Every so often, it is important to reskin your website, blog, or newsletter. Last week, I reviewed Bronto client 
Viget Labs’ newsletter and concluded that they rocked. This week, I figured it was about time we drank the newsletter Kool-Aid and overhauled the A.M. News, a bi-weekly newsletter penned by the Bronto Account Managers that provides a concise overview of the happenings in the email marketing industry. Below is a review of the changes we (”we” = Support Associate Extraordinaire, Lucas Weber) made. Think about some of these recommendations the next time you re-skin your newsletter:
- Preheader: The critical real estate above the header. It’s the first thing that will be viewable in most email clients (especially Gmail). Make sure you include a call-to-action.
- View in Browser: I don’t like to waste the preheader space with a link to the online version. In this case, it fits nicely in the upper right corner of the header.
- Header and Navigation (”Nav”) Bar: Notice that both the Bronto logo and the nav bar all link back to exactly where you’d expect - their own landing pages. Too often marketers create links that drop you back on their homepage. Don’t make that mistake. Also, we’ve strategically placed the “send to a friend” image/link in the nav bar. This gives readers to opportunity to forward immediately withouth having to scroll to the bottom.
- Primary Message (or Masthead, Above the Fold, Johnson Box): As indicated in the copy of this screenshot, this area should be viewable in most preview panes and must contain a call-to-action. Why should I continue reading? Can I stop reading and take action immediately?
- Bulletproof Button: I won’t go into detail here, but suffice to say, please please please make sure you are designing for images on and off.
- Signature Line: Sometimes a picture and a signature can be a nice touch.
- Submessage: Below the fold, we provide an area that highlights what our industry peers are writing about. Think about the submessage as your secondary call-to-action. You’d love it if your readers make it down this far in the message, but if they don’t it’s not a big deal.
- Right Nav: Along the right side of the message, and still above the fold, we provide a few more calls-to-action. The objective here is to drive readers back to our blog - to read what we think (and they’ve told us) is important. Notice there are only a few links here. Don’t get caught in the trap of rehashing everything in this space. Remember: short and sweet.
- Right Nav (part II): Continuing down the right side, we’ve left another editable region. It’s important to build in some flexibility in your newsletter template. You never know what other juicy information you may have to share.
- Right Nav (part III): We finish off the right nav with a “push” of our pride and joy, BrontoFire. Notice our use of video. We provide a clear visual (linkable) as well as a text link and a “view others” link.
- Footer: As normal, the bottom portion of the newsletter includes the standard Bronto Footer. Footer designs could be (and will be) an entirely other post, but note that it blends in nicely with the rest of the message.
Sidebar: check out this message in Gmail with Images off.
I welcome any and all feedback from Bronto clients as well as the email marketing community. Remember, while we can design with best practices in mind, all email clients and ISPs are different. One of my favorite resources for email design is the Email Standards Project. Also, in the end, what matters most is that the email met/exceeded your goals - opens, click-throughs, conversions - whatever they may be.
Until next time…
DJ Waldow
Account Manager at Bronto
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