A good email marketing campaign design results from several things.  Keeping it simple is the first and foremost, but if it contains a flashy headline and opening with no real content, you are unlikely to get the results you desire.   People avoid the ‘gimmicky’, so if yours is, you should consider a redesign as outlined below.

Start with a simple newsletter.  The Nielson Norman Group reports that the average email newsletter reader spends an average of fifty seconds in review.   However, a simple email is likely to hold a readers attention for only about four seconds.   So, a newsletter is a better choice because it will likely hold your readers attention for ten times as long. We come now to a bit more about the best principles of design for the newsletter or email.

What is most important is to establish an email marketing design that will strongly attract attention, but also hold it for an extended period of time.   Most consumers only read a small fraction of the emails they get, and most of the ones that are actually opened are only scanned for content.  Different people react to different advertising stimula, so you need to be sure to design your copy in a way that targets the kind of audience you are trying to appeal to.

Knowing that the majority of emails never get opened, you need to employ a subject line that will attract attention better than the rest to offer you any chance.It is very good practice to use the readers name in the subject line, as well as in the salutation of the actual email message.Present you subject line in a way that cleary suggests something new and unique as a way of solving a key need or issue.  Alternative, the subject line may challenge a commonly held belief or notion that your email marketing list target audience may hold.Spend a period of time writing down the subject lines that have convinced you to open an incoming email. Review them to gain an understanding of why they made you decide to actually open the email.

The proper use of colors and graphics can also help call your readers attention to key communication elements and messages.  At the same time, be sure that the colors do not impact the flow of the narrative in a negative by integrating them smoothly, and that any graphics employed have a clear purpose other than to simply be pretty or attractive.Graphics and colors must be used only in a way that they clearly add to or enhance the message being presented.

Additionally, recognizing that you really have only 4-5 seconds to gain the attention of the typical email scanner, you need to present your copy in a way that the key elements and challenges of your message stand out quickly.   Furthermore, they must be presented in a way that not only grabs attention, but also compels the reader to continue on to get even better information.  

Finally, your email marketing message must convey a clear and compelling call for action from the reader.Be sure to be very clear about the action you want them to take, an insure that they have all the proper information and instructions they will need to do so.  For further information on how to successfully employ email marketing, visit Network Online Reviews for a variety of articles and reviews of email marketing products.