April 13, 2007, Newsletter Issue #160: E-Mail Creative Checklist 2

Tip of the Week

Work with someone who takes the time to understand the business objectives when you are crafting your newsletter. I'd rather spend an hour on the phone with a designer going over campaign goals than a half hour doing a thumb-nail layout. The former approach yields better, more creative results. Be sure the designer understands e-mail and the online environment. One publisher I know used an in-house design team to create a Web site as a companion to its glossy publication. Great idea, until it realized each page took a ridiculous amount of time to load. What works offline doesn't necessarily translate well online or to e-mail. Don't get hung up if a designer doesn't code HTML. Having someone else code the design is inexpensive. It's well worth the small additional cost if your designer has a great feel for online design but prefers to work in Photoshop. Focus design efforts on areas that give you the most bang for your buck.

These include: Headers, especially those featuring a brand or logoA colored background behind a small but important part of the e-mail message to distinguish itA signature graphic, to make the e-mail appear more personalDon't spend your limited graphic allotment on things that don't help get the message across or that could actually damage the campaign.

These might include:Colored wallpaper or a background behind most of the text. It's often a spam-filter trigger and makes e-mail harder to read.Cutesy icons instead of bullet points.Graphics not absolutely essential to your message.

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