I don't know about you, but I can say without fail that on a daily basis, my email inbox is bombarded with eNewsletters, updates, promos and the like. Ordinarily, I wouldn't think twice about deleting the email straight from my reading pane before I even open it up and take a good look, but when something catches my eye for the right reason, I usually always want to see more. And I don't think I'm the only one who thinks this way...
More than ever, the inbox is a challenging place to capture the attention of your recipients. With this trend of increased competition and declining open rates, there is a great need to break through the clutter with something different, interesting and eye catching. First impressions count, especially on email, so make it a good one!
Nielsen research states that the average recipient of marketing or promotional email has an attention span of five seconds or less. And, when your email does actually get opened, it typically only captures the attention of users for 40-50 seconds max. This information reinforces the fact that creative elements can sometimes make or break your email marketing efforts.
So, how can you make creative work in your favour?
An effective design should do more than just look nice. Marketers should be strategic when considering the creative variables that make up their email marketing campaigns. We've outlined the five key creative variables in email marketing, and what you should be considering when putting together your email campaigns.
1) From
Build the trust of your recipients by making your identity obvious. Be consistent with your "from" line, make sure it's branded with your company name or an individual from your organisation. This will also aid in building a relationship with the customer.
2) Subject Line
Jupiter Research found that 35% of email users open email based on what is contained within the subject line. Be sure to include your company name or brand name within the subject line - branding the subject lines increased the open rate to 29%, without the branded subject open rates were 22%. Also, keep the subject line concise - "click-through rates for subject lines with 49 or fewer characters were 75 percent higher than for those with 50 or more".
3) Copy
Personalised, targeted and relevant are three words that should define the copy in your email marketing campaigns. People on the Internet want personal notes - speak directly to your customer or prospect and achieve the much-sought-after goal of one-to-one marketing. Write for an audience of one using common conversation, and avoid formal speech. Clear and concise copy is key, and be sure to put your main message and identifiers above the fold. .
4) Imagery
Always include your company logo in the header, as it will be the first thing noticed when viewing an email - this assists in establishing the brand recognition. Always have your audience in mind and use relevant imagery that is targeted towards your recipient and tailored around your message.
Increased focus on security and privacy has led many common email clients to block HTML image loading, which can greatly affect how your message appears. This now affects many of the biggest providers and the most popular software, including AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, Outlook 2003, and Thunderbird. Make sure you examine how your image appears with no images and if the message can still be accurately conveyed, and promote readers to add you to their address book/list.
5) Call to Action
One of the crucial elements of an email marketing campaign is a clear call to action, so make sure you tell people what you want them to do. Lay out exactly what action you want the recipients of your message to take, and design the message to make that path clear for the recipient to easily follow. People on the Internet tend to have short attention spans, so give them a compelling reason to visit your site or buy. Place your key call to action above the fold as often as possible and be sure to hyperlink all imagery to your main call to action.
Happy emailing!
