In this article, we will summarize the basic tips for you when creating a template for email delivery.
1. How to insert text into a template?
Insert plain text into the template, and format it only within the editor -> this can guarantee its responsiveness.
Tip: You can free the text from formatting to copying it to the Notepad or pasting it into the address bar of the browser.
2. Make sure that the individual objects are arranged correctly -> ie insert everything that is to be "next to each other" into one structure (indicated by the blue border):
So that, for example, the products in the template are displayed correctly on the phone - ie. elements that belong together. It is necessary to insert them correctly into the structures. Always insert a picture + text + button together in one field in the structure. To speed up your work, you can use the automatic upload of products from the product feed.
The correct display on the phone then looks like this:
3. What is the correct ratio of text and images in the template?
When creating a template, it is also important to think about the ratio of text and images inserted into the template. If more images predominate in your template, this fact can negatively affect your mailing and its delivery. The recommended ratio of texts to images is at least 60:40.
The content of the template can be checked in step 4 of the campaign settings, specifically in the Spam test. The results of the spam test will warn you about any shortcomings in the campaign, which should be fixed before sending.
4. What elements should the template contain?
The most important element in the template is the link for unsubscribe. Each user must be able to unsubscribe from any email simply through this link. In the default templates available in the application, the link is already inserted by us. If you remove it from the template, it will be re-inserted automatically when you send your campaign. However, the automatically inserted link for unsubscribe may not be in concordance to the design of the template you created. We therefore recommend you to keep or insert it in the template on your own according to the instructions in this article.
Some email clients do not allow automatic download of external images, so it is advisable to add a link for the online version of the newsletter to the template. The user just clicks on this link and your email will be displayed in a new window in the browser. Detailed procedure for inserting a link for the online version can be found here.
Another important element in the template is the preheader. This is a short text (specifically the first available text from the template) inserted typically in the header of the template in the first block, which is displayed immediately after the subject of the email and you can use it to motivate the reader to open your mailing. It is also automatically editable in each preset template.
The user at first place sees the sender's name, email subject and preheader in the mailbox. These three elements are therefore what affects whether your email will be opened or not.
5. Insert a link and alternate text to all images. One of the goals of emailing is to get the recipient of the campaign to visit your website. You can do this by inserting links to the individual images. All you have to do is enter a link to a specific page in the "Image link" field, to which users will be redirected after clicking on it:
Also, do not forget the alternative text that appears if the image is not loaded correctly.
5. When personalizing emails, use conditioned merge tags, with which you define the scenario of overwriting values even for those contacts who, for example, lack the relevant value.
6. Testing the campaign by sending it to the test segment
The best way to test your campaign settings, functionality, and template display is to send it to your own audience.
Upload a list of your own addresses to the application, ideally of various email clients (eg Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook) -> and create a "test segment".
In some cases, the appearance of the mail may vary slightly. You will check the display of the newsletter at individual email clients by sending it to your audience. Some versions of the Outlook email client are sensitive to selected graphics, such as gifs, background images, or video - if you notice that most of your audience uses this email client, we recommend you to avoid advanced graphics and customize the mailing to this email client.
If you have any further questions regarding testing in Ecomail, you can contact us at support@ecomail.app