Want to get more leads, sign-ups, open rates, and click-through rates for your emails? If so, then stick around! Because in this article, we’ll give you a detailed guide on what you need to know to integrate email marketing in UX design and make them work for you and your company. 

Now, before we talk about UX design, let’s take a look at the context of email marketing.

Why Email Marketing Matters

Email marketing was (and still is) an effective marketing channel for companies. Although technology has evolved to welcome more innovative ways to reach customers, email marketing is still a desired method to use to market to them.

According to a survey done by Econsultancy, 73% of businesses, along with 76% of agencies, have indicated that email marketing is still the “digital darling for return on investment (ROI),” offering an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” explanation to this statement. Therefore, it’s no wonder email marketing isn’t obsolete yet.

Why UX Matters

User experience (UX) is a definitive part of improving the quality of how users interact with something online. With brands like Apple and Amazon seeing the potential in UX design, there is now a high demand to utilize this in many marketing techniques, including email marketing. With UX being the “very foundation of the design of web pages and online content today,” statistics point to the idea that “every dollar invested in UX translates into a return of 100 dollars, for an ROI of 9,900%.”

Though, to conceive a good UX design means that you have to do a lot of user research. Therefore, you must think about these 7 principles on UX design (or Peter Morville’s UX Honeycomb Framework) to help you create an effective email experience:

  • Valuable
  • Usable
  • Findable
  • Useful
  • Credible
  • Desirable
  • Accessible
5

1. Have a Relevant Subject Line

“Your email should always have a relevant and important subject line,” says Lilly Kiddle, a project manager at OX essays. “The subject line is a determinant when it comes to your recipients deciding whether or not to give your email a read. And, if you want more of a chance for them to read your email, then start with a good subject line.”

Trending:
6 Best WordPress Popup Plugins 2024

According to a study done by Invesp Conversion Optimization, 47% of email recipients will open an email based on the subject line, whereas 69% of email recipients view subject-less email as spam. Even better, emails with personalized subject lines are 22% more likely to be opened by recipients.

Emails with personalized subjects are 22% more likely to be opened by recipients! Click To Tweet

“Your subject line acts as the hook,” adds Kiddle. “If you can communicate to your recipients that you can solve a problem that they might have, then they’re likely to open the email. With a good subject line, not only will they open the email and reader, but might also possibly lead to increased traffic and sales. In fact, when your subject line empathizes with the reader, then the reader will not just feel curious, but also willing to read on to see what you have to say. Ultimately, this is a good strategy used by startup entrepreneurs, small business owners, marketers, and SEO strategists.”

2. Use Popups Sparingly

Popups are usually seen as spammy and annoying, especially to the consumer. Let’s face it: people don’t want to feel conned for succumbing to a popup. However, when initiated correctly, popups won’t get as much a bad rap as they would when coming off as spammy. In other words, there are different ways to make a popup that integrates seamlessly with your UX without annoying your customer.

4

The most notable popup that you may want to consider is the popup form. On average, popup forms convert roughly 3% of consumers, meaning that there’s a definite (if not all) chance that they’ll turn into subscribers – even if it’s just to sign up for your newsletter.

What we need to consider is that there are a few different popups to choose from:

  • Time-based popups appear after a certain number of seconds on a page (for example, a 15-second popup shows up during a user’s browsing session). If you want the user to get the best UX possible, you want to be mindful of this type as it could be a distraction to the user, even if it gets their attention. So, try to limit this to only 1 or 2 popups on your site.
  • Scroll-based popups appear once the user has scrolled a certain amount of the page. Like time-based popups, they can take users away from the UX, thus being another possible distraction, so try to limit these to only one or two on your site. Check out our scroll-trigger feature to add one to your site!
  • Exit-Intent popups are ideal since they allow the user to browse without distraction because they were planning on leaving your site anyway. But still, you may want to consider using a good exit-intent popup that offers a good incentive that works well with your UX and might entice the user to interact with it. Check out our exit-intent feature to add one to your site!

3. 3-Second Formula

When navigating your UX, the user must be able to understand the text, icons, and overall format without getting lost. The best way to ensure good navigation and findability is with the 3-second formula.

This formula ensures that the user can easily analyze and read your content within 3 seconds. If your content is read and analyzed within more than 3 seconds, however, then it’s time to rethink how your UX is formatted.

First, to make the perks of being on the email list known to users, you’ll have to notify them about the incentives in a welcome email.

3

When constructing the welcome email, keep the following objectives in mind:

  • Introduce the perks to the user with a simple sub-headline.
  • Display all the benefits (in icons) under the subject line.
  • Also, place your icons in the header portion, along with your company name.

By following these objectives, you’re crafting a welcome email that not only entices recipients but also makes it easier for them to find things (thanks to clear and concise visuals). And these allow the user to understand and interact with the email in a limited time.

4. Show Relevant Visuals

According to Hubspot, 70% of companies can and will invest in content marketing, which includes the usage of visuals. In other words, most companies have already seen the power in marketing with visuals. Why is that?

“People want products and services to be relevant to them, meaning that the offering has to be relatable to the consumer,” says Lucy Stawell, a business writer at Paper fellows. “So, one of the best ways to do this is to use visuals. Image can help the offering relate to people’s problems; and they get an emotional response from readers. With visuals, emails can prove its usefulness, along with its call-to-action cue, and maybe a coupon code thrown in as an incentive.”

“It’s also important to consider the color palette when designing your emails,” adds Stawell. “In fact, the psychology of colors can play a key role in the visual experience that readers will get in an email. In short, keep in mind that colors will not only increase your chance of conversions, but also pave the way for boosted sign-up rates and increased number of subscriptions.”

2

Consider the following color schemes that marketers may use:

  • Achromatic – This color scheme is solely reliant on black and white (monotone colors). White text is used over a black background, while black is used over a white background – that is a fundamental principle behind using the achromatic color scheme. While this color scheme isn’t for every company or industry, it’s still a good color scheme for those looking to have a serious and professional look in their marketing.
  • Monochromatic – Notice the root word “mono,” meaning “one.” In the case of this color scheme, monochromatic mainly sticks to one hue, along with several variations of it. If you’re looking for a polished appearance in your UX, then go with this color scheme.
  • Analogous – The colors in this color scheme is considered the easiest to find in the color wheel, since they’re right next to each other. In other words, they’re close to each other on the wheel, due to their shared similarities. One example of this (and the closest) would be a common sight in nature, mainly when seeing plants. Colors of plants don’t contrast with each other much, since their colors are harmonious. Therefore, the principle of analogous color scheme implies that we choose one color to dominate and a second color to act as the beta (the support).
  • Complementary – This color scheme allows colors that are opposite to each other in the color wheel to be chosen. This is a sought-out appearance that many professional email marketing strategies strive for. Why? Because this color scheme is often viewed as visually contrasting and powerful.

Next Steps

While creating a great UX takes time, it’s still important to get every aspect of it right, especially when it comes to email marketing. By combining the two, you’ll be sure to attract more customers through email and, potentially, turn curious email recipients into paying customers.

So, why not get started today? Create a great email marketing campaign that allows UX to shine!