Designing for Email:
How to boost your CTR with design.
// THREAD //
How to boost your CTR with design.
// THREAD //
But first,
Some quick context:
I interviewed @theRobKnapp who shared the following tips on leveraging email design to increase your CTR.
Let's get started 👇
Some quick context:
I interviewed @theRobKnapp who shared the following tips on leveraging email design to increase your CTR.
Let's get started 👇
Here are 3 questions you need to address before you start designing an email:
1. Who is your subscriber?
2. What single action will they take?
3. Why is the email valuable to them?
1. Who is your subscriber?
2. What single action will they take?
3. Why is the email valuable to them?
Writing your email copy:
- Don't write within your ESP's editor
- Write 5 good subject lines
- Outline your email
- Aim for 8th-grade reading level or lower
- Pick the winning subject lines last
- Don't write within your ESP's editor
- Write 5 good subject lines
- Outline your email
- Aim for 8th-grade reading level or lower
- Pick the winning subject lines last
Designing your email:
- Design your layout before production
- Don't design in a drag-n-drop editor
- Use layout software or sketch it out
- Aim for 9x16 vertical orientation
- Design for retina smartphones (2X images)
- Design your layout before production
- Don't design in a drag-n-drop editor
- Use layout software or sketch it out
- Aim for 9x16 vertical orientation
- Design for retina smartphones (2X images)
Anatomy of a simple email:
- Subject line
- Preheader
- Branding
- Header image
- Headline
- Intro
- Content
- CTA
- Footer
- Subject line
- Preheader
- Branding
- Header image
- Headline
- Intro
- Content
- CTA
- Footer
Email subject line:
- Greatly influences open rates
- Personalization is tops
- Can leverage a curiosity gap
- Can explicitly describe email content
- 60 characters or less with 1 emoji
- Best candidate for A/B testing
- Greatly influences open rates
- Personalization is tops
- Can leverage a curiosity gap
- Can explicitly describe email content
- 60 characters or less with 1 emoji
- Best candidate for A/B testing
Email preheader text:
- Often hidden in HTML render
- Reinforces the reason to open
- 250 characters or less
- Similar function to a meta description
- Influences open rate
- Often hidden in HTML render
- Reinforces the reason to open
- 250 characters or less
- Similar function to a meta description
- Influences open rate
Branding elements:
- Important for familiarity
- Leverages repetition
- Your logo at a reasonable size
- Or a small social media profile pic
- The name of the email series
- Important for familiarity
- Leverages repetition
- Your logo at a reasonable size
- Or a small social media profile pic
- The name of the email series
Email header image:
- Your subscriber is the hero
- How should subscribers feel?
- Featured image approach
- Social feed and blog format familiarity
- Visually striking and relevant
- Your subscriber is the hero
- How should subscribers feel?
- Featured image approach
- Social feed and blog format familiarity
- Visually striking and relevant
Email headline:
- Aim for clarity over cleverness
- Orients your subscribers
- Not a carbon copy of the subject line
- Crucial when images are blocked
- Can be above or below the header image
- Aim for clarity over cleverness
- Orients your subscribers
- Not a carbon copy of the subject line
- Crucial when images are blocked
- Can be above or below the header image
Email intro statement:
- Start with empathy
- One or two sentences
- Customer-centric perspective
- Directly address their need
- Start with empathy
- One or two sentences
- Customer-centric perspective
- Directly address their need
Email content:
- The meat of the email
- Deliver explicit value
- Clear, concise, and to the point
- My hot take: avoid columns
- Stack content in rows
- The meat of the email
- Deliver explicit value
- Clear, concise, and to the point
- My hot take: avoid columns
- Stack content in rows
Email CTA:
- Specific desired outcome
- Personalized, user-centric
- Action-oriented
- Just ONE thing: buy a product, book a call, link to website, forward to a friend, reply
- Specific desired outcome
- Personalized, user-centric
- Action-oriented
- Just ONE thing: buy a product, book a call, link to website, forward to a friend, reply
Email footer:
- Keep it understated
- This is not a website
- Avoid social links and additional CTAs
- Must include a physical address
- Must include an unsubscribe option
- Keep it understated
- This is not a website
- Avoid social links and additional CTAs
- Must include a physical address
- Must include an unsubscribe option
Top 5 engagement tactics:
- Always put the subscriber first
- Don't write or design WYSIWYG
- Brevity is best, it's just an email
- Simple regularly beats fancy or busy
- Keep the attention ratio low
- Always put the subscriber first
- Don't write or design WYSIWYG
- Brevity is best, it's just an email
- Simple regularly beats fancy or busy
- Keep the attention ratio low
HUGE thanks to @theRobKnapp for the incredible email design tips.
Here's the video version of Rob explaining everything in great detail:
Here's the video version of Rob explaining everything in great detail:
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