Many email marketing websites offer pre-built templates to help email marketers run their email campaigns. But, if you want to leave a lasting impression on your readers, there is no substitute for custom professional email templates. Here are 5 areas that you should focus on while creating a custom email template.
Ingredients for cooking up the perfect custom email template
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Subject line
A study shows that about half the people open their emails based on the subject line. And, about 69% of the people send their emails to the spam folder directly from their inboxes if they find the subject line to be sketchy. The stats make it pretty evident that a good subject line can help you win half of the war. Subject lines should be brief and curiosity-inducing. Also, they need to be compelling enough to make the subscriber interact with the email.
A perfect subject line should be concise and describe what the reader can expect from the email. However, try not to overpromise in your subject lines. If your readers are constantly disappointed after reading your emails, they are less likely to interact with your emails in the future. Try to avoid spam words in your emails as they might trigger the filter of the email service providers. Creating urgency with your subject lines is another go-to technique for email marketers while crafting the subject line.
Emojis can be used in the subject lines of your custom email templates to add another dimension to them. But, be careful when using emojis, as some emoji hand signs might mean different things to different cultures. Lastly, always A/B test your emails to plaster any chinks in your subject line.
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Email header
The email header is one of the first things the reader will see when they open your email. This is a great place to let your subscribers know about the sender. Use this place to enter your name or the name of your brand. Your brand logo should also be clearly visible without taking up too much space. The email header is also used by email marketers to re-affirm the intent of their email. Whether it’s a transactional email or a notification email, the reader should be able to easily identify from the header.
You can experiment with the alignment of the email header to figure out the orientation that works best for you. Most commonly, the brand logos and other necessary information are kept on the left side. Using colors in your email headers is a great way to grab the attention of the readers. Use the email headers to prepare your readers for what’s next in your custom email template.
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Email body
This is where the magic happens. You get the full creative freedom to design this area to make it interactive and engaging for your customers. You can add illustrations, GIFs, videos, and even interactive games. If you want to maintain a smaller file size of your email, you can experiment with custom fonts and illustrative typography.
There are only a few things that you want to keep in mind while designing this space. Ensure that the body of the email is not just a wall of text. Readers often find this off-putting and may start skipping your emails. Use the inverted triangle layout to guide the reader’s vision to the most important part of your email, the CTA. Gradient colors in your email can be used to achieve the same effect. You can even use a casual brand voice in your email templates to make them stand out in the inbox of your readers. However, ensure that whatever you are putting into your email aligns with your brand image.
The welcome email by Cat Person shows that you are only limited by your imagination while designing the email body. The email copy lets the reader know about the vision and the mission of their brand. They have used an interesting layout that showcases their products and has images of their “target consumers” enjoying the product. Cat Person has used softer colors in conjunction with the white spaces of the template to make their email look appealing.
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Personalization
Personalization has become an integral part of professional email templates. Personalization allows you to connect more with your audience compared to simple mass emails. Before you start personalizing your emails, you have to use segmentation tactics to create different segments for your customers. Then, you use the information collected from your customers to funnel them into these segments. Once the segments are ready, you can start personalizing your custom emails.
The salutation of your email is a good place to start your personalization journey. Slowly and steadily, you can start adding more personalized areas in your emails. You can add the contact information of your local stores based on the location of your customers. You can also include the details about their previous purchases in your recommendation emails. Personalization is not a luxury anymore; it has become a necessity as more than 92% of the customers are expecting personalized emails in their inboxes.
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Email footer
While footer buttons are usually treated as an afterthought, their importance should not be underestimated. It is a critical component of a professional email template. The footer of your custom emails should contain an easy method to unsubscribe from your email list. You can also use this area to plug in your brand’s social media handles and other necessary contact information. Isn’t the footer of the email from Cat Person (shown above) just so perfect and cute?!
Conclusion
Custom templates help you create emails that have lasting impressions on your readers. Having a consistent brand voice and aesthetic will help the readers easily identify your emails. Custom email templates can also drastically increase your engagement rates. Well, there is no reason why you should not design a custom template for your next email campaign.
