Email Newsletter Designs: Boost Engagement and Conversions with SendX

Let’s chat about something that’s still working in 2024 and will continue to work in 2025 too, but that you might not be thinking about enough. Yep, if you’re on this page you know we’re talking about email newsletters. But more specifically, email newsletter designs.

What it looks like matters, because people do judge books by their covers.

You might be thinking, “Aren’t newsletters old news?” But, here’s the thing - they’re far from it.

Believe it or not, email newsletters are more powerful than ever. They’re the perfect tool for connecting with your audience and boosting those all-important conversions.

The catch? Your newsletter needs to stand out in a sea of inbox clutter. And that’s where great design comes into play.

If you want to crack the inbox code, keep reading.

First Impressions: More Than Just a Pretty Face

Think about it – when you open an email, what’s the first thing that grabs you? We’re betting it’s the design, right?

A well-designed email newsletter can grab your attention, and pull you in. It’s the space to show off your brand’s personality. Is your brand fun? Professional? Maybe a bit of both?

Solid email newsletters will guide you through the content without missing a beat, and make you want to click that shiny button at the end. Conversions for the win, right?

But what makes an email newsletter design truly great? Let’s break it down.

The Building Blocks of Killer Newsletter Design

It doesn’t take much to wow your email audience. However, you’ll need to incorporate a few design elements. Here are a few things we recommend adding to your email newsletter design:

Structure That Makes Sense

Messy rooms are overwhelming aren’t they? It’s the same for emails. You don’t want your readers to feel claustrophobic in your cluttered newsletter. Keep things tidy instead!

You can do this by using headers and subheaders. It breaks up the content and makes it easier to read.

You also want to put the good stuff up front. And, perhaps most importantly, embrace white space – let your content breathe!

Note: Most folks are just going to skim your newsletter. So, make it easy for them to find the juicy bits!

Eye Candy That Serves a Purpose

We’re all suckers for pretty things. Use that to your advantage! Try some of these ideals for visual appeal:

• High-quality images that actually relate to your content (Please avoid random stock photos!)
• Infographics that make boring data look better
• Icons to break up text - this visual punctuation breaks things up too for easier reading
• Videos or GIFs to add some pizzazz. Just don’t go crazy with these. Too many is well, a quick way to turn your audience off and make them click “unsubscribe.”

The key with your eye candy is balance. You want your newsletter to look good. But, not like it’s trying too hard at a fashion show.

Dress Your Newsletter in Your Brand’s Colors

Your newsletter should be instantly recognizable, or at the very least “on brand.”

To do this, make sure to stick to your brand colors. You should also show off your logo, but don’t make it huge. Big logos can detract from your message.

While we’re talking about branding, don’t forget about voice. Keep your tone consistent (i.e. if you’re usually funny, don’t suddenly go all Shakespeare on us).

Finally, use fonts that match your style.

Consistency builds trust. And trust? That’s marketing gold.

Mobile-Friendly or Bust

Did you know over half of all emails are now opened on mobile devices? Don’t sleep on this! Your emails need to be mobile-friendly if you want your audience to be able to read them.

Keep these tips in mind for a mobile-friendly email newsletter design:

• Stick to a single column (nobody likes to zoom and scroll)
• Make buttons big enough for even the clumsiest thumbs
• Test, test, and test again on different devices

A mobile-responsive design isn’t just nice to have – it’s essential. In other words, you don't want to leave half your audience squinting at their phones!

CTAs That Demand Action

Every newsletter needs a purpose, usually wrapped up in a call-to-action (CTA). Your CTA should:

• Pop out like it’s wearing neon in a black-and-white movie
• Use action words that get people excited (“Discover,” “Get,” “Start”)
• Be sprinkled throughout (but don’t overdo it – we’re not making CTA soup)
• Clearly show why clicking is a good idea (what’s in it for them?)

Remember, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. Make your CTAs clear and compelling!

Taking Your Newsletter to the Next Level

We’ve covered the basics. Now, let’s talk about some fancy tricks to really make your newsletter shine.

Get Interactive

Who doesn’t love a bit of interaction? A few interactive elements you could add include:

• Countdown timers for those “hurry before it’s gone” offers
• Quick polls or surveys (people love sharing their opinions)
• Buttons that do a little dance when you hover over them
• Image carousels to show off multiple products without the scroll

These little touches not only make your newsletter more fun, but they can also give you valuable insights into what your subscribers like.

Make It Personal

We’re not talking about just slapping a name at the top of the email (though that’s a good start). Think bigger. For example, you could implement:

• Content that changes based on what they’ve bought or looked at before
• Offers that pop up when you’re running a special sale
• Product suggestions that actually make sense (if they bought dog food, maybe don’t try to sell them a cat tree)

The more relevant your content, the more likely they are to engage with it. It’s like you’re reading their mind!

Tell a Story with Your Design

Great design isn’t just about looking pretty – it’s about telling a story. This means choosing images that hit people right in the feels. You also want to use colors that match the mood you’re going for (blue for calm, red for excitement, etc.)

Guide people through your content like you’re taking them on an adventure. When your design and your story work together, it’s like magic.

People don’t just read your newsletter – they experience it.

Don’t Fall Into These Email Newsletter Design Traps

Even the pros sometimes make mistakes. Here are some common pitfalls to watch out for:

• Cramming in too much stuff (your newsletter isn’t a clown car)
• Changing your design more often than you change your socks (consistency is key)
• Forgetting alt text (because sometimes images don’t load, and you don’t want blank spaces)
• Neglecting that all-important preview text (it’s like a movie trailer for your email)
• Making your newsletter an obstacle course for people with visual impairments (accessibility matters!)

Dodge these mishaps, and you’ll be well on your way to email newsletter design greatness.

Keep Getting Better

Creating a fantastic newsletter isn’t a “set it and forget it” kind of deal. It’s more like tending a garden. To keep things blooming watch those numbers (open rates, click-throughs, conversions – they all tell a story).

It’s also a great idea to try out different things (A/B testing is your friend), and actually ask your subscribers what they think.

Finally, do your best to stay on top of what’s new in the world of email design (it’s always evolving). And keep in mind, what works for one audience might fall flat with another. The key is to keep experimenting until you find your secret sauce.

Examples of Solid Email Newsletter Designs

Airbnb Newsletter

Airbnb is an American company that runs an online marketplace for stays and experiences all around the world. They sent this newsletter to inform about their offerings and get people to book on their platform.

Takeaways:

• Logo on top with a clean header shows simplicity. It makes the reader instantly know which brand has sent this email.
• The information is structured nicely with the use of bold header, simple subheading, images, followed by CTA for different categories. That makes it easy to skim through the email.
• CTAs are subtly wrapped in gray borders, making them less overwhelming and focusing attention on visuals that convey the real experience.
• Images are placed in a square container but formatted in different ways to fit that space.

Finn Newsletter

Finn is a company that makes supplements & vitamins for dogs. This newsletter is part of their promotional campaign to promote their bestsellers.

Takeaways:

• In complete contrast to the Airbnb newsletter, Finn's newsletter is full of bold colors. 
• They've underlined the important information on top to draw attention.
• It's structured in a single-column layout, making it quick to scroll through the email.
• The header is clearly distinctive from the email body because of the colors.
• CTA is placed at the top, above the fold if someone views it on mobile. This helps improve conversions.

Beardbrand Newsletter

Beardbrand is a company that makes grooming products for men. This newsletter is part of their series to educate subscribers to groom their bread and plug in their product.

Takeaways:

• The text format makes it easy to read without any distractions.
• Alternative background color for the listicle makes the content look easy to read.
• There is ample white space between the sections and, even the headline and the description that in spite of a lot of content, the email looks clean and invites the reader to go through it.
• The top part with three tabs makes the email look like a menu and hence helps drive traffic to the website.

Outline Newsletter

Outline is best described on their website. It says, "The Outline is a new kind of publication founded by journalists and storytellers. We’re dedicated to telling the right stories for right now, and our coverage is focused on the increasingly complex confluence of culture, power, and technology."

This is their weekly newsletter & just like their website, it's colorful.

Takeaways:

• Outline email is very colorful but instead of choosing multiple colors, they have chosen only a few and played around with them to create catchy picture tiles.
• The color distinction of the headline & subheading breaks up the text making it easy to read.
• Dark background color makes the bright-colored text and images pop up nicely.

Hinge Newsletter

Takeaways:

• Use of bold, purple and black colors make it clean and brand-aligned.
• It follows a clear sequence of sections - image with logo, headline, subheading, CTA, bullets and finally one more CTA. It's easy to navigate through this on mobile as well.
• They used only two fonts but in different weights to create text-hierarchy.
• Listicle is clearly marked with big numbers.

Dossier Newsletter

Dossier is a perfume brand that provides clean, ethical and high-quality versions of iconic perfumes. This newsletter is part of their educational series.

Takeaways:

• They followed a zig-zag pattern of images & text. This breaks monotony and adds visuals to keep the attention on the page.
• There's a clear white background that increases readability and makes the images stand out.
• The font, image placement, CTA, etc. are all simple and elegantly used. This format would also be best to show some best-selling products.

Teachable Newsletter

Teachable is an online platform for people to host their online courses, and coaching services. They send out a promotional newsletter whenever there's a new free/paid event.

Takeaways:

• It has the most important information – name & date of the event – on the top.
• The big image used in the header creates a visual experience to help people imagine themselves in that scenario and thus take action.
• There is ample white space between texts which increases the readability.
• The CTA could have been placed higher above to improve conversations.

The School of Life Newsletter

The School of Life is an educational company that offers advice on life issues.

This newsletter was sent to get traffic to their blog and promote their books that they have on their website.

Takeaways:

• Different sections are separated by different colors. That makes it easy to focus on the part that's important for the reader.
• They've mixed-and-matched different layouts – there's a single-column layout in the first section, two columns in the second section, and three columns in the third section.
• Curved, white-colored CTAs over the colored background pop up nicely to draw attention.

Moment Newsletter

Moment is a marketplace for photographers and filmmakers.

This newsletter introduces their photography challenges and gives tips on capturing good fall season images.

Takeaways:

• Their top section is very creative. They've mixed photos, lines and text beautifully. 
• The newsletter reflects the fall colors , goes with the theme.
• The contrast of the background and text over it makes the text easy to read. It's either dark background & light text or vice-versa.

Starbucks Newsletter

Takeaways:

• They've used the Christmas theme really well by picking the red from the Christmas and mixing it well with their iconic green & white colors.
• The image, text and CTA are arranged in what we call an inverted pyramid structure. That helps lead the reader  to the CTA
• Different texts are differentiated by using capitalization, different font size and weight.

Apple Newsletter

Apple, as we know, is one of the most admired brands, and largest tech companies in the world. This newsletter was sent after they hosted their annual Worldwide Developers Conference in 2020.

Takeaways:

• The use of brand colors - black & white - help make no mistake that it's from Apple. Builds immediate trust and gains attention.
• Big, vibrant images of their products break up the monotony of the text.
• CTAs are very subtle but have a vibrant blue color.
• The black background helps enhance the vibrancy of the images, text, and CTAs

Bringing It All Together

Crafting an effective email newsletter design is both an art and a science. It requires a deep understanding of your audience, a clear grasp of design principles, and the ability to tell a compelling story visually. Start with focusing on clear hierarchy, compelling visuals, brand consistency, mobile responsiveness, and strong CTAs. Doing this means you’ll be well on your way to creating newsletters that not only look great but also drive real results for your business.

But why struggle with design when you can leverage the power of expertly crafted templates? SendX offers a wide range of stunning, mobile-responsive newsletter templates that make it easy to create professional-looking emails in minutes. Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or just starting out, our intuitive drag-and-drop editor and advanced personalization features will help you create newsletters that stand out in any inbox.

Ready to take your email newsletter design to the next level? Try SendX today and see the difference great design can make for your email marketing campaigns. With our user-friendly platform and powerful features, you’ll be crafting beautiful, high-converting newsletters in no time. Don’t let subpar design hold your marketing back any longer – sign up for a free trial now and start designing newsletters that get results!