Writing good campaign emails

The guidance provided for writing for the web should also be followed when creating email content for marketing campaigns or for customer updates. For example, it's important to keep language simple and to ensure link text is descriptive and call to action's are relevant.

There are also additional techniques and best practice you should consider. 

Subject line 

Keep subject lines descriptive but as short as possible. It should provide enough information of what is in your email to encourage people to open it, but not be so long that it gets cut-off on mobile devices. Aim for no more than 60 characters. 

Images  

Images should always have alt-text to describe the image. This is helpful not only for accessibility reasons, but if the image doesn't download (sometimes users choose not to let this happen automatically) then it's clear what content each image contains as the text will appear in place of the image. 

Avoid images with text. People who use a screen reader or have images blocked won't be able to see this information. Make sure any important messages are presented within text. You can use images, but these should complement what you've written, rather than being the main part of your content. 

Images should be 600 pixels wide - as this is the standard width of an email. 

Text 

Make sure your text is readable, your font size should be set to 16px or larger. 

Avoid using colours that have a poor colour contrast with the background, as this can make it difficult to read. You can check this online using a contrast checker. If you're unsure, please contact the digital team for advice.  

Creating an email campaign 

If you would like to create a campaign email contact the Digital Team for advice and support.  Please make a digital request and select digital marketing. 

See current email marketing campaigns