The content of your campaign plays a key role in engaging your recipients. Even with an eye-catching subject line, an unclear or irrelevant email is likely to generate few clicks and interactions. To maximise the effectiveness of your communications, it is important to pay attention to both the content and the presentation of your messages.
Spam filters are now trained to check every aspect of your campaign, whether it be links, words or images.
Let’s look at the bad practices that could harm your email campaign:
1. Using “spam words”
The words you use in your communications are very important and will be analysed by anti-spam filters. Avoid certain phrases such as “Offers, free, …”. For more information, follow this link.
2. Forgetting to include a clear call-to-action button
An email without clear direction may leave your readers unsure of the next step to take.
3. Using images without alt text
Images must be accompanied by alt text to ensure that the message
4. Using “plain text” links
Adding a link or contact address in its visual form. For example, “www.mylink.fr” or “[email protected]” could be flagged by spam filters. It is better to add a button or a clickable hyperlink.
5. Neglecting personalisation
Where possible, and depending on the type of communication, consider personalising your messages to build greater customer loyalty.
6. Having a non-responsive design
An email that does not display correctly on mobile devices can lead to a loss of engagement.
7. Failing to test before sending
Sending an email without testing it on different devices and email clients can result in formatting errors.
Let’s break down these points above to help you craft your next communication.
Structure your message.
Readers often spend only a few seconds on an email. Use headings, short paragraphs, and white space to make it easier to read. A clear structure helps highlight key information and improves the user experience.
Make your call-to-action buttons stand out.
Your campaign should guide the recipient towards a specific action: visiting a page, discovering an offer, or making a purchase. Ensure your action button or link is visible and clear.
Balance text and images
Images enhance the visual impact of your campaigns, but they should not entirely replace text. This is because spam filters cannot interpret images and may consider them a risk. Aim for a visual balance: 60% text to 40% images. A good balance improves readability and accessibility. Furthermore, some email clients do not open images immediately (Outlook), which could mean your contacts miss important information.
Choose your words carefully.
Word choice is important. Spammers tend to use the same terms repeatedly in their emails. Filters are trained to trigger alerts when these words are detected in your communications, thereby reducing your deliverability. So be sure to avoid promotional terms (promotions, free, euros, etc.), urgent terms (open now, hurry, don’t miss out, etc.) and symbols such as ‘€, $, %, etc.’.
Personalise where relevant.
Using the recipient’s first name, customer information, or targeted content can improve engagement. However, personalization must remain natural and provide genuine value to the recipient. To discover the various personalization options, follow our guide.
Adopt a responsive design
A large proportion of emails are viewed on smartphones. Ensure your content displays correctly on all devices and that buttons remain easily accessible on mobile.
Check your campaign before sending.
Before each send, take the time to check links, images, text and how the email displays on different devices. A few simple checks can help you avoid errors that could damage your brand’s image.
By applying these best practices, you’ll improve your recipients’ experience, boost engagement, and increase the performance of your email campaigns.