Email has a bad rap: it’s been declared dead, called spam, and been sidelined by marketers and creatives alike. But email is one of the highest performing digital marketing channels, and requires its own unique set of content, marketing, and design considerations. In this webinar, you’ll learn how using performance-driven email design can drive email strategy that delivers results, best practices and principles for creating great emails that get users to take action, and simple strategies and A/B tests to maximize conversions. Originally presented in conjunction with KISSmetrics on January 16th, 2014.

1. How to Create Great Emails
that Get Opened and Clicked
January 16th 2014

2. Who Am I?
Justine Jordan
Marketing Director, Litmus

3. Twi er
@meladorri @litmusapp
#KISSwebinar

4. We’ll cover…
1
Making a good first impression
2
Creating an excellent subscriber experience
3
A/B test ideas + examples
4
Lots of best practices along the way
#KISSwebinar

5. Why Email?
1
Effective
2
Inexpensive
3
Immediate
4
Measurable
5
(Relatively) easy
#KISSwebinar

6. Banner Ads
$2
for every $1 spent
Source: MediaPost.com

7. Keyword Ads
$17
for every $1 spent
Source: MediaPost.com

8. Email Marketing
$40
for every $1 spent
Source: MediaPost.com

9. Email gets more clicks . . .
#KISSwebinar

10. . . . and conversions
#KISSwebinar

11. You get the point.

12. Email Works.
Duh!

13. Email is:
A unique medium
with unique
considerations

14. Email is not:
A JPG
A print ad
A banner ad
A one-page web site

15. Emails are not weapons of mass destruction

16. Every email should have a purpose.
➡ What do you want the subscriber to do?
➡ How are you going to measure success?
➡ What are the business goals behind this communication?
➡ Is email the best way to communicate your message?
➡ Who should should receive the message?
➡ Is the message relevant to your subscribers?
#KISSwebinar

17. Every email should have a purpose.
Why are you sending this email?
✓ Lead generation
✓ Brand awareness
✓ Is it relevant?
Who are you sending to, and what do you know about them?
✓ Internal vs. external
✓ B2B vs. B2C
✓ Demographics
#KISSwebinar

18. Every email should have a purpose.
What do you want subscribers to do once they receive your email?
✓ Register for a webinar
✓ Read an article
How are you going to measure success?
✓ Open/click data
✓ Leads generated
✓ Conversions
What do you want the subscriber to do?
✓ Is email the best way to communicate your message?
#KISSwebinar

19. The email experience
From Name
Subject Line
Preheader
Preview/Open
Tap/Click
Page/Site
???
#KISSwebinar

20. First impressions ma er
From Name
Subject Line
Preheader
Preview/Open
Tap/Click
Page/Site
What is recognizable, trustworthy and relevant?
Does the subscriber have a relationship with
a person or the brand?
???

21. no-reply is a no-go
From Name
Subject Line
Preheader
Preview/Open
Tap/Click
Page/Site
???

22. Be on-brand and relevant
From Name
Subject Line
Preheader
Preview/Open
Tap/Click
Page/Site
???
#KISSwebinar

23. Symbols in subject lines
Can increase open rates.
Use carefully to support your
message rather than detract
from value.

24. No such thing as a perfect subject line
1
Free is OK
2
Shorter=be er?
3
Relevance!
4
Useful + specific
5
Test, test, test
h ps://litmus.com/blog/how-to-write-the-perfect-subject-line-infographic

25. Preheader = tertiary inbox content
From Name
Subject Line
Preheader
Preview/Open
Tap/Click
Page/Site
???

26. Preheader Best Practices
Support your subject line with a
creative, useful or helpful preheader.
1
Call to action
2
Reminder
3
Special message / value prop
4
Clickable/measurable
#KISSwebinar

27. These are bad preheader examples
Repetitive content, unhelpful,
potentially negative brand impact

28. These are good preheader examples
Helpful, smart, funny, engaging

29. Preheader text case study: Wedding Wire
Pre-header text A/B Tests:
30%+ CTR Boost
/ courtesy @mparkerbyrd

30. Optimizing the “Envelope Fields”
From Name
~25 characters
Subject Line
~35 characters
Preheader
~85 characters

31. Don’t count on images showing up
From Name
Subject Line
Preheader
Preview/Open
Tap/Click
Page/Site
???

32. Convey your message without images
From Name
Subject Line
Preheader
Preview/Open
Tap/Click
Page/Site
???

33. Be aware, not afraid, of the fold
From Name
Subject Line
Preheader
Preview/Open
Tap/Click
Page/Site
???

34. Content and visual hierarchy
➡ Prioritize important information
➡ Prune extraneous & irrelevant content
➡ Use color, weight, size & placement for emphasis
➡ Bullets are your friends
➡ Use a mix of rational & emotional appeals
➡ Utilize background colors, lists & borders
➡ Use strong & clear calls-to-action

35. Create click opportunities
From Name
Subject Line
Preheader
➡ Linked imagery
➡ Video
➡ Bu ons
➡ Charts
➡ Colored backgrounds
➡ Preheader text
➡ Forward & share
Preview/Open
Tap/Click
Page/Site
???

36. Tell the subscriber what to do!
From Name
Subject Line
Preheader
Preview/Open
Tap/Click
Page/Site
???
#KISSwebinar

37. What is the message?
From Name
Subject Line
Preheader
Preview/Open
Tap/Click
Page/Site
???

38. What should I do?
From Name
Subject Line
Preheader
Preview/Open
Tap/Click
Page/Site
???

39. What should I do?
From Name
Subject Line
Preheader
Preview/Open
Tap/Click
Page/Site
???

40. Call to action best practices
1
Bu ons!
2
Context
3
Active language
4
Size
5
Placement
h ps://litmus.com/blog/designing-the-perfect-call-to-action

41. Bulletproof bu ons are visible when images aren’t
#KISSwebinar

42. Don’t forget the landing page
From Name
Subject Line
Preheader
Preview/Open
Tap/Click
Page/Site
???

43. Is this a positive experience?
From Name
Subject Line
Preheader
Preview/Open
Tap/Click
Where’s the download?
… add to cart?
Page/Site
???

44. Don’t forget the text version
1
Create hierarchy with symbols
2
Avoid hard breaks
3
Put links on a new line
4
Tabs, spacing and CAPS to organize content
5
Convey imagery with text
#KISSwebinar

45. Don’t forget the text version

46. Designing for purpose
Email is the ideal
environment for fast,
easy and cheap testing
BUT
what works for one
person (or one email)
won’t necessarily work
for another

47. Testing ideas
Time of day
Pre-Header
Day of week
Navigation
Subject Lines
Content Layout
Creative look and feel
Length of content
Imagery
Personalization
Call to action
Segmentation
Be sure your test is repeatable. You need a hypothesis.
#KISSwebinar

48. Some tests we’ve run…
Subject lines
• Specific vs. vague
• Buzzy vs. straightforward
!
Bu on language / call-to-action
• Product vs. content
• Additional bu ons (more click
opportunities)
!
Video thumbnail imagery
• Person vs. product
!
Content
• Headline vs. no headline
!
Bu on colors
• Green vs. blue
#KISSwebinar

49. Some tests we’ve run…
Version A: Green bu on
Version B: Blue bu on

50. Some tests we’ve run…
no
change
Version A: Green bu on
Version B: Blue bu on

51. Some tests we’ve run…
Version A: Start testing
Version B: Read our overview

52. Some tests we’ve run…
2x
clicks
Version A: Start testing
Version B: Read our overview

53. Some tests we’ve run…
Subject line A:
Don’t forward
this…
!
Subject line B:
The best way to
share emails

54. Some tests we’ve run…
Subject line A:
Don’t forward
this…
!
Subject line B:
The best way to
share emails
54%
more clicks

55. Testing can be simple
. . . or complex.

56. Which test won?
Design A
Design B
Design C

57. Which test won?
Design C
➡ Outperformed Control CTR by 26%
➡ Outperformed Projected revenue of 2nd place by 4%
#KISSwebinar

58. Which test won?
Design A
Design B
Design C

59. Which test won?
Design B
➡ Outperformed 2nd place by < 2%
➡ Outperformed control CTR by 26%
➡ Outperformed unsubscribe rate by 15.9%
#KISSwebinar

60. The uniqueness of email
goes beyond design . . .

61. HTML coding / rendering
➡ HTML for email is not HTML for the web
➡ Avoid CSS for positioning or layout
➡ Code like it’s 1999!
➡ Proper syntax is key
➡ Use HTML tables for layout
➡ Use ALT text
• Specify widths for table elements
• Images should be in their own table cell
#KISSwebinar

62. HTML coding / rendering
➡ No JavaScript
➡ No Flash
➡ Limited support for HTML5 or CSS3
➡ Use inline CSS instead of embedded
• (Gmail doesn’t support embedded CSS)
➡ HTML forms (not supported everywhere)
➡ Background images (not supported in Outlook 2007+)
➡ Web-based email clients behave differently based on the browser (IE vs Firefox)

63. Rendering
➡ TEST TEST TEST
➡ Only comprehensive testing will ensure
that your email appears the way you
want it to in your subscriber’s inbox
➡ Subscribers view emails in many
different environments: desktop email
clients, web-based email clients and
mobile clients.
#KISSwebinar

64. Avoid this

65. -TAKEAWAYS -
1
Design for your subscribers
2
For every email, ask:
What am I trying to say?
How will subscribers take action?
Where are they going next?
3
Institute a culture of testing

66. Questions?
I (may) have answers.

67. Thanks!
Thanks!
justine@litmus.com / @meladorri