Effective email marketing begins with the right strategy. Before creating your email marketing campaign, you need a working marketing format, as that determines its success. As of 2022, 68% of businesses reported using email to send content to their contacts.
When you format an email, it is not just about aesthetics; it directly influences engagement rates, general user experience, and overall campaign performance. It is a bridge between your brand and your audience; hence, ensuring your email is built on a solid foundation is essential.
Email formatting that is done poorly can negatively impact your conversion rates.
With this in mind, various key formatting tips exist to achieve a successful email campaign. They include:
- Ensuring your emails are responsive and display appropriately on various devices, as a significant portion of emails are opened on mobile
- Clearly stating the call-to-actions, whether it’s making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or clicking a link
- Using ample white space to improve readability, making your email less cluttered
- Incorporating high-quality images and graphics to enhance messages and break up the text
- Maintaining a consistent brand identity throughout your emails, using your logo, color scheme, and typography
- Breaking up your text with headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs to improve readability
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Benefits of email formatting
Formatting your email to ensure a successful email marketing campaign is necessary for many reasons. Some include:
1. Better user experience
Properly formatted emails are clean and easy to read, prompting readers to take action whenever they come across them. Readers are more likely to engage with organized and easy-to-scan content.
2. Improved load time
You might lose many subscribers if your email takes too long to load—probably due to poor formatting or oversized media. No one loves to wait forever for a single email to load.
3. Better conversion rates
Format an email with a responsive design to engage users and encourage them to take action, which will, in turn, increase your conversion rate. The call-to-action buttons should be clear and straightforward.
Well-optimized layouts can help you improve conversion and overall responsiveness.
How to format an email marketing campaign
Your primary goal in email marketing as a brand should revolve around properly communicating messages to your audience so that they are compelled to take action.
As they take action, conversion rates will increase, and ultimately, your ROI will be boosted.
Consider the following for an enhanced email marketing campaign:
1. Layout customization and design
Formatting the layout of your email in the right manner is essential because it determines the email flow.
Email service providers (ESPs) like MailDrip offer tools to help you create custom layouts.
Let’s start with the basics. To format the layout, you don’t have to paste the call to action (CTA) in the text. You can use a customized button, which is more appealing.
Your email should have clear sections such as the header, body, and footer. The header helps grab the audience’s attention, the body delivers the message, and the footer includes essential details like social media links and contact information.
Another tip is to avoid overcrowding your email with too much text or imagery. Make white space your friend to improve readability and keep the layout clean.
2. Media in mail
Use media elements like images, GIFs, and video in email marketing. These elements make your content engaging, improving your email marketing campaign’s success.
Visual content can capture a reader’s attention faster than plain text, reinforcing the message and making it more memorable.
Media best practices include using high-quality images relevant to your email’s purpose and small file sizes to prevent slow loading times. You can utilize GIFs and videos to convey complicated ideas faster and engage readers further.
3. Device optimization
Display features like fonts, CTA links, and navigation should be visible on all device types.
Your email may be opened by mobile or desktop users, and to reduce unsubscribe rates, you should ensure the mail is displayed correctly on both mobile and desktop views.
Another important consideration when optimizing for mobile devices is the length of your subject line. For design consideration, consider using a single-column layout for better readability on smaller screens. Ensure the legibility of fonts and that the buttons are large enough to tap. Also, test email format on multiple devices to ensure they render correctly.
4. Formatting color and visuals
Colors and visuals are important in email marketing format, and they should be applied in the right manner.
They help you gain your readers’ attention and make a statement with your brand. When choosing a color for email marketing, consider your brand and what it represents.
Your color palette should align with your overall branding to make your emails more recognizable and trustworthy. Avoid using abstract or unrelated colors that may confuse your readers or dilute the message; instead, use colors that emphasize the key elements.
Visuals such as images or icons can also enhance an email’s appeal. They can break up text and make the content easier to digest.
However, when you format an email, use minimal visuals that are relevant to the message. High-quality, appropriately sized visuals contribute to a professional, polished look while ensuring fast load times.
5. Content optimization
The subject line of your email is the first set of words subscribers see when your email is delivered, so you should critically focus on it. You shouldn’t ignore this aspect because it can determine whether readers or subscribers will open the email.
Your email content should also be concise, direct, and descriptive. The success of an email campaign largely depends on the quality of its content.
Direct and descriptive emails give users the impression that a brand has something to share. For instance, if you’re promoting a product or service, your emails should communicate the promotion idea.
A clear and straightforward message highlighting the value of your offer or promotion reflects a brand’s professionalism and purpose. Short paragraphs and bullet points make the content scannable, as most readers skim emails rather than reading every word.
Additionally, it’s important to incorporate a strong call to action that is prominent, easy to understand, and can help guide recipients on the next steps. A well-written email doesn’t just inform the readers; it inspires them to take the next step. These steps include clicking a button, signing up for an event, or exploring a product.
Conclusion
Now that you understand how to format your emails, you can begin to optimize the different aspects of your email marketing tips.
Each aspect, from color choices to content optimization, contributes to a compelling email that aligns with your brand identity. A well-formatted email uses responsive designs to ensure compatibility across all devices, incorporates media elements like images or GIFs, and includes clear, actionable CTAs that guide readers toward the next step.
Tools like MailDrip provide powerful solutions for brands aiming to maximize the effectiveness of their email campaigns. Its free plan allows you to access professional templates, advanced automation features, and analytics to monitor and optimize your strategy.
Want to get the best out of email marketing? Try MailDrip’s free plan to start building your email marketing strategy.
READ MORE: 5 EMAIL PERSONALIZATION TIPS THAT BOOST ENGAGEMENT
