Email marketing provides you with a great opportunity to get closer to your customers and really show them who you are as a business. After your website, your emails are arguably the second-most effective means of communicating information. For this reason, it is important your brand image is representative of exactly what you stand for as an organization and gives off the best possible impression. Here are our top tips on boosting your brand image via your email campaigns...

Create a familiar layout

The main purpose of your email is to clearly and concisely communicate specific information to your customers. One thing which makes this process easier is having an easy to navigate design layout which they are familiar with. This looks good and well organized, and also simplifies the process for readers, making it easier for them to reach your planned call-to-action (e.g. buying your latest product.)
 
An over-complicated or inconsistent layout has a negative effect on readers, as it distorts the message of your email, making it difficult to understand. If your design's layout is consistently on point, customers will subconsciously associate this with your brand, and they will also know exactly what to expect when you email them in the future. With help from Mail Designer 365's ready made layout blocks feature, you can build the perfect email layout for your brand and then save it to use again and again for super consistent designs.
 
Drag a layout block into the "Contents" > "Ready-made Layout Blocks" menu, where you will be able to find it again at any time under "My Instant Blocks". Tip: To save layout block combinations, hold down the cmd or Shift key while you select blocks to group together and then drag to the sidebar menu.

Choose colors which compliment your brand

Mail Designer 365 gives you access to a world of vibrant colors which you can use to spice up your email designs. However, with creative power also comes great responsibility! Every email you send represents your company, and therefore each decision you make regarding colors is really important. Think first of all about the colors used on your website and in your company logo. Because it is such a visual trigger, it is a good idea to choose at least one color to remain consistent in your designs as a clear pointer to readers that the email is from you.
 
For example, Missguided always use the same shade of baby pink to represent their edgy, yet feminine brand. The same color is also highly prominent on their website - making their emails easy to identify. We would also suggest that for additional color choices, you should consider seasonal or contextual factors. For example, bright happy colors such as yellow and pink can work great for summer, and a bright shade of red is effective in conveying urgency.

Find a font that customers will remember

Fonts also play a huge part in determining the impact of your email design, and Mail Designer 365 has a lot of them! If your emails usually contain fairly large amounts of text, you should use a font which is clear and easy to read; ideally the same font used for your website text. Your customers will make subconscious connections which will, in turn, allow them to identify your emails quicker. For special promotions or seasonal greetings it is okay to deviate slightly from your "normal" style and include a fun font, but try to keep some elements of your designs consistent to stay on brand.
 
These two emails from Apple both manage to stay on brand while pushing two completely different promotions. From the font alone, the customer instantly recognizes who the email is from.

We hope these three quick tips will help you out on your branding journey. Let this year be the year that your brand shines! For more detailed tips and advice on branding and creating brand guidelines, please refer to this post from our Newsletter Academy.