Understanding the balance between design, copy and CTA’s and how everything works together to create an optimized email.

I shared last week that I was working with a DTC ecommerce brand to build out their email marketing channel from scratch.

One of the first things on my to-do list was building out a kick-ass email template that I can use for all flows and campaigns.

Having a go-to email template makes your job 100 times easy when you’re the one on the platform building out and scheduling the emails.

Rather than having to re-invent the wheel each time you create an email (or trying to remember what you did last time)…

Having a template allows you to “plug and play” new content into a format that’ll be consistent with past emails and flows.

The other thing to note as we build this out is how email design is more than just pretty pictures and cool graphics.

Thinking about how the email will show up on mobile and on desktop, how it presents to the reader, and how all of the components flow together is essential to creating a good email template.

So without further ado, let’s jump in…

The Banner

Starting off with the header of your email.

This is where you are going to include the company logo, any evergreen offer, and immediate links for readers to click.

I’ve include three examples here… First Day Vitamins, Bruce Bolt Batting Gloves, and Revive Superfoods.

First Day is an example of using an evergreen offer – “Free shipping on all U.S. orders”

If your store has an evergreen “free shipping” offer, or any sort of deal (buy 3 get 1 free) including that in a non-obtrusive format at the top of your emails is a great idea.

Bruce Bolt and Revive both showcase some initial links that can drive clicks.

Bruce Bolt just has a shop now button while Revive went with 6 different link options.

In my option, having 6 different links at the top of your email is probably too much (I max out at 3.) But, depending on your brand and it’s offering, you might need more.

As with everything else, I would encourage you to test it! See which links get clicked and which ones get ignored. Then modify from there.

For my current project we are just going with a company logo. No evergreen offer and no buttons.

Keeping it clean.

The Headline

The headline is going to be the first thing that people read when they open your email.

It’s key here to connect to your subject line. If your subject line and headline aren’t congruent, there’s a higher likelihood that people will bounce (click out of your email.)

You want to start the slippery slope within your email.

The subject gets someone to open your email and read the headline…

The Headine gets them to read the first line of your body copy…

And so forth.

The headline can be short (2-3 words) or it could be a full sentence. Just depends on what you’re going for.

I prefer for my headlines to stand alone. But, you can always combine your headline with the next section…

Hero Image

Copy vs Creative… everyone’s talked about the benefits of both and whether you should focus on strong copy or strong creative for an ecommerce store.

Here’s the bottom line.

You probably need both.

Even if your emails are highly designed and creative, you still need good copy within those graphics.

And if you send more copy heavy, text based emails… you’re still going to need to show the product every once in a while.

The hero image is where we do this.

Couple things your hero image must have…

>>Either have the headline above the image, or include your headline within the image.

>>Show off the product (ideally someone using the product like in our first example)

>>CTA

Your first CTA should happen either within the hero image or right below it.

If someone is ready to buy, don’t stop them.

Body Copy

Here’s the meat and potatoes of your email. 

This is where you are going to address objections, talk about benefits, or just entertain your audience.

The beautiful thing about ecommerce emails… this section can be short and punchy.

Or it can be long and winding.

Depends on your product, audience, and the theme of the particular email.

Make sure you don’t give away everything in your email body.

The goal of the email is to get the click. So open a loop, create desire, make your reader want to click…

CTA

After your body copy, make sure to include a spot for a second CTA. (Remember the first should happen with your hero image.)

You’ve done the hard work with your copy and hero image.

People should be ready to click to shop, learn more, or start now…

Every section in the template is optional in some respect… except this one.

You must have a CTA in every email. (With maybe one or two exceptions.)

I’ve found the best CTAs are CLEAR not clever.

So make sure it’s obvious what the reader gets by clicking the CTA.

Product Focus (Optional)

After our body copy and CTA, the email starts to wind down.

This is a great place to feature a few top selling products or products that are great entry products for your brand.

This is a section that I only include on certain emails, but it’s a great way to build in a CTA or a product focus when you’re sending a pure “value” email.

Once again, I’ve found that including too many products here leads to indecision. I typically stick with 2 or 3.

Footer

• Social Links
• Evergreen Message
• Unsubcribe
• Be as creative as you want here

The footer of your email is the final piece.

This is where you want to include your social links, any evergreen messaging (featured in, FAQs, customer satisfaction guarantees, etc.) and of course… your unsubscribe button.

Many companies keep this bottom part short, sweet and to the point. Like Supply does in our last example.

But this section is a unique opportunity to get creative. Like Tushy and Cubbies do with their footer.

This is going to largely depend on your brand, brand voice, and ICA.

Summary – TL;DR

So there you have it. My template for kick-ass ecommerce emails

Banner

Headline

Hero Image

Body Copy

CTA

Product Focus (optional)

Footer

What Should YOU Do Next?

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