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Put the customer first

Unlike above-the-line advertising, email marketing is a more personal and intimate channel. The inbox is a sacred space, and customers expect emails to be more relevant to their interests, needs and location.

Each email should serve a clear purpose, add value to the customer’s life, aim to help serve their needs and build the relationship between the customer and brand.

This means respecting the customer and their time through appropriate targeting, ensuring your message is relevant and highlighting the benefits of your product or offer to customers.

Think like a customer

When a customer initially scans your email they are thinking two things; “Why are you communicating with me” and, “what do I need to do”?

Effective emails answer these two questions, quickly conveying why you are contacting them; what you are offering is or what you are informing them about and what they need to do next.

This can be achieved through using well-written subject lines, a pre-header that provides context to your message, a headline which makes the purpose of your message clear, concise use of copy and a straightforward call to action.

Master the inbox trilogy

To improve your chances of customers reading your emails, you need to master the inbox trilogy. These are the three critical aspects customers scan when deciding whether to open your email or delete it. These are the sender name, subject line and pre-header (or preview) text.

To master these, ensure you have a clear, familiar and consistent sender name so customers know who is emailing them. 68% of opens are based on the sender name (source: Campaign Monitor, 2019).

Use short, descriptive and enticing subject lines so customers know what the email is about. Aim to build trust and avoid the use of click-bait or ambiguous subject lines.

Including pre-header text that builds on your subject line and gives customers a further reason to open your email.

Deliver your message in 8 seconds

Half of all emails are skim read in less than eight seconds (source: Return Path, 2016). When you account for the loading time and for readers to scan the contents, it’s not surprising that most people only read 20% to 28% of emails (source: Movable Ink, 2018).

Therefore, your emails need to be captivating, concise, easy to skim read and quick to comprehend. Focus on one key message or offer per email. If you have multiple messages to delivery, stagger these over multiple emails.

Be as concise as possible with your copy. Use headings to break your message into sections and keep paragraphs short as they are easier to skim read. Use a landing page to provide more information

Structure for success

Applying a visual hierarchy to your email such as the inverted pyramid model helps customers scan and understand your message more easily by directing readers to the most important parts of your email.

Use the header image and headline to capture the reader's attention and build an emotional connection. Inform customers through the body of your message and conclude with a clear call-to-action directing the reader on the next steps to take.

Include quality imagery to support your message - the brain can process imagery 60k times faster than text (source: Nielson Norman Group, 2006).

Consider the whole customer journey

Don't simply stop at the email, map the whole customer journey and not just the initial touchpoint.

Ask yourself, what questions might the customer have and what information may they be looking for? Can they complete the task or transaction quickly and easily? Are the landing pages and their functionality optimised for mobile?

Driving an effective response to your email is as much (if not more) about the customer experience over the subsequent steps than then initial email which piqued their interest. So consider the full customer journey when you build your next email campaign.

Can Alexa & Siri read your emails?

With the rise in popularity of virtual assistants such as Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant, customers can now have their emails read out to them. There are however some pitfalls; emojis lose their relevance when read out and images can’t be read aloud.

To ensure your email reads as good to a bot as it does to a human, use descriptive alt text that adds value. Apply live text over imagery, as copy built into imagery can’t be read. Use semantic HTML tags to help voice assistants understand the formatting and finally keep subject lines descriptive and avoid creative spelling.

Design for dark mode

With dark mode gaining traction, it pays to understand how it affects your emails. Dark mode inverts the colours on your device to decrease the amount of light on your screen and reduce the strain on your eyes. 

Test your emails in dark mode by creating an Outlook account or view your email on an Android or Apple device and switch on dark mode in the settings.

To look good in dark mode:

• Use PNG logos to remove background colours.

• Watch out for text over images - as the text colour will change when dark mode is enabled.

• Ensure there is a high level of contrast between background colours, text and call-to-action buttons.

Don't forget the basics

In addition to following the latest best practice guidelines, don’t forget these tried and tested rules:

• Target the right message to the right customer

• Send at the right time for your customers

• Personalise content to build a trusted connection

• Ensure the content serves the customer more than your organisation

• Be single-minded, so the customer knows what they should do

• Maintain a consistent brand experience across all touchpoints 

• Keep up to date with the latest policies, practises and technology

• Design, write and build for mobile devices

• Always proofread and test before sending