template) while still allowing personal voice (private letter templates layered on top).
Honest limits
Template inheritance is one level deep. A campaign can use a design template; a campaign step can use the campaign’s design template by default or pick a different one. There is no concept of a master template that all templates inherit from.
Public/private is per template, not per folder. If you want subsets of LOs to share certain templates (e.g., a refi team vs a purchase team), the visibility model is binary. You either share with everyone or keep private.
Meta tags must be tested. A template that uses a meta tag pointing to a field that does not exist for all borrowers will render that meta tag as blank in some emails. Test the template on a few records before going wide.
HTML compatibility varies by email client. Complex HTML templates that look great in Gmail may render poorly in Outlook. Send a test to multiple email clients before activating the template for high-volume campaigns.
Build a template on your account
To walk through creating both a design template and a letter template on a sandbox account, request a demo and ask the BNTouch team to demo the template editor. The mortgage CRM page covers the underlying marketing engine.
