GEEK QUEEN
12 Ways To Improve Email Readability
Jenny Marsden • Sep 12, 2019
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A dozen ways to make your emails easier to read
Without a doubt, in this super busy world we now have more people skimming the surface than those who delve deep into the rabbit hole of info.
Some people get bored almost instantly, even if it what they are reading contains valuable content. Before you know it, they’re on to the next email without yours being read.
Have you ever wondered how to maximize email readability? Below are twelve ways to design emails that will maximize your reader’s readability and keep them glued to their seat.
What happens if they love your emails - they are more likely to click through and eventually purchase. Learn how formatting your emails can help you achieve your sales goals.
1. Using the subject line and sender name to grab your readers
The sender name and subject line are the icing on the cake. They give the reader an idea of your content, and it reflects on the whole email idea , hopefully luring them to open it. An email from Jenny - The Geek Queen, is much more enticing than info@somedomain.com wouldn't you agree?
The subject is also the one chance you have of standing out in their inbox. "Maximising your earn from clients you already have" is a better subject line than "February's News".
Once you’re able to get them past this stage, you’ve succeeded in grabbing your reader’s attention and interest.
2. Use a catchy headline
A strong headline is like a sweet fragrance calling for attention and luring your client in. It engages them, hinting them what to expect, and it might contain humor, curiosity or even highlight a reward. That damn Omaze is always sucking me in with promises of a night out with Idris Elba - and I open the damn email and read to the end almost every time! Take note of what works for you and replicated it in your headline.
3. Be smart with your font
A well used font can greatly improve the readability and ensure your content is read.
Fonts are more like the architectural design of a house, so adjust your font size to appeal to your readers as this can help your clients to absorb your information.
Try to use a contrasting color, make your fonts large enough and know the appropriate font style for each occasion. Don't use Comic Sans for a formal email and don't use a cursive font that might look great on your PC (you have the font) but won't look great when it converts to Times New Roman at the other end.
Remember that just because you personally love a particular font, doesn't mean you should be using it in your email marketing campaigns.
4. Be prudent with link usage
Too many links can be considered spamming and it can keep your email from being delivered. In other words, it doesn’t get to see the light of day.
Even without enough links to trigger your spam filters, you still don't want your client to feel
spammed.
I myself hate those email follow up's you get from webinar's that all follow the exact same text template: roll on, roll on, this special isn't' going to last, get in now before the price doubles emails. They drive me crazy. I know they are just pushing me toward their "paid" course so I never read them and unsubscribe IMMEDIATELY.
Don't fall foul of the "known sales spiel" it doesn't work any more. Link to what's important and leave out the extra 7 opportunities to link to the same page. People will find the link if they want it.
5. Calls to action
This call to action can be in form of a link or a button but buttons are known to perform better. You can use short words with specified commands like “click here”, and “Get Started”. However, you can develop a more specified text to encourage clicks.
Images are also a great way to get clients to click through from emails. An image with a question written on it, might encourage clients to click through like this example below.
Now I have to write a blog post about Getting More Pins to use my new image!
6. Adopt your readers style
This is something you should pay a reasonable amount of attention to.
I always say to my clients - if you are selling dirt bike boots to extreme athletes, would you format your email the same as if you were selling post grad courses to plastic surgeons? No you wouldn't. You know who your market is so make sure you take that into account.
You need to make sure you are actually writing for your readers and not yourself. Using complex sentences and big words may not help get your point across. Be sure to use simple sentence structure so as to have an easy to read email.
Even if you are writing the NASA programmers weekly newsletter, you still have to to be prepared to consider that while your audience might be super well educated and with multiple degrees, bombarding them with technical phrases and wording won't make it easier for them to read. They might already be in your industry and well aware of the nuances of your email content, but it has to be easy to read.
Consider putting links in that direct readers to technical documentation on your website for further clarification. This way you can keep your phrasing simple, explanations short and still supply your reader with further info should they require it.
7. Use images wisely
In as much as visuals can explain certain concepts a lot better and help to reinforce your message, you don’t want to flood your mail with a lot of visuals. Some spam filters consider excess use of images as spam, so your images should be used to help explain complex points and also to catch your readers attention, but must be relevant to your content.
I personally believe you should never send out an email newsletter without images (lets face it we all love the pretty pictures) but they need to be relevant to your text and be a little sparse to have the best effect.
8. Don't save important info for last
I used to have a client who was a writer and was VERY good. This just didn't translate to emails however. She was so ingrained in building toward an outcome that she would put the very best content at the end of the email. 80% of readers had bailed by that point.
Think of your email as in inverted pyramid. Best at the top, useful info in the mid section and then reinforcing what you've said at the bottom. You have to grab them right off the bat. A teaser is also useful but its got to be worth their effort or they might read all the way through on this one, but if they get to that teaser info and it doesn't make a huge impact they are never going to make that mistake again.
9. Leverage white space
White space is a term that gets waved around a lot at the moment. Effectively it acts as a break in the content. It can act like a chapter in a book: you know you've just finished that section and are moving on to the next.
You engage your readers more when you don’t cover the whole space with content. It gives them the space to breathe because it can be choking sometimes when it feels like you are just droning on and on.
White space is more like a break. It maximizes the readability of your email and helps lessen the strain of reading mountains of text.
10. Know your email marketing software
Email marketing software can come with pre-installed tools which can be a great starting point for your layout. Leverage on their features so as to maximize your email readability. Whatever platform you use, they should have sections you can add, pre-built templates and layouts that they have created based on feedback and usability.
While you don't want your emails to be the same as everyone else's, these templates can be a great start. Changing colors and fonts can help to change a standard template into something that reflects your style and business.
Check out Get Response's
great collection of templates. Scroll down on that page to see a sample of what you will have access too. You can sign up for free too!
11. Keep it consistent
Once you have nailed down what seems to work best for you, keep that layout consistent. This can affect your click through rate massively. If a client gets a regular email from you and knows that the best specials are midway down your email, if they do nothing else but scroll straight to there - you've just sent a successful email. Even if they don't click through (we don't all have money to spend all the time), next month they might.
The same thing goes for sending multiple emails per month. If you send out your news on the 15th and specials on the 28th make sure those emails are immediately obvious for what they are. Keep a consistent header but immediately under that make it known that this is the newsletter or the specials email.
I had a client have great success with end of month emails and then when she finally had time to start sending a newsletter out as well, she had a massive unsubscribe rate because no-one knew that it wasn't
the end of month specials email. They thought her emails weren't going to have the end of month discounts anymore and unsubscribed. It took her 14 months to recover from that. Lesson learned!
12. Optimise for mobile
This can be a challenge if you use a platform that doesn't allow you to customise your mobile output. If that's the case, send yourself your campaign and check how it appears on your mobile device. Make alterations, resend and keep going until you are happy with the outcome.
Great email marketing platforms like Get Response allow you to preview how your campaign will look on mobile which is critical to its success.
Bonus Tip! - 13. Create You Ideal Client Profile
Think about what you like IN RELATION TO YOUR CLIENTELLE!
If you sell custom designed platform heels, chances are you like them and wear them. Think about what you would be attracted to and what would make you buy, but keep it professional.
If you are a cool rockabilly chick but most of your market are 20 something clubbers - don't impress your personal taste on them. Think about why you make the shoes, which designs sell, why do they sell and format that data into a personality. Then apply that personality to your email campaigns.
Now - get out there and get marketing!
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About Jenny
I started my IT career in Database Administration and .Net coding. While I LOVED that work, I realised very quickly that I also wanted a life. To be a top end coder or DB Admin, you have to comit your downtime to constantly learning and evolving and while that is also something I love, I wanted it to be my work and not my life. So I morphed my love of design with my knowledge of all things SEO and moved into building small business websites.
Why small business websites? I'm a small business myself and I know how hard it can be so I wanted to give my clients a great service, with an approachable point of contact where no question was a "stupid question".
Are you having challenges with Chrome Browser using all your system RAM and slowing everything down? This Feature Flag from Chrome will help you to stop Chrome being such a RAM pig and set you on the path to better browsing.
If you are considering designing and developing your small business website yourself, there are a few considerations you should be aware of. Check out my list of what to think about when doing your own DIY website Vs getting a professional web design expert.
Things you can do and that I will be doing in response to Google's latest Web Core Vitals update.
