How to Make Your Emails More Clickable
January 6th 2014 | By Steve Grant
Whatever the business objective of your email, whether to increase sales, boost brand awareness or gain more enquiries, these can all be achieved more easily by getting the recipient to click through to your website.
The text, style and positioning of Call to Actions (CTAs) can all have a huge impact on whether people click through. Here are some tips to make your emails more clickable:
1. Optimise the CTA Text
The wording of your click through button is important and needs to entice the reader to click. A CTA that simply reads “click here” won’t be as meaningful as “Buy now and save”. Think about what your ultimate goal is and how this can best relate to your target market.
It’s also important to add ‘alt text’ to the CTA. If your recipient has set their default image viewing option to off, then instead of seeing a beautifully designed button urging them to take action, they may only see an empty box. By adding alt text, readers who can’t view images will still know where to click in order to complete the action.
2. Position and Design of the CTA
Placing a CTA above the fold of an email will ensure you capture those people who quickly open and scan their emails. It’s best to place CTA buttons within your email where the reader feels ready to take the next step, so perhaps next to a product image or after an opening offer.
The CTA needs to be well positioned so that it has enough white space around it to stand out.
Consider the design of the CTA. It needs to be big enough to make an impact, but not so large that it completely takes over the message in the email.
3. Add Links to Images
Images immediately capture the attention of the recipient so it makes sense to use them as a means of clicking through to the website. By doing this, you can also cut down on the number of untidy links within your email.
4. Consider Text Emails
As mentioned, not everyone will receive your beautifully designed email complete with images. Some recipients will receive text versions instead of ‘HTML’. If the plain text version has not been optimised, they will open a scary looking email containing lots of links and coding. By optimising your plain-text emails, you can ensure your email is kept out of the spam folder and is more likely to be well received by those who do not view HTML emails.
5. Extend the Clicks on Your Email
By prompting recipients to either share or forward an email, you can extend the clicks on your email. Add on a ready-made CTA button to allow the user to quickly and easily send on to a friend or colleague.
Similarly by adding social sharing buttons to your email, you can increase the number of people who will see your offer. If your recipient chooses to share your news or offer, your URL will be passed along to their followers.
Email marketing is competitive, with recipients receiving hundreds of messages into their inboxes. Take time to focus on the smaller details and ensure that your emails get more clicks. Need help? Get in touch.