If you have an active email account, your inbox must be filled with hundreds of unread emails from various brands you must have subscribed to. Email marketing is one of the most cost-efficient ways to engage customers better and generate more revenue for businesses. Brands across industries, therefore, use it as their primary mode to promote offerings and build brand visibility.
There’s stiff competition in the inbox and in order to catch the recipients’ eye, you need to make killer emails that stand out. The more your email stands out, the more likely it is for the readers to open and react to it. If you are an email marketer, then you know the challenge behind coming up with fresh ideas to create engaging and impactful emails every time.
There are many design elements that one needs to take into consideration for creating perfect emails that make an impact. Here are the top parameters and tips to design emails that stand out.
Killer Subject Line and Preheader Text
Even though it is not a design element, the email subject line is one of the most important factors that drive the subscribers to open and see the wonderful email you have created. Your email subject line and preheader text are the foremost things that the subscribers notice, and hence they need to be highly relevant, personal, and engaging. Avoid using trigger words that land your emails in spam and make use of attractive emojis and crisp subject lines to entice the users to click on it. Enticing subject lines that give a sneak peek of what’s there inside have an impact on the users and increase the email open-rates.
Interactivity: Adding Life to Email Experience
Email marketing is effective only when it engages the subscribers and gives them a wonderful user experience. Make your emails rich in interactivity by using visual elements such as images, GIFs, videos, responsive charts, infographics, surveys, polls, gamification, etc. Such visual elements can help you engage your users and market your products or services better. While implementing interactive elements, it is important to ensure that you convey the key message of your email using the visuals, as it is the first thing that catches the audience’s attention. If you have no clue where to start, get help from Mailchimp experts to develop and send responsive interactive emails that follow the design best practices.
Visually Appealing Typography
Your emails need to be visually appealing in order to attract the users’ attention. The typography used in the email adds to the overall look of the email and creates a lasting impression on the readers’ minds. Using visually appealing fonts can add to the aesthetics of your email and reflect the message you wish to convey more effectively. Check out this email from Everlane that uses simple web fonts and a clean design to convey their message.
Follow Consistent Branding
People identify emails by the brand name, brand colors, logo, and specific brand elements. When the subscribers know where the email has come from, there are greater chances of them opening and interacting with it. Therefore, focus highly on having consistent branding for all the emails to send to make it clear who’s sending them. Follow your branding guidelines and make sure the design, layout, and format of your email are in line with your brand’s look. This will help your subscribers in identifying your emails better and make your emails stand out in the inbox.
Create Personalized Content
One size does not fit for all in case of emails. For your subscribers to click on your email, the topic must be relevant and of interest to them. Hence, the content of your email needs to be personalized for individual users. Give a human touch to the content of the email instead of making the subscribers feel like they are conversing with an automated machine. Emails that have a personal touch increase engagement and improve relationships with the subscribers.
Crisp and Short Email Copy
Your email copy needs to be simple, crisp and to the point. Highlight only the key information about your products or services that can make an impact on the audience and drive more conversions. Do not make it too text-heavy, instead put just enough content that explains your offering or message well. Ensure that the subject line, preheader text and email copy have a cohesive story that keeps the readers engaged. For example, check out this email from Havenly that uses a simple yet alluring copy for announcing a new launch.
Effective and Enticing CTA
Your emails are meant to increase traffic on your website or landing page and drive sales. The email call-to-action plays a key role in driving conversions. The CTA needs to stand out, look enticing and clickable. Use bright colors and enough white space around the CTA button to highlight it. The copy of the CTA should be focused on the benefits and should tempt the users to click-through. Place the CTA in the first fold and make it easily identifiable.
Final Thoughts
Consider these best practices to turn your emails from good to great. To start with, use free HTML email templates and try things out to see what works. Create professional-looking emails that are interesting and interactive, and they are sure to stand out in your subscribers’ inbox.
Author Bio
Kevin George is Head of Marketing at Email Uplers, one of the fastest growing custom email design and coding companies, and specializes in crafting beautiful email templates, PSD to Email conversion and Mailchimp Email Templates development. He loves gadgets, bikes, jazz and eats and breathes email marketing. He enjoys sharing his insights and thoughts on email marketing best practices on his blog.
