E-Mail Marketing –
Copywriting & Design
Angela D’Auria Stanton, Ph.D.
E-Mail Marketing
Copywriting for E-Mail:
Best Practices
Axiom 1:
Nine times out of ten the buying decision is an
emotional one
Axiom 2:
A buyer’s emotional decisions must be backed up
by real live and beneficial facts
Axiom 3:
You must establish rapport for e-mail marketing to
be successful – to do this you must know your
customer
Generating Response
Teaser
copy
Prospects opens
e-mail - the “greeting”
Features
and
Benefits
USP
Call
to
Action
Copy draws him or
her in
Excitement
(momentum) builds
He/she has to have
what you’re selling
How Good Copy is Constructed

The “greeting” and the interest begins – your subject line is
where you need to generate interest

The interest grows – this is where your promise is made

The tease – you want to tell the reader enough to pique
his/her curiosity but you need to hold back a few things so
they will read further or respond

Features and benefits duly noted – the features of your
product or service should be discussed, as well as the direct
benefits they provide to your reader
How Good Copy is Constructed

The laying out of your unique selling proposition (USP) –
this is what sets a company apart from its competition

The answer to the promise – you need to be able to show the
reader how your product or service can work for him/her. If
you can, provide customer testimonials – give them proof

The final close – wrap up your offer, your benefits, your USP
and why your product is the best solution…and ask for the
order. To entice them further, offer an added incentive if
he/she responds now.
Copy Details and Tricks of the Trade
Rule 1: Avoid repetitive statements and redundancies

In an e-mail you don’t have the time to be verbose.

Do not repeat a thought more than once.

Take a hard look at your final copy and check for areas
that can be cut.

The goal is to have an attention-grabbing, yet tight, piece
of prose
Copy Details and Tricks of the Trade
Rule 2: Write like you talk

You must give your reader the feeling that someone is
speaking directly to him/her.

Even though the reader can’t respond or talk back while
they’re reading, you can address this by anticipating every
objection, then answering each – one by one.

Lay out the features and benefits; demonstrate your offer
and/or product; showcase your USP.
Copy Details and Tricks of the Trade
Rule 3: Don’t be concerned with grammatical rules

Sometimes perfect is boring.

The spoken dialog is not always grammatically correct.

Beware, though, that a verbal message can contain vocal
nuances and body language that written copy cannot.
Copy Details and Tricks of the Trade
Rule 4: Get excited about your product

This is of utmost importance.

You must get emotional about what you are promoting.

Love what you sell and if you can’t truly love it, pretend
that you do. That excitement, energy and emotion will
come through in your e-mail.
The 5 Parts of an E-Mail
From: Sample E-Mailer [mailto: you@yourdotcom.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 7, 2003 3:21 PM
Subject: Here’s YOUR Chance to Win a One-of-a-Kind Dream Vacation
2. From Line
1. Subject Line
Now is YOUR opportunity to Win a One-of-a-Kind Dream Vacation*
3. Introduction
http://www.url.com
Ever sail the azure waters of the West Indies? Explore fairy tale castles
of the Bavarian Alps? Now you can …thanks to the travel guidebook
writers and experts at 12Degrees who specialize in creating customized
vacations of a lifetime! To find out how you can enjoy the custom trip of
your dreams, visit today:
4. Body Copy
http://www.url.com
Our Privacy Pledge: 12Degrees will use your personal information solely
for the purpose of enhancing your experience with our site. We will not
sell, rent or trade your personal information to third parties. For more
information please review 12Degrees Privacy Policy.
*Your unforgettable getaway can be valued as high as $15,000! And
there is absolutely no obligation, so visit today!
5. Call to Action
The From Line (A.K.A., The Sender)

People want to know who the sender is before
they open the e-mail (65% say this is what
causes them to decide whether or not to open
the e-mail)

Use this as an opportunity to be creative and
stand out among the crowd of e-mail
marketers
The Subject Line

It must grab the reader’s attention without sounding
like spam

You have less than 3 seconds to persuade reader to
open the mail

Should try to do it in 30 – 50 characters (including
spaces)

Make it good – show your biggest benefit, your most
interesting statement, your most enticing teaser here
Subject Line Approaches

The direct approach



Do not try to be cute or funny (unless a cutesy
tone fits your offer as well as your audience)
State the facts
Examples of successful headlines:


We’re looking for people to write children’s books
(Institute for Children’s Literature)
A Perfect Cup of Coffee (Gevalia Coffee)
Subject Line Approaches

The benefits approach



Entice people to read further by the possible
benefits the subject line promises
Regardless of approach, you should always try to
weave a benefit into the subject line
Examples:


We’re going to spoil you (Literary Guild)
More Ways to Make the Most of Your Money
(Quicken.com)
Subject Line Approaches

The question approach


These can work because they involve the reader –
people will read the question and try to answer it
in their minds
Examples:


Do you have what it takes to be a millionaire? (Hume
Publishing)
Want to be financially independent? (Hume
Publishing)
Subject Line Approaches

The Teaser Approach


Easy to incorporate because you can use your
most interesting tidbits of information as part of
what is not yet disclosed.
Examples:



What never to eat on an airplane. (Boardroom
Reports)
Trigger your body’s own natural immunities (Rodale
Press)
Live the (intellectual) adventure! (Levenger.com)
Subject Line Approaches

The Cultural Tie-in Approach


You can grab attention with a subject line that fits
your offer and can be tied to a newsworthy or
popular piece of information
Example:

Is that your final answer? (Stamps.com) – done
during the initial run of Who Wants to be a
Millionaire
Subject Line Approaches

The personalized approach



Can be used with other approaches
Easy enough to do but loses effectiveness when
used too often
Examples:



Is your [wife, mother-in-law, boss, etc.] driving you
nuts? Here’s help….
How to have ____ forever!
Your gift certificate is in this e-mail
Personalization

Recipients were more likely
to open and click on emails
that used personalized
subject lines and messages.

Try including the recipient's
name and/or some other
information about them in
your subject line and body
of the message.

But, using too much
personalization may make
your email appear spam
like.

Don't over do it!
Rules to Write the Subject Line Right



Read the newspaper
Support the “from” line
List key info first
(check out http://www.emaillabs.com/resources/from_subject_line_tool_popup.html)



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


Open rates don’t always measure success
Urgency drives action
Avoid words/symbols that spammers use such as "!!!," or "$“.
“Free” is not evil (always)
Lead but don’t mislead
Test, test, test
Can you pass the must-open/must-read test?
Successful Subject Lines*
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
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










By Noon this Wednesday, Urge GOP to Put “Conserve” Back into Conservatism
5 Reasons to Register this Week
If you’re not booked with clients tomorrow, you can’t afford to skip this
Stop Dilly-Dallying! It’s Mother’s Day, for Pete’s Sake
Karen, Proflowers Secret Sales for E-Mail Customers Only
ONE DAY Sale – July 23rd ONLY! Save on a Comprehensive Report
Score Season Tickets – And Sneak a Peek At Sunday’s Circular
Are You Today’s Winner? Play Now
Members Only – 5 Days to Save
Just a Few Spots Left for this Event
Last chance….
Last call….
Top 10 Reasons To Attend [Event Name]
You Decide. Or They Will
Strategic Analysis CD-ROM Reserved for You
Karen Gedney: We Have Not Received Your RSVP Yet
Execs Share Top 4 Concerns (And Where They’ll Be Dec. 8 – 10)
* Karen Gedney, “Get Your Readers to Order Today,” ClickZ.com
The Introduction





The first thing your reader sees when he/she opens
up the e-mail
This is where the promise is made and the reader’s
hope begins
Must be brief – no more than 1 short paragraph –
sometimes it mimics the subject line
Consider including links
Make the benefits and the offer completely clear
Introduction Example
“FREE trial offer – Your child can star in an
amazing highlights video . . . FREE when you sign
up at http://www.youcanbeastar.com.”
Benefits:
1. YOUR child can be a star and
2. It’s FREE
Introduction Example
“Welcome to OneMADE, a thriving online community of talented
artisans and passionate buyers. Now YOU can have a highly visible
‘storefront’ to showcase your handcrafted items. Best of all, register now
and you won’t pay ANY commission on your first sale. (And trust us you WILL have a first sale. And a second. And a third . . .)”
Promises
1. The artists and craftspeople who receive this message will save
money on their first sale.
2. There will be more sales to follow
The Body

This is where you bring it home

It’s where you explain how you’re going to provide
the benefits outlined in the subject and intro

Make it snappy and not too lengthy

Load it with benefit rich copy
Body Copy

Benefits

The USP

The offer

Prove it
Details and that Extra “Oomph”

Break up the copy into small paragraphs

“Sprinkle” links (located with your calls to
action) throughout the message

Create a sense of urgency

Use capitalization for emphasis
Effective Body Copy Boils Down To:






Your claim or promise appears to be sound
The benefits are made crystal clear
Your USP is highlighted effectively
A sense of urgency is created with a limited
time or similar offer
You’ve made it easy to read
You’ve made it easy to respond
The Close

Sum it up for the reader

Ask the reader to do something (buy,
subscribe, register, etc.)

You can make it more special by giving the
reader another carrot
E-Mail Marketing
Design for E-Mail:
Best Practices
Angela D’Auria Stanton, Ph.D.
HTML vs. Plain Text

HTML can currently be read by about 85 percent of Internet users, to be
on the safe side it is better to create both HTML and text versions of your
email promotion and use software or a provider that can auto-detect the
users email capability and sent the proper format.

When doing HTML e-mails you can’t just attach an HTML file and a
bunch of images to a message and hit “send”. You also can’t just paste all
of you code into an email application or you will likely see raw source
code.

If you do not have that capability then you can try using a very simple
HTML format without many graphics that will convert reasonably well to
plain type, if the user cannot display HTML.

HTML has proven to pull better than plain text in most online research
studies.
Creating a Text E-Mail

Write your text promotion in a plain text editor such as
NotePad or WordPad (but not Word) – you need an
application that provides no formatting whatsoever.

Most e-mail applications start to wrap your plain text
messages at about 60 characters (including spaces) so you
should enter a hard return after each line gets about 60
characters long.

Split up your paragraphs to leave more white space between
each of them. One liners are common in text e-mail
because they are easy to view.

You can’t code a clickable link with plain-text e-mail. You
just have to type out the entire URL (although some
applications will make it clickable). Format so that each
URL link is showcased on its own line.

Asterisks are good for creating bulleted items (make sure
you use the space bar and not the tab key after an asterisk).

Use a courier font because it is fixed width (meaning each
and every character is the same size).

Do not use italics, underlining and bolding – only use
capitalization limitedly.
Tools of the Trade

A design application (e.g. Fireworks, Illustrator) to layout
your template

A good “pure” HTML/Text editor. Do not use a WYSIWIG
tool (like FP, Dreamweaver, GoLive) as they insert extra
code that can cause the e-mail to not work properly or it may
set off spam filters

Your own web server to host all of your images and archives

An FTP program to move all of your files from your
computer to your mail server

A test machine (or two or three) loaded with as many
different e-mail applications and accounts as possible
Design Guidelines
Set your width to
about 500-600 pixels
Most recipients will be
looking at email
through their “preview
pane” which is usually
a small portion of their
available screen size
Design Guidelines

Simple Layouts and Tables Work Best



Keep the design nice and simple and avoid too many complicated
layouts, embedded tables and tables with too many rows and
columns.
If your tables are getting too complex, think about chopping it up into
separate tables -- more simple tables are better than one big complex
table
Browser-based (Gmail, Hotmail, etc.) Email
Considerations


Background colors in the <body> tag will be lost so place your entire
e-mail in a table and set a background color for that table
If you use Cascade Style Sheets (CSS), use embedded CSS and make
sure it’s below the <body> tag
Design Guidelines

Avoid 1x1 pixel spacer gifs

Spammers use them and this may flag your email as spam

Keep message file size under 100 kb

You may want to provide a link to a web version of your
e-mail

Use image alt tags

These show 1 or 2 words describing an image or an action if an image
doesn’t display because of slow loading or image blocking
Design Guidelines

Use horizontal rather than vertical layout

This allows readers who scroll down in the preview pane to see more
content in the pane

Navigation in your email should reflect your web site
navigation – make sure the navigation is consistent

Font & Font Size



Use universally supported fonts (e.g. Arial, Helvetica) for your
message. If you include a font not loaded on your recipients’
machines, their email clients will substitute different fonts which can
affect your design.
If you must use a special font (such as within a company logo), use it
within an image
Studies show that web users prefer arial, verdana and tahoma
Design Guidelines

Color

Use white or very light-colored background with a dark to
medium font color to provide easy readability

Beware of using white as a font color – many spam filters
key on white in a font tag as a possible spam trigger

Buttons, charts and other supporting images should use
the colors of your design elements to pull the reader’s eye
to the images. Make sure the text color used on your
images is readable (and make sure the recipient
understands the action)
Design Guidelines

CSS in HTML email


Stay away from CSS positioning because it won’t work.
Only use it for simple font formatting and colors (if used
at all).
Before sending an HTML email, delete the CSS and see
what it looks like
Gmail stripped out virtually all of the
CSS! Where did the font sizes, font
colors, and line-height go? And
since the fonts are so much larger in
Gmail, it could have blown out the table
cells. But notice the top line (next to the
peeking chimp). It wrapped the text into 2
rows. Blech!
Design Guidelines

Flash, JavaScript, ActiveX, movies and other
stuff won’t work in HTML email

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Most recipients won’t be able to view HTML emails with
Flash in them (you can in Outlook and Apple Mail)
Most people have anti-virus applications that block the
code to embed Flash movies
If you have great animation or movie to show, include a
simple, intriguing GIF or JPEG graphic in your HTML
email and link it to a “landing page” on your web site with
the animation in it.
Design Guidelines

Image Files in HTML Email


Do not embed images in your e-mail – some ISPs
will filter emails with embedded images AND the
file size can get quite large with multiple
embedded images
Host images on your web server and “pull them
in” your e-mail using an absolute path
Anatomy of a Good HTML Email
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Some Email Templates
http://www.mailchimp.com/resources/templates/
Your company name in the “From.”
A relevant subject line so they instantly know
who the email is from, and what it’s about
The “To:” field of your email should be
personalized to the recipient’s name, not their
email address
A one-click opt-out link that removes people
from your list immediately. Consider placing
it at the top of your email (as well as in the
footer), so that people who want off your list
can find it really easy.
In addition to your opt-out link, you might
also include a link in your header for
recipients to “view this email in your
browser.” Point it to an archived version of
your email on your server. This helps if the
email got forwarded to friends, and then got
mangled along the way.
A link to your company’s privacy policy
should be in your email
Your valid, physical mailing address (P.O.
Boxes aren’t good enough), and as much
contact information as possible.
Four Main Design Principles
1.
Proximity -- Items that are related should be
grouped together

This makes your design look organized and tight.

Grouping together like-minded objects or text helps
make it easier for the reader to follow the message.

There is a clear beginning and a clear ending.

The copy flows better.
Example Without Proximity
Your Place for Golf
VISIT . . .
1-800-555-1212
GOLF COACH
CONNECTION
www.golfcoachconnection.com
Notice how your eye doesn’t know where to go and that the “visit” is not connected to
where it should be
Example with Proximity
Visit . . .
GOLF COACH CONNECTION
Your Place for Golf
www.golfcoachconnection.com
1-800-555-1212
The eye naturally scans the information in the way it was intended.
Incorporating Proximity

Take your text and graphics and separate them into
pieces of information that belong together.

Play around with each group to see how you can fit
them together. Add titles to text and subtitles to
graphics if necessary.

Once each group is formatted, put them all together
on the page.
Four Main Design Principles
2.
Layout and Alignment – No single element should be placed
on a page at random – there should be a visual connection
between all elements of your design.
Example of Poor Layout and Alignment
John Smith
Marketing Director
1-800-555-1212
GOLF COACH CONNECTION
123 Main Street
Phoenix, AZ
A Better Layout
GOLF COACH CONNECTION
John Smith
Marketing Director
123 Main Street
Phoenix, AZ
1-800-555-1212
Alignment: Things to Keep in Mind

Think about how all of the elements of your
design “fit” together. Make sure that each is
aligned with something else. Think of each
element – or group of elements – as being
connected with an invisible line.

Try to make your main alignment either left
or right aligned because they have more
visual strength than a center alignment.
Four Main Design Principles
3.
Repetition - This principal applies to the repetition
of some component or element in your design.
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This can include a color, a line, a headline, a font, a bold
or italicized word etc.
Repetition, if used properly within a design, creates a
look of consistency.
Repetition also helps to unify various pieces of a design,
making them appear as one.
Repetition Rules of Thumb

Use it sparingly – too much can detract from the
entire design

Repetition should be used as an accent, not as the
main element of your design

Think about where you can use it.

If you don’t use it in too many places, you’re safe in
having a strong repetitive component
Four Main Design Principles
4.
Balance and Contrast

Balance is the symbiotic relationship between two
elements of design

Contrast is created when two elements are completely
different

The trick is that there must be a relationship between
balance and contrast.


You can contrast, and therefore balance light against dark, bold
against fine, a strong font against a fine one.
When graphics and text flow together and are easily viewed by
the reader, you have a balanced design
Before Balance & Contrast
GOLF COACH CONNECTION
John Smith
Marketing Director
123 Main Street
Phoenix, AZ
1-800-555-1212
Balance & Contrast Examples
GOLF COACH CONNECTION
John Smith
Marketing Director
123 Main Street
Phoenix, AZ
1-800-555-1212
GOLF COACH CONNECTION NEWS
This is a serif font. Notice the contrast between the bold, san-serif headline above against
this text below. This kind of contrast is good for newsletters, print, e-mail promotions and
advertisements
More Design Rules

Do not overuse capitalization – lowercase is easier to
read, although an occasional capitalized headline can
add more impact – too much and it may drown the
rest of the design.

Avoid too much spacing between lines

Negative space is importance (white space – but can
also be a color or background)

Avoid too much of any one element
Rules for HTML E-Mail Design

Avoid large blocks of text
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E-mail copy must be brief -- copy can be cumbersome to
read online, so too much of it can quickly cause your
reader to become disinterested.
Break your copy into manageable “chunks”.
Make sure there is enough white space between
groupings.
Organize each group according to theme or sub-theme.
Example
Rules for HTML E-Mail Design

Don’t overcrowd with too many graphics and text

Best rule of thumb is to make good use of your space
and/or your negative (unused) space surrounding your text
and graphics.

You need your negative space to give your message room
to breathe but you don’t want so much that it overpowers
the message.
Example
Rules for HTML E-Mail Design

Include clear banners and headers

Many marketers end up putting their sites' navigational bar (or a
version of it) at the top or the side of their email promotions. This can
often work well, particularly if your goal is to encourage visitors to go
to various areas of your site.
Brookstone web site
Email from Brookstone
Rules for HTML E-Mail Design

Make your links clear

The call to action is the critical part of your message. You
should include more than one call to action. Such as;
“Click here to download your free trial software . . .” and
“Register today for . . .”.

Use embedded links so you do not have to show a long or
ugly URL in your HTML message.
Rules for HTML E-Mail Design

Link everything

In addition to linking your call to action, you should
consider embedding links within text that offers certain
products or services.

If the reader wants expanded information he or she can
click on the link and be brought to the appropriate landing
page.

Be sure to link your logo to your home page.

Make even your graphics clickable (and linkable).
The Way We Look at E-Mail
Winner
Loser
Subject Line
Subject Line
ExactTarget: Please Confirm Your Email
Subscription
Don't Miss Out On Your ExactTarget Newsletter
Source: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/cs/et/study.html
After You Design the Email

Test Your Email

Different Email Applications

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Browser-based Email Services

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AOL, Apple Mail and Apple Entourage, Microsoft
Outlook 2000 and 2003; Outlook Express, Lotus
Notes, Eudora, Mozilla Thunderbird
Yahoo!Mail, Gmail, Hotmail
Different ISPs
What to Test (besides design)

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Subject line
Layout, color and format
Offer placement - if you send multiple products in an e-mail,
try switching them around; moving an item from bottom to
top could change the e-mail’s performance
Offer - You might get a response when you offer 25% off?
What if you got the same results with 10% or no discount at
all?
Call to action - see if you get more transactions with a to-thepoint “Buy Now” link or a lower obligation “Learn More”
link
Landing page – can make or break your campaign. Keep the
messages identical except for the URL of the destination page
Frequency – Send at different intervals and watch your
metrics for activity change
Final Thoughts:
Content is always more important than format.
If your product or service is presented well, the
format is a simple matter of choice.
Remember that HTML usually outperforms
plain text.