With the ever-increasing number of businesses using email marketing, it is important that your email stands out. While there are many great tips and how-to’s on email design, sometimes it is best to focus on what to avoid when designing your email. Bad aesthetics can send your email right to the trash, or worse, junk. Here are email design mistakes to avoid for good in 2016.

Irrelevant Header

The header is precious real estate and must be well utilized. The email header should be relevant to the company or product your audience subscribed to learn more about. Also, don’t use a header that only shows your logo or product. Choose to use the header space to convert key information which can turn out to be memorable for the audience.

Illegible Fonts & Color

Font size, style, and color govern the message in the email, and your email’s main goal is to communicate a message. So, this obviously won’t happen if the words are hard to read! Avoid using fonts that are too small to read. This is crucial if you have older subscribers that may have eyesight problems. According to statistics by eMailMonday.com, 15% to 70% of emails are opened on mobile devices. It is important to make the fonts legible on smaller screens. Using too many different types of fonts in an email is bad design as well. It makes your email look messy, and not all platforms support all font styles. Therefore, it is crucial to choose the right email font.

Blinding Color

Bright and loud colors may be fun and scream “Look at me!” but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to use them in email design. Stay away from colors that are overly bright or fluorescent. Using bright colors can be harsh on the eyes and unpleasant to the reader. Also, don’t use too many colors in the same email. Sticking to your brand colors is a safe bet.

Bad Images

Please stop using clip-art and horrible stock photos. They make your email look cheesy and fake. People want to do business with real people, so use your own photos or stock images that are high-quality and look natural. Here are a couple of websites that provide great free stock images:

PicJumbo

Unsplash

Gratisography

Keep these email design mistakes in mind for your next email campaign and more. These tips are sure to help decrease unsubscribes and increase clicks and opens. For additional email marketing help, call US Data Corporation at (888) 578-3282.