Designing The Perfect Email

1. Craft The Perfect Subject Line

An engaging subject line could mean the difference between your recipient opening the email, deleting it or unsubscribing and reporting it as spam (yikes!)

The best way to write a successful email subject line is by leveraging natural human tendencies and psychological principles. 

• Create a sense of urgency e.g [URGENT] You’ve got ONE DAY to watch this…
• Appeal to their sense of curiosity e.g Last Day To See What This Mystery Email Is All About
• Everyone loves a good deal e.g 25% off your favorites

There have been many studies analyzing the effectiveness of using specific email subject line keywords. Use these keywords when crafting your own email copy and subject lines to boost your open rates even further.

2. Utilize The Preview Text

It’s not just the subject line that sells people on opening your email. It’s also the preview text. The preview text shows part of the first line of the email and tells subscribers more about the content of your email. Preview text can capture your recipient’s attention, encouraging them to open the email, and can also influence behavior—getting them to scroll and click specific articles mentioned in the text.

Think of preview text as a “second subject line”. It should be useful, specific, and, if appropriate, have a sense of urgency. This is also an ideal place to experiment with humor, symbols, or other tactics that aren’t quite ready for subject line status.

3. The Perfect Paragraph

Here’s where those high school English lessons come in handy. The perfect paragraph should:

• Follow a logical structure — be easy to follow, and sensible.
• Be short 
• Should stick to one point/theme

4. Add Visual Elements

Adding GIFs to your marketing will make your emails more interactive, which in turn will boost engagement from your subscribers. One company that does this impressively well is Blue Apron. Check this out:

5. Talk Like A Real Person

Avoid spammy or salesy language. Think of your email as an appetizer, and your website as the main course. Leave your subscribers hungry for more. Don’t use an email as a lead page. No one wants to scroll through paragraphs and paragraphs to get to the deal at the bottom of the page.

6. Don’t Forget Your Signature

The email signature is perhaps the most overlooked part of an email, but if done right, could be an amazing tool to create engagement, and help you achieve your marketing/sales goal

An easy first step is to add your picture to the signature. This helps to draw the eye, create personalization, and humanizes your brand. 76% of individuals surveyed say that they’re more likely to trust content shared by “normal” people than content shared by brands. 

The second step, is to add a compelling Call To Action to your signature. Examples of this are a link to a recent blog, a link to the shop page on your website, a link to book a call, etc. Give your recipient a reason, and the means to engage further.