Export & send with your ESP
MailInApp can send on its own — natively from your own domain or through your own SMTP relay — so this workflow is entirely optional. If you already run an ESP with lists, automations and sender reputation built up there, you don't have to leave it: design and compile the email here, then hand delivery to the ESP you already trust.
The workflow
- Finish your design in the studio.
- Export the compiled HTML. This single file contains all three fallback tiers — kinetic, static, and Outlook markup — plus links to the hosted interaction endpoints and live view.
- In your ESP, create a campaign using its custom HTML / paste-in-code option and paste the export.
- Send a test, then send the campaign like any other.
Any ESP that accepts custom HTML works, including Mailchimp, Brevo, SendGrid, Klaviyo, Campaign Monitor, ActiveCampaign, HubSpot and Mailjet.
Things your ESP still does
- Delivery, domain authentication (SPF/DKIM/DMARC), list management, unsubscribes and open/click tracking. Keep your unsubscribe merge tags and footer requirements exactly as your ESP expects.
Things MailInApp does after the send
- Hosts the interaction endpoints that record poll votes, ratings and form submissions.
- Hosts the live view and hosted form pages.
- Aggregates interaction analytics per project.
The Gmail 102KB rule
Gmail clips any message whose HTML exceeds roughly 102KB, replacing the rest with a "View entire message" link — and a clipped message loses its <style> block, which silently disables all kinetic interactivity.
The studio tracks your compiled size against this budget while you design and warns you as you approach it. If you hit the ceiling: shorten copy, remove unused blocks, and let images do the visual heavy lifting (image bytes don't count — only HTML does).
Test before you ship
Rendering bugs love production. Before a real send:
- Send a test through your actual ESP (some ESPs rewrite HTML slightly).
- Open it in Gmail web and on a phone.
- If your audience includes corporate recipients, check classic Outlook — you should see the intentional Outlook tier, not a broken layout.