You’ve decided to create a company newsletter. Awesome!
Now what?
If you’re wondering what’s next, don’t worry. We’ve curated a list of tips from our design team to help you raft a winning email newsletter. We’ll cover everything from CTA tricks to ADA compliance.
Let’s jump in.
When it comes to any email design – one-off, lead nurtures, or a newsletter – there are certain universal best practices to incorporate, like:
With specific guidance, of course! There are certain categories to consider to create a responsive, targeted, clear, and compliant newsletter. We’ll dive into each.
Dimensions: Remember how we said your email newsletter should be visible for users across different devices and email providers? With the following sizes, it will be:
Typography: Typography refers to the font in your newsletter. Web fonts are only supported about 50% of the time and mostly just in mobile. It is recommended to use a web-safe font to ensure consistency across all email clients. Fonts like Arial, Times New Roman, Verdana, Georgia, and Tahoma are all considered web-safe. Because font styles vary widely, there is no steadfast rule on font sizes. There are some general guidelines, though:
Please note: Web fonts aren’t supported at all if you’re using a drag and drop template.
Images: We all know graphics can make an email pop. Be careful, though, especially when placing text over images. Some email clients will outright block your graphics. If that happens, it’s wise to have specific alt text in case images don’t display correctly. Additionally, don’t go too big or overly ornate with images as it can slow down how quickly someone can open your email.
CTAs: Emails can have two kinds of CTAs: links and buttons. When styling hyperlinks within blocks of body text, underlining the specific keyword or phrase is always preferable (also ADA compliant). It’s clear, easily understood, and accessible. If you go the route of a button, ensure it has a defined shape or border, a different color from their surroundings, and have readable text. Be sure also to include contrast between the text and the background. And, pro tip: Rounded edges on button CTAs get better conversions!
ADA Compliance: ADA Compliance refers to the accessibility of your email to readers of all kinds. You want to ensure every subscriber can read and understand your content and design, regardless of whether they have a disability. Doing so involves three crucial elements: contrast ratio, underlining links (mentioned above), and alt text:
Now that you have some tips in mind, what should you apply them to? Email newsletters should strive to have a variety of components, but most importantly:
If you don’t know what style of newsletter to create or what to put it in, many of our clients have had success with these design modules:
For starters, this blog! But even we need some resources to check our work regarding contrast ratio, fonts, and more. Try using:
That was a ton of information, we know. If you need additional advice on anything we’ve covered, we can help. We can also take a look at your current newsletter and make recommendations. Or we can help design your template alongside your team. Whatever it is, we’re happy to assist. Just reach out to us here!