26 useful email marketing tips from the most successful companies from around the world

There are countless subtleties that can play a crucial role in email-mailing . The location of the elements, the content of the letter, the size of the buttons and the inconspicuous psychological techniques are only part of what should be taken into account in the design of the electronic message that will cause the desired effect.

Conversions just do not happen; Also, emails themselves do not bring results. These 26 tips are based on the email marketing experience of several of the most successful companies from around the world.
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1. Let the image express what you want to say.

Emphasize more on the pictures than on the text. The original image can convey your message better than words.



Twitter illustrations perfectly explain what has been written: start a conversation, research what you are interested in, keep up to date with all the news.

2. Try to win small victories.

When you confirm the order on the website of the network pizzerias Papa John's buyers offer to create an account. The idea is that, since the client has already used the company's online services, he / she can benefit by creating his own account.

Let it not the sold goods, but quite important small victory .

Use any potential opportunity.



By creating an account on Papa John's website, you will be able to place your orders faster, and also get a chance to win free pizza.

3. Write short and clear

Canva could send out long letters describing the use cases and benefits of the new templates. However, instead, the company decided to send short and clear messages. Pay attention to plain and at the same time informative illustrations.



Post new templates from Canva

4. Use system branding

The master of branding is the company Evernote. The main elements of its brand are the green color and logo in the form of an elephant, which can be found both on its website and in promotional materials.

In emails, try to use design objects that your customers are already familiar with.

5. Pick a good talisman

Already on the main page of the website of the company Trello you get acquainted with its talisman named Taco. He is very friendly and is an integral part of the Trello brand, forcing users to show interest in the company.

It may be worth investing in creating a company symbol, which could also become the main element of your brand.



Trello's talisman named Tako helps the user to easily hide the list of completed tasks.

6. Use unusual and original illustrations.

Visual tools should tell a story that matches the content of the letter.

Dropbox is very good at complementing your letters with elegant illustrations (take a look at one of the examples below). It is easy to find stock images , but you can make a stronger and more lasting impression if you (or your designer) create an illustration specifically for emails.



The illustration, created by Dropbox designers, demonstrates the expansion of online storage capabilities.

7. Use GIF pictures

Animated emails stand out among the rest.

Your subscribers will probably pay more attention to the animation than to static images, so make sure that your message, like the rest of the letter, is saved in the GIF format. Despite this, some email clients do not provide automatic display of pictures, so try to take this into account.



Asana uses GIFs in its mailing list.

8. For clarity, use infographics.

Colorful infographics attracts more, because with its help information is absorbed easier and faster than when using a large amount of text.

The inbox is, in fact, a great place to read infographics. When you create it, you just need to remember how it will look on your mobile device. Clear and clear images and text will be easier to read from smaller devices.



Using infographics in the Wrike system

9. Let your customers feel special.

There are several ways to express gratitude in addition to providing discounts and holding promotions. You can always make your users feel special by giving them access to preview text or video content. If you inform clients via a blog, you can share articles a few days before their official release with a selected group of users.



The Dutch company Vistaprint thanks its users for inspiring its employees and posting their new commercial before its official release.

10. The name of the topic in the letter should cause emotions.

The title of the topic “ The end of the work from 09.00 to 17.00, or why we will soon be working flexibly ” is perfect for mailing as well as possible, because it is of interest to both those who agree with this statement and those who disagree with him.

Some may share the same opinion, while others may think, “Wow! My work schedule can change completely ... for the better? ”(Also, a great move is to refer to Bob Dylan and the pop culture in general in the title of the article).

Your subscribers go to sleep with dozens of emails every day. Make your letters with attractive, funny and bright themes stand out from the rest.



In addition to the emotive title of the topic, The Muse in the title of the article uses the title of one of the most famous songs of Bob Dylan “The Times They Are a-Changin '” to attract a younger audience.

11. Focus on a specific call to action.

This call to action from the General Assembly perfectly demonstrates the urgency of its formulation and use of bright red. The appearance of the button is the most important part of your call to action: the user must understand that you need to click on it.



A bright red button in a letter from General Assembly with the inscription "Last chance: Take part right now"

12. Use hyperlinks to select an item.

In this e-mail, to attract the attention of readers to important words and phrases, hyperlinks of the color different from the main text are used.

Each item is accompanied by a hyperlink. In addition, other important phrases are highlighted as links, for example, “from a mobile device” or “send a quick link”.

This method of working with text is used infrequently, although it could bring more benefits to companies.

13. Raise personalization to a new level.

Shutterfly inserts the photos uploaded by users into their letters. Customers remain moved to the depths of their souls when they are offered products with photographs of people dear to them, reminiscent of lost memories ... at a 40% discount.



Shutterly offers to purchase a photo book, greeting cards, mugs and other products with images uploaded by the users, with a 40% discount.

14. Add an element indicating the urgency of the proposal.

In this exclusive offer, Marketo recommends that users renew their subscriptions. The company indicates in the letter its urgency by attaching a ribbon with the words “The offer is limited in duration” to the headline, announcing the invitation to the webinar tomorrow and adding the “Accept the offer” button to the letter twice.

Similarly, phrases like “Number of seats limited” or “Remaining X weeks - manage to save” would work. Notice that at the very beginning of the letter, Marketo also posted a positive customer feedback.

15. Bring real benefit to the recipient.

I am always happy to receive a letter with proposals for new collections from Pinterest, since they are specially made for me.

Use your data properly. Make your users like your letters, and send them something valuable, not just messages with recommendations for using your product and discounts related only to it. Let the letter be more about your customers than about you: offer a useful webinar, a link to download an e-book, or just really valuable non-advertising materials.



A letter with recommendations from Pinterest

16. Be reliable and predictable.

Every Sunday, The Muse sends a digest with the theme “Your Sunday Inspiration”. Now every week I look forward to when this letter arrives, and I can see its contents.



The Muse's weekly newsletter with links to interesting Lifehacker, LinkedIn, 99U and other sources

17. Do not avoid markers.

This Kickstarter letter is pleasing to the eye. Its contents are in the form of a list of markers and are quite easy to read. At the end of the letter, a call to action is clearly marked, and it sums up a peculiar summary of what you need to do.



Kickstarter points out the reasons why the latest news about the project should be published.

18. Use your knowledge of colors

Studies have shown that a particular color affects our mood. For example, primary colors, especially red, cause appetite. GrubHub uses human weaknesses to its advantage and even subconsciously asks you to order food. Remember the goals of your company when you design emails.

19. Real people should send letters.

Over the past year, I received several letters from at least eight different members of the HubSpot team. Because of this, it seems to me less that they consider me to be another potential buyer from the database of the marketing department. When I receive letters from real people, I’m more likely to open them and read what they wrote to me. Moreover, I know that my reply letter will end up in their inbox.

And in the body of the letter you can even see their photos!



Email from marketer HubSpot

20. Mention data and statistics.

Despite the fact that this letter from Zapier is rather long, its appearance simplifies reading. What are the benefits of this letter?

• In the second paragraph (of the saved time) recognized the merits of the user.
• Excellent visual separation of content.
• Many buttons: one at the end of each paragraph.
• In general, the letter is submitted in the form of a list of interesting facts. People like interesting facts.
• The sender of the letter is the CEO of the company ...
• ... and his photo is located at the bottom of the message (real person!)

21. Use your customers' logos, thereby demonstrating your social value.

Using their customers' logos (with their permission) in emails increases the level of trust in you. When selling products for business, as in the example with the Dropbox for Business service, you will inspire confidence if your clients are such large and recognizable organizations.

22. Shift responsibility on others

InVision can convince with invitation letters because it puts the responsibility on the recipient of the letter.

One of the current users of InVision launches the mechanism for sending this letter to one of their contacts, and, ultimately, the responsibility for the execution of an action lies with someone else. The recipient in most cases agrees to the invitation and performs the necessary action, as he is familiar with the sender and even sees his photo in the letter. Such an arrangement of responsibility and the link to the contact works for any type of letter with an invitation.

23. Newsletter must have the appropriate design

You can see Uber’s symbols, the road and the car in this simple and catchy title on a dark background. This title suggests that you do not need to make special efforts to beautifully and gracefully arrange the name of the letter.

24. Adapt the type of letter for mobile devices

Depending on the product and target audience, from 15 to 70% of users open their letters on mobile devices. In this regard, it is important to adapt the reading of emails for such devices.

Naturally, some types of content look better from a mobile device. No Sidebar's long letters are perfect for reading from a smartphone: the font remains relatively large and is easy to read from any device.

25. Act in a timely manner.

The title of the subject of this letter reads: “It's cold outside. (An excellent reason to stay at home and make a purchase). ” At a time when DSW sent out this letter, the temperature really plummeted.

Your recipients will most likely open and read the letter if it is sent at the right time and is directly related to them. If events that are not related [exclusively] to national and international holidays are reflected in the themes of their letters, then the number of views of messages and conversion will be maximum.

26. Engage social networking services.

Today we can not underestimate the importance of social networks. It is in your best interest to encourage readers to share your content. Crate & Barrel provides subscribers with many ways to share their newsletter.



Crate & Barrel can be shared on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Houzz and Google+

That's all for today, thank you for your attention! You may be interested in reading about how to typeset letters and get acquainted with the statistics that will help improve the efficiency of mailings.