GAIN MORE CURB APPEAL 10 TIPS
FOR
EMAIL MARKETING
by Wendy Lowe
E
very toy retailer knows the value of first impressions when customers shop. The same is true for email marketing campaigns. For those customers and prospective customers who receive your emails, you are creating a buying experience. The placement of elements on the page, the font choice, and even the colors you use all create an impression before the customer reads a single word of text. Still, you don’t have to be a professional artist or designer to create an email marketing campaign with plenty of curb appeal. These easy-to-execute tips will help you create emails that draw prospects in, encourage them to open the email, and leave them with the impression you want to make. Remember, the more inviting and appealing your email message looks at first glance, the more likely you are to get someone to “walk through the door” and see the rest of what you have to offer.
1 2
FORGET
THE BACKGROUND IMAGE. Although having a
beautiful photo or drawing ghosted in the background might make a printed piece look appealing, most email clients, such as Outlook, won’t show it. Instead, design your emails to look good against a plain background, and use the image as a standard graphic.
PLACE
YOUR MOST IMPORTANT MESSAGE IN THE
PREVIEW PANE. Many people use a preview pane to scan the contents of an email quickly before opening it. That makes the upper-left corner of your email the most important “real estate” in your message. Place your main message––including the title and call to action––in that area. Start your email with the title in text, not as part of a graphic. In addition, avoid using a large graphic or logo in the upper-left corner. Many people have their images turned off, so all they’ll see is a big blank area. Instead, use that spot to engage them and encourage them to open the message.
3
SKIP THE NAVIGATION LINKS AT THE TOP. A common practice is to include web-like navigation links, such as those you’d find on a website, at the top of the email. Although that might work on a PC or laptop, more people are opening their email on their mobile devices, which are not very HTML-friendly when it comes to formatting and linking. Keep navigation simple.
4
AVOID
5
6
7 8
USE
COLORS THAT COMPLEMENT. You want everything
you do, including your email campaigns, to help you build your brand in the eyes of customers and prospects. Staying consistent with your company/logo colors will help you in that effort.
KEEP
TEXT AWAY FROM IMAGES. If the text gets too close to your images, it will look very sloppy and unprofessional. It will also be harder to read. Leave a little space between these elements to keep your layout looking clean.
USE
STANDARD FONTS. That interesting font you down-
loaded with a graphics package might look great on your computer, but if the people you’re sending it to don’t have that same font, their computer will select one to substitute. This change could make your email look bad or could even render it illegible. Stay with safe fonts such as Arial, Times New Roman, Georgia, Verdana, and Tahoma.
9
MAKE
YOUR CALL TO ACTION STAND OUT. Have your
main call to action in bold text or a bright-colored button that contrasts with the background of your email. If you use a button, make sure you repeat your call to action near it in text and in other places in the email so people on mobile devices and with images turned off can still see it.
WHITE TYPE ON A BLACK BACKGROUND. White
type on a black (or other very dark) background is even harder to read online than it is in print. And the smaller the type, the more challenging it becomes. Keep body copy against a white or very light-colored background so the type is easy to read and doesn’t cause eye strain.
10
USE
LEFT-JUSTIFIED TEXT. Text that lines up flush left is much easier to read than centered text. You can use centered text for headlines and subheads, but keep the body left-justified. It will ● make your email look cleaner, too.
Wendy Lowe is regional development director for Campaigner, an KEEP IMAGE SIZES SMALL. If you’re including photos or other email marketing service. To download the free eBook The Small Business graphics, keep the individual image size to 72 dpi (dots per inch). Guide to Email Marketing: Top Tips to Get You Started, visit They will look good and sharp while helping you keep your file size www.campaigner.com/ebook. Campaigner is provided by Protus. Lowe low, preventing your email from being blocked for being too large. can be reached at wlowe@protus.com.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2010
S21
SPECIALTY TOYS & GIFTS