by David Baker

Hoping to hit the jackpot with an e-mail program that makes all your hard work behind the scenes worthwhile? Of course you are. Then you need good creative execution. However, the definition of “good” is often in the mind of the beholder. With so many options to test and so few good creative strategists in the space, where do you start? Here are seven areas of focus to improve your e-mail creative.

1. Simplicity. It’s the old KISS metaphor (Keep It Simple, Stupid). E-mail has an attention-capturing window of opportunity that is greatly diminishing. Some say three seconds, some five, but either way, it isn’t a lot of time.

Nielson Norman Group produced a newsletter usability report in June of 2006 (“E-mail Newsletter Usability’) which indicated an average newsletter has the reader for up to 40-50 seconds, while a marketing or promotional e-mail retains the reader for less than 5 seconds.

The fact is we read less, scan more, and make decisions based on
where we are drawn into the message–some through a contextual hero
image, some through flow of images, typography and layout, and some by
modularity.

You should understand the basic principles: a simple call to action,
buttons, text links and image roll-overs make quick comprehension
easier. If it doesn’t pass the scan test, then it won’t be compelling.

I recommend you test your design on an internal focus group. Flash
the e-mail in front of them for five seconds and have them tell you
what it said and what the call to action was. If they can’t tell you,
then you should consider revising.

2. Typography. You don’t want your message to resemble a
ransom note. Keep typography to two or three fonts and styles at the
most. If you don’t have brand guidelines that detail typefaces or if
you haven’t modified these for e-mail, you should. Remember, it has to
scan quickly (see #1).

3. Type size. Pretend you’re designing for your grandmother.
If she can’t read 8-point type, don’t use it. Venture capitalist Guy
Kawasaki said at a conference that your font size for presentations
should be your oldest audience member divided by two. While perhaps not
realistic for e-mail, this standard is a sanity check for Web designers
who love to produce offline font sizes for digital messages.

4. Color. Go back to the principles of design and use
contrasting colors, but do so for the right reasons: to draw the eye,
reinforce a value statement, and amplify the call to action. In
addition, you have another consideration–how your colors appear within
the e-mail inbox interface. Do your light blue borders get muted out in
AOL’s predominately blue interface? Cool design can get blurred when
there is an animated image of an eBay “IT” campaign flashing at the
bottom. Is there a competition of cohesive?

5. Proportion. While the e-mail industry has migrated to a
concept of design in which the top 200-300 pixels are a virtual banner,
too many designs have disproportionate layouts (almost like an
hourglass). Your e-mail should flow smoothly and be evenly distributed
if your intent is for the reader to flow through content.

Eye tracking studies show how most users scan e-mail and apply those
logics (if you want more information on this, check out
http://www.eyetools.com.) If the intent is to design a singular
message, then design it to a five-second preview. That way the eye is
conditioned to the flow and not tempted to roam.

6. Border patrol. Not every picture needs a frame. Borders
can enhance an image, but they can also stop the eye along its natural
scanning path. I’m a huge advocate of modular design, but use borders,
horizontal bars and framing with restraint. You can ruin a good design
with too many frames and boxes.

7. Message focus. E-mail is direct response, not a Web site.
Infuse what you know about good media and banner design into your
creative by minimizing your real estate. This will cause you to be more
concise in your messaging and creative treatments. Just because you
have a never-ending scroll doesn’t mean you need to use it all.

Use imagery to quickly communicate a message, not merely for
beautification. While I love the retail industry, the cataloger view of
delivering e-mail messages (with the large hero catalog image) has
shown diminishing response. Catalogers are continually amazed when
simple “SALE” messages, without that great hero image, result in a
boost in sales. Never forget that because this is a sales message, a
response is required.

Creative these days is judged through a variety of lenses. The
business team cares that it is on-message and all about the product.
The e-mail team cares about trying something new and striving to
stretch the boundaries so it can learn. Members of the executive team
judge your work through the filter of their own e-mail behavior.

Sure, you want results and increasing revenue, but if your creative
is not valued by all the teams involved, they will always think you can
do more with your e-mail program.

Source: MediaPost’s Email Insider