5 Effective Techniques to Improve Your Email Marketing Designs

When sending eye-catching emails, templates may seem like the best option, especially when deadlines approach. However, as I’ve seen from working on thousands of campaigns for clients across industries, custom email marketing designs are always more helpful in the long run.

From integrating interactive components in your layouts to selecting the correct typeface, here are five steps you can take to guarantee that every email campaign is designed for maximum effectiveness.

1. Make it from scratch.

Displaying your offers with stock-standard layouts is appealing. There is a catch, however. What you save in time and money now pales in comparison to what you’ll lose in a few months.

Consider this: if you employ templates, your competitors and similar businesses will follow suit. Your advertisements become indistinguishable from others, and your brand’s own voice is lost.

Even if a template is ideal for a particular product category, another brand in the same category is likely to adopt it, giving you no chance of sticking out in your subscribers’ inboxes. Audiences are perceptive, and they’re likely to notice how similar your appearance is to other businesses.

Bespoke layouts allow you to include components such as larger CTA buttons, eye-catching badges, and stickers, all of which can improve engagement. Furthermore, developing bespoke designs lets you build desktop and mobile layouts individually, ensuring that each version is fully responsive and provides subscribers with the greatest possible experience with your brand.

2. Remember, GIFs are awesome (however you pronounce them).

Do you want emails that pop? Integrating animated visuals with your layout transforms every ordinary email into a marketing event. These are most effective when used in your campaign’s hero or header sections. I propose that you keep your GIFs simple and tidy. This way, they will attract attention without detracting from the message.

In the spirit of “show, don’t tell,” you can include playable GIFs in your email to show recipients exactly what to expect from your product or service. Just be mindful about employing links that direct customers to YouTube or other websites. There’s only one place they should go: your major website.

3. Maintain legibility ‘font’ and center.

Designers spend more time thinking about fonts every day than the average person spends in their lifetime. And the logic behind this is understandable: you want your email text to be as simple to read as possible. But it’s more complex than avoiding one set of fonts or choosing another. Each typeface has a different feel and tone, much as every company has its own voice, therefore selecting the right font for your brand can be challenging.

You might also try utilizing multiple fonts for your titles and body content. Headers benefit from bold, eye-catching fonts such as Corbert Condensed Italic and Audrey, whereas body text benefits from easy-to-read, simpler styles with a lot of “flow.” It’s a method used by the world’s finest brands and one that you should incorporate into your email campaigns.

Legibility is the most critical factor to consider when selecting a typeface; consumers can only buy what you’re selling if they can read it.

4. Hue can do it.

Using specific colors in your email marketing campaigns can significantly impact how subscribers interact with your business. Certain colors can elicit particular emotions, influencing whether a subscriber makes a purchase or not.

Another important part of employing color is simplicity. Keep your design simple and avoid overwhelming your viewers with a confused rainbow of colors—they will not enjoy it.

It’s always worth A/B testing different colors to determine what your subscribers like best. This can include layout elements such as the color of your CTA button, background color, and secondary color combinations.

Once you’ve run a few tests, you can start using the results to improve your email campaigns.

You should also not be afraid of white or single-color spaces, as they can effectively draw the eye to key features while providing just the appropriate amount of balance. However, there is one caveat: while your product on a blank background with black lettering is as simple as it gets, does it demonstrate to subscribers what your product does or how to use it? There is a delicate line between minimalism and unclear.

This takes me to my final point.

5. Strive for balance.

It sounds apparent, yet balance is frequently forgotten in email marketing design. When looking at good email marketing, you’ll notice a sophisticated use of negative space that allows the reader to focus on the most important content.

You’ll also notice a good balance of visuals and words, with one supporting and enhancing the other. All you need is honest, simple phrase and a compelling, visually appealing image to convey your idea.

A nicely balanced campaign appears more real and authentic than an email in which text and picture compete for a subscriber’s attention. A good layout does more than make the reading experience more enjoyable. It also enhances your brand’s image.

Better outcomes via design.

As experienced email marketers who create and distribute hundreds of emails each year, Alex and his team have seen firsthand the impact that intelligent, personalized design can have. A smart email design will not only help your brand stand out but will also increase the likelihood of achieving the desired click rates and income.

The saying says, “It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it.” How you present your products, services, and promotions is an important component of your message to your subscribers. It may require more time and work, but good design is always worth it.