Email Design Best Practices

New platforms for sharing content are always popping up, and sometimes in the excitement of discovering the next big thing, we forget the tried and true marketing platforms already in our back pocket. Email marketing might be less visible to the public, but it’s actually the most effective online tactic for lead generation. If you need more convincing for why you wait to market via email, check out this blog post, and if you need help collecting emails, here’s how to grow your email list. 

There are a ton of email marketing platforms out there that make it really easy to customize your emails, such as Mailchimp and Constant Contact, but how do you go about making your emails eye-catching and effective? Read on.

Let Them Know Who You Are

Make it obvious who this newsletter is coming from to (1) ensure there is no confusion as to where this email is coming from and (2) build your brand identity. It’s a good idea to have your logo at the top, and if you have a nice website, maybe match elements of your website to your emails. 

With the rest of the email, keep a consistent vibe that’s in line with your brand. Use your logo colors in your email, and pick fonts that convey the same feeling your brand is going for. Know what your brand stands for, and let it shine through every element of your email (and all other forms of communication). 

Turn The Pyramid Upside Down

Take a note from journalism and use the inverted pyramid model. Get the main point across with an attention-grabbing headline, add in additional details to build anticipation, and end with a call-to-action that everything above has led to. 

If there are multiple segments to your email, consider creating a table of contents where people can click to the part that interests them. That way, they don’t get tired of scrolling and leave before they obtain value.

Play With Colors

While you don’t want to overwhelm with colors, you can utilize them strategically to make certain elements pop. Call-to-action buttons are great to highlight, as well as text that is hyperlinked. You can also organize your email so that different blocks are different colors, allowing you to differentiate your content in an organized and aesthetically pleasing way. If you need help coming up with a color scheme, Coolors and Adobe Color are great places to start.

Make Things Move

Animations are fun and great at grabbing attention. There are plenty of free sites where you can make your own, such as GIPHY, and it’s a fun place to find inspiration as well. Carousels and image galleries are other options if you want to stick with pictures, and videos are also great.  

Additionally, countdowns are  effective at getting people to buy now, and scratch fields that reveal discounts/sales excite and delight. If you know how to code, consider adding hover effects when you mouse over a product image, as they give potential customers a better idea of what you’re selling without them having to take an additional step and click on it. Attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, so anything you can do to keep your email subscribers invested is helpful.

Mobilize Your Forces

Make sure your email looks as great on mobile as it does on desktop. If you have multiple columns, make them responsive, or just stick to one column 600 pixels wide.

Other Things To Keep In Mind

• Have a catchy subject line, or else nobody’s going to bother witnessing your beautiful creation.
• Personalize. Address people by their names, and make sure your email has content that will  interest them.
• Don’t forget to include alt text for your images. 
• Link your photos, buttons, icons, key words, everywhere it’d be convenient, and make sure the links work and go to the right page. Test everything before you send it out, including the little social media icons you should have at the bottom of your email, even if you’ve copied that over from a past email.
• Don’t break the law. Have an obvious and easy way to unsubscribe.

Now go make waves in your subscribers’ inboxes. If you need any help and want us to create those waves for you, pop into our inbox at yo@chuckjoe.co.