Any reputable online marketing firm will tell you that successful email advertising is one of the best ways to make your company, product, or service more visible online.  Millions of emails are sent daily, marketing a wide variety of products and services.  For this reason, outstanding email ad design is critical.  In designing your ad you will want to follow guidelines common to any good marketing piece, but you must also optimize your ad to perform in the email marketing environment.

Here are 10 “Do’s” and “Dont’s” for creating a successful email ad:

DO compose the ad using a combination of HTML and text
The use of graphics will draw the reader’s attention better than text alone.  It also allows for brand recognition through the use of a company logo and images of products.  The inclusion of text will help the SPAM score as well as to allow the recipients to read the portion of the email, should their ESP automatically block images.

DON’T feel that you need to close every sale with your email ad
Studies have shown that email ads that are too busy, offer too many choices, and present too much of a “hard sell” perform less effectively.  The primary purpose of your email ad is to get people to click and visit your website or landing page.  That is where the selling should take place.

DO keep the ad clear, concise and specific
This will keep the reader’s attention.  Create a great header to “hook” the reader.  Include three to five details about the product or service in the body of the advertisement.  Finally, be sure to have a call to action such as “Visit our Website.”  The temptation can be to want to tell your reader everything about your product, service, or company in the email.  But, as stated above, long ads often overwhelm the reader and have lower response rates.

DO maintain a greater text-to-image ratio
A ratio of approximately 65% text to 35% images is optimal.  If you include too many images your ad may be identified as spam by a reader’s spam filter.  It is essential to maintain that balance to avoid the pitfalls of using too much text or too many images.

DON’T include the bulk of your message inside the images
Recipient’s who have their email program set to automatically block images will not see the text of your ad if you do this.  By placing the text outside the images, recipients will see your message even if they don’t automatically see your images.

DO include a description of the images you use in the “alternative text” field
This means that, in the event that the images do not automatically display, the recipient will see a description of each image which might entice him or her to display the images.  For example, a furniture company may put a picture in their ad of a dining room set and have the alt text field read, “Mahogany dining set half off.”

DO keep your ad dimensions to 600×600
This allows most recipients to view your entire ad without having to scroll down thereby increasing the chance for a full read.

DO keep the file size and image resolution reasonable
We recommend a file size of 80kb (no larger than 200kb) and resolution of 72 DPI or 80% quality.  These numbers optimize the time it takes for the email to load (a key factor in whether or not it is read) while not sacrificing too much in quality.

DON’T use words, characters, or stylistic cues that will attract attention from spam filters
This will possibly keep your ad from being delivered to the recipient’s inbox.  Here are some things to avoid:  lots of font colors, large font sizes, all caps, excessive punctuation.  Also, trigger phrases like “risk-free” or “Click Here” should be avoided.  (You can find a more extensive list of these here).

DO run the source code of the final copy of your ad through a Spam Check program
A good example is spamcheck.sitesell.com. This free program will give your ad a score based on common spam flags.  It will help you to refine your ad, reducing the likelihood of it getting caught in a spam filter.  We do not recommend sending an ad with a score over 1.9.

Remember, the perfectly designed advertisement is only perfect if it is relevant to the recipients of the e-mail marketing list to which it’s sent.  If this all seems a bit overwhelming and some of the terminology is foreign to you, don’t be alarmed.  We’re here to help if you have questions.  Additionally, please check out our other articles on subjects like finding a reputable online marketing firm and what to look for in an e-mail marketing list.

Okay, so we’ve talked about email marketing mistakes and lead generation mistakes.  Let’s take a look at some common online marketing mistakes.  Clearly a broad topic, this is a mere sampling of many possibilities, but my hope here is that these will keep you from a few of the biggies – those mistakes which seem to plague many who venture into the online marketing world for the first time.  I would urge you to contact us with questions about any of these mistakes.

Lack of analytics
Generally this is a result of one of two things.  The marketer either neglects to set up analytics (on a website, for example), or worse, simply refuses to make use of analytics that are already in place!  Today the online marketer has at his or her disposal a wide variety of analytics tools and software.  The range of things one can accomplish through analytics is invaluable; statistical tracking, revenue tracking, forecasting, communication, and goal setting are a few examples of analytics tools which can help streamline online business efforts.  Do not talk yourself out of using analytics because you are intimidated by the thought of having to learn how to use any particular analytics software.  The investment of time will more than pay for itself.  (If you need help with this, please do not hesitate to contact us – we would love to help!)

“All I need is a website, right?”
It may be laziness, lack of understanding of the online marketing world, or the intimidation factor mentioned above, but all too often we encounter successful business owners for whom this mentality is a reality.  Do not fall into the trap of believing that tossing a website up online will automatically earn you business.  It’s true that many times the first question you get asked about your business is, “What’s your website address?”  It’s an assumption that you have one.  That said, when they hit that site, if it is outdated, unattractive, difficult to navigate, or just doesn’t have well-conceived content, the visitor will leave as quickly as they came.  You don’t need to spend a fortune on your website.  But, keep in mind that most first-time visitors will base their impression of your company’s competence and professionalism on how they view your website.

Misusing SEO
Search engine optimization is often overlooked or overused.  When designing, maintaining, and improving your website, effective use of SEO is essential to an established and effective web presence.  If you find yourself reciting the mantra from the previous session, the importance of SEO has eluded you.  Content tailored to the search engines is the way you’ll improve your ranking, so do not overlook it.  That said, make sure that your content is conducive to your audience, and do not spend so much time/money on SEO that you neglect your other marketing duties.

Lack of planning
The Other IBM – Catapult – TV Ad
IBM put this commercial together several years back which reminds me of the approach of many companies new to online marketing.  When in doubt, spend money.  This is less common in the current economy than it may have been five years ago, but this attitude is an example of how many online marketers try to resolve a lack of planning.  Doing market research, setting goals, developing a marketing strategy, and contingency planning are all part of succeeding in the online business world.  You wouldn’t walk into a business meeting with a prospective client without having done your homework on their business model, their market share, how you can best meet their business needs, etc…  Yet many set up a website, visible to everyone across the globe, without giving any thought to their online strategy.  Don’t make this mistake!

Lack of flexibility
The world of online marketing is constantly changing.  The search engines are always updating their algorithms, new online communication media are popping up, terminology is shifting, and what’s hot today may be old tomorrow.  Be willing to adapt your marketing strategy!  This doesn’t mean that you have to revamp your website every couple of days, but you should keep abreast of effective marketing techniques and what is working for other businesses online.

The topics here cover a lot more ground than we have time to really unpack in this article.  This is merely an overview of the various ways they can manifest themselves, and there can certainly be a great deal more to these mistakes.  I hope that the illustrations provided give you a good overall picture of what to avoid.  As I’ve done several times throughout this piece, I’d urge you to contact us if the online marketing process seems too daunting, if you have any questions about these or other topics, or if you’ve made any of these mistakes with your marketing.  It’s never too late to right the ship and to make your business thrive, and we’d love to help!