Design

Happy *Almost* 2018! Email marketers, gurus, and geeks: we're almost there. The whirlwind of a holiday season is coming to a close, but the start of the new year is an important time to check in with readers. Aside from (new) promotional campaigns, plenty of brands also send year-in-review digests, reflections on the past 12 months, or simple thank you notes to subscribers. However you're celebrating, we tip our hats to you for all your hard work! For those finishing a New Year's email design or for those just getting started, we have some inspiring New Year's emails for you. Plus, we're also offering a free New Year's email template! Read on.

GIF from a January 1 email from Bloomingdale's

*New* New Year's email template from BEE

Ready-made mobile-responsive email templates can help you send a campaign fast.Having a library of email templates to choose from is actuallyone of the top considerations email gurus makewhen choosing or recommending an ESP. They're a great option when you're in need of inspiration or if your design resources are limited—especially at busy times of theyear, like the holidays. That's why BEE designers have created a complete holiday set, with templates now available for:

• New Year's Eve or Day
• Valentine's Dayd
• Easter
• Mother's Day
• Father's Day
• 4th of July
• Halloween
• Thanksgiving
• Hanukkah
• Christmas

Our New Year's template is available now for all BEE Pro users (you can start a free trial immediately here!) Here's a look:

In keeping with all emails designed in BEE, the New Year's template is fully customizable, mobile responsive, and mobile optimized, with features like bulletproof buttons, live text headers, and body copy modules. In fact, all content in the first module, including the button, is editable so you can completely customize all of it.

Tips for customizing your template

BEE's drag-and-drop editor makes it easy to duplicate, rearrange, and update email modules to suit your needs. Here are a few tips for customization:

1. Check out the stock image library. If the images in the template don't fit your brand or message aesthetic, simply tap into our huge library of free stock photos, or import your own via the built-in file manager. For any image in an email, you can add filters, insert text overlay, crop, and so on.
2. Alter HTML background colors. This email template has a “boxed” look, along with shades of purple behind headers and modules, which helps separate content and make the email easy to read. But, you can change all these colors to suit your needs!
3. Create the perfect CTA button. BEE’s buttons are always fully customizable and bulletproof. Go ahead and change the color, height, width, font style, and more until you’re happy with them.
4. Adjust padding and spacing. The template's existing spacing is designed to give your message room to breathe. But you can always adjust the padding around an image, the spacing between modules, the buffer around a button, and more, until the message is exactly how you want it.
5. Preview. Use the built-in preview function in the upper left corner to check that your message looks great on mobile. Make adjustments as needed, then finish and download!

New Year's email design inspiration

Need fresh inspiration? Here are some fancy New Year emails from our inbox to get the creative juices flowing!

BirchBox Man

Sent January 1, 2017 |Subject: Hey There, 2017 is Yours for the Taking

Toms

Sent January 1, 2017 |Subject:New arrivals, new year

We love this animation:

Boll & Branch

Sent January 1, 2017 | Subject:We Want to Hear From You!

What a great idea to start the year off with a survey. For tips on how to build your own—including an in-email survey—check out our post where we dive into survey design.

Bloomingdale's

Sent January 1, 2017 | Subject:Rebecca, Our After-Christmas Sale Ends Today

Did you catch thepersonalization in the subject? Great attention-grabbing move.

Noble Desktop

Sent January 2, 2017 |Subject:Make Code Your New Year’s Resolution

Another great GIF using illustration:

Everlane

Sent January 2, 2017 | Subject:What's to come: Jan 2017

Love the idea of a simple calendar roll-out!

A few New Year's email design best practices to keep in mind

Whether you use our template or create your own New Year's email, here are a few quick tips to help guide your design decisions!

1. Images don't need to be the only visually interesting part of your email. You don't need a custom GIF to create a beautiful email! In addition to our stock image libraries, we also love bold HTML background colors to create a dynamic, visually-interesting email, along with optimal CTA button colors (here's how to choose).
2. Alternate between two typefaces. Also, make your headline at least 3x the size of your body copy.
3. Don’t say “Click here” or "Read more" on your CTA button. Tell readers what they should do using a clear, direct action verb. Try “Reserve my spot now” or “Get my free ticket.” Or, be playful! Hey, it's your email.
4. Make sure your message is accessible to everyone. If you missed it, we recently talked with Email on Acid CEO John Thies about why it's so important designers make their emails accessible, particularly to those who are vision impaired and use their phones differently.  
5. Prevent Gmail from clipping your email. If you're sending a long wrap-up or year-in-review email, make sure Gmail won't clip it. The email service clips HTML emails that are larger than 102 KB in size, and the Gmail App for iOS clips emails that are larger than 20KB. Read more on message clipping to make sure readers see everything you want them to!

As 2017 draws to a close, we're filled with gratitude for you, our beloved readers! We've rounded up your favorite Email Design Workshop posts so we can reflect on the biggest email design lessons of 2017.It's been a fantastic year of exploring and celebrating great email design, and we couldn't be more grateful that you tuned in. Our aim is to continue to make this an inspiring and informative space where we can all learn and grow together to send better and better emails. Cheers to more great email design in 2018! Before we roll into the new year, let's check out 2017's big email design takeaways. Here's what we learned!

#1. How to optimize event reminder emails

In our post, 5 Effective Strategies for Event Reminder Emails, we covered how to build an email thatkeeps registrants interested, provides essential event information, and helps bring in a final round of RSVPs. It's not an easy task! But it's an important one, and this was our most trafficked post of the year. In it, we took a closer look at how brands like General Assembly, Punchbowl, Course Horse, and Eventbrite design their emails for maximum impact.

#2. How to create a full bleed vs. limited width email

When an email has afull-bleed layout, the content has an edge-to-edge appearance. The design extends to the full width of your screen (typically more noticeable on desktop and tablets).On the other hand, in alimited-width design, content appears boxed in, typically surrounded by a pale HTML background color like gray. In this case, the width of the email's content remains fixed in and doesn’t stretch out. In our post, How to Design a Full-Bleed Vs Limited-Width Email Layout Design, we reviewed examples of both email types and showed you the super easy process of building either style.

An example of a boxed email from MOO

#3. What to consider when choosing an email platform

What should you consider when searching for the perfect ESP design tool? In this post, we asked email marketing gurus to weigh in. And wow, we got some great advice from design directors, marketing specialists, developers, and email consultants. HTML flexibility and customization were big ones, along with great templates, intuitive UI, and more.

#4. How to wow subscribers with personalized images in email

This was one of our favorite tutorials of the year, and readers agreed. We're not talking about how to use a merge tag in the subject line or body copy here; we're talking about personalized images.Adding dynamic content like this to email campaigns is becoming easier and easier. Our tutorial shows how to take any image from your emails and turn it into one that's personalized anddynamic so subscribers see their names appear! If you missed this post, definitely check it out. Big thanks to NiftyImages for making this awesome capability easier than ever!

#5. Why event follow-up emails are so important

Planning an event takes so much time and energy that it's easy to forget to plan for after the event. But following up with your audience after a webinar, conference, or gathering is such an important engagement opportunity. In our post, we talk about three big design tips for event follow-up emails.

#6. What to take away from this year's #LitmusLive in Boston

What email geek doesn't love a good Litmus conference? While we can't always travel to each location, every year we spend extra time gathering the top tips from the event so that everyone—near and far—can be in the know. And 2017's #LitmusLive takeaways did not disappoint. Read all 10 in our post, The Best Email Design Tips from #LitmusLive Boston 2017, including the one on taking email design risks and making apologies.

#7. What makes a great header design

What makes a great header? This might not be something you consider in your day-to-day email design, especially when working with templates, but the header is the first thing a reader sees when opening your email. A header counts! This post includes5 simple, highly effective tips for your email header design.

#8. How to re-engage subscribers with an abandoned registration email that works

As consumers, we love simple, easy, single-click tasks. But not everything can be accomplished that quickly, and keeping customers engaged throughout a path to purchase can seem like a daunting feat. Often, users walk away from the registration process.Enter abandoned registration emails. We looked at how brands like HBO, Hulu, Indiegogo, and Resy re-engage potential customers who have walked away mid-signup. There are some great design tricks here!

#9. What you should do to prep for holiday email campaigns in July

It feels like we just worked on this post yesterday, and now it's the end of December! This post is still a great heads-up to help you get ready for next year! #2018goals, right? We covered 10ways to get ahead of end-of-year campaigns during slow summer months. You'll be glad you did.

#10. How to use  millennial pink in your email design

We have to say, even after sharing this post, we continued (and still continue) to see millennial pink everywhere in email! Pantone declared it the color of the year in 2016, but at this rate, we don't think it's going out of style anytime soon. Incorporating the color doesn't have to mean making all your emails the color of the sunset. We looked at creative ways brands are using pink, and we think you might be inspired, too.

...And that's a wrap! Thank you again for following Email Design Workshop this year! If there were posts you found especially helpful, and if there are ones you want to see in 2018, we're all ears (and eyes)! Let us know in the comments. And best wishes for a happy 2018, from inboxes and beyond!

This time of year, it feels like Christmas morning in our inbox every day! The promotions, special deals, once-a-year offers, and creative, clever emails are rolling in. This season's holiday emails do not disappoint. There's enough inspiration here to last all year. We've been assessing brands' strategies over the past few weeks, and we've rounded up the top holiday email design trends and campaigns that caught our eye. There are definitely ideas here you can keep in your back pocket for 2018!

#1. Playing the Long Game: 12 Days of Gifting

With promotions changing from hour to hour, day to day, and week to week, it becomes harder and harder to grab readers' attention. How do you give them a reason to act now? Some brands have coordinated their holiday email campaigns by numbering promotions and letting readers know there will be 3, 5, or 12 days of deals. By doing this, brands let readers know what to expect—and to know when deals will end. This helps build excitement, create organization, and establish transparency and expectations. Here are examples of days-of-gifting campaigns in our inbox:

Design-wise, there's a lot of fun to have with these day-by-day reveal campaigns. You can build oneholiday email template and then simply update it for each day. Here's an example from Everlane, who launched a "Five Days of Gifting" campaign, rolling out one item each day tied to free express shipping. This is Day 1.

The hero image is a simple GIF:

Similarly, Lucky Brand launched "Lucky 7: A Week Full of Deals to Bring the Holiday Cheer." This was their campaign kick-off email:

Emails like this are most successful when the written and visual messaging is simple. Done thoughtfully, a single (animated) image with straightforward text is all it takes to create a little intrigue! And the simple approach ensures your template will be adaptable for each day of your campaign.

#2. Getting Social: Email + Instagram = A Perfect Pair

How can social media and email best interact with and complement each other? It's a big question, and brands continue to explore the answers. This holiday season, we caught a few companies breaking down the boundaries between social media and email in creative ways. Here's a recent email from Rent the Runway, for instance, where the brand promoted their Instagram giveaway via email.

RTR lays out the contest rules in a numbered, easy-to-follow format, and it closes with a CTA (Nominate Now) that's linked to the associated Instagram post. Because emails are often read on mobile devices, linking to an app like Instagram can create a natural customer pathway, if a social media account is where you want the reader to go. Knowing your email campaign's goal is a must.In another email, REI used Pinterest to share its most-pinned products with readers.

Plenty of brands create gift guides for the holiday season (as we'll see below). But letting customers determine what's on your list is a smart way to go. It gives readers a sense that the selections are objectively desirable (by popular opinion vs. what you tell them is great). Pinterest is a perfect tool for this!

#3. Gifting Well: Not Your Ordinary Gift Guides

It seems like no brand bypassed on creating a gift guide this season. We understand why. Shoppers are so inundated with information, it becomes difficult to find the right gift, but guides take this burden away. They're a fun and creative way to help customers and showcase your most giftable items. That said, with everyone creating them, the challenge quickly becomes making your guide stand out from the rest. We thought this stocking-stuffer themed gift curation from Huckberry was clever and beautifully designed.

The email was really long (we trimmed it), showcasing each item or gift category one at a time. (Tip: if you know you're designing an uber-long email, check out our post on preventing Gmail from trimming your message). Using numbered headers and alternating background colors help delineate one module from another. And, the illustration-and-photography combined approach is one we always enjoy!In another stand-out gift guide, Parachute built this animated single-image guide. We love the movement, how playful it is, and that it has a simple call-to-action. But designers should be wary of sending single-image emails and of creating large GIFs that could be problematic on the receiving end.

For a smaller, non-product focused GIF inspiration, we also loved this one from Madewell:

#4. Drawing Attention: A+ illustrations

While holiday email campaigns are often about showcasing products, we also found some brands using beautiful, playful illustrations to harness readers' attention. Here's a cute, line-illustrated mistletoe drawing to accompany Suistudio's gift guide email:

We love theCTA button text and inverted pyramid layout, too. The simplicity lets the pretty illustration shine.Quip used a totally different style in an equally effective and lovely way. Their holiday gift-themed hero image is on-brand and cute. Plus, they added decorative lights to their logo.

#5. Zooming In: Single gift feature emails

Opposite to gift guides, some companies are sending special promotional emails featuring just one product. Instead of inundating readers with options, these emails essentially say: Here, we have one great gift idea for you! But, this doesn't mean single-product emails have to be boring! Take this colorful email from The New York Times.

The GIF acts as a mini slideshow, showcasing three variations of the product while the text and CTA beneath remainthe same. This email is really clever, uncomplicated, and sleek.AllBirds got GIF-fy, too, with this reintroduction of their green-colored shoes. Again, the animation is simple, but you can tell that thought went into the creative planning.

Need to design a last-minute holiday email campaign?

We've got your back! Sign-up for aBEE Pro free trialand get access to holiday templates and easy-to-use, drag-and-drop design features. You can personalize, add dynamic countdown timers, and be ready to roll out your design in no time!

This year, more brands than ever celebrated a novel holiday: Cyber Week. Did you notice it, too? Companies big and small extended their Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions throughout the week. And they launched big email campaigns, of course, to go along with them! The (inbox) result: a flood of cyber week emails.Even as of this morning—nearly a week after Black Friday and three days after Cyber Monday—our inbox looked like this:

Here's a quick roundup of how brands extended their promotions to keep those clicks coming in.

Cyber Week Emails

BarkBox declares Cyber Week has been extended

+2 days after Cyber MondaySubject:HOT DOG! Get your $5 BarkBox while it’s still hot.

Poler proclaims a last chance on Black Friday / Cyber Monday deals

+3 days after Cyber MondaySubject:Last day to save big!

M.A.C. offers free "cyber" lipstick

+1 day after Cyber MondaySubject:LAST CHANCE TO GET 25% OFF! In-Store and Online

Brit + Co. adds an extra day to its biggest sale of the year

+1 day after Cyber MondaySubject:Last chance! Biggest Sale of the Year Ends Tonight

Minted makes a final offer

+2 days after Cyber MondaySubject:For anyone who hasn’t finished holiday shopping yet…????

Boll & Branch sends a reminder that there's limited time left

+1 day after Cyber MondaySubject: Missed Cyber Monday? There's Still Time

Bb. bumps up free samples

+3 days after Cyber MondaySubject: Cyber Week = free sample overload

BirchboxMan extends free shipping

+2 days after Cyber MondaySubject: ENDS TONIGHT: Up to 25% Off Sitewide ➕ FREE Shipping ????

The New Yorker goes 50% off all week

+1 day after Cyber MondaySubject: Save BIG With This Cyber Week Save. Save 50% Off The New Yorker!

Want design tips for extending your own cyber week emails?

Check out these handy guides:

• How to get the most out of your email templates
• Email drip campaigns: inspiring design tips
• How Fitbit dominates email stream design
• 5 tips to win readers back with re-engagement campaigns
• How 6 brands tackle product demos in email

Forget the turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes—email marketers have more than menus to think about this week! Between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, anestimated 69 percent of Americans plan to shop this weekend. This means retailers, companies, and brands are in a frenzy for consumer attention. And email marketers are charged with grabbing that attention. So if you need some last minute inspiration for your own Black Friday and Cyber Monday emails, you're in the right place. Check out some of our favorites, with tips on how to make these designs your own.

Article: Keep it simple and skimmable

Subject:Let the Black Friday savings begin

Also, check out the hero image, which is this cute GIF:

Design tips:

• Create a "boxed" email effect like Article's.
• Know our best practices for animated GIFs in email.
• How to keep it simple: why you don't need a navigation menu at the top of your email.

MAC: Go black and white

Subject: Last Day to Choose Your COMPLIMENTARY Full-Size Gift

Design tips:

• Try a monochromatic color scheme for inbox impact.
• Make sure your CTA button text is in your brand voice (or at least not "Learn more" or "Click here").

REI: Opt out (with user-generated content)

Subject: REIis Closing. Again.

Design tips:

• Creating a photo collage like REI's? Make sure it's responsive.
• Feature brand loyalists when you create a hashtag like #OptOutside (similar to Glossier's campaign and many others like it).

Bodum: Add a countdown

Subject:Black Friday Countdown Is On: We Have Big Surprises Coming Up, Stay Tuned!

And yes, you guessed it: that's a dynamic countdown timer:

Design tips:

• It's not hard to add a live countdown timer to your email! Here are our easy instructions.
• Polish your countdown timer by knowing how to use HTML background colors alongside images.

Origins: Show products with animation

Subject: FREE Full-Size Origins Faves! Better than Pumpkin Pie.

Here's the GIF in action:

Design tips:

• Here's a tutorial on how to properly incorporate GIFs in email.
• Using a background image behind your email content? Optimize it for mobile devices by using live text atop the image.

Strand Books: Draw attention to deals

Subject: Black Friday and Books: Prep Now, Shop Later ????????????

Design tips:

• Incorporate spot illustrations to charm your readers.
• Make that CTA button tappable on mobile by using a full width design.

Cosmopolitan: Make sure to get personal

Subject: Rebecca, Get a Full Year for Just $5!

Design tips:

• Personalize! Know how to add recipients' names—you can even personalize an image!

It's almost Turkey Day! If your inbox is as festive as ours is, you've probably received recipes, promotions, GIFs, and autumn-themed content galore. As the holiday draws near, brands are flexing their marketing muscles in preparation for the year's biggest spending season. It's fun to watch. And, we caught an interesting Thanksgiving email design trend emerging: quirky content blocks.Brands are getting playful with module design, layering images, colors, and type in innovative ways. The result: emails that look collaged and almost handmade. The good news is, many of these techniques are easy to implement. We'll point out how, so let's dive in!

A Closer Look: Creative Module Design in Thanksgiving Emails

#1. Anthropologie: Differently sized modules with repeat patterns, fonts, & colors

Anthropologie's aesthetic is colorful yet sophisticated, in a boho-chic sort of way. In email, Anthro often features intricate product displays with distinct brand fonts and features. This Thanksgiving, their email design is no exception.While none of these modules look the same as the others, design treatments repeat to create cohesion. Each module includes encircled numbers, uneven tracking between words, orange or yellow color blocks, and the same alternating typefaces. And, modules are one of two sizes. The repetition—and clean white breaks between sections—is what makes this email work, even when there's a lot going on.

#2. Of a Kind: Mini module collages with a paper-cut look

Of a Kind's Thanksgiving outfit inspiration email is a numbered list, like Anthropologie's. Modules alternate between orange or white backgrounds, plus some product photos extend beyond borders.The result? The email stands out amidst other multi-product display messages. Just arranging images unevenly, in different sizes, with variable background colors makes the email look unique, thoughtful, and crafty.

#3. Paperless Post: Misaligned text and background

Have you noticed a pattern with these emails? Nothing is lined up perfectly or laid out in an even grid. Design elements flow from one content structure to the next. In this Paperless Post Thanksgiving email, the header text actually begins above the hero image and flows into it.

#4. Sur La Table: Cascading image overlap

In this email from Sur la Table, images overlap again from one content block to the next, creating a cascading effect that keeps the reader's eyes moving down.

#5. Williams Sonoma: Z-pattern checkerboard

Not every email follows a quirky, uneven aesthetic. Instead, Williams Sonoma adheres to a clean checkerboard pattern. Text and images form a grid that flows from hero image downward. The look is more polished, and it makes room for more text.

#6. Food52: Translucent textbox overlay

In contrast to the even pattern above, Food52 switches things up. Image alignment alternates from one module to the next, in a Z-like pattern, but overlapping text gives the email a look that's a bit more askew. Instead of overlapping, white padding also buffers one content block from the following one.

#7. Ethan Allen: A combination of image styles and sizes

Ethan Allen's Thanksgiving email design uses a little bit of everything. It includes overlapping images, different image styles and sizes, and variable module layouts within the email. Still, ample white space and consistent number styling offercohesion.

Design Tips: Create Quirky Content Blocks in Your Drag-and-Drop Editor

Whether you're in the midst of finalizing your own Thanksgiving email design or if you're looking to jazz up your next campaign, you can try these design techniques right away. Most are easy to implement! There's a lot you can accomplish within a drag-and-drop editor, including our BEE editor, which allows for plenty of fine-tuning. Here are our quick tips.

#1. Switch up your email structure.

We often favor single-column email design, but it's clear from the emails above that having multiple columns often looks great. If you want to add some pizazz to your email, try an unusual layout. You can start by lining up content structures that are different from one another. Then, drop in your content. In the BEE editor, the Structure menu is where you can find your layout options. Check out our tutorial on how to optimize multi-column email design.

#2. Play with borders and padding.

In the Anthropologie email, borders and padding around images are applied unevenly around images, like the yellow border in module #3.

Achieve a similar look by fine-tuning the borders around your own content so that some sides have thicker borders than others.In BEE, use the Column Properties menu to adjust the padding around a content block.

When you select More Options, you can adjust the padding so that it's thicker on some sides than others. Voila!

#3. Add alternating HTML background colors behind images and modules.

Try using different background colors from one module to the next. Alternate between a bold color and white. You can also use one color as your module background color, plus a second color behind and around your images, like Of a Kind's email.In the BEE editor, you can select any structure in your email, then adjust the Row background color and Content background color.

This also means you can create the same effect as the Paperless Post email by assigning the "Thanksgiving" module one color (white), followed by a background image (or HTML background color) with live text.

#4. Place some text over background images and some alongside them.

Using the Ethan Allen email as inspiration, alternate your text placement within an email. Some content sits next to an image, while some content is on top of it. If you haven't started using live text over background images, now's the time to start!

#5. Alternate between landscape and vertical images.

Even if you're designing a single-column email, this doesn't mean your content has to be edge-to-edge. Use differently sized images like many of these emails do to create a quirky effect. And for tips on lining up photos in interesting ways, catch our tutorial on how to adjust image padding and borders.

#6. Make a numbered list.

This tip speaks for itself! But make sure you have fun with number styling and placement. Try adding numbers as live text atop images, or inflate the numbers' font size and let it take up all the space in its own content block. Left-adjust numbers in some modules, and right-adjust in others.

#7. Check your design on mobile.

Going gangbusters with quirky, creative module design is fun, but make sure your design looks good on mobile when you're finished! In BEE, use the Actions menu to preview any design you build.

Ready to improve your Thankgiving email design?

Go Pro!If you’re not already using BEE, sign-up for aBEE Pro free trialand get access to additional templates and design features. Happy Thanksgiving, and happy designing!

The health and wellness industry is booming in 2017 with no signs of slowing down. The phrase "There's an app for that" couldn't be more pertinent in a market where phones are one of our most valuable healthy lifestyle tools. We use technology to schedule doctor appointments, order a buffet of customized vitamins to our doorstep, listen to guided meditations, and so, so much more. In such a competitive marketplace, we wondered, how do health and wellness industry emails stack up? We gathered some of our favorite designs here.

#1. Care/Of

Care/Of helps you find the right vitamins and supplements for your goals, lifestyle, and values, and then delivers them to customers once a month. Founded in 2016, the brand has a modern, elegant identity featuring a mix of bright photography, line illustrations, and a healthy dose of millennial pink. Here's an email from their getting-started series.Subject: Introducing healthier living

Like most design-forward brands, Care/Of maintains a sleek, simple header (logo only) followed by a large, beautiful image. The zig-zag layout that follows features live text and pared-down monochromatic iconography. Interestingly, in lieu of CTA buttons, the brand chooses color-coded links in each module. If we were doing an A/B test, we might suggest an alternate email that skips the links and instead places a single bulletproof CTA at the conclusion of the email. It'd be interesting to see the results!

#2. Lumosity

Health and wellness is about keeping your mind sharp, too. Lumosity is a brain training app with games that help you flex your cognitive muscles when it comes to memory, attention, and speed. The brand identity is friendly and warm with flat illustration styles and a jewel-tone color palette. Here's a getting-started email from the brand.Subject: The next step on your training path

HTML background colors bring a liveliness to each module and clearly delineate one section from another. A slim line of white space creates a nice buffer, too. While the body text skews on the side of being too small, Lumosity does a good job choosing contrasting colors to enhance legibility.

#3. Lifesum

Lifesum helps you track what you're eating so you can achieve your weight goals, whether they're to slim down or bulk up. This recent welcome email from the brand walks users through how it works.Subject: Welcome to Lifesum

One thing to note right away is how action-oriented the email is. The opener—"Let's get going right away"—sets the tone immediately. After that, each module is stunningly simple, following an inverted pyramid layout to introduce a key image following by two lines of text and a call to action. The type and buttons are large—easy to read and tap. Plus, no two CTA buttons are the same (there's no string of "Learn more," followed by another "Learn more," etc.). Well done, Lifesum.

#4. Sustain

Sustain makes natural, organic health products for women. The brand offers a subscription service where shoppers can build custom kits with their choice of tampons, pads, and/or liners for direct delivery. Here's a recent promotion email from the brand.Subject: PERIOD STUFF

Sustain knows that showing the product itself is what will help convert customers. So it does just that, presenting an image of each, along with a 3-sentence description. The text adds up, but for readers on the fence about whether to click, this email might just provide the necessary information. We also love thepurple box-effect—it ties in perfectly with the images embedded in the email, giving the message a cohesive, monochromatic effect. Plus, it's easy to implement!

#5. Headspace

Headspace is a meditation app. Knowing that the practice of meditation might be intimidating for beginners, the brand employs a friendly, warm visual identity and tone. This recent onboarding email reflects just that.Subject: What is meditation?

Have you noticed the single-column design used in many of these emails? A single column is optimal for mobile screens and helps readers focus. Plus, it just looks good. Taking an encouraging tone, in this email, Headspace walks readers through their explanation of what meditation is. The easy-to-read live text is accompanied by cheerful illustrations. Instead of section breaks between modules, as we've seen done in other emails, there's nothing breaking the flow in this story-like sequence. The culmination is a clear and direct call to action that can't be missed. Brava.

#6. Quip

Quip makes sleek-looking electric toothbrushes, along with a line of oral care including toothpaste and replacement brushes. It feels like the brand's doing a big marketing push, because their advertising is everywhere we look! Their visual identity is super modern with plenty of white space and hardly a capital letter to be found. Here's their welcome email.Subject: Welcome to quip!

Quips's photo-and-illustration combo is gorgeous. Ample white space—hello email padding!—gives this send a fresh, airy vibe. And Quip saves its call-to-action for the end of the email. Unfortunately, the blurred text is super distracting. This is a common pitfall that brands face, often when images aren't retina-scaled, but it's an easy fix, though. Another easy way to avoid this issue is by choosing live text for most of your message. Format it well and the emial will look just as great.

#7. ZocDoc

ZocDochelps people find doctors nearby. You can use the app or website to identify doctors in-network and even book appointments. And once you're logged in, ZocDoc helps track your records. Attending a certain number of doctor appointments is what prompts an email like this one.Subject: CRUSHED IT.

The email reflects ZocDoc's usual fresh, friendly tone of voice. The encouragement is a nice touch, likely helping to drive customer engagement and brand loyalty. It's not every day readers get an email with a "congratulations" instead of a call to action. When it comes to design, the email is well thought out. The cheerful illustration incorporates part of the ZocDoc "Z" in a zero-to-one-hundred graph. Before all appointments were completed, a previous email included this:

The plain text is easy to read, and the boxed layout makes the message pop.

Our prescribed tips for your health and wellness industry emails:

• Create a boxed email effect
• Use bold HTML background colors
• Make each module pop
• Design the perfect bulletproof CTA button

Plus: Get more tips bytrying BEE Pro for free and have fun designing! All your designs will even be mobile responsive (no coding needed)!

Boo! It's the time of year for ghosts and ghouls, jack-o-lanterns, and candy corn. Our inbox is overflowing with Halloween emails, and we're in the spooky spirit! If you haven't nailed down your Halloween email design yet, don't fret. We sized up all the witchy ways brands are celebrating the holiday this year and found three hot email design trends for you to try. They're fang-tastic.#1: Plot out custom illustration that frights and delightsWe love a good email illustration. From icons to hand-drawn text, illustrations often give emails a friendly, custom vibe. We caught quite a few brands using awesome illustrations in their Halloween emails. Here's a look.

Vice: Lead story hero image design

How cute are these Halloween prank illustrations from Vice? The red, black, and white color scheme unites them together along with the rest of the email, and the watercolor-and-ink look is super sharp.

Vogue Daily: Unexpected header additions

Vogue Daily's header doesn't typically come with illustrations on either side, but adding these cat-and-pumpkin pictures makes this email feel extra festive and sweet.

Pop Sugar: Special feature module

This "dedicated" email from Pop Sugar is sponsored by H&M. The illustrative lead module meticulously arranges cute Halloween costume items with H&M's logo and a CTA button. The style is youthful and sweet, which aligns perfectly with the selection of kids' costumes featured on the landing page.

Atlas Obscura: A hero image with flat design

The fresh, modern illustration style and colors used to render these gravestones prove Halloween emails don't all need to be black and orange. We love how Atlas Obscura breaks the mold with this illustration, which perfectly matches the voice of the email.

#2: Cast spellbinding GIFs that jump out in sight

We've written before about how brands put animated GIFs in their back pockets until a special holiday or promotion comes along. It's smart! When animation is used sparingly and intentionally, it's more likely to capture readers' attention. In a way, Halloween is all about dressing up. So why not dress up your emails, too? GIFs are a fun way to show your spirit.

Urban Outfitters: Spooky smoke signals

It takes a second to catch the spelled-out "HALLOWEEN" text that appears in the background. Playing tricks with the eye makes this GIF—and Urban Outfitters email!— fun to look at.

Sugar & Cloth: A moving inspiration board

Sugar & Cloth wants to help you make your own DIY costume. But they're not all talk. With this double-trouble GIF that rotates between costume ideas, readers get a preview of what's to come—and they also get inspired to click.

Food52: Wonderful What's Brewing? guesses

Food52 wants you to know how much fun you can have with this pumpkin pot. The overflowing dry ice is mesmerizing to watch, showing the action in a way a photo just wouldn't be able to capture fully.

Rent the Runway: Simple animated text

This clever GIF kicks off a recent email from Rent the Runway. The act of underlining probably isn't the first thing that would come to your mind for an animation, but that's exactly why we love this! Animating text is a great way to add a little movement to your email in an unexpected way. And, hey, it's a great, simple GIF to make during a time crunch.

Tattly: A playful product display

Sure, Tattly could have put product images of its cute Halloween-themed temporary tattoos on rotation. But instead, like Sugar & Cloth, the brand got playful with these fun and funny models. This helps to inspire (hey, I wouldn't have thought to put a tattoo on my palm!) and make readers smile.

#3: Brew up boo-tiful background colors other than white

We've said it once; we've said it twice; we'll say it again: we love white space in email! Ah, when each module has space to breathe, and each design element can shine, an email really looks good. However, all that space doesn't necessarily have to be, well, white. HTML background colors are a great way to easily add color behind text, images, modules, or even your whole email. You can also use 'em to create a boxed effect. But one thing we noticed in Halloween emails is how beautiful background colors are being used behind entire emails. Here's what we mean.

Oh Happy Day: Trendy millennial pink

The modules in this Oh Happy Day email form a gradient: the first one is the palest shade of pink, the second one is slightly darker, and the third is the darkest. It's a clever and super simple trick that looks gorgeous. Why stick to a single background color when you can play within a palette? The email also proves that millennial pink works for any occasion.

Paperless Post: Collage-style colors

The placement of images, text, and colors makes this Paperless Post email look almost like a cut-and-paste paper collage. It's stunning. The brown-and-pink color scheme is really effective alongside the vintage images, too. Call us inspired!

Wrap-up: Try these tricks for your Halloween email design

Want to cast a friendly spell on your own email design? Here are a few special email design tricks:

1. Plot out custom illustration that frights and delights
2. Cast spellbinding GIFs that jump out in sight
3. Brew up boo-tiful background colors other than white

Other Halloween email design ideas:

• 6 Design Tricks and Treats for Your Email Campaign
• 9 Can't-Miss Tips for Your Halloween Email

Please let us know if we missed any ingredients to add to the cauldron! And remember that it's easy to execute any one of these design tricks in our own BEE editor. Just take these techniques and make them your own:try BEE Pro for free! You can build modular designs easily with drag-and-drop functionality, and all your designs will be mobile responsive (no coding needed). We even have a collection of Halloween email templates. Give it a go! Good luck, and Happy Halloween!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We've spotted quite a few brands taking up the cause and turning our inbox pink. We're glad to see this important issue receiving the attention it deserves, even via email. Here are seven Breast Cancer Month emails that caught our eye.

Bloomingdale's

We love the modular design and ultra large typeface against HTML background colors.Subject: It's Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Here's What We're Up To This October

Loft

Adding borders to photos like the one in this Loft email is easy in the BEE editor (here's how to add borders and padding).Subject: A cause that's close to our ❤

Bumble and Bumble

Follow in Bumble and Bumble's footsteps by adding a large image as your email's backdrop.Subject: Last call: grab 5 blow-dry essentials, free

Estēe Lauder

GIFs are a great way to create visual interest and rotate through multiple products—even if it's just between two frames.Subject: It’s Time To End Breast Cancer.

Ulta

Got a long email displaying a lot of information? Make sure you're building a photo collage that's responsive for mobile screens.Subject: A Gorgeous Way to Give: Join us in supporting BCRF

Origins

Add breathing room to your email with a little white space.Subject: Time to End Breast Cancer #PinkRibbon25

Megabus

Want people to get your message? Keep it to just a couple sentences, like Megabus.Subject: Have you faced breast cancer?

What Breast Cancer Month emails have you received? Which ones stood out as sharing an effective but important message?

Most client-servicing apps and brands have tiers of service, from free to premium to business to pro. Think free Spotify vs. Spotify Premium, or Hulu with limitedcommercials vs. with no commercials. Enticing clients to convert to higher-paying levels of service is a process, and upgrade emails are an essential step along the way.Upgrade emails invite readers to upgrade their service or subscription, often by free trial or special promotion. And like in any promotional email, good design helps marketers get their message out in a compelling, clickable way. Today, we're looking at how five brands design upgrade emails. Read on to collect tips and insights for your own "go pro" messages.

#1: Todoist

Todoist calls itself a task management app and to-do list. Users can keep organized by tracking of all kinds of tasks (work or personal). Through its email design, the brand presents itself as modern and friendly, using a cheerful illustration style with plain text. And, as you may have guessed, the brand offers a premium version of its service, which was recently advertised in this upgrade email.Subject: Try out Todoist Premium for free

Todoist stages its value proposition in a straightforward, direct way. Our eyes catch on the bold body text that reads: Try it free for 30 days — it's on us. The CTA button that follows reinforces the free messaging (as does the subject line). Clearly, Todoist knows that cost is a primary driver of conversion, making it the #1 thing to communicate. For readers still on the fence, Todoist presents a second value proposition after the CTA button: you don't need a credit card or commitment to sign up. The strategically designed and located CTA button is (1) near the top of the email, (2) directly alongside the most important part of the message, and (3) designed to be bulletproof, pass the squint test, and be the perfect eye-catching color. (Yes, CTA color matters!) And, it's also followed and supported by additional promo content.Todoist's email is objective-oriented, and the CTA button brings it home.

#2: Evernote

Similar to Todoist, Evernote is an app and web tool that helps users get organized. Their premium service gives users the ability to upload more content, access info offline, and get other bonus features. Here's a recent upgrade email from the brand.Subject: Make Evernote great

The first thing to notice about this email is the color scheme: with its ample white space and simple green-gray palette, the email immediately looks cohesive—almost calming. And like Todoist, the CTA button is very easy to spot, about midway through the email, and there's only one. Note the second call to action is a link, instead of a button, so there's no competition for the email's focal point. The CTA language is clear (even though it could have more personality).What's notable about the supportive messaging is that there arespot illustrations that improve the content's skim-friendliness. Ask yourself: if I'm looking at this email for only 3 seconds, what do I read first? The bold, green value propositions that sit alongside illustrations probably jump out!

#3: Skillshare

Skillshare hosts online courses in design, writing, business, tech, and other categories. And as part of this year's Memorial Day weekend promotion, Skillshare offered two months of its premium service for free.Subject: Your holiday weekend just got better

The layout here is similar to Todoist's and Evernote's. Simplicity works!That's because simplicity gets readers' eyes on the crux of the pitch sooner, and the key message is "free." Although Skillshare doesn't do much else to reinforce its value proposition, the email could have used a bulleted list, spot illustrations, or text formatting to call out the benefits of going premium. Still, like Todoist, there is a fine print promise under the CTA that might help readers take the plunge—and make the click.

#4: Amazon Business

For Amazon shoppers using the site to order business and office supplies, upgrading to Amazon Business means you get perks like quick shipping and special prices. Here's a look at the company's upgrade offer email.Subject: Free upgrade to Amazon Business

Amazon Business's email isn't anything fancy, but the simplicity renders well on mobile. Here's a look at the mobile responsive design on an iPhone screen:

Like previous emails, the CTA button is followed by key benefits of the service. The button is orange, while the remainder of the email follows a blue color scheme. The result is an "isolation effect" that makes the CTA pop.And, unlike the other upgrade emails, this one is personalized. Using a reader's name in a greeting can help capture attention, and we like that this greeting isn't your standard "Hi" or "Hello" either. Opening with a question is also a lot more engaging.

#5: Marketing Profs

Marketing Profs offers marketing news, data, and guidance to marketing professionals. Their email newsletters are generally straightforward and simple, with plain text and links to new content. In a recent MarketingProfsPRO email, however, they broke their usual mold and got punny with their offer.Subject: Your new favorite marketing tool...Here's the animated GIF that opens the email:

And here is the email in full:

Unlike other upgrade emails we've featured, this one is a lot longer and more personable. The animated GIF sets the tone: friendly, approachable, playful. The text reads like a letter directly addressingyou, the reader. Bold treatment helps key sentences stand out. The single CTA button can't be missed, even though it's near the end of the email instead of the top. There's also a personalized sign-off with the marketing manager's signature and photo. All these design elements work together to give the upgrade email a personal feel, which MarketingProfs surely hopes will lead to conversions.

Ready to upgrade your upgrade emails?

While we're on the topic of upgrades... did you know you can design your own upgrade email with a free trial ofBEE Pro?No HTML knowledge is required, plus your email will be mobile responsive. Happy designing!

Newsflash: it's fall! Time for pumpkin spice lattes, cozy sweaters, and, naturally, festive email campaigns. Our inbox has quickly filled up with autumn emails, and we suspect there are many more to come. If you're in need of ideas to spice up your own autumn emails this season, you're in the right place. Here are 10 creative campaigns that are sure to warm up your creative spirit.

Banana Republic #1: Inspired text placement and color (that yellow!) make a statement

Subject: 3 brands to get your fall started

Design tip: Read our post on how to add background images (or GIFs) behind text.

Teavana: Fall-colored photos get playfully paired with line drawings

Subject: New! 50% off Fall Teas & Teaware

King Arthur Flour: Perfectly formatted plain text (headers, subheaders, body text, & bulletproof CTAs)

Subject: Fall's secret baking ingredient is...

Also: We love the use of red, italic treatment to this email's headers, making the beautiful photo collage layout even easier to follow.

Moho Mail: Mouth-watering video teaser with matching CTA button

Subject: Ladies & Gents - Introducing the Autumn Margarita!!

Gilt: Skip the art; it's all about the CTA

Subject: Extra 30% off. Up and Autumn.

PureWow: Well-positioned email content works with pared down text and plenty of white space

Subject: This way to fall boots under $150

Mark & Graham: Orange you glad this animation is so sleek?

Subject: One week only! Shop the best of Fall accessories on sale.

What autumn-themed emails have caught your eye? Tell us what worked and what didn't!

Have you ever felt lost in a sea of design industry jargon? We have. There are some words we see and use every day that should have simple, no-nonsense definitions. This is why we created the email design glossary here. Now all those pesky words are in one place, in alphabetical order. So the next time you need a refresher, make sure to bookmark this page and come back here!

A - F | G - I | L - P | R - W

A/B testing

A/B testing compares two variations of a design (from subject linest o email design layouts to CTA buttons, etc.). Often, one version is sent to one segmented audience (group "A") while another version is sent to the other segment (group "B") at the same time; then, response rates to both versions are compared.

alt text

a short keyword-rich phrase describing an image, which can help with SEO; alt text usually appears when a mouse pointer hovers over an image

anchor link

linked text that, when clicked, takes you to a specific place in an email, or on a page, without needing to scroll (here's a quick tutorial on anchor links - plus, see the alphabetical anchor links we included above!)

animated GIF

an image format that allows for multiple frames, in order to provide an animated sequence

Animated GIF by Warby Parker

bulletproof CTA

a call-to-action button that's written in HTML so it renders across all inboxes (but you don't need to know how to code to make one!)

call to action (CTA)

a short imperative phrase that usually appears on a button and motivates users to take action (like clicking through to a site, landing page, etc.); the better the phrase, the more clicks you'll probably get

CAN-SPAM Act

a U.S. law that sets the rules for email and "establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have you stop emailing them, and spells out tough penalties for violations"

cinemagraph

similar to a GIF, a cinemagraph is a still photo where a specific section or element has a repeated movement

Via the Flickr Group: Cinegraph--More Than a Photo

countdown timer

a "live" timer that counts down to a set date and time, in order to create urgency (here's how to make one!)

fallbacks

fallback content is what readers see when your original content—like an image or particular font—fails to load because of an email client compatibility

footer

the last content block in an email, which often includes fine-print, like a physical business address and an unsubscribe link to comply with anti-spam laws (so make sure you know footer design best practices)

full-bleed

a full-bleed email layout with an edge-to-edge appearance, that extends to the full width of your screen; typically more noticeable on desktop and tablets, and sometimes referred to as full-width or edge-to-edge

ghost button

CTA button in whichthe background color is transparent, just like the Twitter “Follow” button on this tweethttps://twitter.com/chadswhite/status/765941284917899265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Femaildesign.pantheonlocal.com%2F2016%2F08%2Fbest-tips-from-the-litmus-email-design-conference%2F

HTML

stands for "Hypertext Markup Language"; often used to describe emails that are built like websites, with images and colors instead of with plain text

image-only

an email that's made entirely of, or mostly with, a single image—not a design best practice (we explain why here)

interactivity

“email interactivity” refers toan action taken in anemail that triggers an event within the same email (like tappable pop-ups, drop-downs, videos)

live text

part or all of an email comprised of "plain text" that reliably renders, using email-safe fonts like Arial, Georgia, and Helvetica

merge tags

a placeholder for dynamic content, like a |FIRSTNAME| tag that gets populated with your subscriber's name upon sending

mobile-first

when you implement various design practices (like responsive design) to optimize a design's effectiveness on a mobile screen

modular design

a system of organizing your email content as building blocks (i.e., modules); most modern email editors follow this principle, including our BEE email editor

padding

empty space surrounding and separating content blocks (this makes a big difference!)

pre-header text

the text that follows the subjectline in the inbox, often used by readers as a screening tool

retina-scaled images

the practice of optimizing images for a phone's retina display by compressing them to avoid blur (here's how to do this!)

responsive design

when a design is coded to detect the device it's being viewed on, so that it resizes (or "responds") to fit the device's dimensions/size parameters

spot illustration

small drawings similar to icons—usually without borders or backgrounds—that are often designed to appear alongsidetext

UNIQLO spot illustrations

template

a design foundation that's standardized (e.g., with the same header and footer layout) to improve workflow efficiency and provide a framework for delivering well-designed messages that are always on-brand

white space

empty space in a design, often achieved by adjusting padding, that creates breathing room between design elements

WYSIWYG editor

What You See Is What You Get text editor that allows users/editors/designers to create HTML emails without needing to know how to code (think WordPress)How would you define the words mentioned here? And, what other words do you want to define? Share them in our comments section!