Back To Basics - Designing for Today's Inbox

Today's inbox is filled with less than desirable looking emails. This can be attributed to two main causes:

1: Email as a marketing medium has been thought of too long as being 'cheap'. If a company thinks this way of email, then chances are they're not going to invest time and finances into designing a great looking email. Can you imagine if we were to carry this thinking into print ads and TV commercials? We'd be seeing print ads designed by MS Publisher and TV commercials being recorded using with handy cam's. As a marketing medium, email gives one of the best ROI out there - so make the most of it and make a well-worth investment into your creative.

2: We can also attribute blame to spammers for making email design, rendering and delivery more complicated these days. Your email message now faces two big hurdles before it has a chance of being seen by your reader:

Too much junk email in the inbox crowds out the legitimate email that readers actually want to see. Readers either delete email en masse or click the "report spam" button to make it go away.
Up to two-thirds of your readers might see a big blank spot littered with ugly red X's instead of your gorgeous postcard-style message, and it's all to stop spammers from figuring out who's reading their emails so they can send more.

Good email message design and construction can help you overcome these hurdles. It just takes some planning, a few well-chosen words, good coding which has been optimised for email and a design that will deliver the most crucial information no matter where or how readers view your emails.

Stage One: Stand Out in the Inbox

1. Put a recognisable name in the sender line.

Email studies show readers look at the sender, or "from" line first to decide whether to open an email. Use a name they'll recognise fast – your company name, a brand name, the newsletter name. Never use a department name or your own name unless it's in your brand.

Your sending email address doesn't belong there, either. However, because some email clients do grab the email address instead of your sender name, be sure it includes your company name or brand.

Good idea: "XYZ Newsletter"
Bad idea: "joeblow@xyz.com," "Marketing Department"

2. Tell the story in your subject line.

Your readers will spend only a second or two on your email's inbox entry. Don't make them guess what your message is about. You might think it adds to the intrigue, but you're actually more likely to be enticing the wrong people to open your email according to a study by Alchemy Worx.

Good ideas:

Call to action: "Leather Boots £39.95 & Up + Free 2nd Day Shipping"
Newsletter: "MarketingCharts: Blogosphere Integral to Media Ecosystem"
Transactional email: "Sheraton Reservation #1234567 - We look forward to seeing you."

Bad idea:

"Look inside for a great deal!"

Put the most crucial information in the first 20 to 30 characters of the subject line to make sure it shows in the inbox.

Stage Two: Make Your Message Readable

So, your sender and subject lines persuaded your reader to click on the email message? Excellent - but you still aren't home free. Now you face a triple whammy: the preview pane (the tiny viewing area that lets readers see just a portion of your message instead of the whole thing), image-blocking and the mobile email client.

Right now, between a half to two-thirds of your readers are either scanning email via the preview pane or blocking images by default, or both. A big part of your email audience might never see your email content if you don't update your methods.

Now, consider mobile phones. Some day, maybe, all mobile phones will show email the way it's supposed to look. Until that day arrives, you're stuck with mobiles that turn your pretty HTML code into a mix of broken links, red X's or big blank spaces.

You don't have to settle for plain old text messages, however. These tips can help you design a message that will show up in any inbox on any platform with any kind of default setting.

1. Put crucial information (newsletter name, brand, call to action, key article content, unsubscribe links, contact information, top-line copy and anything else vital to your message) in HTML text. This will show up no matter where or how readers see your messages, and you can still make it attractive to the eye.

2. Don't cram all your information into a single large image. Set your information free: use several smaller photos, alt text (see Tip 7) and text copy (see Tip 1). Ensure that the text to images ratio is high as you can be penalized by spam filters for having too many images.

3. Avoid javascript, forms, rich text or embedded video. They don't work in all email clients. Some ISPs also tag email with these features as spam.

4. Use your opt-in information page to remind readers to add your sending address to their address books or contact lists. Show a sample if you can. Email from a contact usually renders with images on, although not always. Request this again in your welcome email after they confirm their opt-ins and explain the benefit of downloading images.

5. Put key data in the top two to four inches of message real estate. Position your call to action, top news story or other fresh content in the top line of your copy, in plain or HTML text so readers who scan via the preview pane or block images will see it.

6. Move administrative and standing copy (add-to-address book instructions, forward to a friend, unsubscribe links and menu items) to an administrative center at the bottom of the email.

7. Use alt text to describe images or better still, the call to action. This usually display when the pictures don't. It can be just a simple description (boring, though), but it's better to add a call to action. Keep it short no more than half the picture size.

8. Ensure your HTML coding is clean, well-coded and optimised for email. Coding can make a big difference as to whether it gets delivered to the inbox or junk mail folder. If you are outsourcing the design and coding, then ensure they are experienced in designing for email not just the web, as they are two very different mediums and email has many restrictions which the web doesn't.

9. Use vertical rather than horizontal layout and avoid odd message sizes, so you're not forcing readers to scroll left and right to see the copy.

Yes, designing a readable email message is a bigger challenge today. But a little creativity and some know-how can help keep your messages out of the virtual dustbin.

Kath Pay is Marketing Director of Ezemail, an innovative company that provides comprehensive email marketing solutions. For more information on how easily email marketing can be implemented, please contact Kath.

©Kath Pay 2008