Images

  • If you want to include images, make sure they are a reasonable size--generally 700 is a good maximum width for a header image.
  • Don't make your email one big image (or all images). This will likely trigger a spam filter and make it harder for readers with accessibility challenges.
  • Don't use images with watermarks on them--make sure you have the rights to the image.
  • Try https://www.google.com/advanced_image_search to search for images. Be sure to select "Free to use or share, even commercially" in the last filter, Usage Rights.
  • Don't make image file sizes too large. You don't want to annoy recipients with having to download a huge email.
  • Maintain a text to image ratio of approximately 80 to 20. This article explains why.


Text

  • Spellcheck! And check those apostrophes! 
  • Write clear, meaningful subject lines.
  • Avoid "spammy" content. This article elaborates.
  • Be up front. Be clear who you are in your emails. Include several ways a recipient might contact you, including phone number, address, and social media accounts.
  • Forbes has a good article on writing for emails. 
  • Personalize! Use your recipient's name. Lead Dolphin provides merge codes, like this one "[campaign:lead-first-name]", to accomplish this. Details here.


Call to Action

  • Try and design and write your copy around a CTA (call to action). This is one of the most important pieces of content in your email--you're trying to persuade your reader to do something. 
  • But don't bury your CTA only in an image. Have both a "click here for promotion" image and text in the email.


Frequency

  • Avoid sending too many emails over too short a period of time.
  • Make it easy to unsubscribe (Lead Dolphin takes care of this automatically).


Reference articles