I wrote these guidelines for copywriters at Wunderman Thompson, who were working in email and SMS marketing communications. The document includes channel considerations, a breakdown of email elements, and copywriting guidelines for each component.

1. UX COPYWRITING GUIDELINES FOR EMAIL AND SMS
By Jacqueline Conrad, February 28, 2019

8. [NEED
examples of
straightforward
and vague
subject lines.]
* Data gathered July 10-17, 2017, referenced from Adobe Blog, ‘Consumers Are Still Email Obsessed, But They’re Finding More Balance’
*

9. Email messaging should aim to
inform more than entertain or sell.
Adobe asked consumers in a survey “If you could change one thing about the emails you
get from brands, what would it be?” The majority said they wished email content was less
about promotion and more about providing information. They’re savvy about when
someone’s selling too hard.*
* Adobe SlideShare, ‘Adobe Consumer Email Survey Report 2017’, Slide 32

11. Subject Line
Preheader
Subject Line
Preview Text
Email Body
From Name
Called “Hidden
Preheader” when not
visible here but shows
up as preview text in
the inbox.
Inbox Email

13. Subject Line
Subject Line

14. Subject lines usually truncate on
mobile devices when too long, so
it’s recommended to keep the
most critical information under
35 characters, including spaces.
iPhone 7, Gmail App
36
34
37
32
37
36
34
Charactercounts

15. Don’t sell what’s inside—
tell what’s inside. You
can be witty, but not at
the expense of clarity.

16. DON’Ts
Too vague Too long + hidden critical info Too repetitive
Too long + awkward truncation

17. DOs
Be straightforward and give details in preview text Add personality while maintaining clarity
(Through SL or preview text)

18. Use some consistency
when you need to instill
habits.

20. Use emojis in subject lines
when it makes sense to be
a little more playful.

21. Because not every emoji is supported by every email client, device, or deploy tool,
emojis may get replaced by a or . Make sure the subject line communicates
the right message even if the emoji gets replaced.
Outlook, Firefox
iOS
Android
Gmail Outlook

22. Emojis take up more space than
text characters—about 2–5 times
more space. This means
maximum character counts
should decrease when
adding an emoji.
1 emoji
3.5 characters

24. iPhone 7, Gmail AppDesktop Browser Gmail

25. None 1 line (default) 5 lines

26. Since it’s not guaranteed that
preview text will be visible to the
user, the preview text should NOT
be essential to the message.

27. iPhone 7, Mail App Default Setting
When set to the default, smaller
phones will show about 35-45
characters, including spaces.
It’s recommended to keep
essential info within a
40-character count.
45
46
Charactercounts
47
46

29. Elements within the email like image alt tags and body copy
can show up in the preview text.

30. Subject line Preview text
Logo Image
Alt Tag
Hero Image
Alt Tag
Live Text
(Preheader)
Live Text Live Text

31. * Litmus, ‘8 Embarrassing Preview Text Mistakes + 4 Tips on How to Avoid Making Them’

33. Headline
Subhead
Body Copy
Call to Action (CTA)
Logo/Header
Inbox Email
Hidden Preheader
Preview Text
Legal/Footer

35. Inbox Email
The headline reinforces the
subject line message and
introduces the rest of the
email content.
The subhead gives a little
more detail or context to the
headline.
Body copy provides more
in-depth detail and
reinforces the preview text
message.

36. Inbox Email
The headline reinforces the
subject line message and
introduces the rest of the
email content.
The subhead reinforces the
preview text, and gives more
detail or context to the
headline

37. Inbox Email
The headline reinforces the
subject line and preview text
message, while introducing
the rest of the email content.
The subhead provides a
secondary, but related
message.

38. Inbox Email
Preview text truncates
and does not get
resolved or reinforced
in the email.
Takes too long to reinforce
the subject line message.

40. The goals of a CTA button’s copy include:
1. Encourage action
2. Set expectations
Test the button by asking users: “What would you
expect to happen if you clicked this button?”

41. Optional: Lets the user know that
there’s a potential time restriction.
Only use when appropriate. It can
increase conversion, but if used too
often it can lose its effectiveness.
Required: Lets the
user know what will
happen when they
tap the button.
Suggested: Clarifies to the
user the type of content
they can expect when they
tap the button.
Verb + Benefit + Urgency

42. See travel benefits Pre-order now
Get offer details
Verb + Benefit + Urgency
Required Suggested Optional
Get the app
Sign up
Subscribe
Verb-only CTAs should be used only
when enough context has been
provided before arriving to this CTA.

43. Pay attention to the
body of the email and
the context it’s adding
to the CTA button.
now

45. Keep under 160 characters. Going over will result in multiple
messages and could lead to:
• Messages sent in the wrong order if there’s a glitch
• Users getting turned off by long messages since they are used to getting
succinct messages on SMS
• Deployment lags due to higher throttle requirements for multiple
messages, especially with a high # of recipients
• Additional network charges since they charge per message

46. Keep it high-level with a link to learn more.
Getting too specific may trigger the need for legal
copy. For example, being specific about a
percentage off on a product can trigger the need to
present conditional information on that offer.