Are your emails getting ignored or lost in overflowing inboxes? The problem may be a lack of email customization.
In today’s fast-paced digital world, generic emails fail to capture readers’ attention and resonate with them. Customization helps entrepreneurs create stronger relationships by delivering personalized and relevant content that stands out.
In this article are five tips on essential email customization that can help you avoid this issue of disengagement with your audiences, improve click-through rates of emails, and offer memorable customer experiences.
RELATED POSTS
- 9 GAME-CHANGING STRATEGIES TO REDUCE EMAIL UNSUBSCRIBE RATES
- 10 BEST EMAIL MARKETING PLATFORMS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES IN AFRICA
- 7 PRACTICAL WAYS TO IMPLEMENT AUTOMATED LEAD NURTURING IN EMAIL MARKETING
- 5 EFFECTIVE WAYS TO FORMAT AN EMAIL – MailDrip
What is email customization?
Email customization refers to the process of giving a template a customized touch that reflects your business’s branding.
Most email service providers provide email builders with a variety of templates that may be altered using basic coding or drag-and-drop design tools.
This includes style elements like colors, fonts, images, logos, etc. You can adjust colors and other features, such as the layout of text boxes and images, according to the marketing goals of a campaign you will send.
For instance, one way to introduce customers to a brand redesign is to put an old and a new logo side by side, not one after another. Even if you lack design and programming experience, you can differentiate your email marketing campaign from others by customizing your email.
Email customization vs. personalization: What’s the difference?
The terms personalization and customization are generally used to describe emails. However, they relate to two different processes involved in developing the content of emails.
Email personalization involves crafting messages based on each subscriber’s interests or demographics. For instance, you can use subscribers’ names in your subject line and have the content of your email to target their needs.
On the other hand, email customization is more about adjusting an email’s visual style and general layout. For example, you can customize an email’s header by adding your company’s logo, changing the default font to your desired font, etc.
Another difference is that email customization isn’t about catering to subscribers; it’s about catering to businesses.
Why create a customized email?
Email templates make marketing much easier since it is unnecessary to create the same thing repeatedly. However, customization remains crucial to brand recognition and consistency.
In creating and customizing emails, one invests in several ways.
- Using custom email templates saves resources and time. If the necessary photos are already included in pre-made templates, you may concentrate on the campaign’s content or other elements.
- Newsletters with customized emails have a unified appearance and feel. Regular email marketing initiatives strengthen the brand identity. Also, your subscribers will be more prepared to interact with your communications because they will know what to anticipate.
Essential email customization tips
Ensure your templates are customized to your overall strategy for maximum success in an email marketing campaign. Some things you may want to focus on customizing include:
1. Using consistent brand elements
Your email should be an extension of your brand. Give your email campaigns some personality with distinctive brand elements. A few items to include are:
- your logo, font, and color to create a polished look and feel that is consistent with your overall marketing strategy.
- visuals such as images and illustrations and social sharing buttons to help extend your reach
- unique value proposition callouts to draw attention to key benefits
- unsubscribe links to allow recipients to opt out of your list
Consistency builds trust and makes it easy for your audience to recognize your emails instantly. Even small things like the tone and the language should reflect your brand’s personality.
2. Utilizing visuals to grab attention
Visuals are powerful tools for grabbing attention and driving messages home quickly. Use images, infographics, videos, or GIFs to break up text and enhance the readability of your emails.
Choose visuals that fit your brand’s tone and the content of the email. An image-heavy message is usually more engaging than a text-heavy one. Images also allow the audience to segment the message into visual blocks easily, making it easier for your readers to skim through and get a rough idea of what is in each block.
For example, putting an image of a product alongside its description text will help potential customers better understand what they’re buying and imagine it in their lives.
Ensure the file size is well optimized to load quickly and include alt text for better accessibility and SEO.
3. Linking social sharing buttons
Other significant elements for customization in your emails are social sharing buttons and links. Social sharing buttons are usually icons located at the bottom of an email. They make it simple for your subscribers to distribute your content to their networks, expanding your reach.
These buttons generally lead back to a brand’s page on any social media platform and encourage users to engage with the company in multiple ways.
Customize these buttons with your brand’s colors and style to fit the email’s design.
Place them prominently, but not obtrusively, near the footer or after the main content. If your marketing product involves software, you can also include links to app stores.
4. Unique value proposition callouts
Your value proposition distinguishes your brand or offering. Highlight it with bold text or flashy design elements, or place it strategically in your email.
Ensure your value proposition speaks directly to your audience’s pain point or desire.
Templates should use visual elements such as callouts, bullet points, and CTA buttons to draw the reader’s attention to the user value proposition. They can be customized to match your brand’s color scheme.
A skincare company might say, “Clinically proven to reduce wrinkles in just two weeks.” Your callouts should be short, concise, and direct to action.
5. Easy to find unsubscribe link
While you don’t want to lose subscribers, making the unsubscribe option easy to find is essential for trust and compliance with email marketing laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The unsubscribe link is a must in any email campaign and another element worth customizing. It gives the recipient of your emails an opportunity to leave your listing and protects you against complaints and legal issues.
All best practices recommend that the unsubscribe link be easily found by your reader-subscribers, either somewhere in the body or in the footer.
Beyond the link’s placement, you can customize the language to fit your brand’s voice. For instance, instead of a straightforward “Unsubscribe,” you could say something friendlier like “We’ll miss you! Unsubscribe here.”
Providing an option to change email preferences can salvage some users who may not mind receiving emails from you but not as frequently.
Conclusion
Customizing email templates involves making them more on-brand by adding personal information. With a custom email template, you’ll have more time to create great, engaging content for your audience.
While designing an email marketing campaign template, incorporate design elements that reflect your brand and convey your message.
Email customization can help you craft engaging, on-brand content that resonates with your audience. With the right approach, you can create stunning email campaigns, truly effective templates, and ROI-improving email campaigns.
Want to get the best out of email customization? Try MailDrip’s free plan.
READ MORE: 5 EMAIL PERSONALIZATION TIPS THAT BOOST ENGAGEMENT
