How to use modular design to scale your email marketing

Think LEGO blocks, but for lifecycle marketing.

Regularly sending well-designed emails to your list doesn’t have to mean starting from scratch every time. Modular email design, powered by reusable components, lets you build faster, stay on brand, and scale without losing your creative edge. 

Litmus reports that many teams still spend two weeks or more building a single email. Wondering if the juice is worth the squeeze? Us, too. 

Modular design can cut the time spent on each email dramatically; some teams report saving up to 50%.

Think LEGO blocks, but for lifecycle marketing: snap the pieces together, mix and match, and watch your workflow speed up.

What modular email design really is

At its core, modular email design is about creating pre-built, reusable “blocks,” like headers, hero sections, product grids, testimonials, CTAs, that you can assemble into any type of email. Instead of designing each message from scratch, you simply rearrange the building blocks to fit your goal.

It’s how brands like Notion, Airbnb, Resy, Figma, and Spotify scale their programs without burning out their teams. The result? Faster production, consistent branding, and more time for personalization and strategy. So your lifecycle team can spend their time thinking about the user, not font sizes and padding. 

Pro tip: You may find that the email platform you’re in has its own name for reusable blocks. Something like “snippets,” “content blocks,” “universal content,” “modules,” and so on.

Why lifecycle teams love it

If you’re running campaigns and triggered flows every week, modular design is a no-brainer. Here’s why:

• Faster builds: Stop coding the same sections over and over.
  
  

• Consistent branding: Every email looks polished and on-brand.
  
  

• Less back-and-forth: Teams speak the same design language.
  
  

• Easy personalization: Swap blocks to tailor messages by audience.
  
  

• Fewer QA headaches: Test once, reuse often.
  
  

Must-have building blocks

A good component library includes a mix of evergreen and flexible modules. Here’s a starter kit:

How to build your modular system

Rolling out modular email design takes planning, but the payoff is worth it:

1. Audit what you’ve already built: Look at past campaigns and spot patterns you repeat often.
   
   

2. Pick your core modules: Start with the sections you use most.
   
   

3. Design and code once: Make each block responsive and brand-ready.
   
   

4. Create usage rules: Document spacing, copy length, and image guidelines.
   
   

5. Load them into your ESP: Add modules to your builder or store them in Figma.
   
   

6. Test and tweak: Use A/B tests to refine performance.
   
   

7. Keep it fresh: Review quarterly and retire anything outdated.
   
   
   

Pro tips for keeping it scalable

• Refresh your modules every few months to keep them current.
  
  

• Empower non-technical users with drag-and-drop functionality.
  
  

• Track engagement by module (yes, you can see which hero variant gets more clicks).
  
  

• Build with personalization in mind from day one.
  
  
  

How Scalero helps brands go modular

Building a modular system doesn’t have to be a heavy lift. At Scalero, we help lifecycle teams set up component libraries that speed up production and scale with your program.

Here’s how we do it:

• Custom module libraries: We design and code reusable blocks tailored to your brand.
  
  

• Guidelines & governance: Style guides and usage docs keep everything consistent.
  
  

• Team training: We show your marketers how to build with modules — no dev help needed.
  
  

• Performance insights: We help track how each component performs so you can optimize over time.
  
  

If you’re ready to trade slow, one-off builds for a faster, more scalable email system, let’s chat about how modular design can transform your lifecycle marketing.