Getting your email creative right

There’s more to email template design than meets the eye.

Good email design relies on a number of key factors, all playing their part. A good email creative often relies on achieving the right balance between imagery and text. An email which is image heavy and text poor (a common mistake for the novice email marketer) may have great visual appeal but it will be penalised by many SPAM filters and will result in lower successful open rates.

On the other hand an email which is text heavy may be hard on the eye and might not hold the reader’s attention long enough to get the desired message across.

By following some simple best practice email design principles and adjusting the layout of your email, it is possible to achieve significant, measurable results in no time. The first thing you need to do is to clearly define your goals. What do you hope to achieve from your email marketing? Do you want to achieve maximum open rates, greater click-throughs to your website, lower unsubscribe rates or greater deliverability so you are less likely to be flagged as potential SPAM?

These are all credible goals and should be fully measurable from your email marketing systems’ reports. (If not then you need to speak to us!).

Some considerations

• Do not change your email design frequently. It will make it harder for your reader to familiarise themselves with your emails.
• Consider how your email will look when the images are disabled. Will the recipient recognise it’s from you when the images are not there? Can they still see the important information?
• Try not to use images where you can use a solid background colour instead. This can help reduce the likelihood of getting stuck in spam filters.
• Simplify navigation, and make it easier for the reader to locate what they are interested in. If possible try and incorporate a text navigation menu (not images as these will not appear by default) near the top of your email with links back to your website to maximise click-throughs.
• Does the email design fit with your brand?
• Make sure you steer clear of:
  - CSS
  - Java script
  - Animated GIF
  - Flash
  - Web page templates
• Finally, test your designs. See which layout works best. Is it helping you meet your desired outcomes?