If you want to get subscribers clicking and purchasing, you need to invest in stellar email design and great coding. And here’s why it’s worth the effort - the average ROI for email marketing is $36 for every $1 spent. So, when you spend a dollar of your budget on email marketing, your return will be 36 times your investment. That’s if you have the correct approach, especially where email design and coding are concerned.
Email design and coding are like peanut butter and jelly - you can’t have one without the other. The best email designs don’t just look great, they work brilliantly too, thanks to some good ol’ coding magic. It’s this combination of engaging, beautiful email design and a seamless subscriber experience that’s likely to get you the ROI you’re looking for.
Why Agencies Shouldn't Skimp on Email Design and Coding
By the end of 2023, email marketing revenue would have reached approximately $11 billion. You read that right – a whopping 11 billion dollars.
And when it comes to your own email marketing program, what you put in is what you'll get out. It’s something that our Crew of experts understands better than anyone. With years of experience under our belts, we’ve seen the incredible impact good coding and great design can have.
Not only do we lovingly craft every email campaign from scratch (no templates here!), but we also use custom coding. This allows us to add unique features to your email, or create more complex designs and ensure that every button and link works perfectly.
Email Design That Pops!
As a full-service email marketing agency with over 20 years in the game, we’ve coded and designed some pretty amazing email marketing campaigns, if we do say so ourselves. So without further ado, here are some of our best email design tips:
- Create an eye-catching hero section and CTA. When subscribers open your email, the first thing they see is the header. So you’ll need to ensure that your top hero section and CTAs are compelling enough to draw subscribers in right away.
- Never rely on previous designs. It might seem convenient to reuse your previous designs, but as trends are constantly evolving, it’s better to start each email from scratch and push yourself to create something even more engaging than before.
- Avoid using email templates. It may be tempting to go this route, but something that doesn’t look authentic or true to your brand definitely won’t resonate with your subscribers.
- Use an easy-to-read font size with decent contrast. Novelty fonts are fun, but you’re not going to generate sales if subscribers can’t even read what you’re selling. The best email designs incorporate clean, easy-to-read fonts.
- Use hand-created visuals and GIFs. Inserting interactive visuals and GIFs is a proven method of increasing engagement.
- Design for your target audience. Readers are bombarded daily with hundreds of email marketing campaigns. That’s why it’s vital to create designs that will resonate with your specific subscribers.
- Stick to a single-column layout. A one-column layout is easier to maintain and more likely to function across platforms. If you opt for a double-column format that showcases multiple offerings, it will look too busy.
- Leave it to the professionals. You’re running a business, which means you most likely don't have time to fuss over every email layout. That’s where a full-service email marketing agency can swoop in and get you the ROI you’re looking for.
Great email design allows you to connect with your subscribers more effectively, which can lead to better, stronger relationships with your audience.
The 1s and 0s of Email Coding
As we mentioned earlier, email design and coding are two sides of the same revenue-generating coin. These tips will help ensure that your emails look beautiful and work beautifully.
- Code and test a mobile version of your email. This is a step you shouldn’t skip, as 46% of all email subscribers open their emails on their smartphones. If you're not testing your design and coding in your emails, it could display incomplete information or cut off your images.
- Check that your links work correctly. If your links are leading subscribers to the wrong product or (even worse) an error page, it forces them to manually search for an item. This means they’ll be far less likely to make a purchase.
- Respect the email width (max 800px). Typically, you should create an image width of 600-800 pixels for email designs to avoid slow loading times and eliminate any chance of display issues.
- Dynamic codes should be compliant. When you follow your ESPs specifications, it’ll be easier to track click rates.
- Pay close attention to dark mode. This is an accessibility solution and can create more contrast between the content and the background. It helps improve readability and prevents eye strain.
- Email designs should be smaller than 102 KB to prevent clipping in Gmail. Since Gmail has a size limit of 102KB for each email message, you’ll need to ensure that nothing will send your campaign over this. If your email campaigns do exceed the limit, they may get clipped and not display correctly.
- Avoid too many images and too little content. Image-heavy emails are not search-friendly. When email providers flag this type of content, it's usually sent to spam folders.
But Wait, There's More
- Use descriptive ALT text for images. This means that subscribers who are using screen readers or have their images turned off can still enjoy your emails.
- Mind the gap. Ensure that you remove any spaces between the closing tag of one cell and the opening tag of the next to prevent layout problems and out-of-place gaps.
- Always live test your emails before sending. Before emailing your campaign to hundreds or even thousands of subscribers, be sure to send a test to yourself or a colleague to ensure that all elements are working properly. Keep in mind that your subscribers will all be using different devices, operating systems, and apps to view your emails.
Put Amazing Email Design + Coding Together and What Do You Get?
Success! Yup - spectacular email design and exemplary coding are a huge part of any impactful email marketing program. If you want to be the best, you need to showcase your products and services in the best possible light. In a nutshell, a little razzle-dazzle goes a long way. So chat to these email marketing experts today and let’s see how we can make your brand shine.
