❗This feature is coming soon! If you are a current TalkingPoints partner with a AFC+, School Engagement or District Engagement package, look for this new functionality in September 2026.
Templates
A template is a saved copy of a newsletter. It keeps all the formatting and text, so anyone using it later can start from a finished design instead of a blank page.
Saving a template
You can save any newsletter as a template at any point while you're working on it. Just click Save as template, then confirm you want to save it in its current state.
Sharing templates with your team
As a District or School admin, you can share your templates with people below you:
District admins can share templates with District, School, and Teacher users.
School admins can share templates with School and Teacher users.
This is a great way to make sure everyone on your team has access to on-brand, ready-to-use designs.
Only an admin can delete a shared template:
District admins can delete any template they've shared with District, School, or Teacher users.
School admins can delete any template they've shared with School or Teacher users.
Teachers and other users who receive a shared template can use it, but they can't delete it.
📝 Good to know: Unlike message templates, newsletter templates cannot be organized into folders.
Viewing templates
When you open your templates, you'll see your own templates plus any shared with you by an admin above you. Templates shared with you are labeled Shared Template.
Your own templates are just labeled Template.
Themes
A theme is different from a template. Instead of saving one finished newsletter, a theme sets default colors and styles that apply to every new newsletter someone creates.
Themes help make sure your district or school's brand colors show up automatically, without anyone needing to set them by hand.
How themes work
When a District admin sets a theme, it applies to every new newsletter created by District, School, and Teacher users from that point forward.
If a School admin then sets their own theme, it overrides the district theme for that school going forward. Teachers at that school will use the school's theme.
People can still change colors and fonts on any single newsletter they're working on. The theme just sets the starting point.
A theme only applies to new newsletters. It won't change any drafts, templates, or newsletters that were already sent.
Setting up your theme
Click the gear icon in Newsletter settings.
Click Add color to define your brand colors. These will show up at the top of the color picker anywhere colors can be chosen.
Set colors and styles for each part of a newsletter, like headings, buttons, and banners. These work just like the settings on an individual newsletter.
Click Save.
Gear icon:
Add colors:
Add colors detail:
One important detail: saving a theme won't change the newsletter you have open at the time, since it was started before the theme existed. To see your theme in action, close that newsletter and start a new one.
If you ever want to start over, click Reset to defaults in the settings window, then save.
Which one should I use?
Use a template when you want to reuse a specific, finished newsletter design.
Use a theme when you want every new newsletter across your school or district to start with the same brand colors and styles, automatically.
They work well together: set a theme so every newsletter starts on-brand, and save templates for your go-to layouts.