The Anatomy of an Effective Newsletter [INFOGRAPHIC]
Whether you’re creating your own marketing emails from scratch or just trying to communicate with the design agency creating them for you, sometimes it’s difficult to make heads or tails of the industry jargon surrounding marketing emails.This brief guide will help you understand the essential anatomy of an effective marketing email from head to toe (er, from header to footer).
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From name
There are two parts to the FROM name: the friendly name, or company name, and the sender address. This is one major key to email opens: 43% of email recipients will mark an email as spam based on the FROM name alone. Make your FROM name brief, logical and recognizable.
Subject Line
An effective subject line is the second major key to getting your email opened or ignored. Successful subject lines reflect the email content straightforwardly. Tell, don’t sell, is good advice, and clarity always outperforms clever. Personalized subject lines earn a 26% higher open rate.
Pre-Header
This small snippet of text displays after the subject line on many clients. Use it to extend your subject line and give readers another incentive to open.
HEADER/BODY/FOOTER
HEADER
This the first thing the reader sees, so make it stand out. Your company logo, a prominent image, your main message or promotion and a call to action (CTA) could all go here.
BODY
Include your message to your client as text or infographic. Also, include links to downloads or promotional videos. Make sure your content is relevant and targeted to your audience segment. A single-column “skinny” layout will make it more mobile-friendly.
A battle for attention
53% of emails are now opened on mobile. This means you’re battling for attention in many distracting environments. People say they open email:
70% in front of the TV
42% while on the phone
42% on the toilet
18% while driving
Keep it simple
To get your message across amidst distraction, be brief and to the point. And make sure your text is easy to read/scan. This means using images, icons, whitespace, titles and subtitles, bullet points and bold.
FOOTER
The footer contains essential fine print for readers and spam blockers. Remind readers why they’ve received the email. To comply with spam laws, include the company’s physical address and an unsubscribe link. This crucial link will also give uninterested readers an alternative to marking your email as spam.
Social Sharing Buttons
Finally give readers a chance to share. You could include a forward-to-friend button or social sharing buttons. Email subscribers are 30% more likely to share your content via social than other visitors.
Optimize for image-blockers
78% of email clients and native apps (Outlook, Mozilla, etc.) block images by default. Make sure you provide alt-text for images and possibly a text-only alternative email so that your message is still readable and actionable.
Every week Moskito Design designs and develops email newsletters that reach over 9 million people.
Kyle is a Copywriter and Content Manager at Moskito Design, part of the team since 2014. He got his start selling books door-to-door in America, taught English as a foreign language for years in Turkey, and translates from French and Italian. He loves telling stories and helping people and brands tell theirs.
