For eCom brands, designed emails are essential for generating revenue.
When to use it:
- If you sell a very visual product, use design emails.
- When you want to take pressure off of your copywriter and hand it off to your designer, use design emails.
- When you want to stay more ‘on brand’ and capture the colors/logos/themes of the brand, use design emails.
- When you have access to a designer, or you’re a good designer yourself, use design emails.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy to write copy for design emails – most of the work is on the designer. | Design emails may not deliver as well |
| Design emails are engaging and will skyrocket your click-through rate. | Less freedom and creativity in copywriting |
| Useful for visually appealing products | Reliant on a skilled designer |
There’s a reason why the biggest eCom brands, i.e. Gymshark, often use design emails.
It works.
Good design gets your customers excited and inspired to try your product.
While I’m not a designer myself, our team at Strike Copy has some very talented designers.
And they’ve put together this SOP for you guys to steal.
Let’s cover some of the key design principles.
Optimise Above-the-fold
In order to get them to click through your offer, you need to pull them in and deliver your message efficiently. A great way of doing this is by making good use of the above-the-fold section. Mainly, the section that appears in the first scroll on your computer or phone screen. You want to deliver your message without needing the user to scroll. You’ll give a better experience to your customers and optimise for the click. You want to be able to fit:- Header
- Sub header
- Call-to-action
An effective email header stands out, clearly communicates what the message is about, and gives a good reason to keep reading it.
Keep in mind, your ATF appears very differently from Mobile and Desktop.
So if you can’t get all 3 mentioned components to fit on Desktop at least make the header enticing enough to tease a scroll.
Use Images Strategically
The pictures you use are worth 1000 words.
Every image you use has to have a specific purpose that adds to the persuasive power of your email.
Here are some angles you could take:
1. Lifestyle shots: Showcase your products in real-life situations or settings that resonate with your target audience.
This helps customers visualise how they can use and benefit from your products.
2. User-generated content (UGC): Encourage customers to share their own images using your products.
This adds authenticity, builds trust, and highlights the real-world experiences of your customers.
3. Flat lay photography: Arrange your products and related items aesthetically on a flat surface and take a photo from above.
This type of photography is visually appealing and can showcase multiple items at once.
4. Before and after shots: Show the transformation or improvement that your product can bring about, either through side-by-side images or a slider effect.
5. Animated GIFs or videos: Create short animations or videos that showcase your products in action or highlight specific features.
This can help grab attention and provide more information than a static image.
Note: When you’re using GIFs, make sure they’re not too big or they’ll take forever to load for your subscribers. It’s tempting to use high-quality, long animations, but they can also hurt your email deliverability.
6. Product close-ups: Create short animations or videos that showcase your products in action or highlight specific features.
This can help grab attention and provide more information than a static image.
7. Seasonal or themed images: Create images that align with different seasons, holidays, or popular trends to keep your content fresh and relevant.
Try following the 60/40 rule when designing emails – 60% text and 40% images.
Optimise For Mobile
Over 60% of emails are opened on mobile devices.
If your design doesn’t look good on mobile you are losing potential revenue.
1 way to get around this?
Use a single-column design, or as web designers call it, mobile-first design.
Design with the intention of looking good on mobile first and by default it will look good on desktop too.
Design with Dynamic Content in Mind
You can Dynamic content to personalise for your subscribers.
You can even change entire sections of your email to make it more relevant and appealing to subscribers.
For example, you could show menswear to male subscribers and womenswear to female subscribers.
Nike did this in one of their emails – check it out:
Optimise your CTAs
Your CTAs don’t have to be fancy, they just need to work. You need to at least have 2 CTAs in your emails.- Above the fold, as we said earlier.
- At the bottom of the email
White Space
White space is the blank area around your paragraphs, images, and call to action buttons.
Adding white space around the elements in your email gives your reader’s eyes a break and helps them focus on what’s important.
Plus, it makes your email look less cluttered and more inviting.
And eliminates the possibility of choice overload.
Less is more when it comes to email design.
