A down and dirty quick overview of simple email best practices for those wanting to get the hands messy with code.

1. Design Tips for 2012
Quick email best
practices overview

2. BILL POWELL
Inspiration Specialist
@billpowell
LISA WESTER
Intelligence Officer
@inboxorange

3. BEST PRACTICES
WHAT is the point
WHY should they care
HOW do they take action
People don’t read, they scan.

4. FIVE STAGES OF VIEWING EMAILS
1. from name
2. subject line
3. preview pane
4. open (pre-scroll)
5. full open

5. FROM NAME
B2B company monthly newsletter test:
Unique Open Rate comparing the Sales Representative
to the Company name was 2.82% higher after a rela-
tionship was formed.
The Trend line below shows growth in a B2C company
where purchase behavior played a role in deciding who
to send from which resulted in a 2% and eventually 3%
increase in open rate. More significant is the consistent
decrease in the unsubscribe rate over time.

6. cff
SUBJECT LINES
cfff
best practices
–Intrigue
–Avoid spammy words
–Focus on benefits
–Use pyramid writing
–Grab them with first
15 characters

7. SUBJECT LINES

8. SUBJECT LINES

9. PREHEADER
–Top Left
–Objective of
email first
–Clear and simple
call to action
–Hyperlinks are placed
strategically to
eliminate link confusion

10. PREHEADER

11. PREVIEW PANE

12. PREVIEW PANE
best practices
–Sell the next step
–Make effecient use of space
–Move non-critical things
down
–Key on top left of email
–Use alt tags
–Brand yourself

13. BODY OF EMAIL
best practices
–Use a template
–Use compelling headlines
–Pictures! With Alt Tags!!
–Less is so much more.
–Don’t make them think
–Remember the text version

14. BODY OF EMAIL

16. BASIC MOBILE READY
–Key on subject line and
preheader
–Keep your layout simple
–Design for fat fingers
–Enlarge fonts
–Use ‘alt’ tags
–Be obvious on what
they should do
–Fewer images is better
Image courtesy of http://webdesignerwall.com

17. BASIC MOBILE READY

18. KEY TAKEAWAYS
1. Subject line is first thought, not last.
2. Plan for less, not more.
3. Mobile use is growing—consider
every decision with mobile in mind.
4. Provide good content.
5. Use engagement to measure

19. Demonstration
Next Webinar: Tuesday, January 24
“Writing to the Point”
Presented by Christina Noll,
Influence Architect and
Lisa Wester, Intelligence Director
11:00 - 12:00 EST