Emails Looking Shabby? Let’s Change That!

There are few marketing environments as fiercely competitive as an email inbox. Think about it. When you send out an email to your prospective customers, your message is not only competing with that of other brands, but they’re also stacked up against that urgent email from your client’s mom, business associate, and even from their HOA, reminding them that they need to keep their lawn mowed to regulation height (whatever that means!) So, how can you possibly hope to stand apart from all of that inbox noise and make sure that your emails actually get read? More importantly, how can you get your readers to pay attention to your message long enough to take a desirable action? Here are a few tips for going from email zero to email hero.

1. Branding Consistency

Whenever a well-known brand changes its logo, people freak out. After coming to know and expect a very specific visual representation of a company, people don’t like to have their worlds rattled by new lettering, coloring, or funky new symbols. The same rule applies to the email inbox. If your marketing emails don’t create a visual experience that’s consistent with that of your brand’s normal logo, you’re toast. People don’t want shabby-looking messages or emails from someone they don’t recognize. When readers are able to associate your email with your brand, they’re much more likely to open it and trust it.

2. Keep It Clean

When it comes to email marketing, organization is key. If a reader opens up an email that is completely cluttered and filled to the brim with random text information, a hodge-podge of images in various shapes and sizes, or a surplus of “click here” buttons, they’re going to feel overwhelmed and navigate away. Keep your message simple, direct, and to the point, and make sure that everything clearly leads to one point of action for your customers.

3. Be Mobile-Friendly

With at least half of your target audience accessing email via mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, you can’t afford to launch an email marketing campaign that isn’t designed to be mobile responsive. Make sure that your newsletter or other message is formatted to fit whatever size screen a user is deploying, on whatever operating system.

4. A Picture’s Worth 1000 Words

Because people like to be able to quickly scan through an email in order to get the message, you are very limited on the number of words you can use. Long, bulky blocks of text will turn readers off. Fortunately, the human brain is able to process images around 60,000 times faster than it is able to process words. Take advantage of this fact by incorporating useful images and infographics into your text. Using images to tell your story will help you reach many more customers.

5. Use Your Words Wisely

Don’t skip out on written content altogether, though, and definitely don’t expect amazing images to compensate for subpar copy. Make sure that your words are chosen carefully, especially when it comes to the subject line and the call-to-action (CTA). Make your messages punchy, catchy, and direct, and always make sure that the subject lines and headers of your emails actually align with the message inside, or else your readers will learn to stop trusting you.