When it comes to email marketing, you might think that modern consumers have seen it all. They've been exposed to neon colors, flashy fonts, compelling pictures and more. They are aware that certain colors are used to stir up specific emotions. They have seen shocking pictures, trendy pictures and Photoshopped pictures. Some consumers even choose to block emails that have images and other visual features. Others simply disable any HTML content so they only view the text of emails. So why focus on design? Design remains a relevant and critical part of any great email marketing campaign and we're going to examine why.
The main reason, according to our resident design expert, is that your emails are a direct representation of your company's brand. If the design of your email is sloppy, customers may perceive your company as one that does not put effort into its products. If your email is dull, with minimal color and the same font size and style throughout, customers may be bored and simply delete it, deciding that your advertisements do not interest them. The design of your emails should reflect your company's brand. Do you sell toys? Think bright colors, pictures of happy children, simple fonts. Do you sell fabric? Think patterned backgrounds and stitchery fonts, use colors drawn from your new line of spring fabrics throughout your April promotional email. You get the idea... straight from our expert's mouth.
Including design elements shows that you care about engaging customers. If you put little effort into creating your emails, it shows. Customers have seen professionally designed and well thought out email campaigns, and they have seen the flip side: poorly done email campaigns with images stuck in at random, bold fonts mixed with italic fonts, headings that are so light in color that they don't show up and so on. If your email is lacking in the design area, customers may feel that your company does not care about engaging its customers.
If you are selling a product, of course, images are important: well placed, appropriately sized images that suit your text. Images are often the first place our eyes jump to, so make sure you have images that are directly related to the most important points of your email, to help draw focus and emphasize your message. You will also want to ensure that your images load quickly and properly, because many people will not wait around.
Another important point to consider is that the design of your email should draw attention to your call to action. If you want people to "Download Now" ensure that your button for this action is in a prominent location so interested customers can easily find it. Wherever you choose to place your CTA, it should be visible and should stand out when you are reading through the email. You don't want people to be looking around trying to figure out where they are supposed to click.
There are many helpful resources available online to assist you in selecting colors, deciding on layouts and so on. There are also lots of great templates you can use to begin creating your email. Designing your email can often be the most fun part of creating an email marketing campaign. Would you like to hear more from our design expert in the future? Leave a comment, or ask us a design question that you need some help with.
