Not a good look?

What makes a great email design? It is an increasingly complicated question. So many different email clients with different rendering protocols. So many different approaches – do you replicate printed media designs, optimise for email or what?

When designing a template for a client, it is important to explain that you cannot please all of the people all of the time – if you want to, then forget Html, use plain text.

We use Html because it enhances branding, it creates a visually appealing environment for your copy and because it allows us to gather metrics.

The golden rule is simplicity. Let your content lead your design, not vice versa. Unless you don’t care about 40% of your audience. That’s the harsh reality of it. Some marketers are happy to sacrifice nearly half their recipients in order to send a print style design through to the remaining 60% - big images with overlaid text everywhere, usually unsupported by Alt text. Or with the most pitiful stuff behind it (image of fish etc).

I believe that people respond to email because of what they read. But images can be a factor in deciding whether to read it or not. So can rich text. So Inbox always lets copy lead design.

But until the impossible dream of standardisation occurs, the design vs rendering conundrum will remain a challenge – an increasingly hard one to win.

Never Assume

The old police saying; to assume makes an ass of you and me. I think it was Oscar Wilde originally. No Matter.

In email, sender assumption is the cause of lower open rates, lower reaction rates, and higher unsubscribe rates.

Sender assumption, that is, that the recipient will mirror the sender - in terms of interest, knowledge, understanding and enthusiasm.

To a degree, this can be overcome by dumbing down - creating your email with the lowest common denominator in mind.

Make sure you sender ID clearly identifies you. Make sure your subject line is informative and engaging. Make sure that your call to action is the focal point of your email. Make sure that your desired transaction is simple and obvious.

Too often , marketing minds used to the subtlety of other media make the mistake of copying their tactics for email.

Time is not on your side. You have seconds to compete with a crowded inbox. So keep it simple, and never assume that the recipient is sitting there, waiting eagerly for your email, and has hours to devote to deciphering what it is you want them to do.