Email geeks, did you attend Litmus Live 2018 in Boston? Over the two-day gathering, email pros talked all things strategy, process, design, and development. We never want you to miss out on the latest in great design insights, so we rounded up the best email tips from #LitmusLive and gathered them here. Read on to get the scoop and join the conversation!
Tip #1: Undesign your design.
How do you feel about un-designed emails? Is there a valid case to be made for ultra design simplicity? We’re intrigued by this conversation!
An un-designed email is personal. It’s from a human, reads like a note, and feels more like a letter from a friend than a campaign from a company. @hollygowrightly #LitmusLive pic.twitter.com/K8DPnxJ5lC
— Litmus (@litmusapp) September 19, 2018
The idea of an undesigned email is that it’s more personal. It feels like it’s from a friend, not a big company. And establishing those close connections with your audience is critical.
With all the talk of establishing 1:1 relationships in email, @hollygowrightly illustrates how un-designing your emails can let you be more personal and conversational. Def need some text-based templates in your aresenal. #litmuslive
— Cody Wooten (@popculturelord) September 19, 2018
A text-based template is super easy to assemble and definitely something that every brand should have on hand.
Craft your brand narrative using un-designed emails! Sending plain-style emails as personal notes is a crucial tactic to connect with your audience 1:1 – awesome session by @hollygowrightly at #LitmusLive!
— Tom Tate at #FinCon18 (@tnrt) September 19, 2018
Tip #2: Keep it to 50 words or fewer.
We are always talking about readers’ short attention spans—and for good reason! The average reading time for an email is a mere 11 seconds. That’s quick. And it means you might want to consider saying what you need to in 50 words or fewer.
Consumers have the avg attention span of 11.1 seconds in #email, slightly more than a goldfish can hold attention. What does that mean word wise? 50 WORDS OR LESS #BrevityOverBloat#litmuslive pic.twitter.com/KWCjsgB7LN
— Lisa Keller (@lisackeller) September 18, 2018
One trick to test if your email is short enough is the “one breath test.”
The "one breath test": Read your email. If you run out of breath before reaching the first CTA, then shorten that text. ~AJ Jacob, UN Foundation #LitmusLive
— Chad S. White (@chadswhite) September 18, 2018
Another recommendation is using a three-sentence formula. Simplicity is a beautiful thing!
Start with this 3-sentence formula to create word constraints and get right to the point of what you're trying to say. Fire "word slackers" that aren't doing their job. @tnrt #LitmusLive pic.twitter.com/wd1tDetXvp
— Justine Jordan (@meladorri) September 18, 2018
Tip #3: Design for aging eyes.
At #LitmusLive, designer, illustrator, and director Mike Hill talked about the importance of designing email for an aging population.
Are you optimizing your emails for those aged 50+? If not, you might be leaving money on the table. #accessibility #a11y #LitmusLive pic.twitter.com/WcXjPYOzfr
— Litmus (@litmusapp) September 18, 2018
The stats are seriously powerful.
"In 2030, as many people will be over 65 in the US as own an iPhone today. We can't ignore that."@hillarts already dropping some compelling stats about designing for an aging population. #litmuslive pic.twitter.com/MBc1O5zm8O
— Logan Sandrock Baird (@logansandrock) September 18, 2018
But remember, we’re all aging, folks. And we all want to be treated with dignity. Mike makes an important point:
"Know your audience. When you hit 70, it's not like you go through a filter and come out on the other end with a sensible sweater and velcro shoes. These are smart, savvy people. Accommodate, don't patronize. Be transparent and build relationships." – @hillarts #LitmusLive pic.twitter.com/ra9mR3VNIc
— Brittany P (@brittles_86) September 18, 2018
What can you do? Get familiar with how vision changes with age. Make sure you’re paying attention to sizes (text, images, buttons), color, contrast, and – of course – amount of text.
blues, greens & lighter shades go grey as we get older, so use good contrast #LitmusLive
— Anne Tomlin (@pompeii79) September 18, 2018
Tip #4: Stick to one CTA.
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves…
"The worst call-to-action is too many call-to-actions." #LitmusLive pic.twitter.com/hc3CplqoTY
— Litmus (@litmusapp) September 18, 2018
We love all arguments for simplification, and this one is a favorite! As we all know by now, emails are not websites. So keep your message direct, succinct and on-point with a single call-to-action.
Tip #5: Get personal, but not too personal.
Emails that personalize can be super powerful, especially when executed creatively.
Personalization is so much more than [F*NAME]. If everybody is putting first names in subject lines and greetings, how will your email stand out if that's the only way you're personalizing too? #litmuslive
— Val Geisler ???? (@lovevalgeisler) September 19, 2018
That means not simply plugging in first names. This slide has great ideas for email personalization:
Ways to personalize your emails from @jillpguest #LitmusLive pic.twitter.com/rH0lT3ji0p
— Chad S. White (@chadswhite) September 19, 2018
But, don’t overdo it! Do all your emails address your audience members by name? Multiple times throughout the text? While incorporating your knowledge of their recent shopping history or location? Then there’s a chance you might want to dial it back…
Hyper-personalization in email is powerful—when done right. @jillpguest #LitmusLive pic.twitter.com/gMtGnhMf38
— Litmus (@litmusapp) September 19, 2018
One way to gauge if you’re personalizing your campaigns too much or not enough? Check out the next tip…
Tip #6: A/B testing is your friend.
The best way to know for certain if your design moves are working is to test!
This @LindsayBro talk at #litmuslive has me like… pic.twitter.com/3XWFiOcRkz
— Stefani Read (@Stef_Read) September 19, 2018
Why? Because email geeks aren’t mind readers. No one is! At Indeed, product manager Lindsay Brothers wisely encourages everyone to test their hypotheses. They’ve found 70% of theirs aren’t quite on the mark. That’s something we can all learn from.
It's shocking how often our instincts are wrong. At Indeed, 70% of their hypotheses are wrong. That's why A/B testing is so critical. ~ @LindsayBro #LitmusLive
— Chad S. White (@chadswhite) September 19, 2018
Tip 7: In 2018, your emails must be accessible.
Email accessibility is critical. Last year, we talked to Email on Acid CEO John Thies about why it matters and how to do it. And this year at Litmus, the accessibility conversation took center stage.
“Interactivity isn’t the most important thing in email, accessibility is.”
—@RodriguezCommaJ quoting @M_J_Robbins #litmuslive
— Dylan Smith (@dylanatsmith) September 18, 2018
The real driver of email accessibility is empathy. As email designers and marketers, we must empathize with our audience.
See people, not just subscribers. Empathy is the key to a successful email marketing program. @logansandrock & @jamiebradley #LitmusLive pic.twitter.com/jXaLjSARrK
— Litmus (@litmusapp) September 19, 2018
That means understanding all readers’ experiences. This slide is a great visualization.
Email Accessibility improves the experience for everyone. It's important. @jamiebradley @logansandrock #LitmusLive pic.twitter.com/7DrsCHFBAj
— Taxi for Email (@TaxiforEmail) September 19, 2018
Tip #8: Don’t overlook the importance of well formatted text.
If you’re only going to have 50 words in your email, those 50 words better read smoothly and look great. There was a lot of conversation about best practices for type formatting with some great takeaways, like…
Headlines should be at least 16px in mobile, 30px in headlines with a largeish line height. #litmuslive #emailgeeks
— Anne Tomlin (@pompeii79) September 19, 2018
And these slides from Libby Herskovitz are golden!
???? Awesome typography tips from @libbyherskovitz #LitmusLive pic.twitter.com/jRws5LRm1A
— Taxi for Email (@TaxiforEmail) September 19, 2018
Please keep your text left-aligned!
Once again for everyone – Please do not center large blocks of text!!! Just because you think it looks pretty, doesn't mean that it's easy for everyone to read. #litmuslive
— Anitra Fenderson (@jillydidit) September 19, 2018
And don’t forget alt text!
Typography in email isn’t just about your copy, but your alt text too! @libbyherskovitz gets it, thank you. #LitmusLive
— Libby Pauly (@lpdesignsvt) September 19, 2018
Tip #9: It’s worth having an email style guide and playbook.
Your brand likely has a set of visual brand guidelines, but do they have one specifically for email?
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes, @cliffseal ❤️ #LitmusLive pic.twitter.com/ZfU7KZyW44
— Logan Sandrock Baird (@logansandrock) September 19, 2018
Your emails are an extension of your brand, and knowing exactly the visual parameters within which you’re working is critical in creating consistency and an elevated aesthetic. Plus…
You can create an email playbook, too. We love this definition of a hub for best practices, inspiration, case studies, and resources. Your email style guide can live within your email playbook!
An email playbook is not a style guide. An Email Playbook is a hub for best practices, inspiration, case studies, resources (and more!) – @shannon_crabill #litmuslive
— Leah Miranda (@fidgetcoder) September 18, 2018
Tip #10: If you haven’t tried background images yet, it’s time!
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves:
Background images are a powerful—but underutilized—technique in email design. @chrisgrouge #LitmusLive pic.twitter.com/d75j3gaZ7q
— Litmus (@litmusapp) September 19, 2018
Background images are so easy to include with the BEE editor. No coding necessary! Check out our tutorial and have some background-image-fun in email.
Remember: No email is ever 100% perfect.
A perfect final reminder:
Yes! "Don’t get analysis paralysis when editing emails. Sent is better than perfect." @tnrt #LitmusLive
— Jaina Mistry (@jainamistry) September 18, 2018
We want you to feel good about the next message you send. Try out these design tips with a free BEE Pro trial and get designing right away.
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