ESPbrevosendinbluehtml-emailesp

How to use Draftship with Brevo

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) accepts pasted HTML in the campaign editor's code mode. Personalization uses double-curly contact attributes. Here's the path that respects Outlook fidelity and the required unsubscribe Liquid tag.

HTML import path
full paste
Merge syntax
{{ contact.FIRSTNAME }}
Image hosting
platform CDN
Best for
European teams concerned with GDPR-clean tooling and a generous free tier.
Watch out for
Brevo's transactional email API uses a different template format than the campaign builder.

Brevo, the platform formerly called Sendinblue, sits in the SMB ESP tier with a strong European customer base and a free tier that actually supports real sending volume. Its email builder offers drag-drop, rich-text, and code editor. The code editor accepts pasted Draftship HTML cleanly.

Where Brevo accepts pasted HTML

From the dashboard: Campaigns → Email Campaign → Create. After picking your audience, the editor opens. Choose Code Editor. Paste your full Draftship export.

STEP 1Design inDraftshipBlock editorSTEP 2ExportOutlook-safe HTMLCmd+ESTEP 3Brevo Code EditorCampaigns > EmailSTEP 4Add {{ unsubscribe}} tagRequiredSTEP 5Send to audienceOr scheduleBrevo handoff
Draftship to Brevo campaign editor handoff

Personalization syntax

Brevo uses Liquid with a contact namespace. The field names are uppercase by convention but case-insensitive.

DraftshipBrevo
{{ first_name }}{{ contact.FIRSTNAME }}
{{ last_name }}{{ contact.LASTNAME }}
{{ email }}{{ contact.EMAIL }}
{{ company }}{{ contact.COMPANY }}
Unsubscribe link{{ unsubscribe }}
View in browser{{ mirror }}

For defaults, use Liquid's pipe filter: {{ contact.FIRSTNAME | default: "there" }}. Brevo's Liquid is closer to standard Shopify-flavored Liquid than Klaviyo's Django.

Brevo's free-tier sending caveats

Brevo's free tier allows 300 sends per day. Marketing email is rate-limited; transactional API has its own quota. If you hit the daily cap, queued sends roll over to the next day. Schedule large list sends across multiple days when on the free plan.

Image hosting

Brevo's media library is at Settings → Media Library. Upload there for hosted CDN URLs. External URLs work but aren't auto-mirrored. The CDN domain is account-specific, looking like https://media.brevo.com/.

Brevo Conversations and the email-to-chat handoff

A feature worth noting: Brevo can route reply-to addresses to its built-in chat inbox if you enable Conversations. This is invisible to the recipient but can save you from missed replies. Configure under Conversations → Settings.

Test send checklist

  • Use Send Test with a real contact ID for accurate Liquid resolution.
  • Run the rendered HTML through the size checker.
  • Click every link to confirm Brevo's tracking wrap preserves UTMs.
  • Verify the unsubscribe link routes to your Brevo-hosted preference center.

When to use Brevo's drag-drop

For SMB marketers running weekly newsletters, drag-drop is faster. For one-off launches that need Outlook fidelity, Draftship plus the code editor is the right call.

For UTM hygiene across ESPs, see UTM parameters for email marketers.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is Brevo the same as Sendinblue?
Yes. Sendinblue rebranded to Brevo in 2023. URLs, dashboard, and APIs are unchanged. Old documentation still uses the Sendinblue name.
Can I use a Draftship template for both marketing and transactional in Brevo?
Same HTML, different APIs. Marketing campaigns go through the campaign builder. Transactional email goes through Brevo's SMTP relay or transactional API with separate template management.
Why does my campaign say 'unsubscribe link required' on save?
Brevo's compliance check found no {{ unsubscribe }} Liquid tag in the body. Add it to your Draftship footer block before pasting.
Does Brevo support DMARC alignment?
Yes. Configure SPF and DKIM under Senders & IPs. Brevo signs every send with their DKIM key by default; you can add yours for tighter alignment.
How does Brevo handle GDPR for European recipients?
Brevo enforces explicit consent records per contact and retains them with timestamps. Their unsubscribe link respects double-opt-in if you've configured it. Consult their compliance docs for retention timelines.
Try it yourself

Design in Draftship. Paste into Brevo.