How To Embed A Canva Newsletter Into An Email (Step By Step)

Sending newsletters to customers and clients is one of the best ways to stay in touch and keep them informed about your brand. If you’re looking for a way to take your newsletters to the next level, knowing how to embed a Canva newsletter into an email is an effective technique.

Nothing keeps your business running quite like an email list. In this post, you will learn how to use Canva and Mailchimp together to speed up the process once your business gets off the ground.

How To Embed A Canva Newsletter In Your Email

Step 1: Type In Newsletter In The Canva Home Page Search Bar

To find a good template for your newsletter, open up the Canva home page and type Newsletter in the search bar. Press Enter, and you will be presented with over 3,000 newsletter templates to choose from. 

The point of designing a beautiful newsletter is to get your readers to one of your websites. That’s why it’s important to know how to create a clickable link. 

Creating a clickable link is simple. First, select the element, click the Link button in the top right corner, then, add the website you want to link to in the box below. When you’re finished, click Done. 

Step 2: Go To Share > Download > PNG

Once the design of your newsletter is complete, you will need to download it in two different formats to embed it in an email. The first is a PNG file. To start, click on the Share button at the top right corner of the screen.

In the menu that drops down, click Download. Under File Type, choose PNG. Leave all the other settings blank, then click Download. 

The PNG file will be downloaded to your hard drive, most likely your downloads folder.  

Note: If you want to, you can save your design as a JPG, but the quality of the image won’t be as impressive. However, if space is a concern, you can go with JPG. 

Step 3: Go To Share > Download > PDF Standard

You will need to download PDF version of your design as well, so that the links inside your design will remain clickable. To start, click the Share button once again. Under File Type, choose PDF Standard. 

Once you have selected your file type, leave the rest of the settings blank, then click Download. Your PDF will be downloaded to your hard drive. 

Step 4: Upload Your PDF To Your Cloud Storage System 

Now that you have your PDF version downloaded, it’s time to upload it to the cloud storage system of your choice. The goal is to create a file you can link to when you embed your newsletter into an email. 

You can use any cloud storage system you want to use. Google Drive is probably the most popular choice. To do this, click the New button, then select New Folder. 

Name your new folder, then click Create. Now that you have a newsletter folder, you just need to add your PDF file. The easiest way to do this is to drag your PDF file from a separate window into the folder. 

Step 5: Right-Click And Select Get Link

The goal is to link the email with your embedded newsletter to the file you just added. To do this, you will need the link to this file. To get the link, right-click the file. In the options that pop up, select Get Link. 

An options menu will pop up. In the General Access drop-down menu, choose Anyone With The Link. This option guarantees that anyone who uses this link can open the file. When you’re ready, click Copy Link, then click Done. The link to the PDF file has now been copied to your clipboard. 

Step 6: Click On Insert Photo And Select The Downloaded PNG

Once your email opens up, you can add the title of the email and write an intro if you’d like to. When ready, click on the Insert Photo button. 

You will be prompted to choose a file from your hard drive. Click the Select File From Your Device button and locate the PNG of the newsletter you created earlier. Click Open to confirm. 

Step 7: Click The Link Icon And Paste The Link To The PDF 

To select your image inside the email, you must drag your mouse over the image from inside the email. Once your image has been selected, click the Link button below it. Alternatively, you can press Contol + K (Win) or Command + K (Mac) to add your link to the image. 

In the Edit Link menu, paste the link to your PDF (that should still be copied to your clipboard) in the second box by pressing Control + V (Win) or Command + V (Mac). Make sure that Web Address is checked beside it. 

If you want to, you can check and ensure your link is working by clicking the Test This Link button. This button will open your PDF in a separate window, allowing you to see your design and test the links inside the PDF. When you’re finished, click OK. 

Your image is now “clickable.” Meaning when your reader clicks on the PNG in the email, they will be directed to the PDF of the Newsletter. Once that PDF is open, they can click on any elements linked to your websites and be directed to them. 

Just make sure that your file-sharing permissions in your cloud storage allow viewing outside of your organization.

Step 8: Click On Original Size At The Bottom Of The PNG

The last thing you want to do before sending your email is to ensure that the image is readable from within the email. When you first paste your PNG into your email, it will be set to Best Fit. This size will be too small for your newsletter. Instead, click on the image, then select Original Size at the bottom of the image. 

The image itself will appear too big for the email, but when your reader receives it, it will be a perfect size. Click Send to send your email. 

Exporting Newsletters From Canva To MailChimp

Once you have more than a few dozen people on your email list, start thinking about using a service like Mailchimp. With Mailchimp, users can set up automated campaigns using newsletters you design in Canva or templates that Mailchimp provides.  

To share you Canva newsletter to Mailchimp, click the Share button in the top right corner of the design interface. Then, click the More button at the bottom of the menu. If you’re doing this for the first time, you must link your Mailchimp account to your Canva account. Click on the Mailchimp button. 

You will then be asked to connect your Mailchimp account to your Canva account. Enter your Mailchimp Username and Password, then click Log In. You will then be asked if you trust the app you’re trying to connect to. Click Allow to connect your Mailchimp account to your Canva account officially. 

From this point on, whenever you want to send a newsletter to your Mailchimp account, you just need to click Share, More, and then the Mailchimp button!

So ultimately, the newsletter templates in Canva will work, but they are limited after your email list reaches a certain size. I personally use Convertkit for my email list, but Mailchimp is a cheaper starting point (starts off free until a certain number of subscribers). Inside just about any email list provider are templates that you can use and design as well, so you have options once you outgrow this Canva method in the future!