Do This Key Research Before Designing Your Email Template

Video Transcript / Posted August 26, 2021

Hi, I'm Tim Yeadon at Clyde Golden. Today. I'm going to describe what you need to know before you create a world-class email template for your brand.

You know, there's a lot of reasons why your email program might be underperforming. One often overlooked issue that we've found is the email template itself. 

At the core of every high-impact campaign is a custom email template that renders well across every inbox. And there are several key things you need to know prior to creating your own template.

So before you get into the nitty-gritty design details, you should ask the following three research questions to establish what we at Clyde Golden consider your "Mobile Baseline."

A mobile baseline is simply a technical snapshot of how your mobile user engages with you.

The first question I always ask has to do with screen size.

Are the majority of your opens or click-throughs occurring on large screens like desktops or tablets? Or smaller screens on smartphones?

When you know this you'll know if your template should cater more to a desktop or to a mobile user.

Now, the second question I always want to know? What email inboxes do your subscribers favor?

Top mailboxes include Apple iPhone's native app, Apple Mail, Gmail, and then there's the Gmail app, Outlook, and Yahoo!

And like every device, every inbox has its own quirks. So if you understand the various experiences offered by each inbox, along with the behavior of your subscribers, you'll be able to make smart choices when building your own email template.

For instance, say you have a Gmail account and you use the iPhone native app to look at your emails, your inbox will recognize media queries, and therefore you'll see the mobile version of a responsive email.

But now let's say you download the Gmail app and use that instead. You'll only see the desktop version of that same responsive email because the Gmail app does not recognize media queries.

You'll also want to think about how your email will look when Dark Mode is enabled on a device, as Dark Mode is becoming more frequently used. Planning and compensating for Dark Mode is actually a fairly complex topic that we'll be covering in depth very soon. So keep an eye out for that.

And finally, the third question I ask when planning an email template — where are your conversions happening?

Some people open on a mobile device, but make their actual purchase on a desktop or tablet. Knowing this may impact how you design your email template as you want the purchase process to be as seamless as possible.

To recap, make sure you know your email subscribers' Mobile Baseline -- which includes:

1. what type of devices your subscribers are using to open and engage with your emails

2. the inboxes they favor

3. and finally, where they're actually converting.

This research will help your team foresee issues and pitfalls before they invest in a custom html email template -- so you can get back to creating high impact email campaigns.

Our website, clydegolden.com offers links for many useful resources to help you answer these key questions and many others.

Clyde Golden has expertise in creating world-class data-driven content and messaging for email, apps, and the web.

Thanks again for watching.

Let us know how we can help.

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