Email design tips to optimize deliverability

Designing an email template is not like building for the web. Each email provider receiving your messages has their own set of HTML standards and idiosyncrasies that tend to be behind the times. Knowing how to build an email template so that you meet the requirements of all of them and get past their spam filters can be a project.

NationBuilder comes equipped with a nice set of optimized email themes to choose from, but also gives you complete freedom to customize your email template or build one entirely from scratch.

Below are a few tips to optimize your custom email themes for best deliverability.

1. Go easy on the images. 

When people receive your message in their email reader, often times image rendering is turned off for security. Don't rely on images to convey your message, as people will need to have text to entice them to turn images on.

It is a best practice to add the ALT tag to images as well, so that people know what they're missing by not rendering images.

Spam filters check for text to image ratios, and if image content is higher it will count against you. 

2. Use inline CSS.

To ensure you code an HTML email that works for all email clients, you should use inline styles and HTML tables. We recommend using this HTML email boilerplate to ensure that your template is rendered correctly across different email clients.

3. Test your code.

Make sure all of your tags are valid and closed, and test the message to see how it renders in the major email clients. Spammers make mistakes, so be sure to catch yours to avoid getting flagged by the spam filters. Here is a tool that helps you test across different email clients.

4. Include a link to a copy on your website.

If for some reason the email doesn't look right in their email reader, you want to give the recipient an easy way to access your message by including a link at the top.

You can set up a blog page-type dedicated to posting copies of your email messages, making it easy for recipients to read and share with friends on social media. You can keep them public or set different viewing permissions. 

5. Keep it simple.

With email, it is always best to keep it simple.

Don't overdo color or fonts in your text, as those tend to trigger spam filters. Focus more on your message, and less on making the email look fancy with extra bells and whistles.

In the end, it is what you say that will persuade your supporters to click.