Email that gets read

If you publish an email newsletter, that's awesome! Now comes the hard  part. See, it's not enough to just do the work of publishing--the template design, the writing, the sending, the sticking to a consistent schedule...

Nope, you've also gotta get that message read! If you don't, then all the time you invest is for naught, and that's just plain frustrating. How do you get that message read? Today I've got three tips to share with you:

1. A name (that's consistent) in the from field. Many small businesses make the mistake of sending their email newsletter "from" the company. Don't do that. We don't read email from companies, we read email from people. Now, obviously, for big businesses this is different, but for companies with fewer than 50 employees, you're almost always best off sending the email from one specific person and using the same person every time.
   
   (By the way, there are tools out there that let you send a newsletter from multiple company contacts. So, let's say you have three account managers--you can have the newsletter sent by each of those account managers to his/her contacts. So, Client A who deals with Account Manager A would get the newsletter from Account Manager A. This can be a great way to build relationships and to make sure your readers recognize the name in their inbox.)
2. A subject line that looks good. When thinking up subject lines, obviously they need to be compelling--they've got to get people wanting to open up right away. But, also consider how the subject line will actually *look*. I know that sounds pedantic, but the truth is people see how something looks before they read the words you've used. So, if your subject line is looooong, that's what they notice before they see that you've used a dozen delicious words. Or, if your subject line includes words that look like other words at a quick glance, the reader might just mistake your newsletter for something else.
   
   (Remember, they're skimming their message list fast! Keep it simple in the subject line.)
3. Email design that doesn't make heavy use of images. Once someone's opened your message, they won't read it if it looks all blank (the way it will if your message is all images and the reader doesn't have images turned on for your messages). Rather than relying too heavily on images, use other design tricks to make the newsletter look interesting and engaging--consider any photos or illustrations to be seasonings rather than the whole main course.
   
   (There are ways to increase the number of readers who are opening your images, but even if the majority of your readers view your email design with images turned on, you'll usually want to communicate the most important parts of your message without them.)

By using these three guidelines, you can get more of your readers to read your newsletter, ensuring that the time you spend putting together each issue won't go to waste.

What Makes Email Design Different

It might seem like email design is just another form of online design (like websites, for instance) but the truth is, there are actually some fundamental differences. What are those differences?

1. Code really, really, really matters. Sure, when you're building a website, it's important that your code be written well--search engines are more likely to be able to read your content (which results in the possibility of higher rankings), well-written code also results in fewer errors for visitors, and well-written code even can make your website less vulnerable to hackers. All good reasons for making sure your website has good code.
   
   BUT, for your email newsletter, proper code can make the difference between whether or not your email ever arrives in readers' inboxes! In other words, lousy code can mean your email doesn't get read. Poorly written code can also break in your readers' inboxes which gives a really bad impression (and may mean they can't read a single word in your newsletter because the code's so broken--it happens!).
2. You've gotta ignore images. Sure, images in email are important! But, you can't rely on images in email. So, it's important that your email design get the message across with EVERY SINGLE image turned off. That's because the majority of emailers read most of their email with images disabled--so if they can't see a single bit of your email, they'll delete it unread instead of taking the time to turn on images.
   
   Make sure your email design looks great both with and without images.
3. Tables are king. I know, I know, tables in HTML code are soooooo dated. But, the truth is, emails tend to require them. That's because most email programs display email in old, out-dated, backwards sorts of ways... And fancier tools for layout control might just not work.
   
   Rely on the old standards of design to ensure your emails look great for the majority of your readers.
4. It must be personal. When someone visits a website, they don't expect you to speak directly to them. But, when your email shows up in their inbox, you'd better believe that changes. Your emails need to be personal or readers won't read them. That means they need to be written in a way that's engaging and friendly, but it also means that the design should have little touches that make it more meaningful to readers.
5. It should share a secret. Statistically, more people see a website than will see the newsletter (because only a percentage of people who visit your website sign up for your newsletter). This makes the newsletter automatically more intimate, whether your list is made up of 20 close contacts, or 200,000 fans.
   
   One way to benefit from this increased intimacy is to use your design to reflect it. Sharing a secret love of the color pink by splashing it all over, for instance, can help readers feel like they're members of a private club. That's a benefit you simply can't get from other, more public, online design, so take full advantage of it, and use your email design to share a secret.

So, there you have it, 5 ways email design differs from other types of online design.

Newsletter design trends

Wondering what 2013 will bring when it comes to ezines and the way they look? Let's take a look at 5 trends for the year ahead.

Me Through My iPhone, araza123

1. More, bigger, better images. With more readers reading emails on both sides of the size spectrum (30" monitors are becoming more common even as more people read their email on their phones and other mobile devices), big, colorful, professional images will be front and center. In the past, email newsletter designers often used small images to make more room for text... but, as they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words" and with faster internet speeds, bigger monitors, and shorter attention spans, attention-grabbing images will take center stage. (Plus, the bigger images/less text combination looks better on smaller screens, too.)
2. More polish. Readers are getting ever more design conscious. They notice when design is good... and when it's bad. This means that they give more of their attention to great design, which in turn, means newsletter designers will have to step up their game--and they will--in order to get attention.
3. More color. Color is free in electronic design, and the surge in color in clothing will definitely begin to trickle into more color in email newsletter design as well. Expect to see bolder, more vivid colors in larger swaths than ever before. Gone is the tiny "pop" of color--2013 is the era of Big, Bold Color Use.

4. 

   by Chris Piascik

   More hand-drawn elements. As technology influences every sector of our lives, expect to see more focus on personal touches like hand-drawn elements. Already a big trend in web design, we anticipate email newsletter designs to follow suit and start picking up hand lettered elements, custom drawn illustration, and other created-by-hand features.
5. More plain text. Talk about extreme! But, as more readers start reading email newsletters on the go, on mobile devices, expect to see more publishers switch back to plain-text only newsletters so they don't have to hassle with making their emails look great on every screen. Alas, plain text is boring, but it does get the message across, and it's definitely easier than trying to create something that looks great for everyone.

So, these are our predictions for trends in email newsletter design for 2013.