Why has my template reached the character limit?

Applies To

• Outreach Users

• Outreach Admins

Answer

When editing or saving a template, you may see the following error alerting that your template content has exceeded the character limit. Typically, this indicates that your template content is too lengthy and needs to be reduced. However, this can be confusing when your template is fairly short in terms of actual content.

In Outreach, each email is limited to a maximum size of 128KB, which includes all content, formatting, attachments, and embedded images. As a result, you may still reach the email size limit even if your content is relatively short. Here are some content areas you can review to reduce your template's size: 

1. Attachments: Use email attachments sparingly, and avoid attachments with large file sizes. This will also improve your email's overall deliverability and reduce the chances of your emails being marked as spam. See the Additional Information section below for more details. 
2. Embedded Images: Compress or reduce the size of embedded images, as these can often take up more bandwidth than expected. Consider reducing the resolution on higher quality images before uploading, especially if these will be scaled down. 
3. Formatting: HTML markup and formatting also contribute to your email's overall size, so be sure to check your hyperlinks for any unnecessarily long links. 
4. Videos: Avoid embedding videos directly into your email templates. Instead, provide a direct link to view the video externally.

Additional Information

Adding GIFs to Outreach Snippets

Email Best Practices - Avoiding Spam Filters