As the world's #4 email client, it’s safe to say that Apple Mail is a huge part of every email marketer’s life, and has been ever since its introduction in March 2001 under OS X Cheetah. Since then, it’s really come a long way...
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It was inevitable, something we all saw coming. Following months of updating data protection and privacy policy, and not to mention frantically sending out opt in campaigns, GDPR came, saw and, well... conquered. As a result, many of you have probably seen a significant drop in your email subscribers, but don't worry, there's still hope! Here are some tips and tricks to help get you back on track and rebuild your email lists.
Out with the old and in with the new
In some ways, GDPR has actually done you all a favour. It's a known fact that quantity does not equal quality, and having a large list of email subscribers isn't necessarily a good thing for your email marketing campaigns. In fact, it can almost be quite detrimental if a large proportion of your list is made up of inactive, disengaged subscribers. Inactive subscribers negatively impact upon your open rates and click-through rates and prevent you from seeing how effective your email campaign really is. In removing such subscribers from your lists, you'll have an email list made up of customers who want to receive your emails and are much more likely to actively engage. Great news, right?
With this in mind, you can now go forward with a more positive outlook. Focus your efforts on gaining new, interested email subscribers who have actively chosen to opt in to receiving your content.
Promotion is key
The first way to ensure people will sign up to your email lists is by promoting your email newsletter wherever you can. There are many opportunities to do this, but one of the most effective ways is to include a prominent sign up box on your website or blog. If a potential customer is already looking through your website or reading your blog, they're most likely interested in your content. Make the most of this opportunity by pointing out your newsletter as a way for them to stay in touch with you. This cooking blog has a prominent sign up box in the sidebar, prompting readers to subscribe for even more content.
Include a sign up box on your website or blog
If you don't have a blog, make one!
A blog is a great way for you to show your customers what kind of content they can expect from your business. It is also another way for you to promote your product or service without having to invest too much time, energy, or money. The more engaging your blog content is, the more likely your readers are to want to sign up. You can encourage blog visitors to subscribe to your email list to receive updates whenever you publish a new blog post. This is enticing, as they will already know that the content they will receive emails about will be of interest to them and won't be spam. 1Life make sure their subscribers will never miss out on a new blog post:
Create a blog to get customers interested in your content
Use social media
Social media is a quick and instant way to communicate shorter blasts of information to your customers. It's possible that many of your social media followers may not be aware of the fact you have an email newsletter. Take this chance to inform them that more detailed news about your business, promotions, or releases is available in your email newsletter. It's likely that many of your followers will take interest, because, again, they are following you for your interesting content. Check out this example from Hydrogen, which could have been made even better with a link!
Use social media to promote your email newsletter
Upload older newsletters to your website
Just like with the blog, by uploading previous newsletters, you're showing potential subscribers what they are in store for if they sign up to receive your newsletter. Although you may be concerned that making your newsletter available online might deter people from subscribing, it's actually a lot more effort for them to have to search for it online than it is to conveniently receive it in your inbox. You can also choose to not post your latest newsletters until the next one is sent out. It's a good idea to show that you include exclusive special offers, promotions, and current news to generate FOMO (fear of missing out) and push customers to subscribe. reallygoodemails.com have an archive of their old newsletters to encourage new customers to sign up:
Archive older newsletters so customers know what to expect when they sign up
With these tips in mind, it should be easy for you to get back up on your feet after the initial GDPR shock. As the saying goes, keep calm and carry on and you should be fine!
Until next time!
Your Mail Designer 365 Team
Give Mail Designer 365 a try today for free...
Mail Designer 365 helps you create stylish, professional HTML emails on your Mac. Download for free to see what you can achieve.
The big day is almost upon us... Tomorrow, after months of planning and preparation, the EU General Data Protection Regulation will finally be enforced upon businesses across the world. We're sure that most, if not all of you, have been overwhelmed with masses of email opt in campaigns from businesses willing you to stay subscribed to their newsletters and keep receiving updates (guilty ?.)
To find out how effective these opt in campaigns really are, and, in particular, what their impact would be on the average person who has signed up to multiple email newsletters over the years, we decided to carry out some research of our own...
For your American customers, May means it's almost time for Memorial Day. This holiday gives consumers a three day weekend, and there's nothing quite like a long weekend to get business booming!
Before you fire up the grill, or pour yourself a drink, check out our 5 tips for creating a sizzling Memorial Weekend email campaign.
Go stars and stripes crazy
As this is a super patriotic holiday, you should do your best to try and represent this in your email design. This makes the theme of your email clear from the get go, as well as making things a bit more fun and interesting for your email subscribers. Try to incorporate red, white and blue into your color scheme, and bonus points for you if you can include some American flag imagery in there, too!
In this example, Ralph Lauren have got their color scheme down to a T and the inclusion of the stars and stripes flag is a great way to get the theme across to customers.
The stars and stripes in this Ralph Lauren email are super patriotic
Use a sense of urgency
As one of the oldest tricks in the marketing playbook, the sense of urgency is always a good way to engage your customers into participating with your sale or special offer. As the Memorial Day holiday is only spread across a couple of days, it provides your business with the perfect opportunity to have a quick-fire sale or event.
This bright design from Aldo definitely creates a sense of urgency with its "Today only" graphic. Try something similar in your designs to get customers rushing to check out your sale.
Including the "ends tonight" line adds a sense of urgency to this email
Inspire subscribers to make the most of their time off
Remember your email campaign does not have to begin on Memorial Day weekend, you can get started right away! Encourage your subscribers to start planning their backyard BBQ in advance, or suggest fun activities to do at home over the family weekend.
There's loads of ways to get involved and it doesn't have to be a themed sale. Get creative and it will pay off. Your customers will definitely thank you for the inspiration! Check out this example made with Mail Designer 365.
Give your customers ideas for things to do to celebrate the holiday
Use a summery theme
For many of your customers, Memorial Day weekend is the start of their summer. The weather is getting warmer and many of them will not have to go to school or work. Your subscribers will have summer and sun on the brain, so the more you highlight this in your email campaign using a summery theme, the more likely they are to click.
This cute and summery design from Revolve is a clever way to inspire your customers to start shopping for the summer.
This packing theme from Revolve gets customers in the mood for a vacation
Don't forget what the day is all about
As with all holidays and special occasions, it's easy to forget the true meaning of the celebration. It's good to include a reference to what the day is all about. This will not only make your business come across more genuine, it's also a sign of respect to your customers who may have lost loved ones fighting in the military. You could do this by inserting a short but heartfelt message or by hosting a special event and donating to a veteran's charity.
This design from Alex and Ani has got the balance just right. We love the patriotic heart!
A heartfelt design saying thanks to American troops for all they've done
Tip: Don't forget to segment your email lists for this one! It may seem obvious, but it is important you only send your Memorial Campaign out to your US customers.
Until next time!
Your Mail Designer 365 Team
Give Mail Designer 365 a try today for free...
Mail Designer 365 helps you create stylish, professional HTML emails on your Mac. Download for free to see what you can achieve.
Research shows that it takes just 0.05 seconds for a web page to make an impression on the average person; whether this is a good or bad impression is up to you. The visual appearance of your email is crucial in determining how readers will respond to your campaign. Here's how you can effectively use color schemes to optimise your email designs...
Monochromatic color schemes
A monochromatic design is made up of the different shades of just one main color. It's particularly effective if it highlights something within your email design and indicates a clear theme. Try this out for colors which are seasonal (e.g. red at Christmas or orange at Halloween) or for targeted product promotion.
This example from Morphe is highly effective. Not only does the hot pink stand out to readers, it also does a great job of promoting their lipgloss of the same color:
Monochromatic color schemes are a brilliant way to highlight the vibrant, colorful nature of your product.
Complementary color schemes
Complementary color schemes are made up of colors which are directly opposite each other in the color wheel. Some complementary pairing examples are red and blue, yellow and purple, and pink and green.
These colors create a strong contrast, but, when pulled off correctly, can add something special to your design. For example, this design from Cotton On utilises a complementary color scheme by clashing red and teal together to create an interesting effect for their otherwise ordinary sale advertisement.
Use a vibrant complementary color scheme to bring an otherwise simple design to life.
Achromatic color schemes
For a particularly sleek and serious design, you should consider using an achromatic color scheme. This refers to color schemes made up of shades of black and white. In terms of branding, this is a sleek and stylish option for those of you striving to maintain a more sophisticated look in your emails.
Hudson Jeans are looking chic as ever in this achromatic welcome email. This design does a great job of introducing subscribers to the fashionable nature of the brand and remaining interesting at the same time.
Achromatic color schemes add an element of style and edge - particularly for fashion brands.
Analagous color schemes
An analagous color scheme is made up of one main color and then the two colors either side of it on the color wheel. For example, red paired with deep orange and hot pink or blue paired with indigo and turquoise. This is a great color scheme to try out on a more standard design like a transactional email, where you don't want to be too experimental.
This brand have created a soft, yet effective color scheme for this design. The red paired with pink and orange is a nice way to incorporate color without going overboard.
An analogous color scheme is a subtle yet stylish way to introduce different colors into your email designs.
We hope you take these color schemes into consideration for your next email campaign. Together with an understanding of seasonal trends and the effect of different colors, this is a great way to make sure your email design is effective as possible.
Until next time!
Your Mail Designer 365 Team
Give Mail Designer 365 a try today for free...
Mail Designer 365 helps you create stylish, professional HTML emails on your Mac. Download for free to see what you can achieve.
Mother's Day is a great marketing opportunity for your business, as it's a day which practically all of your customers will find relevant in some way. Here are some of our top ideas for how you can build an effective Mother's Day email campaign.
Give moms the reward they deserve!
One fairly straightforward way to kick off your Mother's Day marketing campaign is by giving Moms a special treat to show your appreciation. Not only does this show the compassionate side of your business, it will also help to build up a customer relationship and entice all the mothers you rewarded to come back to your business throughout the rest of the year.
Whether it's a discount code for your store, or a free drink or dessert in your restaurant, try to include a kind gesture in your email campaign. Check out this example we made in Mail Designer 365:
Offer moms an exclusive reward to show them your appreciation.
Think floral
Flowers are often associated with Mother's Day, as they are a popular way to show someone your love and appreciation. Try to incorporate a floral theme into your email design to help readers make the clear association with Mother's Day.
Moreover, if your business happens to sell flowers of any kind, make sure to come up with an eye-catching, unique design to stand out from your many competitors on the day. We love this colorful GIF from Terrain inspiring customers to be creative and put together a custom plant pot for their moms.
Incorporate flowers into your design for a traditional Mother's Day vibe.
Create a gift guide
Help your customers show their moms how much they are loved by creating an inspiring gift guide full of products from your store. This is super effective, as it directly shows your customers why your business is relevant for Mother's Day.
Whether you sell clothing, make up, garden accessories, or electronics, you're bound to have the perfect gift for a deserving mother. This example from Apple shows that Mother's Day gifts can take many shapes and sizes.
Invite moms to a special event
One way to get customers to come to your physical store is by holding a special Mother's Day event. Something simple will do the trick like a bake sale or a mini cocktail for each customer. Depending on the nature of your business, there's many different opportunities which you can use to attract moms to your store.
This clever tea party example from J Crew is a sure fire way to get customers to stop by and look around.
Hold a special Mother's Day event to build on your customer relationships.
Don't let your subscribers forget!
With so much going on around us, it's understandable that the date may slip some customers' minds. Send out a reminder to your subscribers and encourage them to browse your store for the perfect gift. Chances are they'll be so anxious not to forget, they'll click straight on your CTA and start shopping. Bonus points if you provide them with free delivery!
Chocolatier Thorntons did a great job in this email of reminding customers when their last chance to order is:
Send out last minute reminder emails to create an extra sense of urgency and get customers clicking.
Get personal
Often, the email campaigns which work the best are those with a more personal touch. It's great when customers can relate to you on a more one-to-one level. We found this campaign from Shopbop inspiring where individual employees paid tribute to their moms by doing a feature on the fashion from their generations.
Add a personalised, sentimental touch to your emails to make them Mother's Day appropriate.
You could try something similar by doing a mini-feature on your team's moms. Do you have a cooking blog? Share your mom's best tips and secrets for the perfect apple pie! After all, moms know best!
Spread the love
Whether it's supporting disadvantaged mothers in your local area, or children who have lost their mothers, working for a good cause is a great way to build on your CSR and gain support from customers, as well as being a genuinely good thing to do.
In this email campaign, Charity Water had the clever idea to use the big day as a fundraising opportunity for those less fortunate.
Use Mother's Day as a chance to spread the love and give back to those in the community who may be struggling.
We hope you found these tips for Mother's Day email design useful for creating your Mother's Day email campaigns. Remember to be positive and spread the love, and your customers will be more than happy to share this special day with you!
Until next time,
Your Mail Designer 365 Team
The newly-updated EU GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), set to be put in place on May 25th 2018, means all firms are now required to make some key updates to their privacy policy, as well as important changes to the email consent process.
To quickly recap, some of the most important changes are:
- More user-friendly language in privacy policy/terms & conditions
- New laws on how users can access their personal data which you possess
- Tighter regulation of what constitutes consent
For those of you in the midst of creating a GDPR campaign, we've pulled together some of our best tips on how to communicate these important new changes with your customers; and what better way to do so than by email!
Checklist for GDPR Compliance Emails
1. Craft a clear subject Line
To improve the chances of your recipient opening your email, you need to make sure your subject line has the correct tone - a balance between clarity and seriousness is what you should be aiming for. You want to inform your customers that the message is important, but at the same time, you need to stand out and remain interesting. We recommend you address the topic head on in your subject line; this way, your customer will know exactly what to expect from the email. Here is a good example from Hotjar:
"Important Updates to Hotjar’s Terms and Privacy Policy"
This subject line gets straight to the point and using the word "important" is a great way to direct readers' attention towards the serious nature of the email.
2. Keep it short and sweet
Data legislation is a complicated topic, so it's a good idea to keep your email as short as you can. Again, it is advisable that you keep the tone serious, yet engaging, to ensure that your customers understand what they are reading. For an email such as this one, we would recommend taking a very simple approach in terms of layout and design, so as not to distract from the key message. In this case, images and extravagant graphics are definitely not necessary. Stick to the basics: lots of white space, short paragraphs, and clear, legible text, as shown in the below example:
3. Highlight key points and dates
Because the majority of us tend to skim read things, it's a good idea to try and highlight the most important points within the email - a few examples could be the date the changes are taking place, which changes will affect your customers most, or useful contact details. As shown in the above example, you can use a bold font and a color or style which stands out from the rest of your email text to provide extra emphasis.
4. Give your readers a reason to re-subscribe
This point applies for those of you who need to orchestrate a re-permission campaign. Because consent laws have been updated, many of you will need to re-obtain customer consent in order to keep sending emails. Don't panic! The majority of your customers are subscribed to you because they are interested in your content and want to stay up to date. A friendly message, such as this one from ASOS, gives users the chance to update their preferences, as well as confirm their wish to opt in to your mailing list. It also subtly provides the reader with the benefits of remaining subscribed.
5. Make your call-to-action very clear
The call-to-action is always the most important part of any email you send, but in this case, it's especially significant, as it signifies to the reader which steps they need to take in response to the information you've given them. If you need your customers to accept something, it's important they know what it is. This is particularly relevant when you need to re-obtain customer consent, or if your customers need to review and accept your new terms to continue using your service.
In this email from Instagram, it is made clear from the prominent CTA that users need to review the updates and agree to the new changes in order to continue using the platform.
6. Link to the updated policies
This is also essential, as it ensures that your customers have access to your updated policies. Be sure to provide a link to your new policy which is clearly visible and not buried in text. This makes it easy to find so that your readers can go back and access it any time. For those customers who are particularly interested in the legislation and want to know more about the subject, it could be beneficial to build a landing page on your website where they can read more. This way, you can keep your email concise, and still provide a link to more detailed information for those who want to know more.
Tip: In Mail Designer 365, you can format your links to make them stand out even more from your email text:
We hope you found our checklist for creating a GDPR email useful. If you remember these key points, your emails will be clear, informative, and, most importantly, you'll be confident in the knowledge that you've taken the necessary steps to keep your customers up to date.
Until next time!
Your Mail Designer 365 Team
Until next time,
Your Mail Designer 365 team
Give Mail Designer 365 a try today for free...
Mail Designer 365 helps you create stylish, professional HTML emails on your Mac. Download for free to see what you can achieve.
All hail the GIF! This week we're getting animated at Mail Designer 365 Newsletter Academy. GIFs and animations are taking over the world and we've scoured the web to find you 10 of the very best examples of GIFs in email...
Quick tips for GIFs
Before we get started, here's a brief overview with some useful tips to keep in mind when using animated GIFs in your email designs:
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- In Mail Designer 365 you can only use one GIF per image area. In general, we would recommend not going overboard with GIFs (less is definitely more in this case), but if you do want to include more than one animation, be sure to add an image area for each one.
- Keep it short and snappy. As customers, we have short attention spans. If your GIF is too long and tries to say too much, the recipient will soon get bored and confused. Make sure your GIF is no more than a few seconds long and visually exciting for it to have maximum effect.
- Stay on brand. GIFs are great, but if your target audience doesn't think so, you're setting yourself up to fail. When choosing an animation, be sure that it is relevant to your brand and that your audience will receive it well. If your brand image is generally professional, steer clear of extravagant, over-the-top style GIFs and go for something more subtle.
- TEST TEST TEST. There's nothing worse than putting the effort in to finding a great GIF only to have your hard work ruined by compatibility issues. Use the test send feature to preview your email design with the GIF before sending to your entire mailing list!
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GIF-tastic emails we love!
1. Fun fall sale
This fabulous email design by Loeffler Randall includes a clever play on words as well as a seasonal color scheme for the autumn sale. Although the concept is simple, this GIF is highly effective and leads the reader straight to the CTA button.
2. A touch of magic
Mommut have done a great job in this more abstract email design. Although a more subtle concept, this is a fun and friendly way to advertise a sale, and quite frankly, the unicorn sold it to us straight away! This simple GIF style is a great choice for beginners as it provides an extra element to your email design without being too complicated to apply.
3. SMS-merising messenger GIF
We love this GIF idea from Hollister. The inventive instant-messaging-style animation keeps us hooked and grabs our attention - helping readers focus on the email's true message. Very clever indeed! This is a fitting choice for a more modern business with a younger target audience, and will definitely pay off if you're willing to take the creative risk.
4. This GIF is serving bags of fun
This fun and colorful GIF from Kate Spade is a simple, yet captivating way to promote a special product. There is also a subtle sense of urgency included with the tagline "catch them while you can" - implying that the bags are going fast. We love the way every element of the design works together to encourage readers to shop this product while they still have the chance.
5. Time for you to try out this GIF idea
Continuing with the sense of urgency theme, this countdown GIF from Lou & Grey is a brilliantly playful way to add a sense of urgency to an email campaign. The ticking clock alongside the bold tagline both work well to encourage customers to check out the big sale.
6. The mega colorful one
What better way to advertise your wide product range than with this colorful GIF concept from River Island. This animation is super cool, as it almost shows the products flying off the shelf (again creating a sense of urgency.) On top of this, the range of color is eye-catching and intriguing and definitely makes this email stand out from the crowd.
7. Make your GIFS count
What would this post be without a good old countdown GIF? Ann Taylor are showing us all how to create that essential time pressure and have fun at the same time. Countdown GIFs are a classic, and they can be used in practically any situation. Use this style to build up to a sale, a product launch, a milestone, or any other major event!
8. Who says rain means doom and gloom?
Email design champions Boden have hit the nail on the head again with this cute and kitsch design. The creative GIF puts a fun and cheerful twist on what would usually be perceived as miserable, and somehow makes a rainy day seem appealing. The positive vibe of this email will almost certainly encourage customers to hit that CTA button.
9. Let your product do all the talking
This GIF from Estee Lauder may be simple, but it's also super clever and relevant to the product's USP. The refresh motion ties in nicely with the anti-ageing/rewind concept of the campaign, and therefore does a great job of promoting the product's best feature. It's also another very unique way to catch readers' attention by going the extra mile instead of just including a static image.
10. The ultimate sweet treat for all
Last but not least, we have a super sweet design from J Crew Factory. One lesson we've learnt when looking at endless designs online is that, if in doubt, you should always go for a theme people love... and who doesn't love candy? This GIF has many great qualities: the color scheme is vibrant and fun, the concept is simple yet effective, and again, the disappearing bon bons do a great job of creating a sense of urgency. The only downside? It's made us really hungry! ?
We hope you're feeling inspired from these 10 GIF-tastic email designs. If you're hungry for more email inspiration, you can check out our Pinterest page, where we're always on the lookout for flawless emails.
Until next time,
Your Mail Designer 365 Team
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Give Mail Designer 365 a try today for free...
Mail Designer 365 helps you create stylish, professional HTML emails on your Mac. Download for free to see what you can achieve.