marketing, web development, graphic design blog

• How to improve your email newsletters;

  Getting the layout and content right for an e-newsletter is a creative technique and ultimately effects how your readers perceive your brand. If you’re involved with this process then read on as we’ve put together a few pointers to steer you in the right direction. 

• Promote your logo to be instantly recognisable.

 You might already use a company logo on your designs, but is this large enough so that people know who their email is from before they press the delete button? Also, repetition of design elements and the use of company colours will also help promote and re-enforce the identity.

• Talk to your audience using jargon free terminology. 

Heavy use of Jargon in headers and content is off putting. Be educational but also remember who you are writing for.

• Titles should fit in with the theme and guide your readers through the layout.

Using bolded sub headings and strong emphasis points with italics will provide structure and clarity, instantly informing what lays ahead. Avoid obvious and boring titles and keep away from underlining text as this creates confusion with hyperlinks.

• Don't make your e-newsletter like a music poster with loud backgrounds and block text (unless you are a music promoter).

Be subtle with the contrast and ensure colours complement each other, using sufficient contrast between text and background.

• A lot can be said about white space in design techniques.

Use this space wisely to control and give relaxation to the reader’s eye. Text will be much easier to follow resulting in a far great experience.

• Don’t add borders and shading just for the sake of it.

Your layout should have enough natural alignment through the use of placed images and text, without the need for harsh borders and containers.

• As a rule, no more than two font types.

Structure can be added using different font sizes and emphasis such as bold or italic. Plan your layout with header 1 , header 2, sub 1, sub 2 etc. Be consistent throughout and stay away from overly decorative text, unless appropriate to your brand.

• Try to add images but keep them relevant to your story or products.

Avoid making your e-newsletter into a photo album (unless you’re a photographer). We hope the above tips will help go towards improving the layout and design of your e-newsletters, resulting in a greater experience for your readers. If this all seems a bit too much then why not pass it on to us, we would gladly take this over for you as part of our integrated email newsletter service.

Tags: e-newsletter, email newsletters

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 at 4:30 pm and is filed under How To Do..., Internet Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.