This week I had an e-mail show up in my inbox that had 5 calls to action in it. Yikes! As I ponder which of those actions I was supposed to take first (call one of the 2 phone numbers, RSVP, visit the booth or e-mail), I was reminded of the important role design plays in something as simple as an B2B e-mail marketing campaign. Not just design in the sense of images and graphics, but also how you design content, and the fact that the two go hand-in-hand.
There are plenty of mistakes made when designing an B2B e-mail campaign. These mistakes include content that is hard to read or unclear, images everywhere and multiple calls-to-action. Below are my top five suggestions to help you avoid these digital marketing catastrophes.
TOP 5 SUGGESTIONS FOR B2B EMAIL OPTIMIZATION
- Be clear about the audience you write for. Speak to that one person in the audience and keep it brief! Think about what you want the reader to do after they read your content and make the one call-to-action obvious.
- Don’t make it hard to read. Break up large text boxes with sidebars or callouts. Highlight specific copy points that the audience will respond to. Use easy-to-read typefaces that are high contrast and stick to one or two.
- Make sure it’s not dull. Write headlines to pull people in. Make sure the headline is easy to see—remember, the purpose of a headline is to get the reader to read the first line of your copy.
- Don’t be overly decorative. Be careful using to many colors, drop shadows and every effect Photoshop has. This can often make your content hard to read. In B2B e-mail marketing, less is more.
- Make it believable. Create trust with design and tone consistency. Your company’s brand should already be doing this. Make sure you roll this into your digital – including e-mail – campaigns.
