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We recently revamped our monthly SKM Group newsletter to give it a fresh, unique look. More importantly, we wanted to make it more effective, to generate higher open rates and more click-throughs. To accomplish that, we began with a list of email basics and best practices. There’s a ton of great data out there including tips on programming and designing. One of the things we love about the online space is that it’s all trackable and measurable. Take a look at what we did. Hopefully it can illustrate ways you can improve the performance of your email marketing.

Smart Use of Text. By using large headlines, bold colors, and live text, the user doesn’t need to download the images in order to read your email. This is important because according to MarketingSherpa, 67 percent of recipients do not automatically download images. The image below shows how the email shows up without any images displayed.  Pretty smooth, right?

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Preview Pane Copy. This will be the first thing someone will read/see after the subject line if they have their preview pane on in their email client. The copy should be a good overview of what the email is about. It also should make the viewer want to open and read the email.

Email Width. Email best practices suggest that you shouldn’t make your email wider than 660px wide. This is where we decided to toss the rules out the window. Some other emails we receive caught our eye with a horizontal landscape, so we decided to give it a shot.  We made sure to include ‘scroll right’ instructions just in case the user was confused.

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Images. Although your email shouldn’t be dependent on images, it is good practice to include supporting images in your design. Always be sure to include alt text to support your images if the viewer is unable to download.

View as a webpage link. It is important to include a link to the hosted version of the email.  This gives the user an option to view the complete email if they don’t want to download the pictures, or if they can’t for some reason.

Social media links. If your company has a social media presence, include icons so your readers can click to visit these pages and learn more about you.

Strategy.  The above tactics from a design and programming standpoint are just a slice of what SKM can do to enhance your email program. Our email experience also covers the strategic side, from subject line testing, personalization, segmentation, list management or triggered emails.  Our consultative approach is geared to helping your communications reach the recipient’s inbox, improving open rates and driving click-throughs.  And don’t forget about where you’re sending users… email performance doesn’t stop once the user clicks through to your site.

We help boost your email campaign’s long-term results by ensuring the message, design and execution of the email is married with your performance objectives. If you have any questions on any of the information above, feel free to send our interactive team an email at interactive@skmgroup.com.

If you’re interested in receiving our new newsletter, click here to sign up. Go ahead. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Erin Doherty
Interactive Project Manager