7 Important Tips on Designing Email Templates

The look and feel to your email is the major contributing factor to the success of your email marketing campaigns. Omevo offers many pre-designed templates for you to choose from. You can also request a custom designed template from us.

If you are determined to use your own designs, then here are 7 important tips on designing email templates that will contribute to the success of your email marketing campaigns:

1. Layout & Format Considerations
Just like with web pages, the layout of an HTML email is critical in determining where your readers’ focus is directed. However, given the strict constraints of the email landscape, an even greater emphasis should be placed on how all the elements of your message fit together.

2. Keep everything within 600px wide
If there were just one email design guideline we could give you, it would be this one. Forcing your subscribers to scroll from side-to-side is the kiss of death for an email’s response rate. This means that stuff on the left gets more attention than stuff on the right – and stuff that doesn’t appear at all might as well not even exist.

3. Use HTML text/fonts
Unfortunately, the email marketing worldhas decreed that web-embeddable fonts shall not set foot in your recipients’ inboxes for the foreseeable future. So stick with the basics – Arial, Verdana, Georgia, and all the other usual suspects.

4. Plan for no images
The vast majority of email clients block images in messages unless the user opts to see them – that means your beautiful images will never get seen unless the rest of the content (i.e. the HTML text) is descriptive enough to persuade recipients to allow images from you to be shown.

5. Clear, large Call-To-Actions (CTAs)
Prominent calls to action are critical for virtually every kind of email. Make sure they stand out, make sure they’re powerful, and make them look clickable. Everything about your CTAs should make people want to click on them – to do something, see something, make something happen.

6. Responsive Design
You will be surprised to see the statistic of how many recipients check their email using their mobile phones or tablets. If your HTML design is not responsive, then brace yourself for a disappointing conversion metric. The mobile world is moving quickly towards replacing your PC with your phone. This is a prevalent trend that you need to pay attention to.

7. Images of People
Using awesome images is great, but using awesome images of people is even better. Studies have shown that online stores that used “friendly faces and culturally appropriate colors” were perceived as more appealing and trustworthy than those that didn’t. See the study for yourself.

The list can go on and on. Just keep it simple and remember these rules and you should be good to go:

1. Simple, spacious and easy on the eyes.
2. Relevant and engaging content (subject line, text & images).
3. Clear CTAs to create an interactive email.
4. If you don’t have a degree in design or have been told that you have an eye for design, just let the professionals do it. Have a look at what our professionals have designed for you.