How to Create an Email Newsletter If You Don't Know How to Layout
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2024 6:19 am
If you don't have a layout designer on your team and you're not good with HTML, that doesn't mean you should give up on email newsletters. You can do it yourself, just follow our advice.
Letter design is very important. Beautiful and high-quality letters always evoke positive associations with the brand in subscribers. Is it possible to create a letter that subscribers will look forward to on your own, without designers and layout designers?
Yes, you can, and block editors will help you with this. Our marketing automation service enKod has integration with Stripo. To create letters, you need to select blocks with text, images, buttons and social network icons. Then drag them into the work field and fill them with your content.
The coolest thing about this block editor is the ability to create and save templates that are then convenient to use in your work. You don't have to create a letter from scratch every time.
What do you need to know about letters before layout?
There are general rules for mailings that need to be followed. Here they are:
1. Monitor the size of the letter. The width should not exceed 600 pixels. We also do not recommend making the letter too long. There is a chance that the subscriber will simply not scroll to the end. The optimal length is 1500 by 2000 pixels.
2. Keep the structure. Every letter has mandatory elements:
Preheader. This is the piece of text that comes after the sender's name and subject. It tells the subscriber what awaits them inside the email.
Header. It is also called the letterhead. Most often, the logo, company name and slogan are placed here. This block creates the first impression of the letter, so it is important that it is beautiful and matches the company style.
Body : This part of the letter contains all the main content.
Footer. In this part of the letter, you need to add a block with the company's contact information, social media icons so that subscribers can follow you on other channels, and an unsubscribe link.
3. Use different content formats. Each letter consists of modules — rectangular or square blocks. You can add texts, pictures, gifs, videos, and links to the letter modules.
4. Select a suitable font. Here is a list of fonts philippines business email list that mail services display correctly: Arial, Arial Black, Georgia, Courier New, MS Sans Serif, Tahoma, Time New Roman, Trebuchet MS, Verdana. If you use other fonts for the text, mail services will replace them with standard ones.
5. Work on the style of your emails. Your newsletters should be an extension of your website. This is necessary so that your subscribers remember you better. The email should use the same fonts, color combinations, logos, and graphic elements as the website. If email providers do not support your corporate font, choose an alternative but similar option.
6. Remove all unnecessary things. To ensure that your newsletters successfully pass the spam filter check and are displayed well by subscribers, you should not use shortened links, JavaScript, or Flash animation.
7. Add text. The absence of text can also be a suspicious signal for spam filters. Keep the ratio - 25% text and 75% images.
Let's start laying out the letter
1. Create a layout
First, you need to understand how the letter will look — where the columns with text, images and buttons will be located. It is important that the newsletter has all the elements we talked about above — header, body and footer, and there is air between the modules. The prototype width should not be more than 600 pixels. The layout can be created in Figma, Sketch and Photoshop.
2. Add all the necessary content
Now you can add the necessary elements to the letter - text blocks, pictures, gifs, videos and buttons. Be sure to ensure that the distance between the elements is organic.
3. Open the block editor
Now the most interesting part — we edit our letter and bring it to mind. We will explain how to do this using the Stripo service as an example. First, you need to select a blank template and fill it with empty structures according to the layout — header, letter body and footer. To do this, go to the “content” section and drag the blocks you need to the working field. After that, fill them with elements according to your layout.
In the general settings of the program, you can pre-set the background and body color of the letter, buttons and text, line spacing, indents - everything to make the letter beautiful and orderly. The configured parameters will be applied to all elements of the letter. In the "Design" tab, you can set up headings and subheadings - set the size and select a suitable font.
Creating a letter in the block editor
All images that you add to the template can be edited. For example, you can crop, resize, add text, frames, and change backgrounds.
The service also allows you to use personalization tags to address subscribers by name. To do this, click on the “personalization” tab, select the mailing service you use, and then the desired parameter (name, surname). After that, the mailing service will automatically insert the necessary data into this parameter.
Another important point to pay attention to is the CTA buttons. To make users click on them, they should be noticeable, and the calls to action should be concise. To add a button, drag the corresponding block to the work field and open the element settings. Then add a link and text, select the font, button color and set the internal borders.
Letter design is very important. Beautiful and high-quality letters always evoke positive associations with the brand in subscribers. Is it possible to create a letter that subscribers will look forward to on your own, without designers and layout designers?
Yes, you can, and block editors will help you with this. Our marketing automation service enKod has integration with Stripo. To create letters, you need to select blocks with text, images, buttons and social network icons. Then drag them into the work field and fill them with your content.
The coolest thing about this block editor is the ability to create and save templates that are then convenient to use in your work. You don't have to create a letter from scratch every time.
What do you need to know about letters before layout?
There are general rules for mailings that need to be followed. Here they are:
1. Monitor the size of the letter. The width should not exceed 600 pixels. We also do not recommend making the letter too long. There is a chance that the subscriber will simply not scroll to the end. The optimal length is 1500 by 2000 pixels.
2. Keep the structure. Every letter has mandatory elements:
Preheader. This is the piece of text that comes after the sender's name and subject. It tells the subscriber what awaits them inside the email.
Header. It is also called the letterhead. Most often, the logo, company name and slogan are placed here. This block creates the first impression of the letter, so it is important that it is beautiful and matches the company style.
Body : This part of the letter contains all the main content.
Footer. In this part of the letter, you need to add a block with the company's contact information, social media icons so that subscribers can follow you on other channels, and an unsubscribe link.
3. Use different content formats. Each letter consists of modules — rectangular or square blocks. You can add texts, pictures, gifs, videos, and links to the letter modules.
4. Select a suitable font. Here is a list of fonts philippines business email list that mail services display correctly: Arial, Arial Black, Georgia, Courier New, MS Sans Serif, Tahoma, Time New Roman, Trebuchet MS, Verdana. If you use other fonts for the text, mail services will replace them with standard ones.
5. Work on the style of your emails. Your newsletters should be an extension of your website. This is necessary so that your subscribers remember you better. The email should use the same fonts, color combinations, logos, and graphic elements as the website. If email providers do not support your corporate font, choose an alternative but similar option.
6. Remove all unnecessary things. To ensure that your newsletters successfully pass the spam filter check and are displayed well by subscribers, you should not use shortened links, JavaScript, or Flash animation.
7. Add text. The absence of text can also be a suspicious signal for spam filters. Keep the ratio - 25% text and 75% images.
Let's start laying out the letter
1. Create a layout
First, you need to understand how the letter will look — where the columns with text, images and buttons will be located. It is important that the newsletter has all the elements we talked about above — header, body and footer, and there is air between the modules. The prototype width should not be more than 600 pixels. The layout can be created in Figma, Sketch and Photoshop.
2. Add all the necessary content
Now you can add the necessary elements to the letter - text blocks, pictures, gifs, videos and buttons. Be sure to ensure that the distance between the elements is organic.
3. Open the block editor
Now the most interesting part — we edit our letter and bring it to mind. We will explain how to do this using the Stripo service as an example. First, you need to select a blank template and fill it with empty structures according to the layout — header, letter body and footer. To do this, go to the “content” section and drag the blocks you need to the working field. After that, fill them with elements according to your layout.
In the general settings of the program, you can pre-set the background and body color of the letter, buttons and text, line spacing, indents - everything to make the letter beautiful and orderly. The configured parameters will be applied to all elements of the letter. In the "Design" tab, you can set up headings and subheadings - set the size and select a suitable font.
Creating a letter in the block editor
All images that you add to the template can be edited. For example, you can crop, resize, add text, frames, and change backgrounds.
The service also allows you to use personalization tags to address subscribers by name. To do this, click on the “personalization” tab, select the mailing service you use, and then the desired parameter (name, surname). After that, the mailing service will automatically insert the necessary data into this parameter.
Another important point to pay attention to is the CTA buttons. To make users click on them, they should be noticeable, and the calls to action should be concise. To add a button, drag the corresponding block to the work field and open the element settings. Then add a link and text, select the font, button color and set the internal borders.