Customizing Email Branding

Create fully branded email automation experiences with custom inbound and outbound email configurations

Why Use This?

Many businesses want their email automation to feel seamless and professional, appearing to come directly from their own branded email addresses rather than third-party services. This guide shows you how to set up a complete branded email experience where customers interact exclusively with your company’s email address, while Pinkfish handles all the automation behind the scenes.

Understanding Inbound vs Outbound Email

Before setting up your branded email system, it’s important to understand how inbound and outbound emails work in Pinkfish—they are separate systems with different purposes and capabilities.

Inbound Email (Receiving)

Inbound emails trigger your workflows. They are always connected to a workflow trigger and use Pinkfish’s email infrastructure to receive messages.

• Purpose: Receive emails that start workflow automations
• How it works: Pinkfish provides a unique trigger email address (e.g., [e-mail])
• Key feature: Email forwarding allows you to hide the Pinkfish address and use your own branded address
• Data captured: Subject, body, attachments, sender info, threading headers, etc.
• Access control: Can be restricted to approved senders or domains

Outbound Email (Sending)

Outbound emails are sent from your workflows as responses or notifications. You have complete flexibility in choosing which email service to use.

• Purpose: Send emails as part of workflow automation
• How it works: Your workflow steps call email services via API or connectors
• Service options:
  • Pinkfish Email Outbound Service - Built-in service for quick setup
  • Your Gmail Account - Send through your own Gmail via API
  • Your Outlook/Office 365 Account - Send through Microsoft’s service
  • Custom Email Services - SendGrid, Mailgun, AWS SES, or any other service
• Branding: Can be fully customized depending on the service you choose

Email Service Options

Option 1: Pinkfish Email Outbound Service

Best for: Quick setup, prototyping, internal tools

The Pinkfish Email Outbound Service is our built-in email service that requires no setup or external accounts and is limited to a small number of emails per day (intended for prototyping)

Characteristics:

• From Address: Pinkfish Email <[e-mail]> (cannot be changed)
• Reply-To: Can be customized to your own email address
• Branding: Includes “Sent via Pinkfish Email Service” footer
• Setup: Zero configuration required
• Rate Limits: 50 emails per day, 10 per minute
• Best Use: Internal notifications, prototyping, simple automations

How to Use:

/email-outbound
to: [e-mail]
subject: Your Request Has Been Processed
body: Thank you for contacting us. We've processed your request.
reply to: [e-mail]

What Recipients See:

• From: Pinkfish Email ([e-mail])
• Reply-To: [e-mail]
• Footer: “Sent via Pinkfish Email Service”

When customers hit “Reply,” their response goes to your reply to address, not to Pinkfish.

Option 2: Your Own Email Service (Gmail or Outlook)

Best for: Fully branded professional communications

Send emails directly from your own Gmail or Outlook account, giving you complete control over branding and appearance.

Gmail Integration

Connect your Gmail account to send emails that appear to come directly from you:

Setup:

1. Create a Gmail connection in Pinkfish
2. Authorize your Gmail account
3. Use the Gmail slash command in your workflows

How to Use:

/your-Gmail-connection
action: send-email
to: [e-mail]
subject: Your Request Has Been Processed
body: Thank you for contacting us. We've processed your request.
from: [e-mail]

Characteristics:

• From Address: Your actual Gmail address
• Branding: No Pinkfish branding or footers
• Rate Limits: Subject to Gmail’s sending limits
• Threading: Maintains proper email conversation threads
• Professional: Customers see your real email address

See the complete Gmail Guide →

Microsoft Outlook Integration

Send through your Outlook or Office 365 account with full Microsoft Graph API access:

How to Use:

/your-Microsoft-Outlook-connection
action: send-email
to: [e-mail]
subject: Your Request Has Been Processed
body: Thank you for contacting us. We've processed your request.
cc: [e-mail]
importance: high

Characteristics:

• From Address: Your Outlook/Office 365 address
• Branding: No Pinkfish branding or footers
• Additional Features: Calendar integration, tasks, contacts
• Professional: Customers see your business email address

See the complete Microsoft Outlook Guide →

Option 3: Third-Party Email APIs

Best for: High-volume sending, custom email infrastructure

You can also integrate with any email service that provides an API:

• SendGrid: Transactional email service with advanced analytics
• Mailgun: Developer-focused email API
• AWS SES: Amazon’s scalable email service
• Postmark: Email service specializing in deliverability
• Custom SMTP: Any SMTP server

These require API key configuration and custom integration setup in your workflows.

Creating Professional HTML Email Templates

For any outbound email service (Pinkfish, Gmail, or Outlook), you can create beautiful, professional HTML email templates using the /formatted-email slash command.

What is Formatted Email?

The formatted email skill generates email-compatible HTML snippets that work across all email clients. It creates clean, inline-styled HTML using tables for layout to ensure maximum compatibility.

Key Features:

• Email client compatible (Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, etc.)
• Inline CSS styles for reliable rendering
• Table-based layout for consistency
• No unsupported features (JavaScript, external CSS, etc.)
• Optimized for standard 600px email width

How to Use Formatted Email

Basic Example:

/formatted-email
content: Thank you for contacting support. Your ticket #12345 has been created.
style: professional blue header with company branding

Advanced Example with Multiple Sections:

/formatted-email
content: Order confirmation with product details and shipping information
sections: header with logo, order summary table, shipping details, footer with contact info
call-to-action: "Track Your Order" button
branding: use brand colors #209cee

Using Formatted Email with Outbound Services

Once you’ve generated your HTML template, use it in the htmlBody parameter of your email service:

With Pinkfish Email Outbound:

First, generate your template:
/formatted-email
content: Your request has been processed
style: clean, modern design with success message

Then use the generated HTML:
/email-outbound
to: {{from}}
subject: Re: {{subject}}
body: [paste the generated HTML here]

With Gmail or Outlook:

Generate template with /formatted-email, then:

/your-Gmail-connection
action: send-email
to: [e-mail]
subject: Order Confirmation
body: [paste your formatted HTML template]

See the complete Formatted Email Guide →

Creating a Fully Branded Email Experience

The most professional setup involves using email forwarding for inbound messages and your own email service for outbound responses. This creates a seamless experience where customers never see Pinkfish infrastructure.

Complete Branded Setup Example

Let’s say you want customers to email [e-mail] and receive responses from the same address.

Step 1: Set Up Inbound Email Trigger

1. Create an email trigger in your workflow
2. Pinkfish generates: [e-mail]
3. Configure approved senders if needed for security

Step 2: Configure Email Forwarding

Set up your email server to forward messages from your branded address to the Pinkfish trigger address:

Email Server Configuration:

• Create: [e-mail]
• Forward to: [e-mail]
• Keep copy: Optional (for your records)

Popular Email Providers:

• Google Workspace: Admin Console → Gmail → Routing → Add Rule
• Microsoft 365: Exchange Admin Center → Mail Flow → Rules
• cPanel/WHM: Email Forwarders section
• Other providers: Search for “email forwarding” in your provider’s documentation

Step 3: Configure Outbound Responses

Set up your workflow to respond using your branded email address:

Option A: Using Gmail:

Extract sender from trigger input: {{from}}

/your-Gmail-connection
action: send-email
to: {{from}}
subject: Re: {{subject}}
body: Thank you for contacting us. We've received your message and will respond shortly.
from: [e-mail]

Option B: Using Outlook:

Extract sender from trigger input: {{from}}

/your-Microsoft-Outlook-connection
action: send-email
to: {{from}}
subject: Re: {{subject}}
body: Thank you for contacting us. We've received your message and will respond shortly.

Step 4: Test the Complete Flow

1. Send a test email to: [e-mail]
2. Verify your workflow triggers (check Workflow Monitor)
3. Confirm response comes from: [e-mail]
4. Check that reply threading works correctly

What Customers Experience

With this setup complete:

1. Customer sends email to: [e-mail]
2. Email is forwarded to: Pinkfish trigger (invisible to customer)
3. Workflow triggers: Processes the request
4. Response comes from: [e-mail] (via Gmail/Outlook)
5. Customer replies to: [e-mail] (triggering the workflow again)

Result: Customers see only your branded email address throughout the entire interaction. They have no idea Pinkfish is handling the automation in the background.

Email Threading and Conversations

To maintain proper email conversations (where replies appear in the same thread), your workflows should preserve threading information:

Capturing Thread Information

Email triggers automatically provide threading data:

• threadingHeaders: Email threading metadata
• subject: Original subject line
• from: Original sender

Maintaining Threads in Responses

When responding, include:

• Subject line: Prefix with Re: and keep the original subject
• Thread ID: Use the threadId parameter if your email service supports it
• Headers: Some services allow custom In-Reply-To and References headers

Example with Threading:

/your-Gmail-connection
action: send-email
to: {{from}}
subject: Re: {{subject}}
body: Your response here

Gmail and Outlook automatically handle threading when you prefix the subject with “Re:” and send to the same email address.

Security Considerations

Inbound Email Security

When setting up email triggers, especially with forwarding:

• Use Approved Senders: Restrict triggers to specific email addresses or domains
• Validate Input: Always sanitize and validate email content in workflows
• Monitor Activity: Regularly check the Workflow Monitor for unexpected triggers
• Test Forwarding: Ensure only intended addresses forward to your trigger

Example: Restricting to Your Domain:

When creating your email trigger:

1. Choose “Only approved senders”
2. Add your domain: @yourcompany.com
3. Individual addresses can still be added for external partners