14 Email Marketing Design resources

Like it or not, HTML email marketing campaigns are a core requirement for any successful email marketing program. Not only do they offer the first rule for successful online marketing – metrics – but they also offer a host of benefits that you simply can’t get from using text-only email messages. Things like brand loyalty and identity reinforcement, better product placement and promotion, and increased flexibility within the email to name a few! Of course, HTML campaigns will always have its detractors, and this audience have their own valid reasons not to condone HTML email, but in the interest of the advantages listed above, this format of email is unquestionably crucial in today’s multi-channel, multi-brand, and highly competitive marketing environment!

So, here’s a list to help all email marketers design the ultimate email. You’ll find information, inspiration, downloads, tools (free & paid) and further reading. Of course I haven’t selected everything out there or this post would be a mile long, but if you feel I’ve missed any important ones, feel free to leave a comment.

The Basics:

Written by one of the new Godfathers of email design over at Campaign Monitor, Mathew Patterson gives SitePoint his take on the main principles of great HTML email design. Find 3 pages of excellent content that touches on everything from overall layout and content to real-life examples of great email designs. http://www.sitepoint.com/article/principles-beautiful-html-email

Yet another wonder from down under, Dave Greiner also of Campaign Monitor (yes, they seem to have their finger on the pulse of all things email design lately) gives another quick list of guidelines on email design. Although this post might be a bit old by now (2006), I’d say 99% of the guidelines suggested should still in full practice today. Dave also targets Apple as one of the most unlikely villains in anything design-related, but really, put up your hand if you’ve had a shock when opening an Apple email and seen the amount of things they do wrong. It’s crazy. http://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/archives/2005/11/html_email_desi.html

Another emerging force in the area of email design, MailChimp have written a great post aptly titled ‘Stupid HTML Email Design Mistakes’. It leaves little doubt over the content of the article, eh? Although basic, the post is quick, simple and effective. http://www.mailchimp.com/resources/html_email_mistakes.phtml

Inspiration:

Tired? Feeling uncreative? Have a deadline for a new email design, or looking to spark your existing marketing department’s look and feel (seeing as the current crop of email looks like they’re being sent from 1997?). Look no further than http://www.newsletterarchive.org/, a spin-off from the great Montreal-based (and growing) Code Kitchen. The Newsletter Archive is like the Wayback machine for email designs. Browse through and get inspired.

Yet another instalment from the guys at Campaign Monitor, the frequently updated gallery showcases the work of live email campaigns being sent through their servers. You can expect the standards to be pretty high here, considering the CM tool targets solely web designers. http://www.campaignmonitor.com/gallery/

Each year MarketingSherpa do a great feature - rounding up all of the greatest email campaign creatives under one roof/page, and awarding them based on their cleverness, technology used, or simply their look and feel. This one is an up-to-date pool of great ideas that you're openly allowed to swipe from, so feel free http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30374

Downloads:

Feeling really lazy and simply too tired to make your own email marketing newsletter or campaign? Free email marketing templates, all standards-compliant, can be found at… you guessed it… http://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/templates.aspx

For a more Canadian look and feel of free email templates, look to another spin-off of The Code Kitchen, called Kekeko. Find these beauties at http://newsletter-templates.kekeko.com/

The folks at MailChimp also offer some free email templates for download. Find them at http://www.mailchimp.com/resources/templates/

Bonus and shameless self-plug: You can always look to your immediate right, and download 10 email templates from CarbonGraffiti.

Free Tools:

It’s one thing designing a great-looking email, but will it work in all major clients? Another Canadian representative, Alex from Dunae has designed ‘PreMailer’, a tool for analyzing the CSS you use in your finished email campaign, and offering suggestions on how that CSS will perform in all major email clients. Pure genius. Check it out over at http://code.dunae.ca/premailer.web/

A semi-free tool, these guys used to be SiteVista and rebranded to LitmusApp recently. Whereas PreMailer gives you text-based suggestions, this tool from LitmusApp gives you full visualizations on how your email looks in all major clients. Though not currently offering all major clients, they will be soon enough. This tool is available for a 1 week free trial. Find it at http://litmusapp.com/

Paid Tools:

Unfortunately the big tools aren’t free. I’ve used it in the past, and ReturnPath’s SenderScore is a great integrated tool that not only shows you visual reps of your email (across all clients) it also tells you your Spam score based on a continually updated set of rules and filters. What’s more, this app also offers reputation and deliverability monitoring. You definitely get what you pay for with ReturnPath. http://www.returnpath.net/senderscore/

As mentioned earlier, MailChimp are also getting in on the whole ‘test it before you send it’ act. Their InboxInspector is a standalone tool that you don’t have to buy a MailChimp account to use – you can simply create a free account, sign up for the II, and keep using your existing ESP. Find them at http://www.mailchimp.com/add-ons/inboxinspector/

Knowledge: