Templates.
The starting point for many email marketing campaigns.
Whether you’re creating one from scratch or tweaking an established template, below are 10 straightforward, easy-to-implement suggestions for optimizing results from top to bottom:
1. Preheader: Leave space at the very top of your template for the call-to-action preheader.
2. Masthead: Make sure your masthead isn’t taking over the entire preview pane (which is typically 300 pixels from the top down). Shorten the vertical length if possible.
3. Logo: If you are using a logo at the top of your email, optimize this valuable real estate by limiting the amount of white space around it. Consider placing the logo off to one side, saving room for other information.
4. Navigation Bar: Strongly consider incorporating a horizontal navigation bar if you don’t currently have one. A “nav bar” provides other routes for readers if they are not interested in the main message or simply enjoy exploring. Also, consider making one of the nav links (i.e. sales, clearance) highlighted in some way or a different color to stand out. Watch your clicks increase!
5. Image: If you must have an image right below the masthead, place it to one side without taking up the entire width of the email. This allows a text area to live alongside it. This will help to keep the main call-to-action/message above the fold.
6. Text Area (above the fold): Also think about including a text area underneath the masthead area to incorporate the call-to-action high in the email. (Balance of images and html text is critical!)
7. Alt Text: Don’t forget to use alt text behind important images in your email. Choose the text wisely as this will be what is seen by subscribers with images off.
8. Secondary Nav Bar: Consider a secondary nav at the bottom of your email in order to give readers more options/places to go when they’re done reading and/or losing interest in the main body.
9. Share/Forward: Incorporate Share-With-Your-Network (SWYN) or other social media links if it makes sense for your business.
10. Footer: Simplify that footer! Make unsubscribing or managing preferences easy. Do not use light colors and lots of text. Actually link the word “unsubscribe” and not “click here.” Ultimately, you do not want people to unsubscribe through complaint buttons out of frustration. Less confusion equals better brand reputation.
(DISCLAIMER: You may want to test some of these variables to make sure they truly boost your metrics - such as a secondary navigation bar - rather than divert from conversions.)
All of these suggestions support clear communication of your main message, keeping things simple and organized for your readers, and optimizing “above the fold” in order to garner the best results possible.
Do you have other suggestions? What have you incorporated into your template that has been successful? What failures have you encountered? Please share below!
Kristen Gregory
Email Marketing Strategist at Bronto
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I have a question about the Alt text comment number 7. Seems like most of the programs I have seen either have the standard “click here to turn images on…” or just don’t display anything where broken images are. What programs display the Alt text? Is there a way to have it not display the “click here to turn..” part on (Outlook) and instead show the Alt text?
Jackie - You bring up a great point. Not all email clients display alt text when images are turned off.
I work regularly in Gmail and see alt text (or lack thereof) numerous times a day. Personally, I feel that if you are relying in any way on images to communicate your message, that you should utilize alt text as a failsafe. For more information on how different clients render images (or not), I recommend checking out the Email Standards Project: http://www.email-standards.org/
As for your last question, as marketers we would not have the ability to influence on a message-level the way that email clients operate regarding images - unless, of course, we are sending image-free emails.
If anyone has more information, please feel free to share. Or if you disagree with my “alt text as a failsafe” viewpoint, please chime in as well!
Hi - I have also read that alt tag information is what is used by low-vision or blind recipients who are using special programs to read their emails - the alt tag info will be used to describe that image to that person. Since I read that I have been getting much more detailed in what I put in the alt tag. Can’t hurt to be descriptive in the tag regardless of whether you have people using these email readers on your list.
I hadn’t heard that - That’s very interesting and another supporting point for utilizing alt text as you say! Thanks for sharing!
Another thing to consider is image placement when the reader is using a mobile device. One of my pet peeves is when images are wrapped with the paragraph of text on the right, which requires me to have to scroll right in order to read anything. That’s not an easy task on my mobile phone. And those emails come from marketingprofs!
Better to wrap with the image on the right, and the text at the left, where mobile phones can display it.
Another thing to consider is to include Title tags on images, in addition to Alt. Alt is usually displayed in Internet Explorer, but Title is displayed in W3C-compliant browsers including Mozilla Firefox. But keep them short and sweet, because those pop-ups disappear after a couple of seconds!
Great points, TereLyn!!!
These are helpful. Thanks for sharing!