Email Design: 9 Best Practices for 2021

As the leaves turn gold and the festive season approaches, marketers worldwide brace themselves for the biggest shopping event of the year: Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM). Imagine inboxes filled to the brim, customer expectations through the roof, and every brand vying for attention. It’s an exciting yet challenging time for marketers who need to balance creativity, strategy, and technology in their BFCM campaigns.

But how to really cut through the noise, without squandering hours upon hours of work and creating the same dark-looking emails that everybody else sends? In an exclusive live event, we rallied up an expert panel of email & marketing leaders who shared their decades of expertise with the audience:

• Mike Nelson, Co-founder of Really Good Emails and Head of Growth at Beefree
• Val Geisler, VP of Customer & Lifecycle Marketing at Digioh and ex-Klaviyo
• Gregg Blanchard, Co-founder at SendView

Want to watch the whole live event? Catch it here. 

The BFCM rush: Understanding timing and preparation

Launching a successful Black Friday email campaign isn't just about offering jaw-dropping discounts. Timing is pivotal. As Mike Nelson pointed out, early mentions of BFCM deals might start appearing after Halloween, but the real consumer engagement typically picks up in early November. 

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"Marketers are mentioning the event, but it's not until November 1st that deals start," shared Gregg Blanchard. This data-driven insight allows marketers to mold their promotional calendar without overwhelming their audience prematurely.

Preparation is key for any campaign, particularly for BFCM. Teams must be cohesive and proactive, ensuring messages are aligned and inventory is ready. When discussing preparation, Nelson emphasized, "Plan accordingly. If you're going to be doing something really big, you're going to have to plan even more, probably get those approvals, make sure the stuff's in the warehouse."

Segmenting for success

Segmentation is no longer just an option—it’s essential. As Gregg advised, understanding your customer demographics, purchase history, and engagement levels ensures you speak directly to their individual needs. This can range from differentiating loyal buyers from first-timers to adjusting strategies based on geographic locations.

Val Geisler echoed the importance of segmentation, emphasizing the use of both zero-party and first-party data. "Being able to personalize well beyond email first name is important," she noted. Using data such as customer preferences, browsing behavior, and purchase history can significantly enhance the personalization and relevance of your emails. This tailored approach ensures your messages resonate, resulting in higher open and conversion rates.

Providing value beyond discounts

Are discounts the only way to secure sales during BFCM? Not necessarily. Val Geisler offered alternatives, suggesting brands explore options like bonus loyalty points, exclusive content, or the novel approach of offering an opt-out for BFCM emails. She stated, "Offer an opt-out of BFCM only. It's an incredible LTV (lifetime value) play because you get to keep your customers longer."

The focus should be on delivering value to your customers, ensuring they view your brand as more than just quick savings. This approach not only preserves your brand's integrity but helps in nurturing a long-lasting relationship with your audience.

Designing for impact

In the clutter of the BFCM inbox, creating emails that capture attention is crucial. Nelson shared effective design techniques, such as utilizing an inverted pyramid structure that naturally guides the reader’s eye to the call-to-action (CTA). Additionally, integrating countdown timers can enhance urgency and anticipation among shoppers, reinforcing the limited-time nature of your offers.

"The focus should be on delivering value to your customers," Nelson advised, emphasizing that impactful design doesn’t just involve visuals but clarity and purpose as well. Simplified, yet eye-catching designs, with a strong focus on benefits and engaging copy, ensure that your emails resonate with subscribers and aren't merely glossed over.

Lessons from the trenches

From managing internal expectations, like avoiding the dreaded "email blast" directive from superiors, to intelligently leveraging customer data, there are invaluable lessons to be learned in navigating the BFCM landscape. This multifaceted strategy involves more than just increasing email frequency; it’s about smarter, targeted messaging that aligns with user behaviors and preferences.

As Val put it, marketers should focus on, "offering value beyond the discount." This sentiment is echoed through her recommendations of incorporating non-discount elements such as loyalty points or product bundles, effectively enhancing the value offering during BFCM without necessarily reducing prices.

The road ahead: Crafting a seamless Black Friday & Cyber Monday email strategy

For marketers new to the scene, starting early with list-building strategies and honing in on audience demographics lays a solid foundation. It’s crucial to recognize the intrinsic value of engaging your audience with meaningful content, staying in their minds while remaining relevant as the holiday peak approaches.

The conversation forward anticipates how brands can make each interaction count, and how to foster deeper connections beyond transactional exchanges. As Mike Nelson aptly summarized, “It's not just about being heard above the noise—it's about resonating despite it.”

In conclusion

Navigating the BFCM season successfully combines the art of creativity with the science of data-driven decision-making. Time your messages wisely, segment judiciously, and aim to deliver value that's truly meaningful. Remember, while the noise of BFCM can be deafening, thoughtful strategies and personalized engagements ensure your brand’s voice is not just heard, but remembered.

Whether you're a small business carving your niche or a global titan amplifying your reach, BFCM is your platform to shine brightly. Use the insights shared to refine your strategies and approach this holiday season with confidence and clarity. Because in the realm of marketing, creating impact is as much about innovating as it is about sharing a story that echoes well beyond.

If you are looking for inspiration for your next BFCM email campaigns, make sure to check out the comprehensive Black Friday email collection on Really Good Emails, or start designing your own with a ready-to-use template from Beefree!

Unlike social media or other channels, emails allow you to craft personalized messages that connect with various unique audiences. When rebranding, this direct method of communication allows you to be transparent about your story and share how the changes will impact them, strengthening your connection with your audience during this transition.

The role of email in rebranding

When it comes to rebranding, communication is key. A successful rebranding is not simply changing the logo design or tweaking the brand’s tagline. It is about changing consumers' perceptions of the brand. You do this by sharing the reasons for the rebranding,the changes that will accompany it, and the benefits it brings to your audience. 

Email is especially effective for sharing your story because it allows you to segment and tailor your message to different groups. Whether you are addressing loyal customers, new subscribers, or dormant users, email allows you to send highly targeted messages that resonate with each segment. This ensures that your rebranding message is communicated effectively across your entire customer base.

Emails can also be configured to deliver consistent updates, thus reinforcing the new brand identity over a period of time while building trust and transparency. Because the nature of email is measurable, you can assess the interaction levels and fine-tune your approach to ensure that your rebrand communication is always relevant and impactful.

After you share your story, your audience should appreciate the rationale behind the decision to rebrand and understand how it will impact them.

Best practices for successfully rebranding your emails

To execute a successful email rebrand campaign, you need to thoroughly plan and execute it carefully. Here are the three essential aspects to help your email campaign fit in with your new brand image.

#1. Craft a compelling company rebrand storyline

It is essential to create a compelling story of rebranding that will help your audience understand and resonate with your new brand identity. You should explain why the rebranding was necessary, show the steps the company has taken in terms of development, and define what the rebrand means for the company and its customers. 

Besides informing your audience, a well-told story will make each of them feel they have contributed to your brand evolution. When crafting a compelling story, consider the following: 

• Describe clearly in your emails why you are rebranding - whether in response to market changes or growth of your company or for a change in values.
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• Use graphics to illustrate timeframes in which significant events led to rebranding and how these milestones influenced the new brand.
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• Create an account that unifies the past, present, and future of your company such that rebranding becomes a natural evolution.
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• Include gamification and interactive components, such as questionnaires or quizzes, in your emails to further engage your audience in the rebrand and get immediate feedback. 

Throughout your story, there should be no confusion or feeling of being ‘out of the loop.’  The most important thing here is a smooth transition that will keep your subscribers informed and encourage them to accept and embrace these changes.

#2. Write using your new voice 

Your email content should reflect your new brand's tone, voice, and messaging. This means the language and style of your email copy should evolve as your brand voice does. You can use this as an opportunity to introduce any new value propositions or communicate any changes to your audience. 

Here are a few best practices to keep in mind when writing emails:

• Rewrite your email content to match the tone and style of your new brand. Ensure that this content is clear and concise.
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• Focus on making your email messages easy to understand. From subject lines to body content, your messaging must reflect your new brand identity via engaging language.
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• Convey the changes and developments using simple language. Avoid jargon or overly complex explanations.
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• Tailor your messages using personalization to address different audience segments. 

#3. Revamp your email design

Email design is the first thing subscribers notice, so it should immediately reflect your rebrand. You should update all visual elements, such as brand logos, color schemes, fonts, and more, to match your new branding guidelines. 

Here are some best practices when revamping your email design:

• Replace old logos, color themes, fonts, and images with new ones.
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• Redesign your email structure with modern layouts. Ensure that these new layouts are clean, user-friendly, and responsive.
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• Conduct A/B testing on these design elements to identify which design best resonates with your audience. 

Launching your rebrand email campaign

Building and implementing a rebranding campaign successfully involves several key steps to ensure that your new brand identity is communicated effectively to your audience. Here is a short guide you can follow.

Audit your existing email program

It is important to audit your existing email program thoroughly. This includes evaluating your existing email templates, content, and subscriber lists to identify what needs updating. 

For example, just as you would regularly review your checking account to ensure everything is in order, it's essential to audit your email program to ensure it aligns with your new branding strategy.

If your business name has changed, ensure that your new business email address is on brand. Using business email makes your company look professional and strengthens your already strong bond with your customers.

Small edits may go unnoticed during a rebrand. Make sure to schedule time to review each touchpoint, from the footer to the links.

Explore multiple channels

The next step is to create a comprehensive rebrand campaign. The main goal of the campaign is to introduce your new brand identity to your audience. You may do this by launching a teaser video on social media with a landing page that leads your audience to subscribe and learn more about the rebrand via email. You can follow up with detailed announcements and updates in future phases.

Leverage email automation

Email automation plays a significant role in managing your rebrand communication efficiently. When rebranding, it is important to keep your audience engaged and informed throughout the entire process. By setting up automated workflows, you can consistently send out your rebrand messages to your subscribers at optimal times. This helps you keep your audience in the loop at every stage of the transition.

For example, you can configure your email platform to send out a series of emails that gradually introduce your new brand identity, starting with short teasers and then the official announcement. This will build anticipation and ensure that your messages reaches your subscribers at the right moment.

Further, automation helps you deliver personalized content based on subscriber behavior and interactions, ensuring better engagement and successful email campaigns. 

Incorporating tools like geofencing into your email automation strategy can further enhance personalization by delivering location-specific offers or messages when subscribers enter certain geographic areas, making your rebranding efforts even more targeted and effective. 

Moreover, contact data tools like ZoomInfo can help you enrich your subscribers’ profiles and provide additional data for personalization. No wonder automated emails have reportedly generated 320% more revenue than non-automated emails.

Monitor email performance

Throughout your rebrand, it is important to monitor the performance of your email campaigns to evaluate their effectiveness. Some key metrics to track include open rates, click-through rates, and engagement levels. This will provide you valuable insights into how well your audience is responding to the rebrand. 

Analyzing this data allows you to make informed adjustments to your email strategy, ensuring that your rebrand continues to resonate with your subscribers and achieve its intended impact.

Wrapping up

Email is an excellent medium for communicating a rebrand while offering direct and personalized ways to connect with your audience. Its ability to build trust, address concerns, and maintain engagement makes it an ideal channel for guiding your customers through the transition to your new brand identity.

The first step to leveraging email for rebranding is by investing in the best email design. A well-crafted email design not only reflects your new brand identity but also enhances the overall user experience, making your communications more impactful and memorable. Good design ensures consistency across all your emails, reinforces brand recognition, and keeps your audience engaged. 

To achieve this, you need a reliable tool that offers flexibility and ease of use—like Beefree. With Beefree, you can create stunning, responsive email designs that perfectly align with your rebrand, ensuring that every email you send out leaves a lasting impression on your audience.

Sign up for a free Beefree account to create attractive email designs in no time.

If you run a quick Google search on the factors that impact your email deliverability, you'll likely see the same common elements pop up: email list quality, ESP, sender reputation, and email content.

Wait—what is an email sender reputation? How do you check your reputation in the first place? Are there any practices to maintain a good sender reputation?

These are the questions we'll answer together in this article without overwhelming you with irrelevant technical jargon.

Okay, we can already tell this is going to be a long one, so you might want to grab a bowl of pineapple 🍍 slices before diving in.

Happy reading! 🗞️

What is an email sender reputation?

Email sender reputation, which you might also hear referred to as sender score, is the rating that email sending providers assign to your email sending IP address. This rating measures how likely your emails are to land in recipients' inboxes and directly impacts your overall email deliverability.

It goes without saying that a good sender reputation means ESPs (email service providers) trust your emails and are more likely to be delivered to their customers' inboxes, and on the flip side, a poor reputation means your emails could end up in the spam folder because ESPs simply don't want their customers flooded with spammy emails.

Which metrics determine sender score?

Now, you're probably thinking things like “what are the metrics that determine sender reputation?” Well, there are many. Let's get into them one by one.

Bounce rates

If your emails frequently fail to be delivered and often bounce back because you're sending them to invalid addresses (which might suggest you're buying email lists), it can seriously damage your sender reputation.

Engagement rates

This metric refers to the performance of your email marketing campaigns. High open, click-through and reply rates indicate that your emails are relevant and wanted and will boost your reputation, while low open rates suggest your emails aren't engaging enough, which can lead ESPs to mark your emails as spam. 

Sender history

Sender history is basically your email activity over time, so if you're sending a lot of emails each day, it can be perceived as a warning sign by ESPs, and your emails might not reach inboxes. Because, after all, ESPs want to keep their customers' inboxes spam-free.

Spam complaints

You don't need to be a seasoned marketer to know that recipients can mark any email as spam, and as you'd expect, each time someone sends your emails to the spam folder, your sender reputation will take a significant hit.

High unsubscribe rate

When a high number of individuals unsubscribe from your emails, ESPs might see it as a red flag, and they could assume you've bought email lists or you're simply not offering much value to your subscribers.

How can you check your sender reputation? 

You may think: "Okay, everything is clear so far, but how do I check my sender reputation?" Well, to understand how mailbox providers (MBPs) view you as a sender and check your domain reputation, your best option is to use tools designed specifically for that purpose:

Gmail Postmaster: this tool is built by Google, it offers insights into your domain's reputation with Gmail, and allows you to keep track of any issues like spam complaints and delivery errors.

‍Microsoft SNDS: this Microsoft service offers data on your sending IP's reputation and delivery performance with Outlook and other Microsoft email services.

‍Sender Score: This tool rates your IP reputation on a scale from 0 to 100. Needless to say, the higher your score, the better your domain's reputation with MBPs.

How can a good email sender reputation improve email deliverability? 

Now that we have established what an email sender reputation is and what determines its score, let's get to know its impact on email deliverability.

We hate to sound like a broken record, but we'll say this one more time, when you maintain a good sender score, there's a higher chance that ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and ESPs will deliver your emails because they trust that your content is valuable to their subscribers.

Even better, when you maintain a good sender reputation, your email marketing campaigns are less likely to be flagged by spam filters across different ISPs and will seamlessly reach your subscribers. 

And this will create some sort of snowball effect: because when the emails land in the inbox, they are more likely to be opened, and a higher open rate signals to ISPs that your emails are relevant and engaging to recipients. The end result of all this? An even stronger sender reputation.  

And with a stronger sender reputation comes higher response rates. And with higher response rates, more chances of attracting customers.

Five practices to improve your email sender reputation

You've learned the factors that determine your sender score and the way to check it. Congratulations, but you're not done yet! 

Now, let's move on to the more complicated part. How to improve your email sender reputation. 

Let's start the hands-on work!

1. Maintain a clean email list 

Running email marketing campaigns in the dark without knowing who your recipients are or what interests they have is like flying blind, and that's why buying email lists is a huge red flag 🚩 for ESPs and ISPs that will result in high bounce and unsubscription rates. 

And just a friendly little tip here: regularly check for invalid email addresses and remove inactive subscribers because corporate emails keep changing all the time, and not having an updated contact list can end up affecting your reputation.

2. Authenticate your emails

If you're facing some challenges with deliverability, starting with email authentification might be your best bet! For those out of context, authentication involves using specific protocols to prove that your emails are genuinely coming from you and not from someone pretending to be you.

Pick one of the industry-standard authentication protocols, like SPF, DKIM, or DMARC, to verify your emails and help ISPs confirm that your messages are legitimate and trustworthy.

3. Avoid spam triggers

This one is a big piece of the puzzle that probably gets talked about less than it should: spam triggers. ESPs actually have a list of words that trigger spam filters. 

Using words like "Free," "Earn money," or "Guaranteed" can get your emails sent to the spam folder—or worse, not delivered at all. These terms are often associated with salesy or even fraudulent emails. 

But don't get us wrong—ESPs and mailbox providers are smart enough to analyze the context. If your email genuinely includes offers or valuable digital services or products, it's totally okay to use the word "free" (or even all three). 

4. Segment your audience

People love personalization, so instead of sending the same content for everyone on your list, go the extra mile by segmenting your audience based on things like subscriber behavior and preferences. And it's not as tough as you think; there are plenty of tools out there that can do the heavy lifting for you, like HubSpot or ConvertKit. 

When you segment your audience, you'll see how your subscribers get excited to hit that reply button and engage with the content you shared with them, which ends up boosting your reputation—bringing us to our next point 👇

5. Add engagement elements

You could say that there are email marketing campaigns that can succeed without a 

visually appealing email design, and sometimes they do—but that's definitely the exception, not the rule.

Beefree is one tool that can help you design eye-catching email templates with simple drag-and-drop actions in seconds and get your open and click-through rates through the roof. No steep learning curve 🎢 or endless onboarding videos needed. Go ahead, give it a go! 

Final thoughts

That's all for now. Appreciate you sticking with us till the end!

We think by now, one thing is clear for you. Having a strong email sender reputation is powerful enough to improve your email deliverability and ensure your marketing campaigns hit your subscribers' inboxes and convert them! 

We hope this article helps improve your email sending reputation — we'd love to hear what you implement!

Oh, and while you're at it, why not explore Beefree’s email templates 🐝? It's just a click away!

Wish you good luck, a strong sender reputation, higher engagement, and more customers! 😉