Email Templates: Powerful Strategies for Designing High-Converting 2024

Layout and Structure:

Here’s the starting point for an effective email template—a clean and organized layout. It should provide a structure that’s beautiful and easy for any reader to move around in and find what they are looking for. Any perfectly laid-out email template usually has a header, main content, and finally a footer. 

Your logo or brand identity goes to the header, and you may divide the body content into sections by grouping with clear headings and subheadings. Also, it is important to consider intelligently using whitespace for breathing room and highlighting key elements.

Typography and fonts:

Typography is crucial in email design for readability and aesthetic purposes. Web-safe fonts are fonts that can be used universally, across many devices and clients. 

Choose fonts that are clearly legible in a variety of sizes. Consider what kind of mood and tone you want your campaign to convey. Be sure to also achieve consistency in font selection across the templates. A consistent font should be used throughout your templates. 

Colour and branding:

Colours can stir emotions and really drive brand recognition. Add a brand colour scheme to your email templates to be really consistent in your marketing emails. 

Choose those that connote your brand’s personality with consideration of colour psychology to provoke the right action from your target audience. Consider, however, colour contrast and accessibility so all recipients can read your emails easily.

Images and visuals:

Images come in very handy in the interest of engaging any reader and bringing across messages more clearly. As you implement images in your email templates, make sure they are relevant to the audience and are web-optimized for effectiveness. 

Even though some email clients turn off images by default, it is important that alt text be included to provide context and make it clear what the message is, even if images cannot be displayed. Show the proper balance between the use of visuals and text to compose an eye-catching yet informative email template.

Placing your CTAs:

Sometimes, it can make all the difference in conversion rates to correctly place your CTA buttons within the email templates. Of course, your call-to-action needs to pop and be very noticeable. 

Place it in a position where it pops and is on first view without scrolling. Help the appeal with contrasting colours and clear wording. Using more than one CTA within longer emails can also be effective, so long as it is used strategically to give readers more chances to take action.

How do I ensure that my email templates are mobile-responsive?

To ensure that your email templates are mobile-responsive, you can follow these guidelines:

• Use a responsive design framework: Consider using a responsive design framework like Foundation or Bootstrap. These frameworks provide pre-built responsive components and grids that you can use in your email templates, saving you time and effort.
• Use a single column layout: Mobile devices have limited screen space, so it’s best to use a single column layout for your email templates. This ensures that the content adapts well to smaller screens and eliminates the need for users to zoom or scroll horizontally.
• Use media queries: Media queries allow you to apply specific CSS styles based on the screen size of the device. By using media queries, you can customise the appearance of your email template for different screen sizes. For example, you can adjust font sizes, hide certain elements, or rearrange content to optimise the mobile experience.
• Optimise images: Optimise your images for mobile devices to reduce their file sizes and improve loading times. Use compressed images and ensure that they are appropriately sized for mobile screens. You can also consider using responsive images that adjust their dimensions based on the device’s screen size.
• Use a mobile-friendly navigation structure: If your email template includes navigation links, make sure they are easy to tap on smaller screens. Use larger touch targets and provide enough spacing between links to avoid accidental clicks.
• Test your templates: Test your email templates on different mobile devices and email clients to ensure they display correctly. Use testing tools or services that allow you to preview your emails on various devices and screen sizes. Additionally, consider testing your templates with real users to gather feedback and identify any issues.

By following these practices, you can create email templates that are optimised for mobile devices and provide a positive user experience across different screen sizes.

How do I test my email templates to see which ones perform the best?

Testing your email templates is crucial to understand how they perform and identify areas for improvement. Here are steps to effectively test and optimise your email templates:

• Define Testing Goals: Clearly define the objectives of your email campaign and what you want to achieve through testing. Examples could be improving open rates, click-through rates, conversions, or overall engagement.
• Identify Testing Elements: Determine which elements of your email template you want to test. This could include subject lines, preheader text, sender name, email content, call-to-action (CTA) placement, visuals, colours, personalization, or different versions of the same template.
• Split Testing: Split your email list into different segments and send different versions of your email templates to each segment. Keep one variable constant while changing the element you want to test. For example, if you’re testing subject lines, send different subject lines to each segment while keeping the rest of the email content the same.
• Determine Sample Size: Ensure that your sample size is statistically significant to draw valid conclusions. The larger the sample size, the more accurate your results will be. Aim for a sample size that provides meaningful insights without unnecessarily dividing your audience.
• Track and Analyze Metrics: Monitor key metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and engagement metrics for each version of the email template. Most email marketing platforms provide built-in analytics to track these metrics. Compare the performance of each version and identify which one performs the best based on your testing goals.

By following these guidelines, you can increase the chances of your emails displaying correctly across different email clients. However, it’s important to note that perfect compatibility with all clients is challenging to achieve due to the wide variety of platforms and configurations used by recipients.

How do I design emails that will work well with different email clients?

Designing emails that work well with different email clients can be a challenging task due to the varying rendering capabilities of different clients. However, there are some best practices you can follow to increase the chances of your emails displaying correctly across different platforms. Here are some tips:

• Use a responsive design: Make sure your emails are responsive and adapt to different screen sizes. This ensures that your email will look good on both desktop and mobile devices.
• Keep your email width in check: To avoid horizontal scrolling, limit the width of your email to around 600-800 pixels. This ensures that your email will fit within the default viewports of most email clients.
• Test your emails: Test your emails across different email clients, such as Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, Yahoo Mail, etc. Use testing tools or services that provide screenshots of how your email appears in different clients.
• Inline CSS styles: Some email clients strip out or ignore external CSS stylesheets, so it’s best to use inline CSS styles. This means applying your styles directly to the HTML elements using the “style” attribute.
• Optimise images: Optimise your images for faster loading times. Use compressed and properly sized images to avoid slowing down the email rendering process.
• Use tables for layout: While modern web design relies heavily on CSS for layout, using tables for layout in emails is more reliable. Tables have better support across various email clients.
• Balance images and text: Some email clients block images by default, so it’s essential to include relevant alt text for your images. Additionally, make sure your email still looks good even if images are disabled.
• Minimise the use of JavaScript: Email clients often block JavaScript, so it’s best to avoid using it in your emails. Stick to HTML and CSS for layout and styling.
• Provide a plain text version: Always include a plain text version of your email for clients that don’t support HTML or for users who prefer plain text emails.

Can I use templates to personalise my emails without starting from scratch each time?

Yes, using templates is a great way to personalise your emails without starting from scratch for each campaign. Email marketing platforms often provide pre-designed templates that you can customise to match your brand and content. Here’s how you can leverage templates for personalised emails:

• Choose a Responsive Template: Look for a template that is mobile-friendly and responsive. Ensure that it adapts well to different screen sizes and devices.
• Customise the Branding: Customise the template with your brand elements such as logo, colours, and font styles. This will give your emails a consistent and recognizable look.
• Define a Layout Structure: Determine the layout structure that suits your content and communication goals. Templates typically offer various sections for headers, body content, images, and call-to-action buttons. Customise these sections to fit your specific needs.
• Customise the Text and Images: Tailor the text and images within the template to align with your campaign message. Edit the headlines, body text, and captions to reflect your content and engage your audience effectively.
• Test the Template: Before sending out the email, test the template across different devices and email clients to ensure it renders correctly and maintains its appearance. Pay attention to the responsiveness, layout, and image display.

How do I design emails that will work well with different email marketing platforms?

Designing emails that work well with different email marketing platforms requires considering several factors. Here are some tips to help you create emails that are compatible across various platforms:

• Keep the layout simple: Stick to a clean and straightforward design with a single column layout. This ensures your email will render well on different devices and email clients.
• Use responsive design: Make sure your email is responsive, meaning it adjusts its layout and formatting to fit different screen sizes. This ensures that your email looks good on both desktop and mobile devices.
• Optimise for images: Use images sparingly and ensure they are optimised for web display. Compress and resize images appropriately to keep email file sizes small without compromising quality.
• Consider loading speed: Avoid excessive use of large images, complex HTML, or scripts that may slow down email loading times. Many email clients have a limited preview pane, so it’s essential to capture attention quickly.
• Include alt text for images: Some email clients disable images by default, so it’s crucial to include alternative text (alt text) for your images. Alt text describes the image content, providing context even if the image doesn’t load.
• Test clickable elements: Ensure buttons, links, and other interactive elements are easily clickable on both desktop and mobile devices. Leave enough space around them to prevent accidental clicks.
• Be mindful of colours: Use a limited colour palette and avoid relying solely on colour for conveying crucial information. Some email clients may disable or override certain colour settings, so ensure your email is still understandable in grayscale or with different colour schemes.