Welcome to the final installment of our Email @ 50 series. For the last article, Email @ 50 contributors got together and discussed on Slack everything that they learned from writing this series and what they expect out of the future of email. Read through the transcript below!

Based on your experience writing articles in this series, what did you learn about email with respect to your discipline?

 For me, it was a good opportunity to take a step back and see how far we've come with email marketing over the course of my career. When I got started in advertising/marketing in the early 2010's I feel like we were just scratching the surface of marketing emails—mainly improving design and layout and trying to determine the best practices for email on mobile.

I also remember a lot of conceptual ideas regarding automation, customization, and using data to better improve the user's experience that are now common practice. Things like abandon cart emails, auto-response emails to lead forms or reservations, or responsive design that looks good on all devices.

 is by far the best tool at this point for fast email development that works across the board. Putting together a list of tools, it with Litmus provides the best experience right now if you are making emails by hand, after looking back at our old process of developing emails, it’s a night and day difference.

I was surprised to find that majority of emails in 2020 were opened on a phone as opposed to desktop... Makes design simplicity that much more important. Design has always been tricky for email specifically, but when you are working with so many different constraints and devices and platforms. There's so much that works on one and not on another that the most important thing in email design really is to reduce clutter or anything that isn't absolutely necessary to get the point across - Rule of thumb: Aim to create as clean a design as possible, and you will likely enhance the user experience. The fact that mobile email has taken over desktop just backs up the need to keep a single column layout, simple, large CTA's and headlines, legible fonts, high contrast etc.

 What remains your biggest hurdle when it comes to email marketing?

 Not having cut and dry standards to follow. Something may work for one browser or email client but then looks like complete shit and breaks on another. That and balancing client expectations vs. an achievable layout

The email clients still don't have standards across the board (looks at Outlook). Even with those build tools, it can still be a major pain

 A lot of times, a client wants to see some super pretty, custom extension of their brand through an email newsletter (patterns, photography, overlapping elements, custom fonts, etc.), but you have to limit those expectations in an email if they want the thing to actually render for their audience

For me, it would be a lack of emphasis on two things; 1. audience creation/management and 2. lack of a priority on content

First, too often email lists/audiences are sparse. Sometimes you're lucky to get more than just a single column .csv of email addresses. Other times the list is a mess and formatted incorrectly. Lastly, developing a good email audience takes time and effort. You need to first give them a good reason to subscribe. Sometimes it can be simple, like offering a discount for submitting your email address or to access additional content like white papers or case studies. But you also have to give your subscribers a reason to stay, which leads me to my second point.

Second, content is still king for email (and so many other digital tactics). If your email content is just recycled from elsewhere or you don't have something worthwhile to say, it will be ignored in your recipient’s inbox, or worse, they'll unsubscribe. A strong content strategy is key to keeping an audience engaged.

I think it's interesting that both of you all referenced the discrepancy in how an email can render depending on the email client. It leads nicely into my next question...

What do you think could help make email an even better platform for marketers? (I think I know what you all are going to say, lol)

Vague - Being more flexible. Specific - Let me use more fonts!

If we could move on from tables and the current lack of standards and limits

Also, if as an industry, we take a step back and make sure we don't bloat emails with too much media

@nick "Also if as an industry we take a step back and make sure we don't bloat emails with too much media" this is a good point, especially considering how many emails are now opened on cellular networks rather than Wi-Fi

It's truly frustrating having to pick between like 8 fonts if you want them to render correctly and not eff up the design for all of your audience

Well... 8 that are absolutely considered bulletproof

You have the web safe fonts, some clients don't support @font-face

Interesting, I was unaware of how limited font options were for email!

Are there any recent trends that you have seen that get you excited or make you curious about the future of email?

People moving away from older versions of Outlook and moving more towards web clients, which tend to not have as worse issues or get updated more frequently

@nick I think the further adoption Google Workspace will help with your point about older versions of Outlook. This article seems to agree with you too: 

https://blogs.gartner.com/craig-roth/2021/07/30/should-microsoft-office-365-be-afraid-of-google-workspace-gartner-2020-market-share-report-says/

I have seen a lot more layering in emails recently. Not quite sure how it's being accomplished, but it does make me want to play around and find out what all is possible

For a wannabe novice designer like myself, what do you mean by "layering in emails" @morgan?

So not fully animated effects but I've seen a lot of overlaping animations with other, static images.

Yea I've seen a lot of animated effects lately. At least alot of clothing (shoes) related emails

Interesting! I'll have to pay closer attention now that I know that's a thing lol

But I'd love to dig into more animation in email to figure out what is possible and how without it breaking on half of browsers or platforms

For me the trend that excited me most is the idea of real time marketing, but email doesn't feel like it's necessarily a real time platform. If you need to get a message out and a quick response, SMS marketing feels like the better route to go.

Do you all believe email will become a bigger or smaller part of the marketing landscape in the future?

 I think it will become bigger, its like how podcasts and other mediums that were on a downswing and are now coming back up because of how simple they are (Compared to an app or something)

That's a fair point @nick, or how the pandemic brought the QR code back into our lives in such a big way. Perhaps it should be looked at as being more cyclical in nature.



Personally, I feel like it will likely shrink some but not much. As I noted, it’s not the most immediately actionable tactic compared to SMS or push notifications from apps, which will be better for smaller items like apparel or media. However, it is great for higher-priced goods and services that users need more lead time on, like say hiring an account or financial planner or purchasing a car or furniture.

100% personalized to you based on where you go and what you do, driven by AI. More of a result of your behaviors, history, preferences, and interests. Not just generic blasts of content to the masses

It ain't going anywhere, I just think there will be less limitations and more customization

Okay, my last question is a two-parter... What is your 

 prediction about the future of email marketing AND what is your 

 predication for the future of email marketing?

I think it'll be more of the same. From a dev perspective, we are still held back by legacy clients, and it’s a lot harder to cut those out than cutting out something like IE11. More usage, but more of the same.

Bold prediction is either Google or Apple introduces some feature breaking change which forces everyone forward, some sorta new medium for email that everyone jumps on.

Realistic - hopefully fewer limitations on design/dev and a better perception of what recipients want/need from marketing emails. Less recycling content from elsewhere to re-purpose for email and more thoughtful consideration on when/how users view email content.

Bold - would be more dynamic emails that can change content even after they've been sent to reflect activities users might have completed or undertaken since it was initially sent. Something like an API that can connect to a CRM that ensures email content/promos/whatever is reflective of where that user is in the customer journey.

Hosted emails, that would be nice - the actual email is just an iframe to content that lives on a website with the option of it being cached by the email server (so if its not dynamic and can live in history)

Realistic - More customization options, fewer restrictions, more personalizations, and integrations.

Bold - Outlook and Internet Explorer become illegal to possess on all computer operating systems.

Alright, we are out of time. Thank you guys for your skills, thoughtfulness, and writing as part of this series!

View All Entries in the Email @ 50 Series:

Part I: Email @ 50: Email Marketing Still Works... Half a Century Later

Part II: Email @ 50: The Art of Email Design

Email

Marketing Strategy

Web Design

Frontend Development

Email @ 50: Retrospective + The Future of Email

I remember when I first started out as a designer (professionally), having to play Photoshop Tetris with cut up image blocks to piece together a full email layout. As a UX designer, we are taught that nothing is more important than usability and utility … and let’s just say, nothing puts those things to the test quite like Photoshop Tetris. Thankfully we have more sensible solutions now, but email design still comes with its added constraints and limitations. Luckily, I’ve had enough time and practice to be able to share a bit of knowledge, tips & tricks with you fine folks. So, let’s cut it up:

That’s the main thing. What works for one browser/client combo, may break for another.

There exists a sea of inconsistencies across browsers and platforms that you must be aware of in order to make sure an email functions cross-platform … Which makes designing for email uniquely challenging. Email forces designers to simplify, limit chaos of content and reduce cognitive load for the user. You don’t have a lot of space and you don’t have a lot of time, so using both wisely becomes immensely important.

Overcomplicating with tons of drop shadows, too many grid alignments, massive visual assets, or fancy fonts (which usually means image-based text

 us to pay closer attention to decisions being made, it’s also making us more thoughtful designers. In designing for email you 

 to prioritize and strategically solve the challenge at hand.

It’s a balancing act between performance and design. An email can look beautiful, but not be effective, in which case it’s not a successful email. Emails are not meant to be a piece of art, they are measured by specific metrics that dictate good vs bad. Design works as an addendum to the customer experience of the email’s content and messaging. It’s used as an aid to the overall strategy and as a line item on the grading rubric of performance for the success or failure of a campaign.

The biggest mistake that is consistently made in designing emails is simple – complexity 

. We try to limit that desire to overcomplicate in our own process at VIA by collaborating early and often with the development team. When designing an email, a designer and developer get together and go over the goals at hand and constraints within our email editor of choice. This helps eliminate future issues and aligns our priorities before any design work is done. It ends up being a huge time-saver and efficiency boost.

After eliminating complexity in handoff and process, you then must focus on the design itself. Remember, it’s about serving the person you're sending the email to, not your personal design vision or preferences. Email isn’t the place to test out complicated layouts and fancy designs. Use that energy on the consumer, their needs, and the effectiveness of having a focused message.

Tip: If you are really looking to get cute, throw in some fun or engaging copywriting. Copy can go a long way with holding your audience’s attention. BUT, keep it short and sweet. Most people spend less than 15 seconds reading marketing emails, so prioritizing is key.

So, going back to the constraints and limitations that I keep referring to. You must be asking – “Are there 

 rules I can follow?” It’s a loaded question but a valid one. My answer is – There isn’t really a single checklist to follow. Rules are ever-changing, BUT there are guidelines and standards to keep top of mind to improve your chances of success. Let’s run through some.

The first is simple and it’s that you need to 

. A common example of what not to do here (it’s one that I see often) is having an image with a block of text or headline in it. It looks PERFECT on desktop. It’s large and in charge, eye-catching and memorable. But when you go to open it on your phone, you need a magnifying glass. People utilize mobile email. Cater to them.

. Use trends that lend to legibility like high contrast and large body copy. Make it scannable and quick hitting. A tried-and-true layout doesn’t have to be boring – It can be adapted for any brand and made unique.

To ensure email renders for every client, 

for your design. I personally keep designs to 600px wide.

If you are using visuals in your email, be sure to 

 before uploading. Especially on mobile, large images take large amounts of loading time. I find that 

 is incredibly helpful for sizing down images without compromising quality. You’ll also want to save images out 2x the intended size to ensure that they are nice and crisp. Then, you can adjust the image attributes or CSS to scale down

. This will make your email more accessible. If your image doesn’t load, the text will still be shown (or read for screen readers), so the message isn’t entirely lost.

 Personalization has been linked to success in emails. Whether that’s using the person’s name in the email subject (personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened), catering content to specific audiences, or using relatable, custom photography that speaks to your brand.

This one is a bummer, but it’s important. 

. Email-safe fonts have the highest likelihood of being downloaded on your audience’s computer, thus rendering in the email without altering the design. Here is a list of the fonts considered most bullet proof:

. Make your email design digestible and give each section its own space to live. This helps guide your user along a curated path, without being overwhelmed by content and calls to action. It limits cognitive dissonance and increases likelihood of conversion. Win, win.

, I tend to stick to 1 column layouts, at least 16px font size for body copy, and keep said copy short and focused.

(easy to click) with not a lot of copy (easy to scan). Typically, I go 50px tall for CTAs and for the button-copy, I use a verb or action word to reiterate the call for the user to complete an action (EX: read, visit, learn, explore).

Make sure your images are large enough and 

. If they are tiny and busy, the message can easily get lost when scaled down.

 There are technically ways of including video in an email, but the success rate is low. Almost half of all email clients don’t support the technical requirements required to play a video in an email. You’re better off converting that mov or mp4 to an animated gif. Shorter load time, higher success rate and auto-plays.

Here are some examples of successful results following the above criteria by brands that consistently put out engaging, successful email campaigns.

I’ll leave you with a bit of confidence in where I see email design going and our current process here at VIA.

Clean code supported by a modular based design. 

Component based design allows you to mix and match to create unique templates that feel consistent but different at the same time. Rather than 1 restrictive template design, you have 9 or 10 modules to pull from for different instances or content types. It makes the design more flexible. I’m a strong advocate for creating patterns or building a visual design language and emails are just another outlet where I find that to be a successful approach. Here are a couple of examples of companies reusing components / establishing a design language to come across as consistent, but unique each time they send something out.

 to keep in mind when designing for email, but I hope the tips and tricks provided in this article help give you a solid foundation to build on. 

Email can be a beast and each discipline has their own set of principles and rules that they need to follow (which is why we did this series ☺). Be on the lookout for more posts on email in the future!

Reach out if you have any questions! Unless it’s about Photoshop Tetris. Can’t help you there. I’m retired.

Part IV: Email @ 50: Retrospective + The Future of Email

Email Campaigns

User Experience

Email @ 50: The Art of Email Design 

UX / UI

Ecommerce

Websites

Foxhollow Farm 

Branding

Photography

Art Direction

Accessibility

Treyton Oak Towers

 a cohesive, mobile-friendly website takes a talented team with diverse skill sets. Our team delivers the strategy, design, and development talent needed to execute outstanding work. We build from the ground up with a focus on accessibility and mobile devices.

Web Design

Web Design: Case Studies

01

Foxhollow Farm

02

Treyton Oak Towers

Web Design: Blog Posts

Email @ 50: Retrospective + The Future of Email

Email @ 50: The Art of Email Design