Email marketing is always a bright spot in any marketing plan. Having the ability to market your products or services to a large audience is almost always a good idea. But if you’re looking to take advantage of email marketing’s potential but don’t want to play an active role in designing the email, then what are your options?
Fortunately, there are a number of tools that can be used to build a beautiful, engaging email that doesn’t require any design knowledge. In this article, we will discuss how.
Pick A Template That Suits Your Needs
The first step to creating an effective email is to decide what you should include in the email. There are a number of considerations to take into account, such as your product and service, industry, audience, and platform. Then, you can pick a mailer template that matches your requirements.
In general, simple and clean templates are preferred over complex and visually chaotic ones. For example, a company that sells luxury goods may want to use a template that is simple and elegant, while a company in the technology space may want to use a more complex and innovative design. The key is to find a template that suits your needs and puts your best foot forward.
Understand The Difference Between HTML, CSS, And Javascript
You may be wondering how to design an email without getting into technical details. After all, not everyone is a tech-savvy designer who knows how to use HTML, CSS, and Javascript. If you’re looking for an easy-to-understand guide that will help you create an email and make it look stylish, then this article is for you.
HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language. With HTML, you can add formatted text, images, video, and even other HTML documents as links in your email. With HTML, you can also create basic web pages that contain contact information, pricing, and other similar items.
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. With CSS, you can change the look and feel of your email without using any HTML. For example, you may want to use the @font-face rule to load a different font face for emphasis or to create a different look for your product images or pricing tables.
Javascript is a programming language that allows you to interact with your audience via web browsers. If you want to use Javascript to create a drop-down menu that changes the look of your email based on what selection is made, for example, you can do so. A good starting point for learning more about Javascript is Douglas Crockford’s Javascript: The Good Parts.
Create A Simple And Easy-To-Follow Flow
When sending emails, you want your readers to have an easy-to-follow flow from start to finish. This means that everything in the email should be linked to each other and clearly presented in a logical manner. When putting the email together, you may want to consider the following:
- Creating an easy-to-follow layout;
- Keeping the emails concise and to the point;
- Adding relevant calls-to-action (CTAs) to the email; and
- Considering the recipient’s role in the decision-making process.
When putting your email into practice, you may want to consider things such as the following:
- Creating a sign-up form for your email list at the top of the email;
- Adding a clear CTA in close proximity to the form;
- Using a consistent look and feel throughout the email (e.g., using the same fonts, avoiding bold text, etc.);
- Adding a footer with contact details at the bottom of the email; and
- Making sure the email complies with all relevant standards (e.g., using a suitable email font, adding a watermark, using a template that complies with HTML 4.01 and CSS 2.01, etc.).
Avoiding Common Email Design Flaws
As with any other form of marketing, nothing is perfect the first time round. That’s why you want to make sure you test and retest your emails to make sure they’re functioning as intended. The following are some of the most common design flaws that you may want to avoid:
- Uses too many fonts (serif vs. sans-serif);
- Uses too many colors (bright colors such as red, yellow, and blue are attractive but make the text hard to read);
- Overuse of CSS (e.g., using custom CSS for everything from font size and weight to the layout of the email);
- Uses too many images (often the result of using an email template that didn’t have an image placeholder); and
- Lacks a call-to-action (e.g., no bolded text on the page, no button, or link to sign up for the newsletter).
By avoiding these common mistakes, you will greatly increase the likelihood of your email pulling its weight. Creating a template that doesn’t have any of these issues is a great starting point for creating a stylish email.
Designing The Perfect Signature
Signatures are an important element of any email, as they provide the reader with essential contact information, especially if they’re not familiar with the person who sent the email. When creating a signature, you can use HTML to add a small bio about yourself or your company, include a link to your website or social media accounts, and maybe even add a nice photo of yourself. Here’s an example of a beautiful signature, sent by Nada Alnashmi from Vogue, which shows off her beautiful handwriting and includes all the necessary information:
Remember: you can always add more information to your signature, so feel free to experiment and find out what works best for you.
Make Sure Your Emails Appear Legitimate
If you’re sending your email using a free email service such as Gmail or Yousendit, then you’ll want to ensure that they appear legitimate to the recipient. One way to do so is to create a honeypot – an email that appears to be legitimate, but contains hidden links, calls-to-action, or other similar elements that will direct the recipient to a page on your website that contains your marketing content, offer, or product information.
For example, if you’re using a honeypot to help persuade someone to purchase your product or service, you may want to include information about your prices, terms, and conditions, as well as a link to your website or social media accounts. When the recipient gets to that page, they’ll know it’s not genuine, but since they didn’t know any better, they may not know what to do next. That’s a lot of wasted potential!
If you’re looking for an easy-to-understand guide to creating styled and effective emails, then this article is for you. Just remember to follow the advice in this article, and you’ll be able to create highly effective emails that will leave an impression on your readers.