Expertise

It's officially spring! Even though there's still snowfall in some parts of the country, we're all very ready for the change in season—and email marketers know it. We've been inundated with spring-themed emails for weeks now. And we took note of a surprising subgroup: spring cleaning emails. They're not necessarily what you might expect. Brands have gotten clever about introducing spring cleaning content to readers, and we're impressed.Check out the spring cleaning emails that popped up in our inbox, and get inspired to freshen up your own springtime designs.

Hero image from a recent spring cleaning email by CookSmarts

Cleaning method #1: How-to Guides and Tips

Even though the act of cleaning may sound tedious, boring, or arduous, there's still something aspirational about it. Being organized and put-together is alluring. We want that fresh-as-new, everything-in-its-place feeling that a good, thorough springtime cleanup promises. So even brands you might not expect—like makeup and skincare company Glossier—are dishing out wisdom on cleaning. Why? Because readers find it inspiring. And it's not a bad way to showcase a product, either. Take a look.

Glossier

Subject: How to organize

We cover Glossier's email design all the time. Glossier emails are always: Simple. Sweet. Cheeky. On-brand. And, yes—clean. They also have a sense of humor, and their loyalists know it. Click on that Spring Cleaning 101 header and where do you end up? Glossier's Shop All page. The punchline is in the email itself: get rid of stuff and you then have more room for new stuff. New Glossier stuff.

Murchison-Hume

Subject: The MH Spring Cleaning Guide

This email from Murchison-Hume delivers what it promises—actual cleaning tips. Sure, the point is product placement, but a lot of thought clearly went into this guide. In fact, it's one part of a whole email campaign. We appreciate the list of included tools, and those who read that far down in the email are likely serious about cleaning. Plus, it's refreshing not to click to another landing page to get more info, and the plain text is well-formatted and easy to read.

The Laundress

Subject:Things We Love | Spring Cleaning Secrets

The Laundress is a retailer of eco-friendly cleaning products, and this email has a lot going for it. It's pretty. There's a lot of white space. The images are bright and high quality. The green CTA buttons spring to life against the black-and-white. The only problem: the email is composed of all images. Savvy designers know that infusing bulletproof design into an email is vital for making sure it's readable across inboxes and devices. And, we're confident the same look can be achieved with non-image CTA buttons, live text, and background images!

Cleaning method #2: The Digital / Intangible Clean

It's not just dust on picture frames or shower mold we think about cleaning when the weather warms. We think about fresh starts for ourselves, too. Which is good news for marketers, because it means different variations of spring cleaning tips can be offered in almost any industry or niche.

The Muse

Subject:It’s Time to Spring Clean Your LinkedIn Profile

There's nothing fancy about this email from The Muse, but it's well designed. Live text is easily readable because of the ample white space, healthy line height, and great use of headers and colors. We like the boxed effect going on here and the blue accents. But what's really great is the content. If you own an app or digital product but don't think there's anything to say about "spring cleaning," this email from The Muse shows what's actually possible.

Lenny

Subject: Declutter Your Psyche

Weekly newsletter Lenny gave spring cleaning—of the mind, body, and soul—a special spotlight in March. The newsletter is known for its long, content-in-email format (the email above is trimmed), so it wisely constrains the email to a narrower width (for easy reading), with consistentin-email anchor links.

Cleaning method #3: The Inventory Clean-Out

If it's not your jam to show readers how they might spring clean this season—literally or figuratively—why not show them how you're tackling spring cleaning? We caught a few brands offering discounts while "spring cleaning" (or clearing out) their inventory.

Hem

Subject: The Clean-Up Sale Continues????Final Reductions

And here's the email's fun animation in action:

How cute is this GIF? It's uncommon to see items in different stages of being packaged, so modern furniture brand Hem certainly scores points of originality.

Holstee

Subject:

Spring Surprise: A $10 Gift Card to Holstee

There's nothing wrong with a plain text email! This creative email from Holstee gets the job done, and we're into it! Other brands, like Skillcrush, for example, have switched to plain-text emails only. It makes readers feel like the email came from an actual human, and that can help engagement. Plus, you reduce your risk of rendering or delivery issues.

Cleaning method #4: The Product Feature

For brands selling a product that has anything to do with cleaning, well, the spring cleaning email is probably a no-brainer! We found a few emails that do a nice job of promoting a cleaning product for the season.

Keurig

Subject:Spring Cleaning Time! Keep Your Coffee Maker & Your Countertop Clean

What impressed us the most about this Keurigemails is that all the text—even copy over images like the "Make Spring Cleaning Simple & Easy" header—is live. It's not baked into the background image. We love this email design best practice, but we don't often see it! Learn how to add live text to your own emails in our tutorial.

Sur La Table

Subject: Spring Cleaning Starts Early

This email looks pretty typical for a promotion from Sur La Table, but we appreciate the intentional use of white space. The images are all bright against white backgrounds, and the email itself is padded with empty space between features. The end result offers a super fresh and, yes, cleanvibe!Are you feeling inspired to build an email that looks clean and fresh? Create your own spring cleaning emails with a freeBEE Protrial.The drag-and-drop editor is easy to use, comes with built-in templates and stock image libraries, and all emails and design elements are mobile-responsive.

Let's take a closer look at the art of event invitation emails. Because, let's be honest, getting people to RSVP for an event—whether it's in person or online—is never as easy as it seems. Sending an event invitation email that will stop readers in their tracks is the first step to turning your event into a success. You need great messaging, clear details, and stand-out design. Invitation emails roll into our inboxes regularly, but we've selected a few that actually made us pause and smile—and want to attend the event!

Ingredient #1: Simple, memorable messaging

We think the messaging in a flawless invitation email hits on 5 components. They are:

1. WHAT: What is the event? Great invitation emails usually include an event title, a tagline, and a BRIEF description.
2. WHEN: Effective invitations clearly state the date and time (and time zone, for virtual events).
3. WHERE: Want people to be in the right place? Provide the address or digital join-in details plainly.
4. THE BEST PERK: This is an important one. Aside from stating the logistics, a great invitation email seals the deal by telling readers the special thing(s) they can expect if they show up. If you're giving away free food or goody-bags, say it! Featuring a special guest? Name drop! Make sure readers know what makes your event one of a kind.
5. HOW TO JOIN: It needs to be easy to sign up, buy tickets, or register! Hint: think an optimized CTA button.

This email from BARK checks all the boxes of simple, memorable messaging. In fact, it checks those boxes and nothing else. There's no clutter copy; it's elegantly succinct.

From: BARK (AKA Bark Box)

Subject: You're invited to Open Bark Night!???? ????

To really see how simple the messaging is, we extracted the copy:***Open Bark Night: Stand-up Comedy for Dog LoversBARK is hosting hilarious dog loving stand-up comedians for a series of pee-your-pants funny stuff.Featuring performances by the funniest dog ruvin' humans we can dig up. This is a laid back night for belly scratches & belly laughs.When: November 2, 2017 7:00pm - 9:00pmWhere: BARK Headquarters 221 Canal St 4th Floor NY, NY 10013Things sure to happen:

• A s@#t ton of laughs
• Endless fart jokes
• Bottomless wine
• Bottomless 'za

FETCH TICKETS***If you're wondering, that's 84 words. That's it! It's useful to see how direct, simple, and clear the messaging isbefore any design elements are added.With your next event invitation email, challenge yourself to tell readers everything they need to know in under 100 words.But—can you identify any information that's missing? We thought of one: Price. BARK made the intentional and strategic decision not to include pricing information in the email. Why? We think it's because of an important law of email design: your email is not a website. The purpose of the email is to create enough intrigue and interest to get the click. After that, your landing page can provide more details and information!

Ingredient #2: Unexpected art/design

Events are special occasions, so your email invitation should reflect that. In most cases, this means you're going to need a little more than a go-to template or a stock image you grabbed on a whim. Creating interest in your event means making sure readers know how special it is! That's why you've got to go for an unexpected design.Even at a quick glance, this email from Who What Wear(in a partnership with LOFT) doesn't look like its usual sends. The design is totally unique to the occasion. Check it out.

From: Who What Wear 

Subject: Come party with us, NYC

The paper illusion is fitting for an invitation email: it pops on the screen, and it might just be what makes readers click, pause, or even be more receptive to the event reminder email.

Ingredient #3: A dash of intrigue or urgency

A great invitation email doesn't include every last detail. As ingredient #1 suggests, you only need the bare necessities! Most emails work best this way, and invitations are no exception. This email from ClassPass—an invitation of sorts, to register for free workouts—uses a dynamic countdown timer to create a sense of urgency.

From: ClassPass

Subject: Complimentary workouts in your neighborhood? You heard right.

Here's the timer in action:

Adding a dynamic countdown timer (that actually counts down to a date you choose) is easy! Check out our countdown timer tutorial on how to do it in your own email.When it comes to creating a sense of intrigue, you can have fun! This email from Dessert Goals is an invitation to a dessert unveiling event where the attendees don't know exactly what they'll find when they get there. Dessert Goals got playful with their design and copy to create intrigue around the delicious day.

From: Dessert Goals

Subject: Come accomplish your Dessert Goals, literally.

And what originally caught our eye about this email was the animation along the top (an example of ingredient #2 at work!)

But you don't need to have a timer or mystery event in order to create a little intrigue, curiosity, or urgency. If you add ingredient #1, the intrigue will be there. And be sure to plan the rest of your campaign—with event reminder emails—to follow through on the sense of urgency as seats fill up or the event date approaches.

Design a great event invitation email and go Pro!

Design your own event invitation email in our easy-to-use, drag-n-drop email builder in minutes. And don't forget to create an event reminder email while you're at it! No HTML knowledge is required, plus your email will always be mobile responsive.

Email accessibility is about making sure allyour email recipients can access your message. This includes those with disabilities (like blindness) or those who use assistive technologies (like screen readers).According to the National Federation of the Blind, an estimated1.3 million people are blind with75,000more people becoming blind or visually impaired each year in the U.S. — but they still rely on their phones and mobile devices.Designers and marketers are becoming more aware that email accessibility is important in order to communicate with all valued audience members. To understand the topic more, in 2017 we chatted with thought leader John Thies, who at that time was the CEO and co-founder of Email on Acid, a dedicated advocate for email accessibility (since then Email On Acid was acquired by Pathwire, and John retired from the company).Read on tolearn about common email accessibility mistakes and how to avoid them!

Not everyone uses their phones in the same way

When John Thies first heard about email accessibility, he was curious. So he took out his iPhone and started adjusting its accessibility functions. (Most mobile devices have accessibility features to aid with vision, hearing, and physical impairments).Doing this changed everything. After just a few clicks, Thies was stunned at how different it was to interact with his phone. "That was an impactful moment," he recalls.

In realizing how different it was to use his phone with changed accessibility settings, Thies quickly understood the impact on email. A natural problem-solver, he set out to see what he could do to help.

Email accessibility is a matter of awareness

As with anything else, the first step toward positive change is awareness."You don’t know who’s opening your email and what can be impacting them from receiving the whole message," Thies explains.To illustrate his point, here's how emails might be viewed differentlywith various visual impairments, which include:

• Low acuity
• Ghosting (Double vision)
• Cataracts
• Dyslexia
• Color blindness

Images courtesy of John Thies.

Low acuity

Ghosting (Double vision)

Cataracts

Dyslexia

Color blindness

When Thies shows email pros images like these, he says most react in asimilar fashion:"Holy crap, I had no idea." Many of us take for granted that an email we design will be viewed exactly as we view it. But that's not always the case. And there are other types of impairments, too. Just think how different it'd be to use your phone with only your "weaker" hand (say you broke the thumb on your dominant hand and had it in a cast for two months). Scrolling, tapping, navigating—everything would be different.

How to design with accessibility in mind

The good news: making email more accessible is not hard. We asked Thies about the most common email design missteps people make, and each one can be easily addressed. The top three email mistakes are:

1. Poor contrast ratio. Contrast is all about how bright an image, text, or design element appears against other elements beneath or alongside it. For colorblind and visually impaired readers, this is very important. Poor contrast can make text illegible or an image indecipherable. There's no standard contrast ratio, but Thies points out that Web Accessibility Guidelines suggest 4.5 to 1. Designers can test contrast ratios using tools like WebAIM.
2. Links that aren't underlined. "Make sure there’s a visual indication the text is a link," Thies says. This means an underline. Why? Say your linked text is blue and not underlined. Not everyone perceives the color blue the same way. Some readers might not see blue text any differently than other text, so they won't see anything linked at all. Underline linked text—no matter the color you use—and all readers will see it.
3. Missing language attribute. This is a simple line of code that's often overlooked. Thies recommends setting your HTML language attribute in the head of the email, i.e., lang="en". It ensures screen readers pronounce words correctly so that your email is comprehensible. Pretty important!

"There's no negative impact to doing any of this," Thies points out. In fact, many of the accessibility design tips he offers are in line with the same design simplicity principles we often talk about here on Email Design Workshop."The more complex design, the more thought you have to put into making it accessible," says Thies. That's all the more reason to keep it simple! Here are more tips from Thies.

More email accessibility design tips:

• Keep fonts legible. Thies suggests a minimum font size of 14px for regular fonts and 16px for light ones.
• Avoid light text. Lighter colors (especially against a light background) are harder to detect.
• Left-align text. It's easier to read than center-adjusted.
• Maintain a logical reading structure. Use headers and don't skip heading levels (e.g., H1, H2, H3).
• Stick to semantic layouts (i.e., modular design). Your content should unfold in an expected order. Think main header, section header, body text, then footer.
• Don't forget ALT text. Descriptive, accurate ALT text means screen readers can describe images.
• Include captions in videos!

Accessibility is key to the future of email

John Thies's hope is to see every email become accessible in the next few years. This is our hope, too: there are many features in BEE's email builder that help create accessible emails, both behind the scenes (the HTML code produced by the email editor) and in the visual builder's user interface.To help email designers move toward increased accessibility, Thies partnered with the Email Experience Council to develop email accessibility standards. These best practices should be released in the next few months, and we'll post them here as soon they're available. In the meantime, read more about email accessibility on the Email on Acid blogand follow John Thies on Twitter @johnethies.A huge thank you to Thies for helping all of us at EDW (and beyond) to become better email designers. We look forward to learning more about email as it keeps evolving into better, bolder, and more accessible design!

Pretty much anything you want to learn, you can take a class online.When LinkedIn bought the online education website Lynda for $1.5 billion in 2015, it was clear that the e-learning industry was having a moment, and it's still growing by leaps and bounds. So we got curious: how do online education emails measure up? We researched how seven prominent online learning companies approached their email design to improve our knowledge.

#1. Webflow

Webflow is primarily known as a responsive web design tool, but the company also offers courses through its "Webflow University." There, users can watch tutorials or take free video-based courses with lessons on building a blog, CSS styling, and more. When Webflow University recently added a new course on interactions and animations, this was one of the announcement emails the company sent.Subject: New course: IX2.0

The message below came on the heels of the above announcement, about a design tool upgrade to the brand's interactions capabilities. Webflow first rolled out the new feature and then followed up two days later with an alert about its latest training course. The two emails work together in messaging and in design.Subject: Interactions 2.0: Bring the web to life

What we noticed right away is that the email's main header—Bring the web to life again—and the text beneath it, are both live. The text exists against a blue HTML background that blends seamlessly into the image beneath it. This isa simple trick that optimizes the email for mobile screens. The beauty of this email is that it shows how well-styled plain text is just as effective as a non-web-friendly brand font.

#2. Udacity

Udacity offers massive open online courses—MOOCs—mostly in the tech industry, from data science to machine learning to VR and more. Here's a look at its welcome email, which you can see is personalized in two places: in the subject line and at the top of the message.Subject: Welcome to Udacity, Kelly! Let’s discover what your future holds

The email has a series of .JPGs that align to give the message an appearance of one cohesive infographic. The colors, spot illustrations, and minimal text make the "journey" easy to follow. Plus, the pot-of-gold payoff at the end is the email's single CTA button.

#3. General Assembly

General Assembly offers both in-person and online classes indesign, marketing, tech, and data. We've featured their emails beforebecause they tend to be clutter-free, direct, and visually effective. Here's the brand's recent announcement about a new course.Subject: UX skills + dedicated career coaching = A new path in 10 weeks

We don't often see two CTA buttons side by side, but this tactic meets readers where they are. Whether users are ready to attend an info session or to view the syllabus first, they can click on either CTA to check out more info. This approach might help remove the pressure for readers to decide immediately if they're ready to RSVP, which could also improve engagement.Here's a look at the cinemagraph from the header, too:

#4. Brit + Co

Brit + Co produces content and classes that center around all kinds of creativity. You can find courses like "Lettering for Lefties" and "Intro to Chalk Ink Art" on its site. Recently, the brand announced a new class in digital pet illustration with the message below.Subject: New Class! Digital Pet Illustration

The email uses a combination of photo-based modules, text blocks, and illustrations to communicate its key value propositions. This is one of the denser online education emails, but it strongly conveys Brit + Co's visual identity.

#5. Codecademy

Codecademy offers—you guessed it—online coding classes. Here's an email introducing one of the brand's 10-week programs.Subject: Learn everything you need to build and deploy pixel-perfect websites

Somewhat similar to General Assembly, this brand also offers two CTAs: one at the top, for more eager and ready readers, and one at the bottom for those who still want to learn but don't want to take the plunge yet. The top half of the email is all about acting now—Seats are limited! I want to build websites!—with a sense of urgency, vs. the bottom half of the email takes an easy-to-read descriptive approach supported by aLearn More CTA.The layout makes an effort to meet two types of readers by offering different ways to capture clicks.

#6. Bloc

Bloc is another online coding school that offers "bootcamps" in areas likeweb development, mobile development, and design. A recent brand email introduced a scholarship opportunity for women in tech.Subject: $1 Million 'Close the Gap' Scholarship Fund

The email has a classic inverted pyramid layout, which is particularly effective when the purpose of an email is to alert readers to one important thing. This email is clean and simple, and that's the point: Bloc wants you to be able to read it, get it, and click on it without wasting time.

#7. Skillshare

Skillshare is another popular online learning platform. The company offers over 17,000 classes in categories like film, design, business, and tech. In a recent new class email, Skillshare introduced its floral lettering course, along with a few other new offerings (email trimmed for length).Subject: New Classes: Lettering with Gemma O'Brien, Marketing for Writers & More

Skillshare follows in Bloc's footsteps and uses a simple inverted pyramid module layout. The email uses plenty of white space and a pared-down color scheme to create a light-and-bright aesthetic, which all works beautifully, though we'd love to see more creative CTA copy.

Inspired to level-up your own online education emails?

Any of the design tricks mentioned above can be easily executed in our own BEE editor. Just take the techniques and make them your own bytrying BEE Pro for free!You can build modular designs with a simple drag-and-drop functionality, and all your designs will even be mobile responsive (no coding needed).

Hey designers! The BEE team is heading to this year's Adobe Max conference, so we've definitely been thinking about all the different resources for email designers.We all know the internet can be a little... overwhelming, especially when you're on your own as a freelance or contract designer.It's time-consuming to track down what you needwhen you need them to work quickly and efficiently. That's why we've rounded up some of our favorite resources for email designers to help with collaboration, organization, and inspiration. Use these tools to work better, and let us know which ones you can't live without so we can add them to the list!Tools To:Work Smarter | Work Together | Work Faster | Think Bigger

Image by Raw Pixel via Unsplash

Work smarter.

Keep your design knowledge and skills sharp by tapping into great resource aggregators: email design blogs. These blogs cover all things email design and routinely put out inspiring, useful content. Of course, the blog you're reading right now, our very own Email Design Workshop, is intended to be a place where you can get inspired and learn how to build better emails. We're grateful to have you as a reader. Here are some of our other favorite resources for excellent email design content.

#1. Really Good Emails

The name says it all. Really Good Emails is a go-to resource for finding hundreds of inspiring emails all in one place (though Pinterest is great too). Created by MailChimp, the archive is searchable by keyword and category. Plus, the blog also has a resources sectionwith posts on email marketing and design. We're fans of the RGE newsletter, too.

#2. FreshInbox

FreshInbox creator Justin Khoo says he created the FreshInbox blog when he realized that "email is finally growing up and is starting to adopt cooler new capabilities such as media queries and interactivity." The FreshInbox blog is where he writes about just that. With posts going back to 2013, the blog has tons of in-depth goodies for email geeks, from responsive roll-over images to CSS animations. It's a must-read.

#3. The Better Email

Litmus project manager Jason Rodriguez is the mastermind behind the Better Email, a blog and resource destination for email designers.Rodriguez's resource list includes a treasure trove of links to email design tools, courses, blogs, and more.

#4. Litmus

There's no question Litmus is an email industry giant. From theLitmus Live conferences to webinars to the blog, Litmus is a valuable place to keep up with the latest in email.

#5. Emma

The Emma blog is a great place to find email marketing tips and strategies, plus plenty of fun email examples to draw inspiration from.

Work together.

When it comes to pulling off a great email marketing campaign, collaboration is critical. Designers need to coordinate with developers, project managers, art directors, clients, and others. There's a lot to juggle—which means it's super important to be organized and to communicate well. Here are a few of our favorite resources for staying on top of project coordination and communication.

#6. Trello

Trello is a free and easy way to keep track of what you're working on. Designers can use it to prioritize to-do’s, set due dates, and manage their workflow. Plus, you can collaborate with others and do everything you need to on the move with the mobile app.

#7. Google Drive

If you or anyone you know uses Gmail, chances are, you also use Google Drive. It's an incredibly easy, intuitive place to create, share, and store docs, spreadsheets, presentations, and more. (We personally love the ability to create in-email surveys). It's a powerful resource for storage, creation, and collaboration.

#8. Slack

Slack seems to be everyone's favorite communication tool. It's free and intuitive to use. Plus, it integrates well with Trello and Google Drive, giving you a powerful combo of team organization and communication.

#9. Workfront

Agencies and enterprises often opt for a robust cloud-based project management tool that can be used across teams—like Workfront. The tool helps teams collaborate and work better with visual calendars, custom dashboards, and time-tracking features.

Work faster.

What about the tools to help you work faster and better when it comes to actually making good design? We've got a few ideas. If you missed our previous post,21 Email Design Tools to Transform Your Emails, here's a quick roundup:

#10. Font, icon, and stock photo tools

#11. Photo editing tools

#12. GIF and meme tools

#13. Prototyping and video tools

#14. Chart, graph, and survey tools

Plus, here are a few apps designers told us they liked: Sketch(a design toolkit) and Coda (HTML Editor). And there's even more at DesignResources.Party.

Think bigger.

The design industry is huge and amorphous, with email design occupying one particular niche. There's a lot going on. Occasionally—or regularly, depending on your preference—email designers need to tap into the bigger picture for perspective and inspiration. We do that by listening to great voices in the design industry on a few fantastic platforms, including:

#15. AIGA

Conferences, job boards, conversation, meet-ups—when it comes to design thought leadership, AIGA has it all. After all, it has earned the claim of being the oldest and largest professional membership organization for design.

#16. HeyDesigner

HeyDesigner has hundreds of posts and resources on everything from typography to mood boarding to product design and beyond. You can opt to receive their newsletter on a daily or weekly basis to keep your finger on the pulse of all things design.

#17. Skillshare

Need to brush up on your design skills? Sometimes a YouTube tutorial just won't cut it. Skillshare offers a huge selection of classes you can take from home at your convenience—including design courses aplenty.

#18. Adobe

No designer can do his or her job without coming into contact with an Adobe product, from Photoshop to InDesign to Spark and more. You can find tutorials, guides, and instructions for any of their products on the site, plus a wealth of info on their digital marketing blog.

#19. Dribbble

Dribbble is "show and tell" for designers. But it's more than a website: don't miss design expertise extolled via its podcast, blog, or in meetups.

Share your go-to resources for email designers

The design universe certainly stretches to the far reaches of the internet, but we hope this is a valuable starting point for your must-have email design resources. Let us know your favorite resources in the comments!

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!

There's no better way to learn about email design trends than to ask the people on the ground, designing emails every day for multiple clients. We partnered with Rachel Rewerts, client success team manager, and Celeste Odell, senior graphic designer, both fromDelivra, to share their insights on where email design is headed.

What are the top email designs concerns among your clients today vs. 3-5 years ago?

Celeste: The main concern design-wise among our clients has always been rendering. Clients would like to be sure that contacts using Yahoo! Mail on a Chrome browser arealso seeing the email in the same way as those viewing it in Outlook 2010. Thankfully, within the last 3-5 years, we've had more clients become concerned with responsive email rendering, and the design shifts and changes on small mobile screens continue to be easy.Rachel: Our clients are very aware of how their emails look on a mobile device. Luckily, the stats have helped us encourage them to make the shift to responsive mobile email design. We are seeing mobile device open rates for our B2C clients in the upper 50% to low 60%. B2B clients are up there, too, but more in the 30% range. In addition, clients are more concerned today with email effectiveness and brand awareness. I used to see a lot more “newsletter”-type emails with five to seven call to action buttons, but now I see a lot more clients sending announcement-type messages with one to three call to action buttons.

How many clients do you work with or have your eye on at a time?

Celeste: Each person on our Design team typically has 5-10 projects going on at once. Thankfully, it feels like a pretty good pace, as our clients need time to review designs and gather feedback, and every project is different.Rachel: At any given time, I would say our Client Success Managers are working with 10-20 clients that have active projects going on at one time. However, they are responsible for many more accounts, depending on the client need. Some clients are more self-sufficient when it comes to managing their email marketing strategy and finding the platform to execute their strategy. Some need a bit more guidance and hand holding.

What are some email design innovations that marketers are trying, and which of them really seem to be gaining traction?

Celeste: Over the last 5 years, I've seen a lot more of our clients incorporating data personalization into their email content. This could be organizing the layout of the email based on past interactions, populating the email with personalized content from previous purchase data, altering the call to action based on a contact's subscription type… more than simply merging in a first name. Real personalization is such a good thing to see gaining traction!Rachel: I’m seeing more and more clients focusing on a simple design and using dynamic content to provide the right message at the right time. It’s a nice way to use one piece of content with small but impactful changes. I think the other thing I’ve noticed is the tone used in the email copy. The tone feels more client-focused versus a hard sell—something we have really focused on is that it’s the email’s job is to sell the clickthrough and not the product itself. The buying cycle is a journey and clients definitely get that now more than ever before.

Which design elements are clients moving away from?

Celeste: I've noticed more marketers and designers begin seeing their email as its own experience rather than a digital version of a direct mail piece. I used to often receive the print PDF of a mailer from the marketer and be asked to directly code it into an email. People respond to direct mail differently than they do with their own email and have different expectations. Thankfully, that knowledge is becoming the norm.

How has the increase in mobile email reading changed the way your clients think about email design?

Celeste: More of our clients are thinking about designing for both mobile and desktop, considering things like how to design banners to work well on small and large screens, how much content is being placed into an email, or how many clicks a content file is receiving from mobile users in a split test.Rachel: We talk to clients a lot about making sure their primary call to action is easy to click on a mobile device. We also remind clients that when a recipient spends more than eight seconds reading an email, that’s a success! The good news is that, according to this Litmus study, readership times are on the rise for our mobile readers, but while you may have a little more time, you still don’t have much time to let the reader know who you are, what you want them to do, and why they should do it. I learned this from the very first Marketing Sherpa conference I attended. For some of our clients,design is about the basics—you have to master those first.

Which brands are sending the most creative or compelling emails?

Celeste: My favorite emails are actually fromEnvelopes.com. I rarely even have the need for custom envelopes, but their emails are just so good for sales-y B2C emails. They're beautifully designed, incorporate clean animated GIFs, and their copywriting is always cute and punchy and catching. The emails keep me daydreaming about what print project I might design. And, all they sell are envelopes! Some samples ofEnvelopes.com emails:

Rachel: One email brand I have always loved is King Arthur Flour. Their emails are always so well-designed and enticing. I also like the way their call to action copy is more than just click here or learn more. Williams-Sonoma does such a nice job of staying on-brand and there is always at least one thing I want to learn more about. I feel like I’m stepping into the store when I open one of their emails. They also have a nice dynamic piece in the footer that shows my closest store location and upcoming classes.

Are there email design trends that you really love or hate?

Celeste: The overuse of emojis in subject lines is a trend I numbed to pretty quickly. I've seen too many marketers slapping emojis into their subject lines without bothering to test the copywriting or email content. I'm not against using emojis in subject lines—I would just like to see marketers have a more solid idea of why they're using them. As for a trend I love—I've seen very classy uses of animated GIFs in email in the past few years. I've seen it used more and more to gently guide users to a call to action or create visual interest. More of this, please!Rachel: Whoa, I couldn’t agree more with Celeste, here! I have a client doing some interesting subject line testing with a company called Persado—they provide the subject lines, the client imports how each subject line performs, and by using that data their platform provides even more relevant subject lines each time they test. It’s just a reminder not to let your own personal views impact a potentially relevant subject line or design element trend—and not to assume you know your audience without testing and measuring responses.Want to build beautiful emails in a quick and simple way? Try our easy email editor --for use with any ESP!-- BEE Pro. No HTML knowledge required!

Choosing an email platform, or email service provider (ESP), can be hard. And when it comes to design capabilities, there's a lot to consider. Email marketers need to strike a balance between out-of-the-box capabilities and customization options. So, what tops the list when it comes to finding the must-have ESP design tool? We asked some email marketing gurus to weigh in. Read on for their wise insight and top tips.

Must-Have #1: Features that streamline the design process

One of the best things about working with an email marketing platform is the ability to streamline the process. Here are my favorite design-related features:

• Drag & Drop Sections: I love being able to easily add, remove or reorganize sections of an email. When working with newsletter or event emails especially, this feature comes in handy.
• Web Font Integration: Including web fonts may seem like it's a small detail, but it goes a long way with brand identity & recognition. The easier it is to add web fonts to an email, the better.
• Image Uploading: This seems like a silly feature, but it can be a pain if your uploaded doesn't work!
• Responsiveness: When I'm working with ready-built templates from an email marketing platform, it's great to know that they've been tested on multiple devices. This helps to take out some of the guess work and extra rounds of testing.

Each of these features helps my team to work with the clients in a smooth and effective way. They allow us to be creative while also meeting deadlines!— Melanie Kinney, Digital Design Director at G3 Communications

Must-Have #2: Marketing automation capabilities and responsive templates

When looking for a new ESP, there is no reason not to go with one that has automation. Marketing automation is no longer the future ofemail—it's the present. I would encourage clients to choose an email platform with advanced segmentation logic (allowing both AND and OR statements), and one that allows for a combination of auto-responders and automated lifecycle programs. Also, the platform MUST easily and accurately sync with whatever application you use to manage customers, or you won't be able to take advantage of those automation features.Any ESP should be able to tell you, ahead of time, which applications it syncs with and how it will help you set up the connection. On top of that, there are a few "nice-to-haves": responsive templates with an HTML editor (for greater customization), and an ESP that's onthe list to sync with Litmus(what a time saver!)— Belinda Blakley, Sr. Creative Digital Marketing Specialist at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine

Must-Have #3: HTML flexibility, including custom template uploads

I mostlydesignand code custom HTML emails outside of ESPs. Therefore, I look for the flexibilityto upload my own templates. My preferredway of coding emails is fluid/hybrid. It's based on a technique I learned fromNicole Merlin. This means the layout is not relying on media queries because not allemailclients support it. However, I do use responsive method for image swapping, for example. This way I can control the art direction ofvisuals betweendesktop and mobile.Emailservice providers that offer a naming convention in their template language are great. This makes it very easy to create editable content sections (or, modules). I can offer my clients one large master template. Clients can then build their own emails and use prebuilt modules on-the-fly or repeat modules for personalized of content.— Annett Forcier, Senior Developer with Cossette

Must-Have #4: Ability to create and upload custom code

Having the option to upload full HTML files is a must-have for any ESP. Being able to create and upload custom code allows you to match the needs of your business and brand better, setting you apart from the competition.In addition to importing HTML files, an ESP should have a rendering engine (like Litmus) for previewing and testing templates across various devices. An ESP that is well-designed from a visual and experience standpoint, plus drag-and-drop editors, are also great. But, if the overall application is difficult to use or navigate, then it may not be worth it.— Shannon Crabill, Email Developer at T Rowe Price

Must-Have #5: A one-stop shop for templates, drag-and-drop editing, GIF creation, and rendering

Recently, I worked with a major client on an email campaign that was set up in one of the topemail marketing platforms. When you’re sending a steady flow of emails, the ease of producing and scheduling is definitely important! I learned how valuable it was to have existing templates, which can save a lot of time. A drag-and-drop editor also allowed flexibility with modules that could be easily moved/rearranged—but it was vital that a small change in padding, image size, and font size (whether through the WYSIWYG or HTML editor) didn’t break the template or cause rendering quirks.Also, in working with the design team to create new email designs, I realized other important factors for the ideal ESP, like: a rendering tool to show how an email would look on different devices and browsers, an image/GIF database, and a photo resizing/cropping tool. Even a GIF or video-creation tool would be helpful. Essentially, an ESP should be a one-stop shop that makes a user’s experience easier—so that there’s no need to have multipleaccounts for various services just to create one email!— Sherry Huang, Growth & Product Owner at RevSquare

Must-Have #6: Intuitive UI and dynamic templates

When choosing a new ESP, ease of use should be considered first and foremost. The UI has to be intuitive to the user so that it flows as naturally as possible.When considering email designs, I look for readily-available templates that can be amended based on the needs for that particular campaign. The templates need to be responsive because mobile/tablet viewing has risen so fast over the years. An added plus: the ability to create a new layout from a choice of drag-and-drop templates within the system itself! Another aspect that ranks high is the ability to create dynamic variations within set templates. And, to truly make it a personalized and targeted email, it would be amazing to have theflexibility to create different layouts for the dynamic content sections.So here's a ranking of what I personally look for in an ESP:

1. Ease of use
2. Naturally intuitive platform and flow
3. Choice of template layouts
4. Dynamic variants within template layouts
5. Ability to choose different layouts for the different sections of the email (choice of layout for header, hero image, body copy with columns, etc.)

— Priya Bransfield, Email Consultant

Wrap-Up: Design Questions to Ask When Deciding on an Email Platform

It's clear that choosing an ideal email platform means selecting one that offers the reliability, flexibility, and options that your design team needs.We love the feedback we got from our email marketing gurus! They covered all the bases, including most of the questions we typically ask:

• Does the email platform have a drag-and-drop editor?
• Will I need an email developer on staff to code templates?
• Does it have a built-in template library?
• Are the emails mobile automatically responsive?
• How good are the mobile and desktop preview capabilities?
• Can you easily incorporate interactive design elements?

What do you look for in an email platform? Share in our comments section!

Legal speak isn't the most exciting content, but sometimes terms of service and privacy policy emails are necessary. When brands are transparent and communicative, they reap the benefits of customer loyalty and trust. And—most importantly—they protect themselves legally.Over the past few months, we've received a slew of TOS and privacy policy update emails from different businesses. So, we got curious: Do all these emails look the same? (No.) Are some easier to read than others? (Yes.) Could there be smart design tips to offer? (Yes!) We took a look at fifteen "legalese" emails and created a list of important design tip lessons.

Lesson 1: Tell it like it is in the subject line

When it comes to the subject line, you don't need to get cheeky. Service terms and privacy policies are pretty serious issues, and it's important your subscribers know what you're sending them. The last thing you want to do is confuse your audience. Here's a sample of the subject lines we've seen:

• Changes to our Terms of Use and Cookie Policy
• Important Updates to Meetup’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
• Important Updates to Etsy's Terms and Policies
• Update to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
• Updates to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
• Notice of Update to Medium's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
• Notice of Update to Hulu's Terms and Privacy Policy
• We're updating our Terms of Service
• We’re updating our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
• We're updating our Terms of Service, Payments Terms of Service, and Privacy Policy

Lesson 2: Personalization gets attention

Many legal emails we received included a personalized introduction. In other words, the emails were addressed to recipients by name using a firstname merge field. Here's an example from OpenTable:

Personalization makes sense for these letter-style memosthat are dense with text. The goal is to get users to actually read your message, and it helps increase engagement when you call them by name. Here's another example from Uber:

LinkedIn takes personalization one step further by also including the recipient's profile picture in the header. It's a visual cue that essentially says "This email is about me" or "This email is for me."

Lesson 3: Most brands either summarize or include information in the email itself

Instead of leaving your subscribers to click a link or CTA button to see updates, most brands offer a rundown of significant changes within the email itself. It's wise to err on the side of transparency. The goal is to make sure your clients are informed about your updates, so presenting the information right away is effective. Here's an example of a summary email from DropBox:

Slack also included a summary portion of its email with just a few bullet points.

Still, there are exceptions. Seamless sent a short, easy-to-read message with links to click on (Terms of Use and/or Summary of Changes) for more information.

Similarly, Twitter used its notification email to inform its users of updates, but the details of the updates themselves were not in the email.

Lesson 4: Skip navigation menus, secondary calls to action, or any other marketing material

Brands don't muddle terms of service and privacy policy emails with off-topic content. Navigation menus? Nope. Social media CTAs? Nope. Other updates, calls to action, or upsell content? Nope. With legal notifications like these, it's imperative to be straightforward. Take this email from Medium, for example. The first sentence gets right to the punch, and there is simply no clutter or extraneous content in the header or footer—or anywhere.

The same goes for this email from MailChimp:

Lesson 5: Improve legibility with text formatting best practices

As with any text-heavy email, you can improve legibility by following best practices for text formatting. Depending on your message, this probably includes header formatting, ample padding, proper line spacing, text styling (bold or italics), bullets or indentations, and color. Typeform sent one of the more elegantly formatted emails, using headers and questions to organize text.

Bulleted lists can also help your subscribers scan content, and the linked text is easy to spot. Be sure to check out our post on how to format text-heavy emails for easy reading.Similarly, Meetup used headers and bullets for simple scanning. And, its red CTA buttons are easy to spot.

Skype used a particularly large font in its update email, along with checkmarks instead of bullet points.

Lesson 6: Use an HTML background color to make your content pop

Using background colorswon't just add visual interest to your message; they can help improve legibility and organize your content better. Hulu's terms of use update email was one of most colorful that we received. The email also used a huge personalized header, easy-to-read text, and scannable bulleted lists.

Indiegogo used a background color in a different way—to create a "boxed" email effect. Using an HTML color like gray around the body content puts emphasis on the text, potentially improving focus and legibility.

Etsy uses the same approach by showing that the background color doesn't have to be gray; it can be a muted brand color instead.

Wrap-up: Design tips for terms of service and privacy policy emails

Make your legal notification emails look clean, simple, and well-designed. Follow these tips from other brands:

1. Start with transparency in the subject line. Indicate exactly what the email contains.
2. Personalize your message with names. Grab attention right away. Also, consider using a header style.
3. Include a summary of the important info within the email. Don't assume subscribers will click to your site.
4. Don't add any secondary content in legal notification emails. Keep them clean and clutter-free.
5. Use formatting to improve legibility. These can be text styling, bullets, and colorful links.
6. Incorporate a background color. Keep in mind of your overall layout and heading.

Design your legal notification email and go Pro!

Design your next legal notification email in our easy-to-use, drag-n-drop BEE editor. No HTML knowledge is required, and your email will be mobile responsive. Sign up for a BEE Pro free trial!

Has a segment of your subscriber list gone silent? You're not alone.

No brand can avoid an occasional decline in engagement from subscribers. The remedy is to stir up renewed interest in your brand with re-engagement email campaigns. With special promotions, limited offers, and—of course—good design, re-engagement emails can help reinvigorate inactive subscribers. Here are five design tips to help you win back your customers.

Tip #1: Use the subscriber's name

Get personal by using your subscriber's name. You want to grab attention right away and make a reader feel special. So in addition to making a greatoffer, make the reader feellike the email was tailored just for him/her.This re-engagement email from Showtime uses the subscriber's name in the subject line. That means that, while scanning through an inbox, the reader can see immediately seehow the email was personalized.

Rebecca, We Miss You! Special Offer Inside

Like Showtime, Netflix takes a similar approach, using the subject line: "Kelly, enjoy another free trial on us." Here's the email:

Netflix also uses great text on their CTA button. "Enjoy another free trial" is specific and engaging. It's more interesting—and compelling—than more typical, expected messages like "Click here to shop" or "Shop now." Your CTA button text should also include a great action verb, be personal (maybe even saying your free trial), and be short and sweet.

Here's another personalized re-engagement email from the digital TV & film industry. Sling Television includes the recipient's name, too, this time in the body of the email. The subject line reads: "Come back and watch for free!"

Tip #2: Recommend new products

Do you have a new look? Have you introduced new items? Did you recently start anew program or offering? Entice inactive subscribers to come back by telling them about what's new and improved with your brand.This re-engagement email from ATG Stores is all about what's new. In fact, the first statement a reader's eyes land on in the body of the email is, "A lot has changed since you've been gone." (The subject line of the email is "We miss you! Enjoy 20% off site-wide as a warm welcome back.")

Can you count how many times ATG uses the word "new" in the email? We count five—including one in the CTA button. The message is simple: if you didn't see something you liked before, maybe you will now, so come back to the site. The message is bolstered, of course, with a great discount: 20% off. This is a smart approach for e-commerce brands that need to keep up with competitors' near-constant churn of new items. So show you have the latest and greatest.

Tip #3: Get personal with browsing or shopping history

Aside from a subscriber's name, what other data might you include to catch their eye? Similar to abandoned cart emails, which include shopping items left behind, a re-engagement email can include personalized information from a subscriber's browsing or shopping history.Pottery Barn's re-engagement email (subject line: "We've missed you! Here's 20% OFF EVERYTHING – even furniture!") features "recommendations just for you" based on a subscriber's browsing history.

Thrive Market, anonline grocery and goods store, takes a slightly different approach. Instead of showing a subscriber the items she's already purchased or might be interested in, Thrive highlights how much she's saved withher previous subscription. See it? The amount is in a narrow horizontal strip near the top. (Subject line: "Come back and thrive, Kelly! Here’s a $15 gift on us").

Tailoring an email to a particular subscriber can improve the connection that person feels to your brand—and maybe improve re-engagement.

Tip #4: Don't rely on words to make an impression

A picture says a thousand words. Okay, okay, we know that's cheesy and cliché, but you knowwhat we mean. Your re-engagement email shouldn't just say "Come back" or "We miss you"—it should show it. We found a few re-engagement emails in our inbox where the sender went the extra mile with a well-designedhero image. This animated GIF from Ticketfly was our favorite.

And here's the full email (with the subject line, "Did we somehow skip a beat? We miss you."):

Did you catch the brand's use of a clever bulletproof CTA, fabulous single-column modular design, and clean gray background color? Nice work, Ticketfly. This re-engagement email has our interest piqued.

Online marketplace Zazzle also expressed their "sadness" at missing inactive subscribers with this cute kitten. A campaign like this shows how a simple stock image can go a long way when paired appropriately with your message. (Subject line: "We miss you! Come back to Zazzle & spend your $10 today!")

Tip #5: Don't be afraid to keep things simple

Re-engagement campaigns don't actually need to reinvent the wheel. We're big fans of design simplicity, and this kind of email is no exception. We spotted a few re-engagement emails that kept it short and sweet—with good design decisions, too.This message from cost-splitting app Splitwise is personal, to the point, and easy on the eyes. The subject line is "Long time no see, Kelly."

The CTA button is easy to spot and easy to tap on mobile, and the message is simple and heartfelt. Unlike most re-engagement emails, instead of offering a discount (it's a free app), Splitwise invites readers to offer feedback. This tactic makes the brand seem personable and considerate—possibly enough to get subscribers interested again.Digital photo app Mpix also keeps their re-engagement emails simple (subject line "Long Time, No See").

We love how Mpix used a bold HTML background color for an email like this, and the CTA button is festive, too!

Key takeaways for a great re-engagement campaign

1. Use the inactive subscriber's name (in the subject line)
2. Show off new products or services
3. Incorporate browsing history or user-specific data
4. Create custom content that shows you care (like an animated GIF)
5. Keep it simple—bold HTML background colors and CTA buttons go a long way

Design your re-engagement email and go Pro!

Design your next re-engagement email in our easy-to-use, drag-n-drop BEE editor. No HTML knowledge is required, plus your email will be mobile responsive. Sign-up for a BEE Pro free trial!

Wantto impress your client with a stunning email? Start with agreat email design brief!The design phase is a critical step in the email production process for many digital marketing agencies. It's when your email takes shape visually for the first time.According to Litmus, out of all production tasks, the majority of senders spend the most time in the email design phase.The email production process typically involves:

1. Conceptualizing the email campaign
2. Developing content (copy and visual assets, like original photography)
3. Designing emails (this is our focus today)
4. Developing emails
5. Testing, QA, and final approvals
6. Sending!

A good email design brief ensures that you have a smooth transition from Steps 1 and 2 to Step 3. You need to both 1) meet your client's expectations and 2) communicate with your designer and design team.So today, we're gearing this post toward agency-based project managers. We'll walk you through how to communicate with your designer via an awesome designbrief, which will help create the first version of a fully-designedemail.

Photo by Luis Llerena

What a good email design brief should accomplish

A good brief provides a design roadmap without being prescriptive. It shouldgive the designer some context about the client and the scope of the project, as well as critical technical details like HTML color codes and your brand's font styles.Your brief should be clear and concise. Don't make it a whole separate project just to read the brief! It should also be relatively high-level in explaining how the email should look; it's the designer's job to synthesize the information and deliver a design that helps everyone achieve the project's goal. Let your designer do what he/she does best: creating a beautiful and effective email for your client's subscribers.Let's look at 10 fundamental, albeit sometimes overlooked, questions that your design brief needs to answer to set your designer up for success.

1. Who is the client?

Let's start with the basics. Provide the client's name and any relevant information, like if you've worked with the client before (if so, should the email align with previous designs, or is there a new direction?). In a few sentences, let the designer know the client's mission and work, including why they're asking for the work. Indicate what makes the client stand out from the competition, both in what they do and the visual style they want to achieve.

2. What's a quick description of the project and its primary purpose?

Explain why you're sending this email. What are you hoping to achieve?What's the primary call to action?

3. What's the scope of the project?

Is the email in question part of a larger email campaign—and also part of a larger marketing campaign? Be clear about how this email figures into a larger project. Don't leave the designer working in a silo. Make sure the designer knows the full scope of the project, and connect other team members working on the same assignment. Also, give them the context needed to design an email that delivers on expectations.

Photo by William Iven

4. What does success look like, and how will it be measured?

Will success be measured by the number of opens, click-throughs, social shares, or by another metric? Indicate typical engagement rates for previous email campaigns. Maybe success will be reached by gaining insight into the audience—like if they don't respond as well to a subject line style or to a change in design.

5. Who is the target audience, and how do they view email?

Describe the audience for the campaign—e.g., 20-something women athletes—and include the proportion of the total audience within a particular segment. Also consider: Havepast design approaches been particularly effective with this group? Will different versions of the email be createdfor individual segments?Be clear about the email clients and devices your target audience uses, so the designer(s) can design accordingly.As we discuss in our post about making data-driven email design decisions, the number of email clients is growing every day, so it’s not realistic to have designs tailored to every user’s email service. Instead, designers should know the main email services (and devices) anaudience uses in order tooptimize designs for the most significantenvironments. (Litmus reports, for example, thatrecent versions of Outlook (2007-2016) don’t have the best HTML or CSS support).

6. What is the style?

Define the style in a few words. Think about the tone/feeling the client ishoping to evoke. Is the client looking for something clean and minimal, or friendly and playful? Avoid using common design adjectives, which tend to be jargon-y or get overused. When in doubt, communicate visually (see #8). If this is a new client, it's especially helpful to provide previous examples, letting the designer know if the same style should be used moving forward, or if the client wants to achieve something different.Don't make the designer or design team reinvent the wheel. Is there a template that should be used, or a standard header or footer design? In most cases, there are, so be sure to provide these assets.You'll also want to give the designer access to the client'sstyle guide and—importantly—let them know how closelyit should be followed. Sometimes there's wiggle room to break away a little bit; other times, the guidelines must be closely followed without exception.Style guides can be 100 pages or even longer. Guide your designer by pointing out which pages are particularly important, like where colors, fonts, logo standards, and illustration or graphics libraries can be found.Let the design team know if there areparticular colors preferred for this email or ones to avoid. Indicate font standards, especially if the designer will be creating imagery with text overlay.

Photo by Chris Barbalis

7. What are the dimensions?

When it comes to email, the most important dimension is width. Usually, 600 to 640 pixels for desktop (320 pixels for responsive mobile) is a standard guideline for legibility and good rendering in emails.Of course, you can let the designer know the desired email width, in pixels, and if there is a vertical constraint. But, usually, the designer canmake recommendations based on what the client wants and explain if something doesn't fit any standard formats. (Also, read more about email clipping, when applicable.)

8. Are there other emails to draw inspiration from?

Often, when communicating about design, pictures are better than words. Provide examples of inspiration emails from the client and indicate whichspecific elements the clientlikes and dislikes. Or, create a simple mood board or image collection to communicate the aesthetic you want.

9. What's the content to be designed?

Always provide the copyfor the email—and it should be final. Revising content after the design is in progress can become time-consuming and difficult. Make sure to indicatesection delineations, header text, and CTAs. In addition to text, provide images to be included in the design as needed, like anything the designer isn'tcreating from scratch.

Photo by Eric Rothermel

10. What's the timeline?

This is an important one! Make sure to providea clear timeline with deadlines for each milestone. Just remember: it's always valuableto talk with key stakeholders (include contact info), to confirm who will provide feedback and when. With all this info, your collaboration with the designer will start off (and continue!) on the right track.

What questions do you ask?

What questions do you ask in preparing an email design brief for your design team? Let us know in the comments!

Savvy email marketers know thatgood design determines an email's success. And if your emails aren't performing the way you want them to, it's critical to examine your design. To make smart data-driven email design decisions, ask yourself these five questions, and then test our suggested solutions to improve your metrics.

1. Are your click-through rates lower than you want them to be?

Your click-through rate shows how engaged the audience is with your email. Click-through rates can vary pretty significantly depending on the industry, company, and email type, but recently, IBM Marketing Cloud reported an overall mean click-through rate of 3.3% in their 2016 Email Marketing Metrics Benchmark Study.

Obviously, this is a pretty important metric. The whole reason you're sending email is to engage your audience. Improving or maintaining high CTR is a mainstay on every email marketer's to-do list. But have you considered how design impacts CTR?

What to consider: The number of images

Images can have a big impact on click-through rates. According to an analysis of over 5,000 email campaigns by Vero, campaigns with images sawa 42% higher CTR than campaigns without them. That's pretty significant. If you've been using the same email templates over the past year, now is a good time to test fresh versions—ones that are more visual.Once you add more images, it's important to know how tooptimize them. Try these design tactics:

• Only include images that add value to your message.
• Take note of image rendering and avoid blurry images. Know how to optimize images for mobile emails.
• Never skip ALT text, and always make sure images are linked.
• Use text over background images (vs. text built into the image).
• Using stock images? Make sure they're on-brand, and consider quick customizations.
• If you're worried about your email getting cut off, read our tips on how to prevent clipping emails.

2. Are you getting enough clicks on your primary CTA?

Bad and boring CTAs happen to the best of us.Plus, there's a lot to consider, like how it should look, where it should appear, how many times it should appear, and what it should say. To improve clicks on your primary CTA,check out these tips.

What to consider: The CTA button

Yes, we said button. People are wired to click on buttons, and your primary CTA should be one. Linked text is for secondary CTAs, when needed. Hereare the design best practices to try and test:

• The CTA should pass the squint test. This means that even with blurred vision, readers can still see where and how to take action in your email.
• Make the button bulletproof, so that it's HTML and not an image. This means it's always clickable, even with images turned off—an email essential.
• Move the CTA somewhere else. In most cases, the button should appear at the top of your message and close to an offer.
• Reduce the number of CTAs. Simplify your email and offer readers a call to action just once (or twice).
• Change the CTA color. No doubt about it, color is one of the most significant components of making a button stand out.

3. Are your mobile readers engaging with your email?

Do you know what percentage of opens occur on mobile devices? Believe it or not, the percentis often higher than 50% (as shown in this report by Litmus). So, engaging mobile readers is definitely a top priority for most email marketers. Another important question to ask yourself: does the email design fit within the confines of a tiny screen?

What to consider: The mobile-first design approach

There isn't a single golden rule for optimizing your email for mobile. Taking a "mobile first" approach means adopting multiple design techniques and testing how they perform. To improve engagement among your mobile users, you should be trying these design tactics for mobile:

• Choose a single-column layout with easy scroll.
• Go with a simplified header design (no navigation menu, no clutter).
• Make sure to have a responsive design that allows images to resize or move, or for some content to be hidden.
• Have CTAs that are bulletproof, legible, and have appropriate padding.
• Include images that are always mobile-optimized.

4. Do you wish people spent more time looking at your email?

If time spent on email is important to your business, have you considered how to use design to increase this? Even transactional emails can include secondary upsell content, and some emails are long enough to warrant anchor links. Sometimes, bigger is better when it comes to email. Change your email design and see if readers spend more time with the content.

What to consider: The message content, length, and structure

We often lobby for short, simple messages that don't resemble websites, but this doesn't mean everything you send needs to be short and snappy. Test how your audience responds when you increase email content and length. Use design to help your longer email's effectiveness:

• Use anchor links to improve navigation.
• Feature user-generated content that's relevant to your audience.
• Consider alternative ways of featuring products and services.
• Try a mobile-responsive photo gallery.
• Test different layouts (multiple columns, hybrid, etc.).

5. Does your data show that certain email clients dominate your subscriber base?

Email marketers should continually monitor which webmail services readers use.Litmus's most recent data indicates that Apple iPhone retains a stronghold, but every user base will be different.

What to consider: The priority of email services

With the number of email clients growing every day, it's not realistic to have designs tailored to every user's email service. Instead, designers should know the main email services (and devices) that their audience is usingand then optimize designs for the most significantenvironments.For example, if most of your readers use Outlook, then it's imperative to know Outlook's design rendering quirks.Litmus reports, for example, thatrecent versions of Outlook (2007-2016) don't have the best HTML or CSS support. Designers then need to be aware that there's no support for background images in divs and table cells, for CSS float or position, or for text shadow. For the majority of readers who use Apple devices to read emails, it's important to monitor iOS updates and see how they impact design. For instance, iOS 10 introduced issues with image auto-scaling. The key is to do your data research, to test, and to prioritize for your audience.

What data are you looking at?

Let us know in the comments what data you're looking at to make smarter decisions for your email design!