E-mail Design

What is e-mail design?

Anyone can send an e-mail to their mailing list. It can be made up of text, like an e-mail you would send a friend, but showcasing a special offer or a new product you’re launching. The thing is, however, that would be pretty boring, unlikely to stimulate your customer into action.

Businesses that take their e-mail marketing seriously will use a professionally designed e-mail template. It will incorporate:

• A layout that guides the reader through the e-mail
• Brand consistent styles, fonts and colour palettes
• Images that showcase the brand and products in their best light
• Optimisation for mobile devices
• Professionally-written text (by a copywriter) to build a relationship with the reader and persuade them to act

By doing this, you can craft an e-mail that is effective at keeping touch with your customers. You can also use e-mail to move prospects along the buyer’s journey and turn them into customers.

Why you need effective e-mail design

Some of the world’s biggest companies have built their business on e-mail marketing. Amazon is a perfect example of this. Think of the e-mails you receive when you purchase something from Amazon. With every e-mail telling you when your order is coming, you receive recommendations of other things you might want to buy, all consistently designed with logos and images. That’s e-mail marketing.

However, you don’t need to be Amazon to make good use of e-mail marketing. E-mail can make a difference for even the smallest small business. E-mail marketing is extremely cost-effective: you can reach your entire database for a minimal cost. You can send e-mails anytime, to promote last-minute offers, or weekly newsletters to keep your brand fresh in your audience’s mind.

E-mail is convenient for consumers; they can browse their inbox and their leisure, on their computer or mobile. Finally, e-mail fits well with personalisation. You can segment your database to make sure your e-mails are relevant, while using templates to include your customers’ names.

But what is clear is that the best performing e-mails are well-designed. You won’t win the e-mail marketing game without it.

How to design an effective e-mail

Designing an e-mail doesn’t have to be a challenge, but it does require you to think carefully about your brand and how you want to be seen by your customers and the wider world.

Here are three aspects you must consider before you start:

• How will you lay out your e-mail? – You may be tempted to put a lot of information in your e-mails, but some parts will be more important than others. How will you direct your reader to the bit they want them to see?
• How will you ensure your e-mail reflects your wider brand? – E-mail marketing is another way your customers can interact with your brand. You must make sure that when a customer opens your e-mail, they instantly recognise the company that sent it.
• What will you say in your e-mail? – As important as design, layout and images are, the copy in your e-mail is essential for its effectiveness. For example, if your subject line doesn’t excite the reader, they probably won’t even open it.

Once you have these in place, you can design a template that you can use time and time again to deepen the relationship with your audience, as well as sell your products and services.

If you need some expert help, it’s time to talk to March.