Designs that sell

We continue to focus on providing you with the keys to effective eMail Marketing. For this reason we can’t allow another issue of our newsletter to go out without speaking about “Design”: the art that dresses creativity.

All those of us who work as professionals in digital marketing have observed how, on occasion, it has been difficult to explain why some campaigns have worked from the first moment, while others have gone completely unnoticed by our users. Obviously, when this happens it is not usually down to just one reason, and the thing that we almost always look at first is the design and the message.

After more than 10 years spent creating eMail Marketing campaigns, I can confirm that I still haven’t found the magical potion that turns an eMail into $. However, I usually follow a series of steps that limit and reduce my probability of failure.

In the first place, I centre my first objective on generating a good CTR on landing. Starting from this premise, I begin to build creativity. In these cases, the main thing is to “leave them hungry for more”. We try to make sure that the user recognises us at first glimpse and wants to know more. I’ll share some of my tricks with you.

• Relate the image to the objective.
• A claim that creates expectation. In my case, I usually use a lot of ambiguity.
• Very little text.
• Emphasise the strong points. No more than 5 (my “Unique Sale Proposal”)… Yes, I’m a romantic and I still think this “age-old” strategy is valid.
• Clearly identify where I want to generate the CTR from.
• Always adapt to mobile (the market penetration of mobiles makes this obligatory).
• And remember… On occasion, moving outside the limits of a conventional eMail can turn it into an absolute success.
• Try, try, and try again.