How to link to email addresses and phone numbers in emails
Overview
You can create hyperlinks and buttons in any email to open contacts' email, SMS, or phone apps, pre-populated with an email address or phone number. Read on to learn how to create email, phone, and SMS links.
In this guide
- Link to a new draft email with a pre-populated to field
- Link to a new draft email with pre-populated to field, subject, or body text
- Link to a new draft SMS message with a pre-populated To field
⚠️ The methods below are not available for SMS messages
⚠️ Phone number links may not be supported for all contacts
Some devices, inbox provider apps, and specific combinations of devices and inbox provider apps will not render links designed to open an SMS or phone app.
If you experience an issue with SMS or phone links, try to recreate it using the same type of device and the same version of the same app. If the link does not work in the replicated environment, it is likely that the device and/or app combination does not support SMS or links.
Link to a new draft email with a pre-populated to field
Use the instructions below that correspond to the email builder you're using to create a link that will open a contact's email application and create a new draft email with the email address you've specified inserted in the to field (example shows a draft email created in the Gmail web app):
Visual builder
To insert a link to an email address in the visual builder:
- Create a button or highlight text to be hyperlinked
- In the URL field, enter the email address you want the contact's draft email to field to be pre-populated with (no
mailto:needed) - Press enter to save your link
Text builder
To insert a link to an email address in the text builder:
- Highlight text to be hyperlinked
- In the URL field, enter the email address you want the contact's draft email to field to be pre-populated with (no
mailto:needed) - Press enter to save your link
HTML builder
See the Link to a new draft email with pre-populated to field, subject, or body text section for information on creating mailto links with HTML.
Link to a new draft email with pre-populated to field, subject, or body text
You can use HTML to create a link that pre-populates a draft email's subject line and/or body text (example shows a draft email created in the Gmail web app): 
- In the visual builder, create an HTML block in the visual builder; in the text builder, click the HTML icon at the far-left end of the text builder editor's controls; or use the HTML editor
- Paste the following HTML:
<a href="mailto:email@yoursite.com?subject=Enter%20Subject%20Here&body=Body%20text%20goes%20here">Hyperlink text goes here</a>
- Edit the HTML with your desired pre-populated subject and/or body text:
This method essentially uses a URL to pass the email address, subject line, and body text to the contact's mail application. This is why you must use %20 instead of spaces to separate each word in your subject and body text.
Link to a new draft SMS message with a pre-populated to field and body text
Use the instructions below that correspond to the email builder you're using to create a link that will open a contact's SMS application and create a new draft SMS message with the phone number you've specified inserted in the to field and optional body text in the message field (example shows a draft SMS created in iMessage):
⚠️ Test emails will not generate working SMS links
To test your SMS links, create a list with your email address on it and send a live email. Test emails do not generate working SMS links.
Visual builder
To insert a link to a new draft SMS message with a pre-populated to field and (optional) body text in the visual builder:
- Add an HTML block to your email
- In the HTML window that appears, delete the Insert HTML Here placeholder text
- Paste the following HTML snippet in the HTML window:
<a href="sms:+18334299031?&body=Body%20text%20here">Hyperlink text goes here</a>
- Edit the HTML with your desired pre-populated phone number and body text
Text builder
To insert a link to a new draft SMS message with a pre-populated to field and (optional) body text in the text builder:
- Click the HTML icon at the far-left end of the text builder editor's controls
- Paste the following HTML snippet where you want the link to appear in your email:
<a href="sms:+18334299031?&body=Body%20text%20here">Hyperlink text goes here</a>
- Edit the HTML with your desired pre-populated phone number and body text
HTML builder
To insert a link to a new draft SMS message with a pre-populated to field and (optional) body text in the HTML builder:
- Paste the following HTML snippet where you want the link to appear in your email:
<a href="sms:+18334299031?&body=Body%20text%20here">Hyperlink text goes here</a>
- Edit the HTML with your desired pre-populated phone number and body text