Design once. Send anywhere.
A friendly, illustrated walkthrough for writing a great update — and getting it into Gmail or Outlook with every pixel intact.
Hi! I'm Wren. Let's make this easy.Part 1
Design an update people actually read
A few small choices make the difference between 'skipped' and 'shared'. Here's the Wren way.
The serif headline is your hook. Keep it to one clear thought — 'Q3 wins & what's next' beats 'Various updates from the team'.
Short paragraphs. Active voice. If you'd say it on Slack, say it here. Wren will tidy the grammar — keep the voice.
Use one if it adds context (a chart, a launch shot, a team photo). Skip it if it's stock filler — white space is a feature.
Pick the single action that matters: 'Read the doc', 'Book your slot', 'Reply if you can join'. More buttons = fewer clicks.
Editorial for thoughtful updates. Bold for launches. Memo for short FYIs. Try a few — switching is one click.
Most of your team will read this on a phone. Toggle Mobile in the preview before you copy — short lines win.
hey team — q3 wrap up. shipped onboarding v2, churn down 14%, new hire Mia starts mon. all-hands thu 10am, bring questions. ty all 🫶
Q3 wins, a new face, and Thursday's all-hands
Onboarding v2 shipped — churn is down 14%. Mia joins on Monday. See you Thursday at 10 for the all-hands; bring questions.
Part 2
Send it from Gmail
The copy-paste trick keeps every font, color, and image. 30 seconds, start to send.
- 1
In Wren, hit Copy HTML
Open your email in the preview, click the Copy button in the top bar. Wren copies the rendered design — not raw code — so paste keeps the styling.
wren.app/appPreviewTeam update · TodayQ3 wins & what's nextRead more → - 2
Compose a new message in Gmail
Open mail.google.com, click Compose. Add your recipients and a subject (the one Wren suggested works great).
mail.google.comNew Message— ▢ ✕To team@company.comSubject Q3 wins & what's nextClick here to start typing… - 3
Paste into the message body
Click into the body and paste (⌘V / Ctrl+V). The full designed email appears inline — headline, hero, CTA, footer, the lot.
mail.google.comNew MessageSubject Q3 wins & what's nextTeam update · Sep 30Q3 wins, a new face, Thursday's all-handsAdd to calendar →⌘+Enter Hit Send
That's it. Your recipients see exactly what you previewed — in their inbox, from your address.
Sent — looking gorgeous.
Pro tip: Don't paste into Gmail's "Plain text mode" — switch off the three-dot menu → Plain text mode first. Rich formatting must be on for the design to come through.
Part 3
Send it from Outlook
Outlook strips fancy CSS on paste, so we use a tiny .eml file instead. Same result — full design intact.
- 1
In Wren, click Download .eml
In the Send dialog, choose the Outlook option. Wren generates an .eml file — that's an email Outlook can open natively.
wren.app/appwren-update.eml12 KB · designed emailSave → open in Outlook - 2
Double-click the .eml file
It opens as a new pre-styled message in Outlook. The headline, images, fonts, and footer are all in place.
OutlookUntitled — Message (HTML)— ▢ ✕To team@company.comTeam update · Sep 30Q3 wins, a new face, Thursday's all-handsRead the doc → Add recipients, then Send
Fill in To / Cc, double-check the subject, and send. Outlook keeps the design exactly as Wren built it.
Sent — looking gorgeous.
Heads up: On Outlook Web (outlook.live.com), use File → Import or drag the .eml into the window. On desktop Outlook it just opens — no extra steps.
Ready to fly?
You've got the playbook. Now make the update — under 60 seconds, promise.
Write a team update