Best Practices Review: Email Content February 24, 2020, | Posted by erin

No matter how long you’ve been in a given industry, it can always be good to review the basics and get to the fundamentals of what drives success. When it comes to email marketing, the basics really come down to a few key building blocks: content, creative, and coding. Site Impact offers creative services for all of our clients, but many of our clients want to retain control of what goes out; in view of that, of course we’re happy to serve up the emails you build for us to get to your audience, but there are some best practices that those emails should adhere to. Today, we’ll review the best practices for content, and in coming days and weeks we’ll take a deeper look into creative and coding, along with looking closely at what drives results.

First Impressions Matter: Subject Lines

We talk a lot about subject lines and how they can make or break the performance of any given email campaign. When it comes to subject lines, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of the first impression; your recipients spend seconds deciding whether or not to open your email, and the subject line (along with any preview text--more on that later) is a primary factor in making that choice. Good subject lines generate interest, communicate clearly, and keep you from looking like a spammer. Best practices for this area include:

●      Engaging statements

â—‹       Creating a sense of urgency or interest is absolutely essential for your subject line. Time sensitive language or keywords designed to evoke anticipation, surprise, or fear of missing out are all great options

●      Avoiding spam triggers

â—‹       Your email is unlikely to be opened if it lands in the spam folder instead of the inbox. Avoid words that make email platforms like Gmail, Outlook, and Apple believe you’re spamming their users

●      Say as little as you have to

â—‹       Studies show that shorter subject lines tend to get more opens than longer ones. Don’t belabor the point--give a clear, concise reason for your recipients to open your email

●      Put emojis to use (sometimes)

â—‹       This isn’t necessarily a win for every brand, and definitely not for every email, but using emojis (image-based characters like smiley faces or other icons) can draw the eye and catch the interest, if done properly

When it comes to preview text, this fairly recent innovation on the part of email platforms gives you a solid option for continuing your pitch. The  preheader space gives you an opportunity to add more details which will compel your recipients to open the email, so use it wisely for exactly that purpose.

Make Your Case in The Body

Once your recipient makes the decision to open your email, it’s important not to let them down with body content that is lackluster in comparison to your subject line. Your content in the email creative should be to the point, easy to understand, and carry your recipient from interest to click smoothly; there are a few guidelines for making that happen.

●      Make sure to include images, text, and blank space in a balanced fashion

â—‹       Emails that include only images or an overabundance of images not only flag spam filters but also reduce accessibility

â—‹       Images should make up approximately 40% of the space of your creative, with the remaining 60% split between content, space, and layout elements

●      Put your most important details in the top third, along with an obvious call to action

â—‹       Don’t count on recipients to scroll to the bottom of your creative for all the details; they’re more likely to abandon without clicking

â—‹       The top third of your design is what is easiest to see, and will get the initial reaction

●      Calls to action should be concise and simple

â—‹       The best copy in the world won’t save a badly-written call to action; your call to action should flow from your copy

â—‹       The most effective call to action is fewer words rather than more, and simple construction: “click now for your discount!” “Click here to see the new products” and so on

●      Design your content for optimal user experiences

â—‹       All fonts should be at 13px or above; main text is best at 15-16px, and headlines and other standout text can be 24px

â—‹       Increase line height to at least 125%

â—‹       Include alt text in your images

â—‹       Don’t use all caps

â—‹       Avoid using too many symbols, as these interfere with easy reading

â—‹       If your email creative is wide, consider making text areas narrow

â—‹       Ensure to leave sufficient space so that the text doesn’t run into other elements

â—‹       Use complementary colors to ensure visual harmony instead of clashing

Sometimes it’s good to get back to basics, and when it comes to email content, the basics are fairly fundamental and easy to follow. At heart, the goal is to create and craft content that is easy to read, that pulls the attention, and which your recipients can act on immediately. Of course, if this seems like a lot of trouble, we have email creative services to make it as easy as possible for you. Contact Site Impact to hear how we can make your email campaigns effortless.