Tips for Creating Emails That Get Opened and Clicked
The following are a few email best practices that not only help your email pass the review process but also improve engagement.
Here are some tips to increase opens and clicks:
Write Clear Subject Lines
Your subject line is the first thing recipients notice. Clear and direct subject lines help increase open rates and reduce spam complaints.
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Do |
Don't |
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| Keep subject lines short and easy to understand. | Use misleading or exaggerated claims. |
| Clearly describe the content of the email. | Write subject lines in ALL CAPS. |
| Personalize when appropriate. | Add excessive punctuation or symbols. |
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Examples
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Examples
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Use a Balanced Design
Emails should have a balance of text and images so recipients can easily understand your message, and spam filters aren't triggered.
A good guideline is maintaining a 60/40 text-to-image ratio.
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Do's |
Don't |
|---|---|
| Include readable text alongside images. | Send emails made entirely of images. |
| Use images to support your message. | Embed important text inside images. |
| Add alt text to images in case they do not load. | Overload the email with large graphics. |
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Example An email template with text explaining the offer and a supporting product image. |
Example Image only email! 😱 |
Send to Permission-Based Contacts
Only emails to contacts who have explicitly opted in to receive your communications. Sending emails without permission may lead to spam complaints and account restrictions.
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Do's |
Don't |
|---|---|
| Collect contacts through signup forms or opt-in pages. | Purchase or rent email lists. |
| Clearly explain what type of emails contacts will receive. | Send campaigns to contacts who never agreed to receive your emails. |
| Allow contacts to easily unsubscribe. | Add contacts from business cards or scraped websites without permission. |
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Examples Add a signup form on your website where users voluntarily enter their email address. |
Examples Uploading a purchased list of 5,000 email addresses and sending emails to them! |
Provide Clear Value
In today's busy world, your emails compete with hundreds of messages from other businesses for your contact's attention. Emails should provide useful, relevant content that your audience expects. Overly promotional emails often result in lower engagement and higher unsubscribe rates.
Remember: less is often more when it comes to email content.
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Do |
Don’t |
|---|---|
| Share helpful information, updates, or relevant offers. | Overload emails with too many promotions or sales messages. |
| Keep your message focused and easy to read. | Use aggressive or exaggerated sales language. |
| Use clear calls to action. | Write long emails with no clear purpose. |
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Example:
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Example:
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Test Your Emails Before Sending
Testing helps ensure your email displays correctly across different devices and email clients.
Even small issues—such as broken links or formatting errors—can affect your campaign performance.
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Do |
Don't |
|---|---|
| Preview your email before sending. | Send a campaign without reviewing it. |
| Send test emails to yourself or your team. | Assume the email will look the same in every inbox. |
| Check links, images, and formatting on both desktop and mobile. |
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Example Send a test email and confirm formatting and links. |
Example Sending an email with broken links or missing images. 😱 |