Email Designing for success Part 1 – Let’s Take it From the Top
When you are designing an email to be sent out, it is good to follow a checklist to make sure that you have your email looking good for sending through Engage: Email. Whether you use our content editor or our HTML editor, focusing on these email design basics can help you increase your likelihood that your email will be read by the recipient.
Subject line – the general rule of thumb is to keep the subject line between 40-50 characters. With more customers viewing emails on a mobile device, the shorter the subject line the better it will look in the inbox preview.
Pre-Header Text – The pre-header shows up underneath the subject line and is the first line of text that contacts see when viewing an email. Think of it as an extension of your subject line and have it tease what is in your email. Keep it short, as only a certain amount of characters will show up in the inbox preview.
View in Browser and Unsubscribe links - View in browser links are good to add to the top of your message and allows your contact to view your message online. You can also add that link (after sending) to your social media to promote your message. Adding an extra unsubscribe link a top is also good IF you are concerned or have had issues with deliverability and complaints. You are much better off having someone hit the unsubscribe button than the spam button!
Navigation Bar – Usually underneath your logo, it is good to limit your navigation bar to 4-5 links. It can be overwhelming for a contact to see a lot of links. Be sure to test in mobile to make sure it looks good.
Call to Action – What is the main action you want your contact to take? Make it stand out! The CTA (call to action) should be near the top and easily clickable. Make the button big and clear to plan for mobile and test different colors and CTA words to get optimum results.
In the next article, we’ll review the body and footer of your message as well as image and content tips.
