When it comes to sending messages online, readability is an important issue. The ability for your recipients to read their emails and respond to your offers is critical to your email marketing success. While subject lines and delivery times are key factors in whether or not your emails get opened, the readability of your messages determines whether or not your emails get read and acted on, which is, after all, the real point to email marketing in the first place.
The formatting that you use for your emails makes a big difference in whether or not they get read. Here are four ways that formatting can help improve your readability.
1. Formatting makes emails visually attractive.
Like it or not the way that your emails look can be a lot more important that the words contained in the email. The web is a visual medium – which means that a great template can do a lot for less than stellar content. And it can make a newsletter full of great content shine even brighter.
Make sure your newsletter and email marketing messages are built on a great template that looks appealing and encourages your recipients to read. Your template should organize information into different sections so that it’s easy to read.
2. Formatting makes your content “scannable.”
It’s a proven fact that people do not really read online. At least not the way that they would read a book or a newspaper article. It’s difficult to truly read online because of the way that screens are illuminated. It’s hard for people to read through large blocks of text and stay focused when they are reading on a screen.
Instead of reading in depth and reading each word, people scan through information. They look for bullet points, bolded sections, call outs and bite sized chunks of information. You can improve the readability of your messages by doing the same. Look for opportunities to add call outs and headings and chunk information into parts.
3. Formatting helps to show what is most important in your email message.
As you create your email marketing messages, you need to think about how your end user will receive the emails. Many of them may be pressed for time and reviewing your message in a hurry.
Formatting shows the readers what is most important at a glance. For example, if your marketing message is designed to get your reader to make a purchase, you can create an HTML button to bring attention to your call to action. The reader’s eyes will typically zoom right to the HTML button and they’ll be compelled to click.
4. Formatting encourages your readers to take the next step.
When your email readability is improved, your readers know exactly what they should do next. The point is not only to get your emails read but to get your audience to take the right action. No matter whether that’s making a purchase from you, visiting your blog or clicking through to a survey – improve your readability through formatting can help.
By creating a clean and easy to read email with formatting, you can ensure that your readers are taking the next step.
For more info on CFL’s online marketing services please visit www.cflmarketing.co.uk
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