What’s in it for me?

This is the one question I love to ask when I work on email campaigns. I find it can help focus a campaign, especially if the client I am working with is new to email. Think about it; when you open your inbox and see a bunch of promotional emails waiting for you, what makes you open one over the other? It’s going to be the one that peaks your interest, offers a great deal, or is an update on something you care about. Thinking about WIIFM when planning out your email is one of the first steps to take. Oftentimes, clients feel the need to sell all their services/products at once to get the most for their advertising budget. This can lead to to decision overwhelm for the customer. Instead, focusing on one amazing deal, or promoting one service at a time can help capture the attention of those who are most likely to take action. This is what leads to getting the most ROI for your budget!

Email is the best ROI in the business, make the most of each campaign by putting yourself in your recipient’s shoes and offer them a simple, clear offer that they can act on immediately.

What makes a good email? That depends on the purpose, who its from, and how it looks in my inbox. For me, a good email on it’s most basic level will have these 4 things:

Subject Line - Short and Concise
Imagery - High Resolution, Eye catching
Purpose - Clear, Good Offer, Relevant
Quality - Links work, text is readable, images load, there is alt text included for screen readers

Curious about what a good email looks like to the experts? There is a website for that! Check out Really Good Emails. This is a website dedicated to collecting good emails across all industries. I find it helpful for inspiration, and staying on top of the newest trends in email design.

When I work on an email design, I try to put myself in the recipient’s shoes. Would I open this email if it was sent to me? Can I easily read the text and is the call to action button clear and clickable? These things may seem basic, but they are the building blocks to a good email. Taking into consideration how the recipient will experience the email is the key to creating a good email.