Even thought it’s been around ever since Al Gore invented the Internet(s), email marketing continues to resemble something similar to the Wild Wild West for many marketers.
And that’s exactly why so many marketers get it wrong, or fail to follow general best practices.
Marketers, by nature, like for things to look “pretty,” but pretty isn’t always “best” when it comes to email marketing.
Here are a few examples of where pretty becomes problematic:
- Sending out 100% graphic emails
- Sending out two column emails where the smaller right-hand column is packed full of “important” content
- Sending out emails with “beautiful” branded headers, footers and imagery throughout
Those are just three quick scenarios, but they are all problematic. Here’s why:
- Two rely heavily on imagery, and that’s a problem if the user doesn’t opt to download images
- One (possibly two) typically result in content overload since there’s so much “important” stuff to include
I’ve won and lost battles pertaining to email design, especially when it’s related to design and content. When I’ve lost, it was primarily because there wasn’t a practical way to conduct tests, and discussions were strictly based on opinion, which is typically a bad thing.
Email marketing can and should be tested. And then tested again. It’s pretty much as simple as that. Subject lines, paragraph length, number of links, link copy, writing styles, use of imagery (and more) can impact the success of an email, and testing will help you determine what is or isn’t working.
There are a few ways to test emails, but from my experience Aweber.com makes this process stupid easy. It’s the system I personally use for various websites, and think its rock solid. Within minutes you can create a test and get your email in your audiences Inbox.
If you aren’t testing your emails, you should consider signing up for a tool such as Aweber and let the data do the talking. It’ll quickly let you know how those “pretty” emails are doing.
