Inbound Marketing & Technology Blog

7 Key Tips for Effective Email Templates - Essentials

Written by Thirumalesh Prasad C G | March 31, 2017

Email templates are a great email marketing tool, allowing users to reach even greater numbers of their target audience and capture their attention quickly. However, the key to success with email templates lies in getting their design right from the word go. Correctly designed templates will help your emails stand out from the crowd and garner you a positive response from your target audience. Below are seven important things to take care of if you want to create the perfect email template:

1. Mobile optimization

More and more people are accessing the internet via mobile devices and it is therefore essential to ensure that you optimize your template for mobile use. This might mean using single columns, presenting the most useful information first or keeping your template clutter free for example.

2. Use attractive visuals

Templates with attractive images and colors get considerably more views than those without. As a result, you should incorporate visuals that resonate with your audience quickly e.g. images of people, landscapes, animals and other elements of nature.

3. Choose the right font

Font type and size are crucial for communicating effectively with your target audience. The font you choose can affect how your audience views your brand while font size will determine whether people choose to read your email or click away to something else. As a rule of thumb, use Arial, courier, verdana, times new roman and Georgia when designing your email templates.

4. The right subject line

Your subject line should be short, simple and to the point. This will help to give the reader an idea of what your email is about and influence them to click through to read more.

5. Use lines to create a feeling of organization

Use lines to clearly define sections of your email, and lay everything out in a clear and orderly fashion.

6. The call to action

The purpose of your email template is to elicit a certain response from your target audience. As a result, you should ensure that you place a call to action in strategic places on your template to influence your reader to take the right action.

7. Pay attention to your layout

You can choose to have a simple or complex email layout depending on what you wish to accomplish. However, remember to ensure that your content is evenly spread out to avoid a feeling of clutter, use a reasonable number of images, and make proper use of white space.

Correctly designed email templates will help you reach your target audience quickly and more effectively. By following a few design tips, you should be able to create the perfect template and be on your way to creating a highly successful email campaign.