User-driven design elements only
Once you have something relevant to say, make sure not to hide it. There's no need for a tall header area or a standardized set of links at the top of your message. Remember, no one subscribes to a campaign in order to be reminded about links to standard website sections. The recipient's task is to determine whether this message has something relevant for them. User-driven design elements begin with anything that helps the user answer that question quickly and without having to think too much.
Behavioral targeting?
You don't always need deep analysis of trends data to target your messages. User experience designers know how to pay close attention to where the user is within the overall workflow. Consider a customer who has just purchased a gift. It's probably not a good idea to waste their time with messages about the product, unless you can figure out the next occasion of the gift. The recipient, on the other hand, might be a fan of your product and a good candidate for a follow-up survey or offer.
Don't just track people, interview them
The reality today is that people scanning their inboxes are in a serious hurry to separate what's relevant to them from the spam. It makes little difference how excited the recipient was when they initially opted into your campaign. At this point, chances are they are not nearly as excited, because yours is one of a dozen emails they're scanning through. Remember that people use email more than they search, or conduct any other online activity, and much of this time is already wasted on filtering out spam. The result is that receiving additional email messages, even from a fascinating non-spammer such as yourself, may be less a cause for celebration than it might have been in the pre-spam era.
This ad for the New Yorker goes to a standard Conde Nast ad that barely
mentions the New Yorker. A quick usability study would have shown just
how confusing this is for many users.
But you won't find out about this by looking at your tracking figures. You might see your open rates declining, but you won't know how all those unopened emails you keep sending are affecting your brand -- unless you interview a few recipients and watch them check their emails.
Here, I suggest you observe five test users in action and find out for yourself about their habits and preferences as they hunt for relevance. Then apply what you've learned to your next email campaign. Ideally, email should be considered as a basic piece of the customer experience, and evaluated as part of website usability studies. These suggestions should get you on track.
Gene Liebel is partner and director of research and user experience at Huge. Read full bio.