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Markdown to email guide

Markdown to Newsletter HTML

Write the newsletter in Markdown, convert it to inline-styled HTML, and paste the HTML source into your sending tool. Covers width, inline styles, and what breaks in Outlook.

Direct answer

Draft the newsletter in Markdown, convert it to HTML with every style inlined, and paste the HTML source into your email tool's HTML editor (or the rich text into its visual editor). Newsletter HTML must keep styles inline, stay near 600px wide, and avoid <style> blocks, because clients like Outlook and Gmail strip or ignore them.

Open Markdown to Email converter

When to use this

  • A newsletter draft lives in Markdown (or comes out of an AI assistant) and must become sendable HTML.
  • Your sending tool has an HTML or code view and you need clean markup to paste into it.
  • Past sends looked right in preview but broke in Outlook or Gmail.

Steps

  1. Write the issue in Markdown: headings for sections, bold for emphasis, links inline.
  2. Convert it — the output wraps everything in a 600px container with inline styles on each element.
  3. Copy the HTML source and paste it into your tool's HTML/code view, or use Copy Rich for a visual editor.
  4. Add the tool's required unsubscribe merge tag where the template expects it.
  5. Send a test to Gmail and Outlook accounts before the real send.

Example conversion

Markdown input
# The Friday Dispatch

## This week

We shipped **CSV export** — the most requested feature of the quarter.

- [How it works](https://example.com/blog/csv-export)
- [Changelog](https://example.com/changelog)

## One link worth your time

[Why email HTML is stuck in 1999](https://example.com/email-html) — 6 min read.
Email HTML output
<div style="font-family:-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,sans-serif;max-width:600px;margin:0 auto;padding:20px;color:#374151;">
<h1 style="margin:24px 0 12px;font-size:24px;color:#111;">The Friday Dispatch</h1>
<h2 style="margin:20px 0 10px;font-size:20px;color:#222;">This week</h2>
<p style="margin:12px 0;line-height:1.6;color:#374151;">We shipped <strong>CSV export</strong> — the most requested feature of the quarter.</p>
<ul style="margin:12px 0;padding-left:20px;"><li style="margin:4px 0;"><a href="https://example.com/blog/csv-export" style="color:#2563eb;text-decoration:underline;">How it works</a></li>
<li style="margin:4px 0;"><a href="https://example.com/changelog" style="color:#2563eb;text-decoration:underline;">Changelog</a></li></ul>
<h2 style="margin:20px 0 10px;font-size:20px;color:#222;">One link worth your time</h2>
<p style="margin:12px 0;line-height:1.6;color:#374151;"><a href="https://example.com/email-html" style="color:#2563eb;text-decoration:underline;">Why email HTML is stuck in 1999</a> — 6 min read.</p>
</div>

Common mistakes

  • Do not use a <style> block or external stylesheet — Gmail clips or ignores them and Outlook strips them; only inline styles are safe.
  • Do not exceed roughly 600px content width; wider layouts get cut off or shrunk in desktop clients.
  • Do not paste HTML source into the visual editor (it shows tags as text) or rich text into the code editor (it double-escapes).

FAQ

Why do newsletters need inline styles?
Because major clients handle <style> blocks unreliably: Outlook desktop strips them, and Gmail clips messages over 102KB, which can cut the block off entirely. A style attribute on each element survives everywhere.
Can I paste this into Mailchimp, Buttondown, or ConvertKit?
Yes. Use the tool's HTML or code block and paste the HTML source. In a drag-and-drop editor, paste the rich-text version into a text block instead. Keep the platform's own footer and unsubscribe tags.
What happens to Markdown images in newsletter HTML?
Image references become <img> tags, but the images must be hosted at a public URL — email cannot embed local files from Markdown. Upload images to your sending tool or a CDN and use those URLs.
Why does my newsletter look different in Outlook than in Gmail?
Outlook desktop renders email with Word's engine, which ignores many CSS properties (max-width, margin auto-centering, border-radius). Simple stacked content with inline styles — the format this converter emits — degrades the least.

Related email guides

How to Paste Markdown Into Outlook

Outlook does not render Markdown, so pasted ## and ** stay visible. Convert Markdown to inline-styled HTML first, copy as rich text, then paste into the Outlook compose window.

How to Paste Markdown Into Gmail

Gmail's compose window does not render Markdown. Convert the Markdown to inline-styled HTML, copy as rich text, and paste — headings, bold, lists, and links arrive formatted.

ChatGPT Response to a Professional Email

ChatGPT answers arrive as Markdown, and pasting them into Gmail or Outlook leaves ** and ## visible. Clean the draft, convert it to inline-styled HTML, and paste as rich text.

How to Put a Markdown Table in an Email

Pipe tables pasted into Gmail or Outlook collapse into a wall of pipes and dashes. Email needs a real HTML <table> with inline styles — here is the markup that renders everywhere.

Why Markdown Doesn't Render in Email

Email clients render HTML, not Markdown. The ** and ## you paste are source syntax that nothing in Gmail or Outlook interprets. Here is what is actually happening and the fix.

Convert Markdown to Outlook-Compatible HTML

Outlook desktop renders email with Word's engine and strips <style> blocks, so Markdown must become HTML with every style inlined. What survives Outlook, what does not, and the conversion.

AI Draft to Client-Ready Email

Turn a Claude or ChatGPT email draft into something a client should actually receive: strip the AI framing, verify the facts, cut the padding, convert the Markdown, and paste as rich text.

Fix Bullet Lists Breaking in Outlook

Pasted bullets show as hyphens, lose indentation, or merge into one paragraph in Outlook. The cause is Markdown or plain-text bullets arriving without list markup — here is the fix.