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Top 5 Email Design Tips for Small Businesses

Beefree team
Beefree team
Mar 30, 2016
Top 5 Email Design Tips for Small Businesses
Top 5 Email Design Tips for Small Businesses

For small businesses, email marketingis a cost-effective way toboost sales, attract new clients, promote services, strengthen relationships, and a lot more, writes Constant Contact's Ryan PinkhaminForbes. What's more, data from MarketingSherpa indicates that 91 percent of U.S. adults report they'd like to receive promotional emailsfrom companies they do business with. It sounds like a match made in heaven: sending email benefits small businesses, and receivingemail benefits readers.If only it were that simple! Email marketers and designers know just how much work goes into building an audience, distributingcontent, and getting clicks. A huge step along the way? Actually makingthe emails themselves—with smart design. A well-designedemail communicates visually, is easy to understand, looks great on mobile screens, and converts. If you're a small business, be sure you're implementing theseemail design tacticsin your marketing strategy.

Tip #1: Know how your brand's visual identity extends to email

A common misstep of small businesses is not establishing a visual brand identity before undertaking an email marketing strategy. Having a logo is not enough. Small businesses need to understandthe full depth of their visual brand, from font families and text treatments, to photo and illustration styles, to primary and secondary colors, and more. Your emails are an extension of your brand. They should be professional-looking and consistently-designed—and they need to look great. Sending messages that aren't well branded, consistent, or are a departure from your visual identity on other platforms (your website, your social media accounts) is confusing to readers and can be damaging to your brand. Do the opposite, andyou can build brand loyalty and trust with your audience.AIGA, the well-known professional association for design, is a great place to look for design excellence. Here's a snapshot of three of their recent weekly newsletters, AIGA Eye on Design.Note the consistent approach used for email width, colors, layout, text, header, pre-footer, and footer.

aiga-use

Indetermining how your visual identity will function in email, here are some questions to ask:

  • What font type, size, and treatment will we use for headers, body text, and call-to-action buttons?
  • How will our headers and footers look?
  • Which accent color will we use for links and call-to-action buttons?
  • Which background colors will we use? Will they ever change?
  • What visual treatment will ads receive so they stand out?
  • How will our CTA buttons look?
  • How will our social media buttons look? Which ones will we include?
  • How often will we include animated GIFs, countdown timers, or other dynamic designs?
  • How will we distinguish and divide content?
  • How will we sign off our emails?

There should be a section in your style guide specifically for email designto insure the same approach is used by anyone designing emails over time. Here are some tips and tricks for being consistent with your email design:

  • Use HTML color codes to establish color consistency (always use the exact codes, don't guess!)
  • Duplicate content blocks so that text styling is carried throughout an email
  • Set up each email the same way: adjust the width, background color, text color, font type, and link color consistently before you begin
  • Moderate white space with uniform guidelines for text alignment, line height, and content padding
  • Establish a standard practice for image sizing and treatment
  • Use variations of the same basic layout each time

Tip #2: Think mobile first

Small businesses might find it daunting to optimize emails for mobile, making sure messages are responsive to all screen sizes. But plenty of email editors, BEE included, allow you to design emails that are responsive by default—without needing to code or know any HTML. It's so easy, there's no excuse not to.Up to 70% of email opens now occur on mobile screens, depending on your target audience, product, and email type. Responsive email is no longer a "nice to have" feature—it's a necessity for all small businesses.We recently received this responsive email from Webflow, the website design tool, that's optimized for desktop and mobile-viewing:

weblow-compare

Not only is the email responsive—the image, text, and button all adapt well tothe mobile screen—butthe basic design of the email is optimal for on-the-go viewing.The email is perfect for mobile reading because:

  • It has an easy-to-scroll-through single column layout
  • It uses the inverted pyramid method to create hierarchy and drive readers to the CTA button
  • It's just a teaser: the whole email consists of one image, one header, one line of body text, and one CTA button
  • The body of the email is plain text
  • The CTA button is bulletproof

Read more about how to design a responsive email in out post10 responsive email design tips.

Tip #3: Optimize your calls-to-action

First things first: each email you send must have a call to action.It could be to invitereaders to sign up for an event, download a white paper, snag a discount on your product, or share your content. Whatever it is, it’s the driving force behind your whole email campaign. Anyone sending a marketing email, especiallysmall businesses, must optimize their calls-to-action so that they're effective.Here's an email from Typeform, the online platform that allows your to build surveys, witha great CTA. You can find similar examples and templates on their customer feedback forms webpage.

typeform

What makes this button work?

  1. It's bulletproof. Bulletproof buttons—those written in HTML—will always render across inboxes (vs. buttons that are images and don't show up for readers with images disabled in their inboxes). To make one, you can either make a standard CTA button bulletproof by adding a few lines of HTML code or check that the email editor that you’re using generates bulletproof buttons (and that those buttons are not simply images).
  2. It's well-placed. Typeform's email communicates a clear, single message that leads to a clear, single call-to-action. The CTA comes after Typeform makes a case for why readers should click.
  3. It uses custom, on-brand language. Good CTA text reflects the tone of the brand. “Click here,” “Register,” “Learn more,” and “Sign up” are overused and generic. Using personal pronouns like “my” and “your” also helps to set a friendly tone and make a CTA more engaging. "Show me how to do less work" is a lot more compelling than "Read more."

Tip #4: Make it easy to scan

Don't assume subscribersare reading every line of your email. Small businesses should optimize messages for distracted, on-the-go mobile viewing by leveraging design best practices for formatting email text.This email from Sprout Social, the social media management tool, employsgreat design techniques to make the message easy to skim:

social sprout

Theemail is comprised of modules that all have a consistent layout: header text, description text, and a call-to-action button. The format creates a hierarchy within each section of the message by using theinverted pyramid method, a smart approach for communicating todistracted readers who are only giving your email a cursory glance.

social_sprout

Sprout Social'semail also leverages largeheaders, two-to-three times the size of the body text,to reinforcestructure within theemail and make it easy to scan. The email also uses a single font and a generous standard line height to optimize readability. Without any competing images or graphics, the bright green call-to-action buttons stand out prominently on the screen. One change we'd recommend, though, is to optimize the text used within each CTA button. "Read more" is generic and doesn't communicate much to someone skimming through the message. A stronger CTA might be, for example, "Learn how to identify influencers now."

Tip #5: Use short subject lines

In overcrowded inboxes, what makes the difference between a message that gets opened vs. one that gets archived? The subject line.Salesforce reports that after sender name, thesubject line has the biggest impact on whether anemail is opened or not. Small businesses can stand out by putting some thought, planning, and testing into subject lines.Agood rule of thumb is to keep subject lines short. Most mobile devicesonly display the first six or sevenwords of a subject line, so using a shortsubject line is critical to get your message across. Data from Retention Science shows that subject lines with ten words or less tend to have higher open rates.

Retention-Science-email-open-rate-subject-line-600x348

Try gettingreaders curious about your email with a line that asks a question, promises a deal or coupon, has a “how to,” or includes a number. You could also test howemoji does with your audience. Here's a snapshot of some current examples in our inbox:

IMG_4224

Almost as important as the subject line—especially on mobile—is the preheader text that immediately follows is.Subscribers use preheader textas a screening tool, deciding whether or not the email is worth reading based on just a few words, so using compellingpreheader text can increase open rates.The first plain text that appears in your email will show up as preheader text. Optimize it!

Screenshot_preheader_gmail_android

Wrap Up: Email design for small business

It's a great time for small businesses to optimizetheir email marketing strategies. Now more than ever, free resources and tools tolevel-up your email design are at your fingertips. Email can't be overlooked. Improve your email campaigns with these five essential design tips:

  1. Consult your style guide. Your emails should be on-brand, consistent, and professional.
  2. Design for mobile first. That's where most of your clients likely read your emails.
  3. Optimize your CTA buttons. Good design goes a long way. Be bulletproof.
  4. Make your message skim-readable. The important stuff should stand out.
  5. Start with a great subject line. And preheader text, too!

Ready to design your email for your small business? It's easy to do with the BEE email editor! Try out BEE Free, or check out our new BEE Pro version which allows you to save your messagesand use them again.Save

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Now, let's be honest—you’ve likely heard about all of these rotating for the last few years. While email marketing has come a long way and is changing faster than ever, there’s only so much you can do within 600x1,500 pixels. However, there are no limits to where your creativity can take you. 

Let’s get into it.  

#1. Unique, tailored experiences 

Damian Grabarczyk, the co-founder and growth marketer of PetLab Co., says, “We faced the challenge of connecting meaningfully with an audience that expects more than one-size-fits-all communication.” 

When we speak about crafting tailored emails we mean going beyond the recipient's first name in the subject line. We’re talking about optimizing your entire email strategy to design multi-stage touchpoints to nurture leads across the customer lifecycle. As well as, leveraging data to send hyper-personalized, relevant, and engaging emails that feel less like a broadcast message and more like a conversation. 

Many are using AI machine learning algorithms and AI automation to analyze customer interactions, past purchases, browsing habits, website visits, and even social media behavior to curate engaging email content that resonates deeply with the real-time needs of recipients.

For PetLab Co this looked like including content such as an individual’s pet health history or product usage timelines. Damian Grabarzyk expands, “This approach transformed the conversion rate and strengthened customer loyalty. As we look ahead, I see brands in 2025 moving beyond generic personalization to adopt strategies that make customers feel truly understood and valued.”

On the other hand, many are leaning into user-generated content (UGC) for crafting tailored experiences. Customers today are more likely to trust the opinions of peers over branded messages. UGC like customer reviews, testimonials, videos, and photos are the best form of social proof depicting real people using and benefitting from your products or services. 

We see the benefits of using both AI and UGC to get the most out of your email conversions ;). 

#2. AI tools as an addition, not a substitution

Experts at NordPass state, "AI-powered content generation tools are not here to replace email copywriters and marketers. These tools make us more efficient. The smarter the tool is, the better equipped we are to create high-performing email content that drives results." 

AI tools can support us by significantly enhancing the speed, precision, and effectiveness of your emails. For instance while traditionally A/B testing has required a lot of time to analyze small variations with AI you quickly implement and test multiple email elements and make adjustments based on real-time engagement data. There are AI algorithms that can even predict which variations are most likely to resonate with different audience segments, leading to more accurate targeting and faster optimization.

In short, AI tools are revolutionizing the way we craft and optimize our email’s deliverability. There are many different types of AI solutions so we suggest finding the right one for your needs. 

#3. Even more transparency around data

With AI continuing to rise, folks are more and more concerned about where their data is going. That’s where zero-party data collection becomes a key strategy in email marketing, allowing you to gather data directly from customers rather than relying on third-party sources. 

Zero-party data includes information that consumers willingly share, such as preferences, interests, and purchase intentions. This data is often collected through surveys, preference centers, quizzes, or interactive content and is highly valuable because it is shared explicitly, ensuring accuracy and deeper personalization without privacy concerns associated with third-party tracking.

As privacy regulations tighten, zero-party data will empower you to deliver hyper-personalized email experiences while respecting user privacy. This approach will help you build trust, as customers feel more in control of their data, and you gain insights that lead to more relevant and engaging email content.

#4. The death of static emails

With attention span getting shorter day after day, digest-format emails are expected to rise in popularity in 2025. Presenting email content in an easy-to-scan, organized, and minimalistic layout will surely help deliver the most relevant information in a fraction of the time. 

Additionally, interactive emails will allow recipients to directly engage within the email without having to visit a landing page or website. Interactive elements like product carousels, polls, and quizzes create a dynamic experience that keeps subscribers engaged, especially in visually driven industries like fashion brands

So what now? 

You’ve heard these strategies before, but now it’s time to actually put them into action. The brands that win at email marketing in 2025 won’t just be sending emails—they’ll be creating experiences. Whether it’s hyper-personalized content, AI-driven efficiency, zero-party data collection, or interactive emails that break the mold, the key is to stay ahead of the curve.

So, what’s the first strategy you’ll finally implement? Your inbox (and your audience) are waiting.

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What do customers think about your brand’s products? The best way to find out is to ask them directly, which you can do via strategic email campaigns.

Email makes gathering authentic product reviews quick and easy. By collecting sincere feedback, you can build trust, increase sales, boost loyalty, and innovate product improvements. 

That said, requesting reviews via email requires precise timing, personalized messaging, and lots of engagement optimizations. But don’t worry—we’ll walk you through some key steps to create email campaigns that deliver the valuable feedback you need.

Why product reviews matter

Product reviews do more than confirm that you're meeting customers’ needs. Sincere feedback drives loyalty and sales, offers valuable customer insights, and helps you develop a strategic product development roadmap.

  • Fosters customer loyalty: Requesting and listening to feedback makes your customers feel valued and heard. It demonstrates that you prioritize customer satisfaction, which helps you build stronger, long-term relationships. Review requests also act as re-engagement emails by starting new conversations with customers.
  • Increases sales: Social proof drives sales. According to a recent survey by Power Reviews, 90% of potential customers use online reviews to make purchasing decisions. In fact, reviews have more influence over purchasing decisions than product prices. Turning product reviews into customer testimonials and encouraging reviews on third-party sites can significantly boost sales.
Image sourced from powerreviews.com
  • Builds Customer 360 insights: Customer feedback delivers insights into customer needs and sentiments, enriching Customer 360. Exactly what is Customer 360? It’s a unified, 360-degree view of customer data. It empowers you to tailor products and customer experiences to meet individual needs and preferences. 
  • Drives product improvements: Sincere customer feedback reveals what target customers like/dislike about your products. It provides key insight into their value, functionality, and usability, unlocking large-scale development opportunities.

How to create an email campaign to collect product reviews

Want to unlock the power of product reviews? Let’s explore how to create email campaigns that encourage customers to share their feedback.

Segment your audience

Like promotional emails, product review requests shouldn’t be sent to every subscriber.

If subscribers haven’t had the chance to try your product, product review requests will feel irrelevant and may trigger unsubscriptions. So, only send review email requests to customers recently trying your product.

You can do this by segmenting your email list based on where customers are in the buying cycle. Target loyal customers, recent purchasers, and first-time buyers with tailored email campaigns. This ensures that you’re sending emails to customers most likely to respond with insightful feedback.

Write a compelling email subject line

According to Superoffice, 33% of people open an email based on the subject line. 

Image sourced from superoffice.com

To get the click-through rates you want, your email subject lines should be personalized, relevant, and engaging. Here are some examples:

  • Did you love [product]? Or hate it? Let us know!
  • We value your opinion — help us improve!
  • We want YOU to help us make our product better!
  • Up for a discount? Share your feedback for 10% off! 

Learn more > Tips for writing open worthy subject lines.

Optimize for customer engagement

A successful email marketing strategy relies on customer engagement. Here are some key email elements you need to encourage interactions.

  • An attractive email design: With the right layout, color scheme, typography, and images, you ensure easy readability and promote interaction. Use these engagement-boosting email design best practices to help you create a design that boosts conversion rates.
  • Gratitude and value: Thank customers for reading the email and explaining why their feedback is so important. Also, consider including a personalized Gmail email signature with your content details to build trust and encourage customers to engage with your review request. 
  • Personalized, relevant content: Personalized email content motivates engagement. Use customer data platform (CDP) data to tailor messages to individual customers. What is a CDP? It’s a centralized platform that collects and unifies customer information, building comprehensive customer profiles. 
  • Incentives: Offering a small discount can motivate customers to leave reviews, especially first-time buyers. That said, incentives can (sometimes) generate insincere reviews, so stress the importance of honesty. 
  • A strong call-to-action (CTA): Your CTA should direct readers straight to the reviews submission page. Use clear CTAs with bold buttons and typography to make it stand out.
  • Mobile responsiveness: If your emails are slow to load or don’t display correctly on mobile devices, your bounce rate will spike. Leverage solutions that offer advanced mobile optimization features — such as Beefree— to create responsive emails every single time.

Ask specific, concise questions

Complex, drawn-out questions that are too open-ended can disengage customers. So, get straight to the point with concise, direct questions. Here are some examples:

  • What did you think of [specific product feature]?
  • How often do you use our product?
  • What are your favorite/least favorite features?
  • How likely are you to recommend this product?
  • What could we do to improve our product?

Use a mixture of closed and open-ended questions to increase your chances of receiving meaningful responses.

Make it easy to respond

The easier it is for customers to leave a review, the more responses you’ll receive. So, make the process as seamless and convenient as possible. One way to do this is with survey emails.

Email surveys have high response rates. They can be completed within the email with minimal effort, which is a big plus for busy customers. And, they can generate a wealth of quantitative data and metrics that are quick to analyze, leading to faster improvements. BeeFree has an extensive collection of email survey templates to suit every need.

For longer review requests, include a CTA that directly links to the review submission page. Review forms should use simple, clear language, be optimized for mobile, and have a progress bar. 

You could even provide your telephone contact details to allow customers to leave a review via telephone. It’s the preferred communication method for 55% of Baby Boomers according to Hubspot, so it’s worth considering. 

Leverage small business telephone services from Vonage to access call center capabilities like virtual receptionists and CRM integrations, streamlining processes.

Also consider directing customers to leave reviews on popular review sites, such as Google and Amazon.

Optimize email timings

If you send product review requests too early, there’s a chance your customers won’t have tried your product yet. But if you send them too late, your customer might have forgotten their experience. 

So, when’s the best time to request reviews? 

Aim to send review requests within 7-14 days post-purchase. This gives customers a chance to try the product a few times, leading to more sincere, meaningful reviews. Plan for seasonal surges such as Black Friday and incorporate them into your schedules.

Key takeaways

Do email campaigns work for gathering valuable product reviews that drive improvements, boost trust, and increase sales and loyalty? 

Absolutely — but they need to be strategic.

To generate sincere reviews and valuable data, ensure your marketing emails are personalized, engaging, and optimized for convenience. And, use email list segmentation and marketing automation to ensure they’re sent to the right customers at the right time.

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