10 Email Best Practices & Common Mistakes to Avoid

[This blog was originally posted in August 2023 and has been updated in September 2024 to showcase new examples]

When it comes to email marketing, understanding the 10 Best Practices & Mistakes to Avoid can significantly enhance your email campaigns. Unlike social media, where ‘reach’ is often a metric, in email marketing, ‘reach’ means creating a personal connection with your audience. This includes not just the subject line and preheader but extends to the email header and footer.

Email Header and Footer: Best Practices and Mistakes to Avoid

1. Maximize Logo Visibility

Your brand logo serves as the cornerstone of your email header. While making it prominent, avoid oversized logos. Position your logo centrally and surround it with ample white space. Chamberlain Coffee’s email header offers an excellent example:

Similarly, Stella McCartney utilizes a secondary logo in the footer as a signoff, creating a visual continuity:

Alala follows a similar approach:

2. Retain Your Logo Subtext

Often, brands omit the tagline from their logo in emails. However, including your tagline can significantly enhance brand recall. Hobby Lobby’s email illustrates this perfectly:

Another great example comes from Purity Products:

Even details like copyright information can make a big impact, as shown by Sneakersnstuff:

3. Highlight Promotions and Sales

An effective way to grab attention is by highlighting promotions in the email header. Here’s an example from Tuft & Needle:

Additionally, Terrain’s email header template effectively features a Labor Day sale, directly below the logo:

Here’s how J.Crew implements a concise banner under their logo:

Nuts.com offers a similar example, encouraging engaged scrolling:

4. Utilize High-Quality Photography

Photographic headers can set the tone for your email. Buffer’s email is a good example:

The Washington Post also uses photographs to captivate their audience:

5. Incorporate Animation

Animated headers are eye-catching, especially for promotions. Wolf & Badger’s email features an animated ticker that stands out:

Similarly, ActionRocket’s email employs an animated footer:

6. Utilize HTML Headers and Footers in Text-Only Emails

Even in text-only emails from executives or managers, an HTML header and footer can maintain brand consistency. Consider this email from Wantable’s CMO:

7. Implement a Navigation Bar in the Footer

A footer navigation bar can significantly boost click-through rates by providing sitewide links. Peter Briggs of Oracle Digital Experience Agency highlights that, “Nav bars can drive upwards of 20% of all click engagement.” See Terrain’s bottom navigation bar:

Another example is from Traeger, featuring a secondary navigation bar in the footer:

Barnes & Noble utilizes a horizontal navigation bar for easy access:

Alternatively, consider using a photographic navbar like White Stuff does, but be cautious about Gmail clipping:

8. Detail Your Promotional Offers

The footer is an excellent place to expand on offers announced in the header. For instance, TCHO Chocolate provides a succinct description in their footer:

The Inside offers a more detailed description:

Thymes’s email footer provides even more detail:

Dbrand goes above and beyond in detailing their offer:

9. Amplify Social Media Icons

Incorporate social media links in your footer for enhanced engagement. Use high-contrast icons to make them stand out, as Doughp does, compared to TCHO’s grayscale icons:

10. Add A Handwritten Signature

If the email contains a personal message from the founder or a representative of the brand, including a handwritten signature is more impactful than simply typing the name. This personalizes the email and makes the message more valuable and endearing.

Anya Hindmarch enhances the email footer design by including her handwritten signature, complementing the message.