A fabulous looking email newsletter will make it easier to engage your subscribers with the latest company news, product launches and special offers. Appearance is vital, and when it comes to your design, several components must work together to give readers the best presentation possible. In this post, we will discuss the importance of tone and layout as they relate to your email template design.

Using the Right Tone

As it relates to your newsletter, your tone is the way you sound to your audience, and that sound is often dictated by a variety of factors. Your tone could make you come off as a knowledgeable expert, a snobby know-it-all or a marketer who doesn’t have a clue of what they’re talking about. While the following approaches may not be fit for you, the right tone is always the one that pulls the reader in and makes them want to know more.

Here are some general guidelines you can follow:

  • Keep It Conversational – No matter the audience, it is best to keep your tone conversational rather than make it seem as if your are talking down to your readers. The more conversational you keep it, the more effective your communications become. Be careful not to overstep your boundaries and be too personal, as you want your tone to appear professional above all.
  • Keep It Short – The length of your newsletter can also affect its tone. Nobody wants to scroll through a lengthy email, so aim for a small window rather than an entire page. Make them think they have to read too much and you just might lose them.
  • Keep It Concise – In many cases, the right tone can be found in a message that is not only short but to the point. Most people are dealing with dozens to hundreds of new emails everyday. There is no time for fluff here. Give your readers the essentials first and then go into more detail later.

Perfect Your Layout

The layout is crucial to your design and the success of your newsletter as a whole. It could either make your content easier to read and more engaging or confusing and unattractive. You can perfect your layout by applying these simple tips:

  • Use Columns – Making proper use of columns can prevent your newsletter from looking like a long, boring newspaper article. Columns allow you to work with shorter sentences, which makes your content more appealing to the scanners.
  • Keep Your Color Scheme Consistent – Consistency helps to emphasize the important elements of your message while preventing non-essential colors from becoming a distraction.
  • Don’t Abuse Graphics and Images – Going overboard with graphics and images can ruin what would ordinarily be a solid layout. Keep in mind that the goal of a newsletter is to engage readers, not impress viewers with a visual spectacle.

Your tone and layout can work together for the benefit of your design. Get them both right and your newsletter will be the real winner. Check out one of the hundreds of customizable Benchmark HTML Email Templates to choose your own layout today!