As mentioned previously in the "Email Marketing Strategy" article, we are now living in an email-dependent society where customers are bombarded by an array of electronic communications, 89% of which is spam. Therefore it is critical that the design and layout - from subject line, through to image location and call-to-action - is eye-catching, relevant and desirable.

In this series we will discuss the various elements of the email construct with explanation of some of the best practices currently employed. This begins with a quick checklist provided by the "Direct Marketing Association"* that you can use as a reminder of the bare minimum you should be looking to achieve. Thereafter we will look at the 2 main design types - editorial and promotional - before discussing specific parts of the design and layout that conform to best practice.

The basics:

The following is a list of basic best practices as described by the "Direct Marketing Association". It is useful to keep this in mind to ensure you are covering the bare minimum in terms of compliance and principles around email marketing content and design.

In addition it is useful to keep in mind the minimum requirements as per direct marketing best-practice to ensure compliance with the CAN SPAM Act. Below is a good illustration of the good and bad from a CAN SPAM perspective courtesy of the "Direct Marketing Association".

In the next post we will focus email design, beginning with a look at the long and short editorial format.

*Source: Direct Marketing Association - Whitepaper - "Email Delivery Best Practice"