5 Amazing Best Practices for Email Newsletters
Hips & Tips Example
I usually don’t sign up with any email list since I already get so many junk emails that I don’t even delete. I’ve probably tens of thousands of emails that are unread on my mailbox that I don’t even take the time to clean up. However, there are rare occasions that you are amazed by the quality of the content, the details on every aspect of the email. Hips and Tips emails are one of these and I want to share 5 amazing best practices that I enjoyed with their experience:
1. Ask for permission while explaining the value proposition
It all started with an email from one of my connections on LinkedIn. I remember signing up for one of her projects before, so she wasn't a stranger to me. The email was well written, informing me about her new project. The best part was it was sincere, short and clear:
“I didn't want to assume you would be interested in this new version. So I wanted to shoot you an email with the opportunity to opt-in again if you wish. You can sign up at hipsandtips.com if you think receiving 1 health & wellness tip a day will help you on your journey to live a more wholesome life.”
Lovely.
2. Show the experience right on the landing page to get more leads
When I clicked on the email link, the landing page was interesting. It was clean, explained the value proposition in one sentence, presented only one call to action on the active screen to add your email. The page included many animated gifs that were fresh and fun but at the same time they were enhancing the value proposition. You get the idea what you might expect from the emails.
3. Differentiate yourself on the mailbox
As many of you, I receive hundreds of emails a day. So, making a decision to open an email is a split-second decision, and every detail on the subject line or the short description underneath makes a big difference on the open rates.
One simple check mark on the description made all the difference for me to open that email. Now, you can add icons, emojis to the subject line or description and I can assure you it is effective.
When I checked the email on the desktop, Hips & Tips continue surprising me again. The animated GIF image is optimized for Gmail’s new design. Although you don’t see the title anywhere on the animated GIF, you can see it on your Gmail box which is cool and effective to get attention among all other promotional emails. I am sure they will improve the scaling issues shortly to show the full title on the allocated space.
4. The content on the email was fun, engaging and interactive.
The email design is amazing. I am not just talking about the pixels but the copy, user experience and the interactivity offered on the email. Every piece of the content/section is cleverly designed (optimized for every device including phones) and has a clear purpose. Below you can see all my notes on each section, and why I love the design of the email.
Using animated gif on emails is a trend that is here to stay for a while since it is more powerful than an image and much simpler than a video to present.
5. Engage, engage, and engage.
The bottom of the email was as interesting as the main content (tip of the day) for me. Most of the newsletters fail at this point. They provide you the information that you asked for and that is it.
But, yet, as you will see on this example, there is a great potential to get your community/list involved with every content you provide… including providing the content itself.
The reason why digital publishing is crashing the print industry is not only because the distribution is free. The following aspects are as important as the price: interactivity, social sharing, instant feedback options, two way conversation with comments and feedback.
Hips & Tips is a great example that email newsletters can be social, beautiful, valuable and fun at the same time. Hats off.
