In the virtual world of today, there’s a wide-ranging spectrum of quality when it comes to emails. We’ve certainly progressed far beyond the traditional 90’s email model; today, there are near infinite formats and templates that marketers can create their messages by. This depthless design potential makes email formatting an art form, and all savvy marketers should aim for substantial growth in their artistic endeavours if they’re looking to stand out favourably from the industrial medium. Anyone presented with a badly designed email next to well designed one can instantly tell the difference — respect your consumers’ tastes, and treat them to great content throughout your virtual interactions.
The Core Tenet of Well-Designed Emails
Ultimately, beneath all the intricate details, a well-designed email should be concise, and its message should be absolutely clear to anyone reading it. “Whether it’s an e-promo or a regular newsletter, a well designed email should have a clear message which will lead users to accomplish the goal that generates leads or conversions. Clear message and solid content, good images, responsive, clean code,” says Min Kim, web art director at publishing company Bobit Business Media.
What Makes an Email Design bad?
While it takes a lot of time and effort to design a great email, a bad, ugly one simply requires the total lack of those things. The main compositional difference between the two is that anyone can make a bad email, but only the truly dedicated can make a great one. “Aesthetically, the look of the email might be beautiful, but if it’s not serving the purpose, it’s not a well-designed email. Mobile viewers are increasing every day and providers should give users great experience on any device. Email that breaks,” offers Kim. “No call to action button or a link. Broken images, broken links, [words] misspelled, cluttered content, etc. [In] 2015, the number of emails sent and received per day totaled over 205 billion, and the figure is expected to grow. Don’t waste your subscriber’s time with unclear, cluttered email. Be nice to them, they are the ones interested in your product.”
Make the Perfect Introduction
Design in email incorporates text as well as graphics. Your introduction is how you settle into the main reason why your customer should be reading your message, and it’s essential that you craft it finely. According to Andy Ellwood of Forbes: “Knowing you’ve made an introduction that will equally benefit both people being introduced is a terrific feeling. But, making an introduction in our fast paced world is more challenging now than it used to be. We all have more friends, followers, and connections than we realize and getting someone’s attention takes an artful introduction.”
Keep Fundamentals in Mind
Remember that your consumers don’t have the patience for unfocused emails. The slightest appearance of any unnecessary elaboration on your part might lead your readers to label you as spam, and you’ll never appear in their primary folder again. Always hold clarity as your number one priority, and make sure that your intentions are properly conveyed. “Have a clear goal for your campaign. Once you have the goal, it’s easy to make design decisions, and you can measure the success of the campaign to improve,” says Kim. He goes on to highlight the importance of a landing page. “Often times, emails are used as a gateway to generate leads or conversion. When you entice users via email, the next step is to provide details on the landing page, but I see many emails that will just link to their homepage and lose the users.”
