10 Creative Ways to Make a Mailer Layout Design

Emails are an integral part of almost everyone’s life. As per Statista, the number of global email users will reach 4.6 billion in 2025. And among those users, there is a large chunk of the audience that makes up your target users, i.e., users you can reach out to and convert via email.

So, it is crucial to make your emails stand out so that they instantly grab the attention of your target audience. And for this, your mailer layout design must be spectacular. Let’s look at some helpful tips to improve your email layout design.

What is a Mailer Layout Design?

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In today’s time, there is an incredible amount of information everywhere. No matter how hard you try, your audience cannot possibly consume all that information. In most cases, people scan through the information rather than reading between the lines.

Therefore, it is important that you cater to this short attention span and yet deliver significant information in a way that is easy to consume. And this is where a good mailer layout design comes into play.

Essentially, mailer design is the process of tactfully designing and creating an email that is attention-grabbing and looks aesthetically pleasing. The layout design is such that it makes it easy for your target audience to scan through the email and consume the maximum amount of information.

Thus, using the right and professional email layout, you can play with the audience’s reading flow and create a path to feed them vital information for your email campaign to flourish.

Moving on, let us look at some of the top reasons why having a good mailer design is so important:

● It can resonate with your email recipients

● It can boost brand identity

● It can instantly capture the audience’s attention

● It can engage the audience with the brand

● It can leave a long-lasting impression on the recipients

● It can convert users with the right marketing actions

A good and professional mailer layout serves as a foundation to build on and benefit from various marketing tricks and strategies.

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10 Ways to Design a Mailer Layout Design

Statista reports that 347 billion emails will be sent every day by the end of this year. Now you can very well imagine the number of emails that your target users must be receiving each day. Furthermore, it is seen that almost 40% of the emails are viewed for about eight seconds or less.

Thus, it is important to structure your email content adequately so that the recipient can easily engage with it. With a good layout, you can boost click-through rates by clearly sending your message.

Here are the top 10 ways you can design your mailer layout design:

1. Always lead with your branding

Branding plays a crucial role when it comes to email marketing. It is important to weave your brand’s visual identity into your mailer’s design to reinforce your company’s recognition with each email.

As soon as your recipients open the email, they must recognize it’s from you. Of course, they look at the sender’s name at the end to check who the email is from. However, it is way more effective if you begin your email with a customized and well-branded header and your company’s logo. You can incorporate something like this into your mailer layout design, so you don’t have to start from scratch each time.

Additionally, use consistent elements such as a specific color palette, logo, typography, etc., to strengthen brand recognition.

2. Pay attention to the hierarchy

How you visually structure your mailer design is vital to boost your click-through rates and reduce unsubscribes. When your readers open the email, they must become instantly aware of the purpose of the email. And this is only possible if you consider hierarchy in your email layout design.

You can start by including a nice banner and a clear call to action (CTA). Also, make sure your layout is such that it encourages the recipient to keep reading the email. It is one of the best email layout ideas where you can create a wireframe and plan out all the visual elements to ensure there is downward momentum.

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Typically, an inverted triangle is considered best for a basic notification email, a zigzag shape for an attention-grabbing eCommerce email, and a neat column style for an email newsletter.

3. Opt For web-optimized images

The images you use in your email must load quickly. And therefore, these images must not be wider than 800 pixels. Writing appropriate Alt text is crucial to help the reader understand the pretext if the images fail to load. This is also helpful if your recipient is using any program for visual impairment.

You can also use animated GIFs to enhance your email design. But make sure to avoid anything too distracting or heavy as that may cause loading issues. In other words, go for images that go well with your brand’s identity and match the color scheme.

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4. Include videos

When it comes to marketing, videos play a very important role. Using videos in emails can also help to increase email open rates and boost conversions. It is a great way to ensure that your email stands out in the inbox as it makes the content more engaging and dynamic.

You can create videos of someone important in your company talking and incorporate them into your design. It will add a personalized touch to the email.

5. Make it mobile-friendly

You must choose a professional email layout that works well on all mobile devices. According to statistics, more than 50% of all email campaigns are viewed on mobile devices.

Mobile-optimized mailer design layouts mean that no part of the email content is cut off, all the text is clear and readable, and all the images load easily. Having responsive designs is a sure-fire way to boost customer satisfaction and increase conversions.

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6. Design an attractive footer

A lot of email marketers pay little or no attention to email footers. And if you are one of them, you are making a serious mistake. Email footer is much more than authorized jargon and fine print. If used correctly, it can immensely increase the visual appeal of your email layout design.

Just make sure to follow visual hierarchy best practices in the footer as well. You can do that by arranging all information in a way that maximizes the negative space. Also, differentiate the footer from the rest of the email by using a different background color, and include all the necessary contact information. Add all the social media links to boost credibility and also add a disclaimer that tells the recipients why they are receiving the emails.

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7. Optimize your CTAs

While finalizing your email layout design, you must also focus on strategically placing your CTA buttons. Adequate placement of CTAs ensures better click-through rates. When you are laying out your text content to point towards a CTA subtly, you are giving your email recipients a gentle nudge to take action.

Pay attention to the text on your CTA buttons. This text must be specific and on-point. For instance, if you are promoting an eBook, you can write something like “check out our new eBook.” Phrases such as “learn more” and “read more” are well-suited for a lower-level call to action. Additionally, make sure to select a color for your CTA that complements other colors around it.

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8. Aim for clarity

It is no surprise that your audience must be receiving dozens of emails every day. Consequently, they are pressed for time and certainly not looking to deep dive into every email. So, make sure to make your email layout and content clear and easy to read.

It is advisable to use a mailer layout design that is easy to modify with HTML. This will help the developers’ curate content in a way that looks good on all kinds of devices. Break the big headlines into small, easily consumable chunks.

Pay attention to negative or white spaces. Integrate them carefully into the entire layout so that the content does not feel overcrowded.

9. Add an ‘Unsubscribe’ button

You must always give your audience an option to unsubscribe from your list. Many times, as you grow your company, the content becomes less relevant to a specific group of people. So, you must allow your audience to unsubscribe. And for this, make sure to add an “unsubscribe” button that is easily visible and accessible.

Adding the unsubscribe button is also mandated by law. The Federal Trade Commission states that you are legally required to include a clear explanation of how your email recipients can opt out of getting the emails.

10. A/B Test your email layout design

Mailer design is an iterative process. Based on your recipient’s response and analytics, you need to identify what works best for you. Your email layout design may require changes and regular updates to ensure you make the most out of email marketing.

A/B testing is a great technique to check the efficacy of your email elements such as color palette, layout, images, white spaces, CTAs, etc. It helps to identify what specific elements are not working so you can change them and ensure more conversions.

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Elements of a Mailer Layout Design

Mailer design can be categorized into many different elements that come together to create an aesthetically pleasing and information-packed email. Let us look at each of these elements in detail.

1. Copy

There are some basic rules that you must keep in mind while drafting your email’s copy:

● Using heading for better structure

● Avoid large blocks of information that may make your text too overwhelming

● Use center alignment for headings and left alignment for the text

● Add an adequate amount of images, emojis, videos, and icons to enhance the recipient’s reading experience.

● Do not overdecorate your text

2. Structure

A professional email layout design is all about good structure. People nowadays want to see striking landing pages in their inboxes. To ensure you structure your emails well, you must follow the tips below:

● The header should showcase your brand’s identity.

● Include a well-designed footer with contact details, such as phone number, address, social icons, customer support contact, and an unsubscribe button.

● It is advisable to use a one-column layout to make the design smooth and responsive. Alternatively, you can use a card layout to make it more aesthetic.

● Strategically include white spaces to enhance the user experience.

● Leave adequate width with gaps on both sides for effective content optimization.

3. Headings

Headings are a very important element of your mailer layout design. Giving a heading for each block of text makes the entire email more readable. They create visual focus, helping readers to scan through the emails quickly.

But make sure to keep all headings simple and minus any decorative features. Using too many complex words or emojis can unnecessarily complicate things.

4. Scanning margins

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It is seen that most readers scan an email using an “F” pattern. It is the most common eye-scanning pattern for big blocks of content. So, make sure to optimize your email for F scanning with the following tips:

● Add the most crucial piece of information in the first line itself.

● Add many short sentence bullet points for quick vertical scanning.

● Use keywords to begin new paragraphs and subheads to acquaint the user with the purpose of the email.

5. Links

The best practice for incorporating links within your emails is to use them in the same way as they are: blue and underlined. If you are too sure that this convention does not match your color palette, you can create other options. But remember, do not go overboard.

If you make your links overly decorative, they will break the reader’s flow. At the same time, ensure they stand out subtly and are easily accessible through the keyboard.

6. Call-to-Action

CTA buttons are the most important buttons in an email layout design. Therefore, you must pay enough attention to them. To begin with, traditionally designed CTA buttons work best. For instance, a rounded rectangle that is perfectly outlined is most effective.

Additionally, carefully decide on the text inside the button. The text should include action words that persuade the readers to take action. At the same time, the text should explain to the readers what you want them to do. Avoid generic phrases. Instead, make the button specific to resonate with your brand and purpose.

7. Visuals

If you are only adding text to your email body, it will be very hard for you to retain your reader’s attention. So it is crucial to add good visuals and dynamic content in images, animations, videos, and GIFs to create a good reader’s experience.

Apart from images, you can even add some emojis. Many marketers stay away from emojis because they think they look unprofessional. However, research demonstrates that emojis in emails increase open rates. Just make sure to understand the meaning of each emoji that you use in your email.

8. Colour palette

Every color symbolizes a unique feeling and emotion. For instance, green symbolizes peace, and pink elicits a female vibe. You can choose your specific color palette depending on your brand and message. Keeping in mind the tone you are suggesting, as well as your target audience, also helps.

The occasion on which you are sending your email also matters. For instance, Christmas emails must include festive colors like red, green, and white. On the other hand, black Friday emails should include black color in their core.

9. Typography

Last but not least, fonts are another vital element of a mailer layout design. The font you choose for your email impacts aesthetics as well as readability. You require fonts that go well with your brand’s identity. Also, you need to find fonts that look great across all devices.

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Here are a few tips for choosing the right font for your email design:

● Don’t use the same font for text blocks and headings. For text blocks, you can opt for sans serif.

● Don’t use overly decorative fonts that make it hard to read the email

● Know the right font size: typically, 14-16px works best for text blocks and 20-30px for headlines.

● Pay attention to spacing

● Keep your fonts across all emails consistent

Email marketing is a highly effective form of marketing. And if you are not currently leveraging its potential, you must start today.

By using the tips and tricks mentioned above, you can easily create an efficient and beautiful mailer layout design that will help you ensure a delightful readers’ experience.

And remember, email design trends come and go. And often, it is easy to get caught up in these trends only to realize sometime later that it was another fleeting fad. So, it is important to stay centered on the needs of your email readers and create email designs that look timeless.

Key Takeaways

● A mailer layout design is the strategic placement of all elements in an email so that they resonate with your marketing goals and result in engagement, conversion, and lead generation.

● A beautifully-designed and attractive email is essential to drive engagement and conversions. A good email with a professional email layout persuades the users to open it and take action.

● Your email layout design must always begin with your company’s branding. A header with attractive visuals and your company’s logo helps to reinforce brand identity.

● Considering hierarchy is also very important in an email structure. The layout design should be such that it gently guides the eye downwards.

● Focus on creating mobile-friendly emails that work well on all screen sizes. Use well-optimized images that load easily on all devices and are backed with Alt text.

● Design an attractive footer that carries all the necessary contact details and social icons. It is good practice to add an “unsubscribe” button in the footer to allow the audience to easily opt out of receiving any further emails.

● Use a clear and striking CTA to persuade the users to take action. Strategically place the CTAs so that the users instantly know the action you want them to take.

● Lastly, use A/B testing to determine the efficiency of your email layout design and all its elements. Once you know the results, you can tweak certain elements to boost click-through rates and conversions.

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