Newsletters are an important part of any marketing strategy. However, businesses still struggle to get emails read. Personalized emails have an open rate of 50 percent, which is a lot higher than what non-personalized emails receive. But, merely getting it read is not enough. You need to ensure your readers take your desired action and a lot depends on how you design your newsletter.
Here are a few questions to answer when designing your newsletter:
- Does your newsletter convey the image of your brand?
- Do readers have a reason to read your newsletter?
- Does it help build your credibility?
- Does it stand out from the thousands of other newsletters people get in their inboxes every single day?
While designing a newsletter is no walk in the park, there are certain tips that can make the process easier. Here are some:
Match the Design to Your Brand
Newsletters that match the branding of the actual website are more likely to be opened because viewers know that they’re coming from a reputable source. This is because 59% of people choose to make purchases from brands they are familiar with. Also, we shouldn’t neglect the sad reality of spam emails. You can fight this evil by designing your newsletters according to your theme.
Here are a few tips:
- Place your logo to add authenticity. The logo can be placed in a variety of ways. You can put it at the top, bottom, middle, etc. Consider playing with opacity to make things even more interesting.
- Pay close attention to the color palette of your website. Make sure that the color palette of your newsletter matches or is close to the one you’ve used for your website. However, don’t neglect the importance of readability. Your newsletter should still be readable. Some colors may look good on your site but not on the newsletter, so be careful.
- Some brands have a fixed call-to-action button or phrase that they use with every ad. If your brand has one, make sure to include it within the newsletter.
The idea is to allow readers to link newsletters to your site. This will not just improve loyalty but also get more people to read your message.
Adopt a Color Block Design
Instead of having all of your information cluttered in one space, separate it into various blocks. Don’t let anything stop you, be creative and create unique blocks. You can differentiate between blocks through color, design, and text.
Color blocking is one of the most popular tricks as it increases readability and allows the reader to retain more information. Most people only skim through content. You need to grab their attention to ensure they grasp your message and do as you desire.
Also, color blocking adds value to the content of your newsletter and makes it look good. You only need to be careful about how you use these blocks. It is best to use this technique to highlight special messages such as a quote or a special offer.
Be creative and come up with unique designs but don’t compromise on readability and make sure the colors that you use go well with each other.
Minimalism over Maximalism
Minimalistic designs for newsletters are the new trend. When you fill your newsletter with too many design elements, you actually shift away from the main purpose of a newsletter, which is to inform readers.
If you choose multiple color palettes, font sizes, illustrations, and typefaces, you will have to dedicate a lot of time to make all the elements work together. This is both tricky and time consuming. Plus, it could distract readers.
Avoid this problem by sticking to a single color palette and font. If you’re unsure of what a ‘minimalistic design’ looks like for a newsletter, you can always look for ready-to-use newsletter templates. They are easy to use and suitable for all kinds of businesses.
Add Visual Elements
Visuals make things stand out and attract people. They can be used to make your newsletters look better and highlight special elements. Clickable visual elements in your newsletter can pique the interest of readers and make them click your given links.
Remember that about 48% of people open newsletters in hopes of finding discount codes and vouchers. You can use visuals to highlight such codes and improve your CTR.
Visual elements that you can be inserted in your newsletter include:
- Relevant photos of the product you are describing, or the subject you are writing about.
- Instead of writing down all of the benefits of your product, insert an infographic that covers all the points in a creative way.
- Clickable animations that include your call-to-action button.
- A high-resolution video that details what the newsletter says.
Be sure to use genuine images of your company or product. Images must be of high quality and relevant. This trick can build trust with your readers and improve loyalty.
Incorporate a Call-to-Action Button
This might sound like an obvious tip but a lot of people neglect this one. A CTA is important to get people to take your desired action. The button tells people exactly what action to take and can be very effective in bringing you more traffic, buyers, and clicks.
Don’t go for boring CTAs and include interesting buttons and make sure to place your CTA in a clever manner.
Here are a few tips to remember:
- Use a color that is distinguishable from the color palette you’ve used for the rest of your newsletter. However, it must not stand out like a sore thumb and should go well with the theme.
- Place the button where it is easily noticeable. But, make sure it doesn’t distract users.
- The button should be the right size. Buttons that are too large will distract users and buttons that are too small may go unnoticed.
Conclusion
Those are some of the basic tips for designing a newsletter. The key lies in coming up with a design that looks good and is easy to navigate. It should sync well with your brand and still look unique. Try out different designs to find the one that best fits your brand.
