You can crop, rotate, flip, and add text to any image without leaving the email editor. Instant always keeps your original, so nothing you do here changes the image you started with, and you can reset at any time.

Image editing is available anywhere you edit an email, including campaigns, flow emails, and email templates.

To add an image to your email:

  1. Open the campaign, flow email, or template you want to edit
  2. Drag the Image block from Add blocks into the editor
  3. Click View library to open the Block Library, then select Images under Your library
  4. Choose an existing image, or click the upload area to select files from your computer

You can also drag and drop an image straight into the editor at any point, without opening the library first. Supported formats are JPEG, PNG, WEBP, and GIF.

To open the image editor:

  1. Click the image in the editor to select it
  2. In the left panel, click Edit image
  3. Use the two tabs down the left of the modal to switch between cropping and text
  4. Click Save changes when you are done
  5. Click Save Changes at the top right of the editor to save your work

To crop, rotate or flip an image:

  1. Open Edit image and select the crop tab
  2. Drag the handles on the image to set your crop area, or type exact values into Width and Height
  3. Select an Aspect ratio if you want a fixed shape (Freeform, Original, 1:1, 4:5, 4:3, 2:3, 3:2, 16:9, and more)
  4. Use the icons to the right of the image to rotate left, rotate right, or flip the image horizontally or vertically
  5. Click Save changes

To add text to an image:

  1. Open Edit image and select the text tab, marked with a T
  2. Pick a style from the list to place it on the image
  3. Drag the text box where you want it, and use the handles to resize it
  4. Type your copy
  5. Click Save changes

The styles in the list come from your Brand Kit, so your headings and body text already match your brand before you change anything. Pick Custom to start from scratch.

To change how the text looks:

Select a text box and use the panel on the left:

  • Typography to switch to another Brand Kit style, or to Custom
  • Font, Size and Weight
  • Style for bold, underline and italic
  • Alignment for left, centre or right
  • Color to set a hex value

Use the copy icon at the top of the Text panel to duplicate a text box, or the bin icon to delete it. Reset returns the image to how it started.

Your text stays editable

Text is not baked into the image. Reopen Edit image on that image at any time, click the text, and change the wording or the styling.

This is what makes a hero image reusable. Build the image once, then each time you need it, click into it and change the copy, rather than going back to a design tool and uploading a new file.

How image copies work

When you crop or add text to an image that already exists in your library, Instant creates a new image rather than overwriting the one you started with. The new copy is created when you save, so if you edit an image and then discard your changes, nothing is added to your library.

  • Your original image stays in your library, untouched
  • The edited version is added to your library as a separate image
  • Both versions are available to reuse in any email

For example, if you add an image and use it in Email A, then add the same image to Email B and add text to it, Instant creates a new copy of the version with text. Email A keeps the original, and you can reuse either version anywhere in the editor.

FAQ

Does editing an image change it everywhere it’s used? No. Editing creates a new image, so every other email using the original is unaffected.

Can I change the text after I have saved it? Yes. Click the image, click Edit image, open the text tab and edit the copy or the styling. The text stays editable, so you never have to rebuild the image to change a few words.

Can I get the original image back? Yes. Instant preserves the original, so you can open Edit image and click Reset at any time. The original also remains in your library as its own image.

Where do the text styles come from? Your Brand Kit. The heading and body styles listed in the text tab use the fonts, sizes and weights saved there. You can override any of them on the image, or pick Custom and set everything yourself.

Can I add more than one piece of text to an image? Yes. Place a style, then use the copy icon at the top of the Text panel to duplicate it.

Can I edit an image without adding it to an email first? No. Editing happens on the image block, so the image needs to be placed in an email before you can edit it.

What editing options are available? Crop (freeform or fixed aspect ratio), exact width and height in pixels, rotate left, rotate right, flip horizontal, flip vertical, and text overlay with control over font, size, weight, style, alignment and colour.

Will my library fill up with copies? Every edited version is saved as its own image, so your library grows each time you edit an image that came from the library. You can reuse those copies instead of editing again.