Email Design

Looking for a dose of inspiration to jumpstart your marketing program? Take a few notes from Google's Marissa Mayer. She spoke at Make/Think, the AIGA design conference last October. For me, her points were the most valuable of the entire conference. Focus on the user, value simplicity, let the data decide and be unexpected.

Focus on the user - Giving your audience timely and relevant information should always be your main objective. Google focuses on decreasing search latency through optimizing how their site is coded.

In your situation, this could mean developing an SMS opt-in program or linking to a mobile-friendly version of your email. It is important to realize how and when your subscribers want to hear from you in order to increase subscriber engagement.

Value simplicity - For Google, their homepage has always been the simplest of all search engines. It was somewhat confusing for users in early years, but now users expect nothing less than generous white space when they start their search. It is clear, concise and allows users to do exactly what they came to do: search.

Email can be treated the same way. Design your message to contain only the most relevant, valuable information for your subscribers and give them a clear opportunity to act upon that information through linking to your website, landing pages and social sites.

Let the data decide - You might have heard this tip before, but have you put it into practice? Performing A/B testing is crucial in order to learn more about your subscribers' behavior. Google discovered last year that the blue links on the search results page were not the same as the blue in the Gmail inbox. They wanted to make them consistent, but didn't know which one to choose. So they conducted a test of the two blues and every shade in between to see if it made a difference in user behavior. The test known as "Battle of the Blues" found that the search abandonment rate increased as more green was added. Adversely, as more blue was added, the search click through rate increased. As a result, Google added more blue.

This type of test may be advanced for most marketers, but the concept is simple. Let the data decide. Test your subscribers and use the data to guide your decisions.

Be Unexpected - Every visit to Google is not the same. With what they call "Google Doodles", users experience the Google logo in a unique and unexpected way. That is Google's way of connecting with their audience and showing what they are interested in at the time.

Translating this to your program could mean refining your brand voice, connecting with subscribers via Facebook or Twitter or advancing your segmentation and personalization. Whatever the avenue may be, find a way to connect with subscribers on a personal level and show your company's personality.

Take it from Google, when subscribers receive the information they want how and when they want it, success follows.

Anna Meier
Design Consultant
ExactTarget Campaign Solutions Team