The document provides tips for designing the perfect email newsletter, including using HTML templates for colors and graphics, including both text and HTML versions, keeping layouts simple, prominently placing logos and calls to action, testing designs with different email clients, and testing newsletter content and templates to improve performance. Graphics and images should be relevant, words can become links, and consistency across newsletters and websites increases brand awareness. Designs also need to avoid triggers for spam filters.

1. How to Design the Perfect Email Newsletter
We now take a look at how to design your newsletter to ensure you get the right results. You may
also find our best practice newsletter guidelines article useful. A recent study by Marketing
Sherpa indicated that even the tiniest design improvements raised clicks by a whopping 28%! So
here are our top tips on designing the perfect newsletter…
The benefits to HTML templates
Colours and graphics add impact and are eye-catching.
Words can turn into links to create more
interactive newsletters and of course you can increase brand awareness by having consistent corporate
design across your newsletters and your website. But most importantly the results of your emails are
trackable.
Don’t forget text emails
However not everyone can view HTML emails (or they might be viewing the email on a mobile device) so
you need to ensure your emails are always supported with a text version too. eCircle’s eC-messenger
makes it easy for you by allowing you to send multi-part emails from one place.
Graphics vs. Text
Graphics and images can really add to the look and feel of your email and provide invaluable branding
opportunities; however the images need to be relevant to the content. Some email clients could block
images automatically, so ensure that your newsletter also makes sense without images.
Simple layouts work the best
Keep the design of your email nice and simple and avoid too many tables, images, rows, columns and
fragmented sections if you want your email to translate across all different email applications.
Logo and call to action in a predominant place
You should never forgo calls to action in your client communication. Always provide your recipients with
several contact possibilities and position your logo in a predominant place at the top of your newsletter.
Consider the characteristics of different email clients
Depending on the specific email client, your recipients won’t always see your email in its entirety, but
could initially view them in smaller preview panes, so take this into account and optimise your email
design in regard to these properties. With our new deliverability solution there is no more need to set up
various test accounts.
eCircle Ltd.
5-9 Hatton Wall
London EC1N 8HX
T +44 (0)20 7618 4200
F +44 (0)20 7618 4201
info-uk@ecircle.com
www.ecircle.com
CEO
Volker Wiewer
Registered Address:
Ashford House
Grenadier Road
Exeter EX1 3LH
NatWest Bank London
Sort Code: 56-00-03
Account: 79287190
IBAN: GB95NWBK 560003 79287190
SWIFT: NWBKGB2L
VAT Reg No: 757 1931 09
Company Reg No: 03976500

2. Designing emails around spam filters
There are a number of tactics you should adopt when designing your email to avoid your newsletter being
considered as spam. Some tips include: don’t use bright fonts colours (particularly red or pink) and
always use common fonts; avoid using spammy words; don’t use too many exclamation marks; don’t over
use capital letters; Make sure your HTML code is always correct.
Test test test!
Take the opportunity to learn more about your clients’ preferences and test your campaigns prior to the
main send-out. Via eC-messenger’s “split testing” capability you are able to test two different templates
against each other with the aid of test groups and the template with the better performance results will be
automatically sent.
This article is a summary of eCircle’s newsletter "Inside Digital Marketing". If this article was forwarded
to you as a recommendation and you wish to receive further news from the email marketing sector
yourself you can subscribe here:
http://www.ecircle.com/en/resource-centre/newsletter/subscription.html
eCircle Ltd.
5-9 Hatton Wall
London EC1N 8HX
T +44 (0)20 7618 4200
F +44 (0)20 7618 4201
info-uk@ecircle.com
www.ecircle.com
CEO
Volker Wiewer
Registered Address:
Ashford House
Grenadier Road
Exeter EX1 3LH
NatWest Bank London
Sort Code: 56-00-03
Account: 79287190
IBAN: GB95NWBK 560003 79287190
SWIFT: NWBKGB2L
VAT Reg No: 757 1931 09
Company Reg No: 03976500