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Tutorial: How to Add Anchor Links in Emails

Beefree team
Beefree team
May 22, 2020
Tutorial: How to Add Anchor Links in Emails
Tutorial: How to Add Anchor Links in Emails

Do you use HTML anchor links in your email campaigns? Anchor links in email are incredibly useful for newsletters that are long and content-rich. They give your subscribers a chance to quickly scroll down and directly skip to where they want to read. And when your emails are easier to navigate, your readers are more likely to stick around and take in the entire message. Let’s take a look at exactly how anchor links can help your marketing and what you need to do to use them.

Anchor links in email are incredibly useful for newsletters that are long and content-rich. They give your subscribers a chance to quickly scroll down and directly skip to where they want to read.

Why use anchor links in emails?

What exactly is an email anchor link? An anchor link is a hyperlink in an email. When that hyperlink is clicked, it takes you to another part of the email instead of opening a separate window. Anchor links are most helpful for long messages, which is why they’re generally used in email newsletters instead of sales emails.You might choose to include just a single anchor link, or add a full anchor menu in your email header. This menu acts like a table of contents so readers can see at a glance what’s included in the message.Anchor links are huge for your email UX (user experience). Keeping your email simple can capture a user’s attention. And adding an anchor menu is a great way to simplify your message.Here's a quick example from Mobile Marketing Watch, a company that adds anchor links at the top of their daily newsletter so readers can use a table of contents to quickly navigate to each section.

mobile marketing watch anchor links in email

The MintLife Blog also uses anchor links (the three bullet points at the top) in its email newsletter. Like Mobile Marketing Watch’s newsletter, this email is plain text. The anchor links are helpful since these messages don’t have any colorful HTML subheadings to aid in navigation. A plain text email can be difficult to scan — anchor links eliminate the problem and make navigating these emails a whole lot easier.

anchor link menu

How to create anchor links in an email

Good news! Adding an anchor link in your email campaign is easier than you might think. All you need is a basic know-how of the HTML link structure of your anchor links. As we'll see, an anchor link is made up of two parts: the URL link and the actual anchor tag that the link is "jumping" to in your email.Let's look at a specific newsletter example and show you how to replicate its anchor links using the BEE email editor. Follow along in this quick video recap or keep reading for a step-by-step tutorial:

Email anchor links example

We've always admired how anchor links were put to good use in Lenny Letter, a newsletter created by actor/director Lena Dunham and her best friend/director Jenni Konner. Lenny focused primarily on long-form content such as thought-provoking essays and stories, providing that content in the email itself. In this one, the header includes colorful anchor links to each corresponding story within the email. Here's how the links look across the top (starting with Jessica Grose and ending with Lena Dunham):

lenny header anchor links

Each color corresponds with the author's story. If a reader wants to read Kaitlyn Greenidge's story first, tapping her name (the orange anchor link) takes the reader directly to her story section (where the title, "I Love Betty," is also in orange). Click here to see the newsletter (trimmed because of its length).

Getting started

Now that you're familiar with the concept of anchor links in emails, let's walk you through how to add them in the BEE editor. Open up the free BEE email editor to follow along.

Step 1: Build the email

To start, we'll recreate the Lenny email in BEE. The header is simple: Using a basic one-column design, drag in the Lenny image and add the text (in Courier) beneath it. Next, drag in a four-column structure to arrange the top anchors.

lenny anchor links in email

Continue to add text and images to recreate the header, intro and first story.

lenny email

Afterformattingthe color of the text, get ready to add the links.

lenny anchor links in email

Step 2: Choose an anchor link name and its position

Now it's time to name and position the first anchor in the correct section of the email. For this step, we'll be using the custom HTML content block in BEE from the Content menu to add our anchor (think of it as a bookmark).

html block

Drag and drop the HTML block to where you want the link to "jump" down to. In this case, it's right above Grose's story, titled "Namaslay."

anchor links in email

This is how the HTML block looks onceit's in position but before we add code:

anchor links in email

To create the anchor, paste in one line of HTML code in the Content Properties field of the custom HTML block on the right:

<a name="grose"></a><br />

anchor link html example

The name in quotes ("grose") can be whatever you want. Just keep it simple and easy to remember — ideally one word — as this is the keyword you’ll use when linking to this anchor tag.

Step 3: Link the anchor

Now that the anchor's position has been specified, the text in the header needs to be linked to it. Simply select "Jessica Grose" and choose the Insert Link selection in the toolbar.

how to add an anchor link

In the menu, link to the anchor by entering #grose in the URL field.

Adding a link to an anchor in your email

For the link to work, it's important to include the hashtag (#) before the name and to make sure the name matches the one you chose earlier. The shorter and simpler the name, the easier it'll be to remember.Now you’ve created the two parts of your anchor links: the anchor text and the link pointing to it.Duplicate that HTML content block, then copy it and drag it to the next section. Update the name that’s within the quotes and link the text at the top to the new anchors you’ve created.

anchor links in email

Step #4: Send a test email to test the anchor links

send test email

Once you receive the email (BEE’s “Send test” feature lets you send a test email to yourself), click on the anchor links and watch the magic happen:

giphy anchor links in email

Voilà! If you’d like, you can add additional anchor links at the bottom of each section with text that says “Top of page” or something similar. This will let readers go back up to your anchor menu with a single click. But otherwise, your anchor links in email are ready to go.

Creating anchor links in email with BEE

Use the BEE email editor to create a table of contents with anchor links in your own emails. Our new Menu feature is the perfect way to add your links! With this feature, you can create an internal email menu that links to either internal or external links.Adding the menu is simple. Open up an email template in the BEE editor and drag a menu block onto the message. Click “Add new item” in the right-hand sidebar; this will allow you to add your text and then hyperlink that text with internal links. Set the link type when you add the URL’s.After you’ve set up your menu and added links, you can customize the layout and text of the menu to make it more visually appealing. You can also turn on the “Mobile menu” to access some additional design options. Mobile menus aren’t compatible with every email client. But for the clients that do support this option, this setting will optimize your menu for mobile viewing.BEE’s new Menu feature makes it easy and fast for you to create an anchor link menu for your email newsletters.

Email client support for anchor links

Anchor links are not supported by all email clients, so keep this in mind when deciding whether to add a table of contents to your newsletters. Here’s a quick report with some of the most popular email clients:Email clientSupport for anchor linksGmail (Web)YESGmail (Android app)YESInbox by Gmail (Android app)YESGmail (iOS app)NOApple Mail (iOS)NOYahoo! Mail (Web)YESOutlook.com (Web)YESOutlook (Android app)NOOutlook (desktop)YESOutlook for MACNOSamsung email app (Android)YESWindows Mail (Windows 10)YES(This table is based on our own data and data from Can I Email.)

Wrap-up: Using anchor links in email? Go Pro!

Email client support issues aside, adding anchor links to your email can be an effective and simple design tactic to help your subscribers read your content. Sign up for a BEE Pro free trial and follow the instructions in the workshop above to easily get this email marketing tactic down!Updated on July 21, 2020.

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Anchor Link in Email Cover

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Design made easy:

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Whether you’re employing a lifecycle email marketing strategy or simply confirming an order, we’ve outlined the basics of how spam prevention works, why it matters, and how to avoid running afoul of some commonly used triggers.

Why you need to avoid email spam triggers

Whether you’re an ESG reporting software or a travel company email spam triggers can email marketing performance and in turn hurt your business. For one, there’s the obvious reason that if your emails get sent to the spam folder, they probably won’t be seen. That's time and effort wasted.

Beyond that, being sent to the spam folder too many times delegitimizes your email marketing, which damages what’s known as your sender reputation. When just starting out, this reputation is effectively neutral. But if it gets too low, it could damage your marketing performance and even result in being blocklisted.

How email spam filtering works

As mentioned above, spam filters are implemented as a form of quality assurance and protection for end-users. Here's how ESPs determine content to be spam:

  • Sender reputation analysis: ESPs check sender reputation based on authentication, user complaints, bounce rates and sending patterns. They’ll also check the reputations of your IP address and web domain.

  • Content analysis: Content filtering uses triggers like keywords, formatting and error detection to distinguish spam from legitimate email marketing.

  • Blacklists: Along with sender reputation metrics, ESPs also cross-reference email senders against any of several blacklist databases. Being on even one of these means you’ll struggle to climb out of the spam folder at all.

8 common email spam triggers and how to avoid them

Now let's get to the good stuff. Prevention is generally the best strategy when it comes to avoiding email spam triggers. Here are seven factors commonly used by ESPs to filter spam emails, and the simplest solutions for dealing with them.

1. Lack of authentication

Missing authentication is one of the first red flags an ESP will pick up on. Authentication shows you’ve taken certain steps to establish legitimacy. It’s also used to prevent fraudsters from impersonating your brand online. There are three commonly used forms of email authentication:

  • Sender Policy Framework (SPF): This means publishing a list of mail servers and IPs with permission to send messages using your domain. This is one reason it’s important to conduct email marketing through a branded business email, rather than a personal account.

  • Domain Keys Identified Mail (DKIM): A cryptographic signature which shows a message’s original content has not been altered during sending. Think of it like the tamper-proof seal on a bottle of milk.

  • Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC): A way for you to establish how you want receiving platforms to handle authentication failures related to your domain.

2. Shady linking practices

Link placement and presentation play an important role in email marketing. Aside from engaging recipients and securing click-throughs, using links appropriately helps avoid your emails looking like spam.

Questionable linking practices include:

  • Links to domains with poor reputations
  • Excessive numbers of in-email links
  • Compressed, modified or obscured links, particularly when generic link shorteners are used

Only link to your own authenticated domain. Also, use an unlimited bandwidth VPS to help ensure your website access speed is always stable and fast. This will give visitors the assurance that your site is legitimate.

Don’t forget to make the purpose of any in-email link absolutely clear.  

3. Content

Although the reason for an email landing in a spam folder is often related to authentication, reputation, or poor formatting, content can at times be the culprit. Here are elements that you should look at if you suspect that your content is why your emails are not reaching their recipients:

  • Typos
  • Irrelevant content that doesn’t foster positive engagement
  • Poorly translated text
  • Partner content with poor reputation
  • Possibly offensive content
  • URLs or images with poor reputation

Another thing to note is language detection filters. Various words, phrases and tone choices have strong associations with scam emails. This includes certain buzzwords, vague or exaggerated claims, or excessive sales jargon. However, this is only really an issue when you already have a bad reputation.

Nevertheless, let’s say you’re beginning to build your reputation back up and are conducting Black Friday email marketing. While it’s important to use engaging language and strong CTAs, you should avoid terms like:

  • Limited time only
  • 100% free
  • Make money from home
  • Avoid bankruptcy
  • You have won

4. Bounce rates

A ‘bounce’ is when an email doesn’t arrive in the recipient’s inbox. This could be due to it being sent to a fake email address, an out-of-date email that is no longer in use, a full inbox, etc.

When a sender frequently experiences high bounce rates for their emails, this damages their reputation with ESPs.

But how do you improve bounce rates and, therefore, your reputation? The best way is to have good segmentation practices to ensure the right content goes out to the right people. You should also keep your list clean by regularly evaluating it and removing hard-bounce email addresses as well as inactive subscribers.

Moreover, ensure you send relevant messages that your audience actually wants to receive. Of course, always be mindful of the rest of the triggers on this list to make sure you’re protecting your sender reputation.

5. Misleading email subjects

Even if you’re not trying to do anything malicious, misleading subject lines can trigger email spam filters. For example, an email might claim to promote educational B2B content about internal audit controls. Then, instead, link the user to a landing page to sell them a product.

Always set clear topic sentences as email subject lines. Try to summarize the content and intent of the email. If you’re sending a welcome email for customer retention or promoting, say, a product or sale, make it obvious before the recipient clicks on it.

6. Poorly written and formatted emails

Poor formatting and low-quality writing are other important email spam triggers. Common writing triggers include:

  • Overly vague language lacking personal detail
  • Typos and spelling errors
  • Being too brief

A marketing email can trigger spam filters if it lacks formatting of any kind, or if there are inconsistencies. It’s also suspicious when marketing emails lack branded color schemes, imagery or the correct logo design.
Avoiding these email triggers is simply a matter of emphasizing professional communication standards in email marketing.

7. Poor engagement

Low engagement manifests itself through a lack of interaction with your emails from the recipients—low open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates, as well as low subscriber count are all indications. 

Consistently low engagement will likely result in your emails being filtered into spam. To combat this, you should strive to deliver good and captivating content tailored to your audience. More specifically, you can:

  • Use segmentation to personalize your emails and craft the most compelling content for each segment.
  • Put together attractive subject lines
  • Make use of solid and clear CTAs

8. Getting blacklisted

Improving your sender reputation, also means you don’t run the risk of being blacklisted. Blacklists are a useful prevention tool, but if you end up on one of these lists, your email marketing is more or less guaranteed to end up in spam folders.

Aim for prevention with email security and compliance training, and don’t send unsolicited marketing emails. You can also use a blacklist checking tool to make sure your sender emails haven’t been compromised.

Maintaining your sender reputation is essential

Email spam triggers aren’t all bad, they ensure that your well crafted messages aren’t drowned out and that users are able to easily see the emails they’re interested in. 

To reap these benefits, you need to keep an eye on these triggers and protect your sender reputation. Don’t worry, though. It’s easy to deliver marketing copy that avoids email spam triggers once you know what they’re looking for.

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