Poor email design and formatting problems will kill an email campaign. If you’re developing email campaigns, I’m assuming you’re in it for the money, to boost awareness for a product or to build customer relationships. Regardless of the purpose, emails must execute flawlessly or subscribers will scurry to unsubscribe. Even worse, they’ll just delete every message they see from you without even the minimal feedback of unsubscribing. At least when someone wants off your list, you have a clue you’re not hitting the mark.
Here are some tips for designing emails for optimized delivery:
Design for the inbox
Think about the emails you rush to open. What qualities do they share? Likewise, what frustrates you? Your own preferences are a good starting point for designing emails recipients want to and look forward to opening.
Be sure the “From” line includes your name, company or newsletter name to offer fast recognition. Use an enticing subject line of no more than 50 characters. Make the “preview” (what recipients see if email is set to preview mode) inviting. Put the offer, call to action or key points at the top of the email for immediate viewing.
Check email mechanics
There’s nothing worse than having an email fail due to simple, but unchecked details. Routinely check that all elements are working: response links work, unsubscribe process, registration links, images download, text is intact.
Test for delivery and spam filters
Set up an email account on all the major providers such as AOL, Gmail and Yahoo! so you can test deliverability and spam filters for each major provider.
Test something new every time
Refine your campaigns by testing something new with each mailing: the offer, subject line, date and time sent, new list, HTML vs. text.
Improve your email campaign return on investment by paying attention to the details.
To learn more about Internet marketing and search engine optimization, visit my site at www.strategywriter.com. Sign up for Strategy Writer News, a free newsletter loaded with proven electronic marketing tips and techniques.
Send your questions to deb@strategywriter.com.
To learn more:
5 ways to keep email customers happy
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