You’ve Got Mail

In the B2B world, connecting with your audience can be tricky. We worry about being that company who sends cheesy emails to customers that ultimately get sent to spam or trash. Surprisingly, emails are actually 40 times more effective than social when it comes to customer acquisition. Email communication has been around for ages but template builders make it possible for users to create more compelling email design layouts that are also mobile-friendly. 

What are Email Builders?

Email builders are online tools that provide pre-made templates for users to create custom email designs to match their company’s brand. No need to worry about code! Email builders are meant to be fast and convenient, allowing users to drag, drop, and rearrange elements as they please.

There are a slew of email builders out there. All of which come with their own pros and cons, and not all are free. The most common programs used in the marketing industry are:

Which Email Builder Is Right for Me?

The amount of features/elements that come with each email builder varies across each program. It’s important to choose a builder based on your company’s needs rather than the number of elements that come with the program. Depending on the type of email the user is trying to achieve, email builders have various pre-made template options to choose from. Options for implementing personal code or starting from a blank template are offered as well. Below is a list of basic elements that come with email builders.

• Text fields
• Image
• Spacing
• Divider lines
• Buttons
• Social links
• Video
• Settings – Brand colors, font families, logo

More advanced builders like Constant Contact and CM Commerce offer additional email design elements such as layout options, polls, and WooCommerce. Make sure your company defines its needs in an email builder ahead of time. Some builders will only offer certain elements with a premium account subscription. 

No matter what type of template you choose, email builders make it easy for users to create a custom email that fits a company’s brand. When it comes to email design, try to think outside the box!

Email Design No Matter the Screen Size

It’s important company emails match the look and feel of their website, no matter which device you open it from. Just because an email template offers you a certain space doesn’t mean you have to change it to a brand color, plop in some text and call it a day. Creating and uploading custom images that use certain shapes, icons, or textures specific to your website is a great way to bridge that gap. However, if your images contain text, make sure everything looks good on a mobile device. 

Mobile devices account for over 60% of email opens and around 81% of email users prefer to open emails on their smartphones. When thinking about your mobile-friendly email design, we recommend keeping all text separate from images as much as possible. Images with text respond on mobile devices by shrinking instead of getting larger or breaking to new lines to accommodate the new browser width. If you plan on using images with text, make sure the font is large enough to be read on a mobile device but doesn’t look overbearing when viewing normally on a desktop browser. This is a common issue when working with images that contain text. 

Email builders today do come with an option or simulator to preview your email in a mobile setting. This is a great feature but not always accurate. The best way to see if your email is responsive is by sending a test to your work or personal email and viewing it on your own mobile device. 

Final Thoughts

Email is a great way to connect with clients and customers. We just need to know how to effectively do so. The points touched in this blog are a great starting point but merely skim the surface of email template builders and how to create more compelling email designs. Emails can be another bridge to your company or personal website. If you’d like to see some examples of what we can do with email design, please feel free to get in touch! As always, we’re here to help.