E-mail templates. They’re a lifesaver for electronic mail advertising campaigns, proper? They will prevent a great deal of time whereas conserving your branding acquainted and constant.
However, as many people have realized alongside the best way, electronic mail templates aren’t foolproof. Many issues can throw off a once-beautiful template – new pictures or GIFs, interactive parts, content material movement, and movies.
Testing your template earlier than each ship will help discover rendering issues which will pop up after you’ve custom-made the design parts. However we wished to know extra, so we sat with just a few of our in-house consultants and the template execs at MailNinja to learn the way electronic mail entrepreneurs and builders can use templates successfully.
“There’s a number of schooling concerned round what can and may’t be executed inside a template and keep away from breaking it.”
Doug Dennison, CEO and founder, MailNinja
Learn on to seek out out seven HTML electronic mail template finest practices and a few basic email-sending practices to set your self up for achievement.
1. Edit your pictures
It’s necessary to grasp the constraints of your template and resize pictures the place obligatory. Keep away from copying and pasting a picture with out adjusting it. As well as, don’t attempt to crop the picture or resize it earlier than including it to your template. Dropping in a picture that’s 3,000 pixels large will possible break your template and derail your entire design.
“A template is actually a structure or framework – there are nonetheless restrictions to what you are able to do.”
Doug Dennison, CEO and founder, MailNinja
Take into account that some electronic mail shoppers may also block your pictures, so it’s necessary to ensure you embody descriptive alt textual content. Alt textual content can be necessary for customers who could also be utilizing display readers to interpret your electronic mail.
2. Watch your content material movement
Will the size of your copy movement into the template? If it’s too lengthy, it will probably throw off the design. In different phrases, guarantee your textual content and fonts will work throughout completely different display codecs. You too can have fall-backs font stacks in place. It’s additionally necessary to concentrate as to if the template has a column design. A two-column part might look a bit of unusual in case you solely have just a few strains of textual content.
Have a look at how the content material is organized within the template – will your content material movement properly? This template from MailNinja has three particular person columns for textual content.
3. Take out the default content material
Don’t neglect in regards to the filler textual content. Loads of templates come loaded with some placeholder content material (like “lorem ipsum” or “add header textual content”) or buttons that say, “add your Name-to-Motion (CTA) right here.” Make sure you’re scanning by the template and changing all default content material with your individual or eradicating any default content material you don’t want.
Checking default content material additionally applies to pictures. Keep away from reusing the default picture that got here with the template, and check out to not reuse the identical picture throughout a number of campaigns. A subscriber might be extra prone to interact in the event that they discover one thing completely different about your newest electronic mail.
Keep in mind, once you obtain or obtain a template from an company, it’s not prepared for prime time. Your workforce will nonetheless have to customise the e-mail structure and content material earlier than it’s able to ship. These customizations are why it’s essential to check your HTML electronic mail template earlier than you ship it to the plenty. Content material modifications, pictures, and branding parts – all have the potential to interrupt the structure and trigger rendering issues.
Try this template created by MailNinja. Observe how they use default content material to fill out the textual content field. Don’t neglect to vary this!
4. Examine your private tags
Dennison says, “When testing your template, double-check your personalization tags.” Make sure the tags pull the best info and don’t present your subscribers the default code, like “{contact: firstname}.”
5. Construct out modules for the longer term
Futureproof your templates in order that they’re reusable and versatile. That means, you possibly can depend on them in numerous eventualities.
“We’ll create one thing that’s seven-plus modules lengthy, so it offers the shopper scope, however in the long run, they’ll in all probability solely use two or three modules.”
Doug Dennison, CEO and founder, MailNinja
Whether or not you’re making a template your self or hiring an company to create it for you, be sure you construct out numerous modules which may be helpful sooner or later. Certain, you might not use all seven or eight modules directly, nevertheless it’ll be helpful later. Having the best module prepared can prevent time and complications from making an attempt to suit content material into the fallacious structure.
6. Make it responsive – mobile-responsive
Keep in mind, lots of your readers in all probability see your emails on cell units. Don’t alienate them. Use responsive electronic mail design to create templates that adapt to completely different display sizes. Enhance readability and increase your buyer expertise.
As all the time, in case you’re uncertain about how your electronic mail will look, head over to our E-mail Preview device and see your electronic mail message on completely different iOS and Android units in real-time.
7. Keep in mind to check
Above all, Dennison says, it’s essential to check each template, each time. Certain, templates are an awesome place to begin, however any change to the content material within the template may throw off rendering.
Check your template, even when it’s one you’ve used earlier than. We do it with our electronic mail e-newsletter each month. We do it with virtually each marketing campaign we ship.
“Testing is usually secondary to the significance of getting the e-mail out [of] the door, nevertheless it’s so necessary to take that step in-between and take a look at to ensure it appears proper. To not take a look at your templates is simply loopy.”
Doug Dennison, CEO and founder, MailNinja
Complement your template with a successful electronic mail apply
Now that you’ve got an awesome template with a ravishing electronic mail design in your viewers, don’t snooze on good electronic mail content material or your sending practices. Listed below are some finest practices to maintain the great instances going:
- Create an attractive electronic mail topic line that conjures up your readers to open your message. Hold these open charges up! Undecided what works finest? Strive A/B testing your topic line.
- Use electronic mail checklist segmentation to focus on sections of your viewers. Don’t spam your complete mailing checklist with the identical content material. This type of “spray and pray” technique by no means works. As an alternative, hit focused segments of your checklist with tailor-made content material. Then, information them to your touchdown web page with a well-crafted CTA.
- Benefit from electronic mail automation and construct higher templates for all your transactional messages and behavior-based emails. For instance, you possibly can combine the Mailgun by Sinch sending platform along with your utility to make the most of the advantages of electronic mail automation. Mailgun even has its personal drag-and-drop electronic mail template builder.
Wrapping up
And that’s a wrap on electronic mail template design. Able to get templating at this time? No matter the kind of electronic mail that you simply’re sending, Mailjet’s template library has one thing in your wants. Or able to jazz up your electronic mail much more? Strive utilizing interactive parts.
As all the time, earlier than you hit ship, take a look at your emails with our Marketing campaign Precheck device to make sure your emails show as you plan! Strive us out totally free for seven days.
This text was up to date on October 28, 2022. It was first revealed in October of 2018.
Creator: The E-mail on Acid Workforce
The E-mail on Acid content material workforce is made up of digital entrepreneurs, content material creators, and straight-up electronic mail geeks.
Join with us on LinkedIn, observe us on Fb, and tweet at @EmailonAcid on Twitter for extra candy stuff and nice convos on electronic mail advertising.
Creator: The E-mail on Acid Workforce
The E-mail on Acid content material workforce is made up of digital entrepreneurs, content material creators, and straight-up electronic mail geeks.
Join with us on LinkedIn, observe us on Fb, and tweet at @EmailonAcid on Twitter for extra candy stuff and nice convos on electronic mail advertising.
