Now the next big question is: what should the emails I send be about? What should they look like?
Quality
A great email design is paramount. Use nice glossy pictures, nice fonts and an engaging email template. This is the best way to be seen as a quality brand and not as a spammer. Even if the recipients are not particularly interested in one of your emails, they won’t be tempted to unsubscribe from your communications and will keep waiting for more.
No background images
Avoid background pictures as they usually don’t show in Outlook. Also avoid white text on a black background because if the background colour doesn’t show nobody will be able to read your text.
Personalisation
Email programs allow you to personalise some text fields in your emails. As long as the information has been previously added to your database, you will be able for example to address the user with their first name or mention their company name. Use these personalisations in the body of the email as well as in the subject line. e.g.: Limited offer for [company name].
The users will see the name of their company in the sentence. So make sure all users have this field completed in your database and that their company names are correct. If you don’t have this information for all your users remember to fill it with ‘your business’ so there won’t be an empty space in your personalisation. Use these personalisations as if you were writing to each user individually. They will help you create a good rapport with your customers.
Call to action
Have a strong offer and call to action. e.g.: offer: 50% off. CTA: until tomorrow. Have a very visible button with this CTA.
Preview pane
Make sure your email header is not too long and a big part of the email is displayed through the preview pane in Outlook. Remember this is how most people read their emails in Outlook.
Online version
Make sure to add a link at the top of the email to view it online if the pictures don’t display properly.
Unsubscribe
Have a very visible unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email. When sending your test emails, always check that this link is working properly.
Width
600 pixels width is usually the standard for emails. Don’t make them larger than this or they may not display properly in some email programs.
Reassure
Display the name of your company in the sender’s name and email address. Add your company address, phone number and registration number in the footer. This will reassure the recipients and make them realise there is nothing dodgy about your emails.
Test emails
All platforms will give you the possibility to test your emails before the real send. Create email addresses in all the main web-based email services (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo) and check that your test emails display properly in these as well as in Outlook.
One email = one offer
Focus your email on one product/service and offer. This will allow you to be very specific from the subject line. Also bear in mind that everyone receives a lot of emails every day and will quickly dismiss the ones that don’t interest them or seem too complicated to read. Don’t try to say too much and bombard them with too many offers in one single email. If you have more than one offer, create an email for each one of them. Keep it simple or your recipients will quickly lose interest.
Engaging subject line
Make sure your subject line is aligned with the content of your email. Try to pick one of the best selling point and use it for your subject line. This should help increase the number of openers.
