DESIGN
Email design must be simplified in order to appease the huge variety of email clients on the market.
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Keep code simple.
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Avoid background images.
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Avoid floating divs.
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Stick with standard fonts is possible.
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Always preview email in mobile to ensure responsiveness.
CONTENT
The same rules that apply to web content apply to email, but are arguably even more important as your email is competing for attention alongside hundreds of other emails.
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Write attention-grabbing subject lines.
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Keep content short (e.g. 3-5 paragraphs at most).
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Make text scannable by using headings, bolding, and lists/bullets.
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Always provide both a text and graphic version of your CTA (e.g. a link and a button).
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Try to stick to one main CTA per email (e.g. request a consult = 1 CTA that can be shown in both text and graphic form).
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Use personalization tokens! 'First Name' is an easy one.
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Ensure you have a default option set for any personalization tokens you use (e.g. First Name = Friend). The personalization token will show your default option when it can't find anything in the contact's record for that token.
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Offer a web version of your email.