Email Style Guide

General Email Tips

Keep it short

You have seconds to catch a reader’s attention!

• Use headings, bulleted lists and short paragraphs
• Headings provide the reader with an idea of the topic(s) covered in the message.
• Bullets attract the eye when scanning and allow you outline key points concisely.
• The ideal email copy length is between 50 to 125 words.

Keep it simple

The built-in fonts and headings have been tested and meet accessibility standards. Decorative fonts are difficult to read, may not display correctly, and may make your email inaccessible to members of your audience.

Including an image?

Images should play a supporting role so that your message can be conveyed clearly and effectively if the image does not display.

5 Reasons to Not Send Image-Only Emails

1. There is no preview text for an image-only email; anyone who relies on text-to-speech tools will have access to the content of your message.
2. It’s likely your email will trigger spam filters.
3. Some email clients will not display your email images.
4. Text on top of an image gets smaller (and more difficult to read) on mobile devices.
5. Images in your email may be slow to load.

Including a link?

When calling the user to action, use brief but meaningful link text that:

• provides some information when read out of context
• explains what the link offers
• doesn’t talk about mechanics (avoid using “click here”)
• doesn’t include the full url of a website like this:
  https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/email-length-best-practices-for-email-marketers-and-email-newbies/

Proofread and check links!