For a long time now, I’ve been a believer in sending out plain text emails. Fancy HTML emails with images and other paraphernalia is not my thing. When I say Create Stunning Emails, my emphasis is both on design and results.
HTML emails are like unnecessary fat — tempting, but totally avoidable.
Also, most email clients (like Gmail and others) don’t even display images and buttons by default. All the effort you take to try to create that HTML email won’t even render properly across clients.
However, as I wrote in my Plain text Vs HTML emails: What do you use for email marketing post, It could be that you’d be required to go with HTML emails sometimes.
There are particular use cases when HTML emails totally make sense. Here are a few pointers on when HTML emails make sense and how to create Stunning HTML emails, easy & fast:
First, here’s when HTML emails make sense:
* Product updates
* Special announcements
* Product tours
* Video Emails
* E-commerce emails (Including transactional emails, shopping cart abandonment emails, and others)
* Product or Service Showcase
* Case studies
* RSS-to-email digests
While you can keep to plain text emails for most forms of emails, HTML emails are the way to go when visuals make more sense.
Having said that, here’s how you can create stunning HTML emails easy & fast:
It starts at home
Most email service providers come with proper visual email builders these days. Whether you use Mailchimp, Drip, Converkit, or Campaign Monitor, you’ll find that your email service provider already has a way for you to create great looking HTML emails (which are also responsive) along with a default plain text version.
You’ll have to struggle with some of the older Email Service providers (such as Aweber, for instance).
Also, some all-in-one platforms such as InfusionSoft and HubSpot make it slightly harder to work with emails, you don’t have to go far to look to create great looking HTML emails depending on the email service provider you use.
Note: Drip has a new visual email builder. See what it can do for your #emailmarketing
Shop & Use
You could still use pre-built email marketing templates if you choose not to go with your resident HTML email builder that your email service provider gives you.
There are numerous sources you could just shop for email templates and then use it for your email marketing campaigns.
Head out to Themeforest and pick up your email template. Some of those email products on Themeforest also come with proprietary email builders that you could use (while I don’t see why you should bother).
Design Your own HTML templates
No, you don’t have to learn HTML. While you can just buy a ready-made HTML email template for a campaign, buying a third-party HTML email building tool from Themeforest doesn’t make sense.
Why not? Buying an HTML email template is one thing; buying an HTML email template builder is something else.
I don’t trust any of those sellers who sell HTML Email builders (only because they might stop providing support or be available to help if you need them tomorrow).
If you had to create your own HTML templates, I’d seriously go for something (or a company) that’s been around for a while such as Postcards from DesignModo.
How do you create your HTML Email templates for email marketing?