Use this guide to write email message templates. To check formatting, send yourself a message before sending to recipients.
You can also send messages with custom content.
Titles
To add a title to your message, use the number sign (#) followed by a space. To add a subtitle, use two number signs (##) followed by a space. For example:
# This is an example of a title
## This is an example of a subtitle
This is plain paragraph text
This is an example of a title
This is an example of a subtitle
This is plain paragraph text
Bold and italic
To add bold, use two asterisks (**) on each side of your text. To add italic, use underscores (_) on each side of your text. For example:
This is a paragraph with **bold** and _italic_.
This is a paragraph with bold and italic.
Sections
To separate the message into sections, use three underscores (_ _ _) to create a horizontal line. For example:
Section 1
_ _ _
Section 2
Section 1
Section 2
Bulleted lists
To add bullet points, use asterisks (*) followed by a space. Bullet points help recipients identify important information quickly. For example:
* point 1
* point 2
* point 3
- point 1
- point 2
- point 3
Block format
To add a vertical grey bar to the side of text, use a caret (^) followed by a space in front of the text. For example:
^Text
Text
Links
To include a link, add the full URL (starting with https://) and it will become a clickable hyperlink. For example:
Apply now at https://www.canada.ca
Apply now at https://www.canada.ca
To embed a link in your message, use square brackets around descriptive text, followed by round brackets around the URL. Make sure links make sense out of context (avoid “click here”). For example:
[Sign in](https://www.canada.ca/sign-in)
To include a personalised link in your message, use double round brackets around the personalised link, as you would for a variable. To embed a personalised link, use square brackets around the descriptive text, followed by triple round brackets around the variable link.
Apply now at ((link))
[Your personalised link](((link)))
Apply now at https://www.canada.ca
Language attribute tags
Language tags help make bilingual emails more accessible by indicating how content should be read by a screenreader. Use [[en]] on the line before English text and [[/en]] on the line following English text. Use [[fr]] on the line before French text and [[/fr]] after on the line following French text.
[[en]]
# Example of an English title
English text
[[/en]]
[[fr]]
# Exemple de titre en français
Texte en français
[[/fr]]
Example of an English title
English text
Exemple de titre en français
Texte en français