Email Marketing Design Guidelines

CampaignMonitor has put together 6 guidelines for creating marketing based email messages. These rules are useful to anyone who sends email messages for newsletters and opt-in mailing lists. The guidelines are below, and a full reasoning for each guideline can be found at the CampaignMonitor Blog.

  1. Never use images for important content like headlines, links and any calls to action.
  2. Use alt text for all images for a better experience in Gmail and always add the height and width to the image to ensure that the blank placeholder image doesn’t throw your design out.
  3. Add a text-based link to a web version of your design at the top of your email.
  4. Ensure your most compelling content is at the top (and preferably to the left).
  5. Test your design in a preview pane, full screen and with images turned on and off before you send it.
  6. Ask your subscriber to add your From address to their address book at every opportunity.

Filed under: Marketing, Marketing Techniques