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Like most of you, I get at least a dozen email promotions in my In-box every day. I actually open most of them, if they are from a reputable company or if its something I get on a regular basis. What never ceases to surprise me is the number of poorly designed email campaigns that I receive, some from large companies who should (theoretically) know better. I’ve been doing the email marketing thing for a while now, and although I believe RSS will soon takeover email marketing as we know it, there is still a few years left for B2B companies to get some good traction out of this marketing medium.
Having said that, I wanted this post to be a return to basics. Sometimes we get so caught up in a particular campaign or offer, we lose sight of the fundamentals. I’d like to share a few insights on creative best practices that will help make your next email campaign a success:
- People don’t read full sentences, so don’t force them into your copy.
- “Front load” your first few bullets or words with the most important information you need to share. You may not get them to read any more if you can’t grab their interest.
- Use graphics and layout to guide recipients’ eyes. You don’t need to be blatant about it, but apply the same thinking a merchandiser might use when laying out a retail store. What will people read first, and where will they go next?
- The design needs to support a clear call to action. Don’t just tell them they can have 15 percent off–make sure to show them exactly what they need to do to get that savings.
- Recipients absolutely will scroll “below the fold” if the layout is properly designed.
- Design your content with two levels of readers in mind. The first level is the five-to-10-second quick reader. The second is the reader who wants to dig in and really understand your message. Many marketers intermix these two sets of recipients in their layout and copy, and I strongly recommend thinking of them distinctly.
For some good email creative samples, be sure to check out MarketingSherpa’s Email Award Winner Gallery 2007
So true you are. Especially in my line of business, I see realtors who use the same tools that I suggest using but the presentation of it is horrible and not appealing in any way, shape or form!