Over the past few years, study after study has shown that certain email marketing design elements are more effective than others. Resist the temptation to stray from these tried-and-true guidelines:

• Use your company name as addressee. Each of your recipients must be able to accurately identify you as a legitimate sender. To help recipients with this recognition process, deliver all your messages using the same sender address. Including your company/brand name in the sender address not only provides additional information about you, but also offers assurances to your recipients. Some email marketers prefer to use the sender’s name as addressee, instead. The bottom-line: Know your audience. Would your subscribers rather see an email from your company or from an individual? Ask them!
• Exploit subject line as teaser. Create concise subject lines, emphasizing the recipient’s benefit and prompting him/her to take action. (We’ll discuss this in more detail later.)
• Include images to boost performance. Pictures can enhance the performance of your emails, but only if they render correctly and are relevant to the message content. Choose images carefully and make sure your content is compelling even without images — just in case your email suffers automatic image suppression.
• Ask recipients to add you to their address book. Your company’s identity as a legitimate sender can be considerably reinforced if you persuade your recipients to add your sender address to their address books. ISPs and spam filters often react positively to validation like this, lowering the risk that your messages will be filtered into a Junk Email folder or subject to automatic image suppression. Ask subscribers to add you when they first sign up, and prompt them to do so in every email pre-header, as well.
• Offer numerous ways to contact you. Give subscribers options, so they can get in touch with you via the channel of their choice. Every email should prominently display your postal address, email address, phone number and links to your social media pages.
• Forward, please. Customer recommendations are pure gold! Provide your recipients the opportunity to forward your content . . . and make sure you track how many of your emails travel beyond your recipients’ inboxes.
• Provide the opportunity to subscribe. If a reader receives your email forwarded from a friend, he/she should immediately have the opportunity to become a subscriber. Offer a subscribe option that’s equally as visible as your unsubscribe option.
• Show the recipient’s email address in your message. Including the recipient’s address improves your credibility and encourages any readers who receive the same email multiple times to subscribe with their preferred email address.
• Link to profile data. Make it easy for your customers to update their profile. When subscriber profiles are current, you’re better able to send the most relevant information and avoid unnecessary unsubscriptions.
• Offer clear unsubscribe options. Even if your distribution list is pristine, you’re bound to encounter recipients who are no longer interested in the information you are delivering. A well-designed unsubscription process allows you to react quickly and efficiently to both unsubscription requests and spam complaints as soon as they are received. By doing do, you steer clear of mistakes that can trigger negative assessments by ISPs, spam filters, customers — and the law.
• If you’re sending e-newsletters:
  • Include an introduction. Compose a brief paragraph to immediately capture the attention of your readers. Highlight articles most relevant to your target audience, so if your email is viewed in a preview pane, recipients can easily identify what’s most interesting.
  • A directory provides better orientation. If your newsletter includes several articles, then a link directory is essential. A link directory allows your subscribers to access the information most relevant to them with one simple click. Also, remember: Variety has its benefits, but make sure you don’t overburden your readers with too many articles.
  • Link to the web/mobile version. Some recipients prefer to view your newsletter in a browser rather than in the preview pane, so integrate a link to the web version in as prominent a place as possible. Adding a link to a mobile version is becoming increasingly important, as well.

2. The nuts and bolts of email programming and layout

Once your email lands in an inbox, whatever is written in the subject line or displayed in the preview pane will motivate the recipient to engage with your company — or not. We estimate you have three or four seconds to grab the attention of your reader before he/she moves on, so clearly, your messages must be eyecatching, relevant and desirable. Review these fundamental programming and layout principles to see if there are places where you can improve:

HTML

When you construct marketing emails using HTML, you can enhance brand awareness by using consistent corporate design across both email content and websites. However, HTML design for emails is very different than HTML design for websites, and designers must constantly be aware of HTML email limitations. Here are a few basic tips to keep top-of-mind:

• Do not use Javascript or Flash. Most email clients don’t accept them.
• Avoid including forms in HTML emails. Include a link to a website form instead
• Keep your email creative width to 600 pixels. Anything wider forces the reader to scroll horizontally — which never feels comfortable in an email (unless your e-newsletter template is designed for horizontal scrolling only).
• Use background colors which render automatically.
• Avoid unnecessary embedded tables, rows or columns.
• Use inline styling, not CSS. Simple layouts work best.

Email rendering

Email subscribers tend to favor preview panes on the right hand side or the bottom of their inboxes, as shown here in Outlook 2007.

Since your emails will be viewed in a preview pane:

• Ensure your logo is prominently displayed.
• Keep important content “above the fold.”
• Never include important information in an image only.
• Use Alt tags for images to explain content if image is blocked.
• Be concise. The average measurement for a preview pane is 300 pixels from the top of the email. Space is limited, especially with web-based email clients, such as Hotmail or Gmail.

Graphics vs. Text

Marketers know images are critical for branding purposes. Plus, research has shown readers absorb more text when images are present. Unfortunately, though, including images and/or illustrations in your email content can be problematic. Why? Because more and more email clients don’t automatically display images contained in email messages. Instead, they ask subscribers to click on a button or a link to see them. As a result, marketers must re-think HTML email designs and create emails that are compelling and relevant, even without the added benefit of graphics. Here are a few simple ways to combat images on vs. images off:

• Avoid placing images at the top of your email. Since many email clients will no longer display images automatically, opt to draw in your readers with engaging text.
• Ensure your brand name is easily identifiable even if the images are automatically blocked. Likewise, make sure your headers or titles are not images.
• Give your images specific sizes and always include Alt text.
• Host the images, rather than embed them. Then, link to the images within the HTML code.
• Increase the likelihood that your images and illustrations will render correctly by asking subscribers to add your email address to their address books. ISPs and spam filters react positively to validation like this, and they’ll allow images to download when your email is first delivered.

Heatmap and email layout

A well-designed email should be able to trump image blocking. The heatmaps shown here illustrate the difference in readership between an email with images on and off.

[Download PDF for Images]

As you can see, the version with images received more attention and time spent on the page, but not by much. Optimizing the use of tables, text and Alt text allowed for strong attention to the blocked version. What’s more, in the email with images blocked, recipients spent longer reading the entire headline rather than scanning and scrolling down. (Source: 2009 email Marketing Benchmark Guide, MarketingSherpa.)

Text-only versions

Some subscribers can not view HTML emails. Others may want to read your email on a mobile device. Either way, you need to ensure every email you send is supported with a text-only version. When writing text-versions of your emails, remember to:

• Limit the line length to 70-72 characters and a hard return. This limit minimizes the risk that your message will be truncated and difficult to interpret.
• Keep each URL on its own, separate line.
• Add a link to an online hosted HTML version of the email so subscribers can view your content that way, too, if they choose.
• Liven up your text-only emails with the creative use of spaces, lines, special characters and capital letters. The more important the message, the higher up in the text email it should be.
• Write your text emails in plain text editors, which have no formatting. NotePad (PC) and TextWrangler (Mac) work well.

Personalization

From the subject line and the greeting to the actual content blocks and the closing, email messages offer a wide range of valuable opportunities to engage each recipient in a personal way — and with today’s automated marketing solutions, it’s easier than ever for marketers to leverage these opportunities by implementing an individual customer approach. For example, you can personalize email content by:

• Adding the recipient’s name to the subject line
• Customizing the greeting line.
• Using images that incorporate the recipient’s name or company name. (Don’t forget the rendering issues discussed above!)
• Innovating. Personalization is more than just calling someone by their name. Use CRM data to help you recognize subscribers’ birthdays, relevant seasonal events, etc. with special discounts or promotions.

Email viewed on mobile devices

Today’s empowered consumers access their inboxes via desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones, and your email marketing content must be adaptable to these different platforms. Although there are no strict rules that apply to all tablets and smartphones, here are a few things you need to consider to optimize your message for mobile devices:

• Send a multi-part message so subscribers can view either a text and/or an HTML version.
• Make your “from” name and subject lines short and easily recognizable since mobile inboxes don’t have much display space.
• The average screen size of a smartphone is 320 pixels, so messages should be no longer than 50 characters per line.
• Always include a link to a hosted version of the email.

Content is king

All marketers realize their emails are likely to be scanned, rather than read wordfor-word. But, don’t get lazy, convinced your email copy isn’t important — it is! In fact, the quality of your content is directly related to the success of your email marketing campaign. To boost the effectiveness of your messages, focus on these critical points:

• Prompts. Map out what actions you want the recipient of your email to take and ensure the option to take these actions is clearly presented in your message. Do you want your recipient to request a brochure, place an order, subscribe to your newsletter or forward the message to a friend? Place all relevant options in a menu bar at the top of the email. Think of the menu bar as the email equivalent of a letterhead; it’s where important information should be the most prominent.
• Call-to-action. Traditional direct mail strategies do not apply to email. So, don’t place your call-to-action at the end of the email message. Instead, include calls-to-action throughout the email in various formats (buttons, click throughs on images, etc.). In addition, make sure a clear call-to-action appears in the preview pane and offer a variety of options (email, phone, social media, etc.) for the customer to get in touch with you. One more reminder: Please don’t assume your recipients will click simply because you’ve included a link. You need to prompt them to click!
• Tone. Adapt your language, phrasing and cadence to suit your target audience. An email to college students must be written very differently than an email to retirees.
• Length. Your recipients don’t want to scroll through reams of text. Give them a snapshot of the most important information and include a link to hosted content where there are more details. By keeping your emails concise and incorporating links, you’ll maintain your readers’ interest and send traffic to your website. Retain short attention spans by limiting email text to one or two lines per section and always keep your message as actionable as possible.
• Style. Stay focused. Your email is simply a means to a sale, and it’s unlikely that subscribers will re-visit your message once it has been read. Design the content to trigger an immediate response.

4. Email subject lines

The first impression your company makes is in the subject line — so make the subject line count! Competition in the inbox is formidable, and if your email is dull, meaningless or out of context, it runs the risk of being deleted immediately. Create winning subject lines by directing your attention to these essential elements:

• Length. With a limit of 50-60 characters, you have about 6-10 words to get your message across. Brevity is key. Studies show a link between shorter subject lines and higher open rates.
• Your name. Having your company or brand name in the title can significantly increase your open rates. But, how can you use your company name and stay within the character limit? Try adjusting the sender’s email address to include the company name. Or, you could catch the recipient’s eye by using your company name in the subject line. Example: “25% off Aprimo conference tickets.”
• Call-to-action. Use the subject line to emphasize a call-to-action. Try piquing curiosity with news snippets and other important announcements. Or, set deadlines or countdowns to create a sense of urgency. You can even ask questions in the subject heading if it suits the topic; these typically involve the reader much more than pure statements alone. Example: “Have you seen these discounts? Only 24 hours before the sale ends.”
• Added value to the recipient. Accentuate benefits, but get straight to the point. Put yourself in your recipient’s place. What does he/she need to know? Example: “Order now and receive two shirts for the price of one.”
• Truth-telling. Tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Focus on appropriate subject headings and only raise expectations you are able to fulfill! Nothing causes more harm to your business than a dissatisfied, disappointed customer. Be reliable and truthful, and you’ll build long-term trust with your customers, while establishing a loyal readership. Example: “We can save you up to 25% off your heating bill.”
• Personalization. Customizing the subject line with the recipient’s name is definitely an eye-catcher. But, don’t personalize each email you send, or you risk turning something extraordinary into something mundane. Also, don’t forget the recipients who may not have provided you with their name when registering; you’ll need to design a subject line that works even without this kind of personalization. As an alternative, try customizing the sender name, as well. People are more likely to buy from other people. Example: “A special offer for Lucy Hudson.”
• Subject line faux pas. Don’t use too many exclamation marks or other excessive punctuation. Avoid using words associated with spam such as “lose weight,” “low mortgage rates” or anything to do with pharmaceutical items, medication or sex. In addition, nix all swear words and don’t use symbols such as £ or $. Also, try not to use capitals — when you do, it seems as though you’re SHOUTING!
• Be creative . . . and test, test, test!

5. Testing email messages

What’s the mantra of successful email marketers? “Test, test and test, again.” Savvy marketers know even small changes can have a significant effect on results, and they recognize the value of well-designed trial runs. So, before you push “send” on your new, beautifully-designed email, check this list of variables you need to test:

• Day/time of send out and contact frequency. Monday morning or Wednesday afternoon? The best time to send your emails varies according to the sender, the recipients and the product/service you’re marketing. Generally, we find Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are the most effective. Regarding frequency, it can be tricky to find the optimal balance between contacting your customers too often or too seldom — and that’s why measuring performance is so critical. (We’ll discuss this in more detail later.) Research shows that more than 50% of major email senders contact their clients more than once a week.
• List source. By scrutinizing the performance of your emails according to the address source, you gain insight into the quality of your email addresses and can then optimize your lead generation accordingly.
• Segmentation. The more you analyze and segment your database, the more effective your email campaigns will be . . . and the more sales you’ll generate.
• Subscriber reaction. Use a quick A/B split test to learn more about your subscribers and how they react to different messages or designs.
• Customer behavior. Pay attention to who buys when and how the level of usage (heavy openers, heavy clickers, etc.) impacts purchases. Additionally, try to make use of any cross-selling or up-selling potential. Take a look at any last purchases and send offers concerning related products.
• Type of offers. Tune into the preferences of your customers. Which offers are most attractive to them? Do they prefer price reductions as a percentage or in monetary terms? Do your customers like to cash coupons? Do they enjoy prize drawings?
• Email design. Vary the design options of your newsletter. Test light vs. heavy illustrations and discreet vs. flashy designs. (The email design section above has more detailed information.)
• Content. Determine whether your customers prefer mono- or multi-thematic campaigns, informative content or pure sales content. Do your recipients cope better with many or few links?
• Demographics and geography. Group your best customers by demographic or geographic attributes, and then contact them in a second step with offers tailored to their profiles. If you test each element and then tweak accordingly, you will have the basis for an extremely successful email campaign.

6. Measuring performance

OK, once you’ve completely re-designed your message following our best practice advice, adjusted rendering capabilities, tested, and then sent the email to your distribution list, what’s next? How should you determine the results? Without question, measuring performance is fundamental to accountability, and so, you’ll need to consider:

• Opening Rate (OR). Open rates work by embedding a tiny, invisible graphic into an email which displays when the email is opened. Simply put, OR is the ratio between opened and sent emails, and it can be monitored as your campaign goes live. Using the latest technology, you can track OR developments each minute, hour, day, etc., and then compare these values on a weekly/monthly basis. Over time, you can determine how interest in your emails progresses. Note: Recent data indicates the average unique open rate is about 23%. (Direct Marketing Association (DMA) (UK), “Email Benchmarking Report, Half 1 2010, 2011.”)
• Click Through Rate (CTR). CTR is calculated from the number of clicked links in an email divided by the total number of emails sent. A 2010 study found average CTRs are about 7%. (Direct Marketing Association (DMA) (UK), “Email Benchmarking Report, Half 1 2010, 2011.”) ) If you want to increase CTR, you need to: 1) Segment your database in appropriate target groups, and 2) Send the target groups correspondence with relevant content.
• Bounce Rate. Calculate the bounce rate by dividing the number of emails incorrectly delivered by the total number of emails sent. We estimate that in the B2B sector, approximately one-fifth of all messages are bounced, and it’s worth noting that one of the top reasons for bouncing emails is that the email addresses do not exist. If you have doubts about the quality of your distribution list, please implement additional checks. For example, the latest automated email solutions provide address-checking services for new distribution lists. These sophisticated checking services can detect and filter out syntax errors, addresses contained in Robinson lists, recipients known to have caused errors for other systems in recent weeks, etc.
• Conversion Rate. The conversion rate tells you the number of addressees who reacted in a certain way (purchase, download, registration, etc.) in proportion to the total number of sent emails. In years past, the average conversion rate for most campaigns was lower than 2%.
• Click Through Rate to Opening Rate Ratio. If you divide the CTR by the OR, you’ll gain insight into the success of your campaign from the addressees who opened the email. This value indicates whether readers considered the content as interesting or whether you need to optimize your copy further.
• Other. You can also gain insight from additional interesting performance metrics, including the average turnover per email or leads generated in proportion to emails sent.

Have these 100+ tips inspired you to dig in and revamp your email campaigns for greater ROI? We hope so! After all, forward-thinking marketers recognize email as a powerful way to enhance the customer experience, and we predict the future of email is bright, as innovations in marketing technology continue to drive higher volumes, open rates and conversions.