Archive for the 'Email Template Design' Category
3 Tips For More Clicks and Website Traffic
Marc Kline - May 2nd, 2008Sometimes our emails are focused on a single goal, aiming the entire message at driving to a specific landing page.
Other times when our purpose is more general, it makes a lot of sense to take a broader approach, aiming to get our subscribers back to nearly *anywhere* on our website. We can let them choose their own adventure from there, hoping they’ll eventually complete a site goal (e.g. ordering, membership sign up, etc.).
For those times, here are 3 techniques that could significantly boost your click through rates back to your website:
Posted in : Email Template Design | 39 Comments »Here’s An Easy Way To Do Video Emails
Justin Premick - January 30th, 2008Videos are a great marketing tool — they get your prospects’ attention, they let you show (not just tell) about your products, and they get passed around (helping you to get more subscribers virally).
However, as many people have found out, creating “video emails” by embedding the video directly in an HTML email (like you would on a web page) doesn’t fly. It’s simply not reliable because most email programs disable or strip out the video.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of video’s appeal in your emails!
You just have to get a bit creative…
Easily Send “Video Emails” Using Image Links
In a recent addition to our Knowledge Base, we’ve shown step-by-step how to drive your email subscribers to watch videos that you’ve posted to your site or video hosting sites like YouTube.
A Couple Pointers
I recommend using an image to link to your video — you can use text, too, but the image will naturally draw the eye and increase your response.
That said, not all of your subscribers will have images enabled in their email programs.
So, remember to put appropriate ALT text for your image, so that if they have images turned off, they know there’s a video to click to.
Example:
Have You Used This Tactic?
Has linking to videos this way worked well for you? Have you learned anything along the way that you think our readers could benefit from when creating their own video emails?
Share your thoughts below!
Posted in : Email Template Design | 27 Comments »What Can Barack Obama Teach Us About HTML Email?
Justin Premick - November 7th, 2007As an individual? Probably not much. But as a marketing example, possibly quite a bit.
A couple months ago, we posted about a possible compromise in the Text vs. HTML debate.
Inspired by a MarketingExperiments study on formatting, we discussed the idea that not all HTML was created equal, and that you might improve response by using a “Lite” (or if you prefer, “Text-y”) HTML — taking some advantage of HTML’s formatting flexibility while preserving much of the overall simplicity of Text.
Posted in : Email Template Design | 3 Comments »Email Testing For Quality Assurance and More
Marc Kline - November 1st, 2007
If we didn’t test our messages before sending them to our subscribers, I’d be in a lot of trouble! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had typos and broken links caught only by reviewing messages before sending.
Not only do we all make mistakes, but sometimes when we look at our work only from our own perspective, we don’t see the forest for the trees.
Testing can help with both problems. I’d like to briefly share a few ways successful email marketers test their messages, including benefits and limitations of each:
Posted in : Email Template Design | 6 Comments »Text and HTML: Why Not Both?
Justin Premick - September 25th, 2007
Just when you think a hotly-debated topic like whether to send messages in plain text or HTML has died down, along comes another angle to look at.
This time, the folks at MarketingSherpa bring us a case study from minor-league baseball where a combination of Text AND HTML messages boosted ticket sales over 260%.
So how do you incorporate this new data into your decision to use Text or HTML?
Posted in : Email Template Design | 10 Comments »Even Microsoft Can’t Design For Outlook
Marc Kline - September 20th, 2007This morning, I was checking the Windows Live Hotmail address I use for testing. I also receive messages from XBOX Live at this address, since using it made the sign up process for the Microsoft’s gaming service easier.
I was curious to see how Microsoft would communicate with a new gaming customer. Would they try to immediately sell me on a longer billing term or related products? Or, would they provide value, such as information on how I could best use my account.
So, I opened a message I received from them to see what I could find.
Posted in : Email Template Design | 8 Comments »Text Vs. HTML: Is Moderation The Key?
Justin Premick - August 2nd, 2007The debate over whether to use plain text or HTML never really stops, it just gets quiet for a while before someone brings it up again.
MarketingExperiements just brought it back up by blogging their recent research on how well each version converts.
Their team makes an interesting assertion:
Posted in : Email Template Design | 17 Comments »Link Design, Pt. 1: Placement
Marc Kline - June 12th, 2007
Email readers, like web surfers, are ruthless in their decision making. They aren’t going to search around in our email for something to click on, nor are they going to sit and make a drawn out decision on whether or not to click when they see one.
Have you ever thought specifically about whether your links are optimized in your messages?
The first of a series of messages covering this broad topic, today we’ll focus on the placement of links in email.
Posted in : Email Template Design | 28 Comments »Is Anyone Reading Your Text Version?
Justin Premick - May 29th, 2007By now, you’ve read a number of posts in this space about Text and HTML, their respective pros and cons and what to bear in mind when writing each.
The one thing you haven’t heard anything about is how to tell which version your subscribers are viewing.
Today, I’d like to show you a way to approximate the reach and effectiveness of your text messages.
Posted in : Email Template Design | 10 Comments »Quick Lesson From The Direct Mail World
Marc Kline - May 8th, 2007
Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of your subscribers for a second, as we often suggest. Take a look over their shoulders as they open their email service first thing in the morning.
What do they see? A list of messages that trickled in overnight — some from friends and associates, some from email lists they’re subscribed to (including yours), and probably a whole lot of junk.
Once they get to your email, if their email program has a preview pane, they see the top of the message. If they’re interested, they’ll open the email and read the first paragraph to see what it’s all about.
My guess is that skimming for a second, then trashing it is not your desired goal from there. So, how can you take a quick preview of your message and turn it into a lasting relationship?
Posted in : Email Template Design | 6 Comments »« Previous Entries
