Written by: Kimberly Neher
Last week we celebrated Memorial Day, which marks the unofficial beginning of summer here in the Northeast. It’s time for picnics, parks, boating, and beaches, but Memorial Day means much more: you may now wear one of your seasonal wardrobe staples, white pants! Yes, white pants are permitted from now until, well, Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer. Is that still a rule, you might ask. I am not sure, is it a fashion faux pas, a trend, a style choice?
Here’s what I do know; fashion trends come and go, but I’d like to share a few fashion guidelines I’ve picked up over the years.
Do not mix and match gold and silver, brown and black do not go together, navy and black never a good option, white after Labor Day . . . maybe. But my most important fashion guideline is absolute: If you are wearing a belt, the color of that belt should ALWAYS match the color of your shoes!
What does this have to do with email? Your email marketing should ALWAYS match your website and other marketing materials!
I am not Stacey London, and I don’t work for the fashion police, but this is basic fashion knowledge, so why ignore this little detail? Branding still matters. Small details may or may not go unnoticed. But as a whole, when put together with other such small details, they can make a huge difference. The best appearance can help you feel comfortable and confident and this applies as equally to email marketing as it does to clothing.
If you can make your email newsletters leverage the look of your website, you should be consistent; match your shoes and belt. Your email should possess all traits and characteristics of your company’s brand in order to keep people’s attention. Every single marketing effort—whether or not it is online—should always be an extension of your company, just as your clothes are an extension of you.
And remember the way you dress can say a lot about you, or at least what people perceive you are about. While I’ve never been a proponent of judging a book by its cover, I know that clothes, like email, send important messages (no pun intended).
Let’s face it: judgments are made based on appearances. Think about what you’d wear to a job interview. Clothes can tell a lot about you, and like an email newsletter, the way you look may give you a slight edge. People like pictures and graphics when they look in their inbox, so it is important to carry your company brand right into your email-marketing campaign as much as possible. If a subscriber opens an email and the email has poor design quality or the connection between your email and your brand is unrecognizable, you may get people unsubscribing to your email newsletter.
And remember, branding isn’t just about the look of your template, just as your fashion and style are not just about rules. Your brand and your style are a reflection of you. Everyone can have a signature look no matter what the latest trend; a piece of jewelry or an accessory that expresses your personality.
Are you casual, conservative, eclectic, preppy, traditional, or have a style all your own? The same goes for your email and other marketing materials. Depending on your company, your email marketing might be serious, or traditional. If you are a law firm, you might want to reflect dependability, or if you are a travel agency you may want your marketing to be fun and festive. Your company’s personality can be reflected not just in the look of your mailing, but in its tone, style and language. Your email campaign is not just about your company’s style guide. Pay attention to small details in all areas of your mailing, including the canned messages such as confirmations, subscription forms, and thank you messages; make sure they too reflect your company’s branding.
Details can make a difference, putting a little personal branding in your email might allow you to further your connection with your recipients. And like a great outfit, it might just give you the edge your email campaign needs.
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