Whether you’ve been using Mailrelay for a while or this is your first time with this email marketing tool, you should know that it now has a drag & drop editor that makes creating creative newsletters a piece of cake.
Before you customize your design, remember that you can create a free newsletter with the Mailrelay editor.
Although the old editor already had a fairly powerful system for building your own newsletters, Mailrelay wanted to keep up with its competitors with a more modern, intuitive and attractive system.
The moment I heard about the new drag & drop editor, the first thing I did was create a test account to try out its features. And I’m glad I did, because I was pleasantly surprised!
That’s why I encourage you to read this article and discover the first steps to take with Mailrelay’s updated editor to design creative newsletters (even if you don’t know any HTML).
Based on my experience, and so that what I’ve learned can help you too, I want to walk you through the steps to follow with Mailrelay’s drag & drop editor. We’ll cover:
- The new Mailrelay login to access the new editor.
- A review of the initial settings (more info here).
- Choosing the design to create a creative newsletter.
Important:
The first time you log in to the platform, you’ll have to choose between the traditional “ip-zone.com” option (which you’ll need to migrate to access the new editor) or “ipzmarketing.com” if you created your account recently.
► Initial settings
Once you’ve logged in and are actually using the new version of Mailrelay, one of the strengths that stands out most for me is the wide variety of templates it offers for creating powerful newsletters.
It’s important to know that to access the list of templates and start building your newsletter with a different design, you first need to create your subscriber lists; otherwise you won’t be able to access the “Create campaign” option.
Remember…
To create your subscriber lists, go to the “Subscribers” menu and the submenu of the same name.
Next, you’ll see the following form, which you need to fill in to move on to the next option: “Template”.
► Choosing a design
Now, at last, you can access the options to set up your newsletter and shape it with a creative newsletter design. Here you have 2 options:
- Upload or paste the HTML code of a ready-made design you already have.
- Choose one of the functional templates Mailrelay offers.
In this article, we’ll look specifically at the second option, which is the one that works with the new drag & drop editor, setting aside any use of HTML (only available with the first option, which works with the classic editor).
Its templates include some basic, 100% editable ones, like these:
You don’t need to spend much time choosing one, because afterwards you can edit everything you want with the new editor, which, as you know, is a floating drag & drop editor.
You’ll also find themed or holiday templates, which are very useful if, for example, you’re going to send a newsletter on a specific date such as Christmas.
With this kind of template in particular, I recommend having the copy for your headlines and message body ready before choosing one, and keeping the following in mind:
- The message you want to get across.
- The hierarchy of the content.
- Whether you’ll offer related extras.
- The images or videos you’ll include.
- The corporate style your brand image follows.
- Where you’ll place the call-to-action buttons.
If you also want to explore and test this new editor to get the most out of your newsletters, read on to the end and take note of some of my recommendations for making the most of the templates Mailrelay offers.
Once you choose a template, as you’ll see in the image below, the drag & drop editor appears on the left; when you hover over each block, a floating menu appears with options to edit, move, duplicate or delete it.
*In the image block, you can also replace the default image with the one you want.
On the right, you’ll see a series of elements you can drag to the left to create the newsletter you want. You can do things like:
- Add a new text box.
- Upload a new image (with a caption, in a group…).
- Include social media buttons.
- Insert a divider (to separate two blocks of text).
- Add videos.
As you can see, there are lots of options, but sometimes there are so many ways to create a creative newsletter that we make design mistakes without realizing it.
As a result, we fail to make an impact on our subscribers, because we don’t clearly guide them to interact with the call to action, and that’s one of the reasons your newsletter can go unnoticed.
So now it’s time to share some tricks for creating catchy, super-attractive newsletters that users read from top to bottom and that get them to click the call-to-action button.
Remember that good design is just as important as content, so after choosing the template that best suits your content, I recommend keeping the following factors in mind:
► Personalize your message
A professional design and copy won’t do you any good if your message isn’t aimed at the right audience. That is, the people who are genuinely interested in what you offer, both your content and your offer.
So make sure you segment your audience properly and that this group receives your newsletter. Then you can run A/B tests with a small part of your audience to see whether they found that information valuable and useful, so you can keep your marketing strategy on the right track.
Keep in mind that most of your readers open your newsletter on their mobile devices. That’s why the key here is to choose a simple design that adapts to the screens of these devices.
My recommendation is to use a single-column design, which makes vertical scrolling easier to read and avoids display problems on mobile.
Even so, I always run an A/B test to analyze which design, images or type of content my users like best, and also to test how effective the calls to action are (in terms of copy, font and colors).
Without a doubt, A/B testing is the best way to understand and get to know your subscribers.
On the other hand, when it comes to content structure, you need to take care of these elements:
● Top section or header: Users will first see the brand logo, which they should recognize quickly, followed by the headline, which should hook readers so they keep reading.
● Body: After the headline come a few lines summarizing the most important ideas. These ideas should focus on your goal and, therefore, on your call to action. To encourage readers to keep reading, you can also include images that reinforce the text and grab more attention.
● Footer: In this section, include your contact details (email address, phone number, social media buttons); it’s also important to include the option to unsubscribe. This way, you make sure you have a strong database and, above all, one that is qualified to convert.
● Links: I don’t recommend including more than 2 links per email, because in the end you need to focus all the attention on getting readers to take one specific action. For example, you can build anticipation with an unfinished sentence that makes people want to keep reading and, in this way, drive traffic to your website.
► Write a top-notch subject line
Here are some tips for writing catchy, attractive subject lines so your subscribers see your creative newsletters:
● Use numbers, ask questions, address the reader directly, include offers or add a sense of urgency. Example: “20% off your next purchase”.
● Use emojis, for example: “⏳Last places left on the Facebook Ads course”.
● Use ellipses strategically to leave the user in suspense. Example: “And the best program for capturing leads is…”.
● Use action verbs and words like “free”, which work very well. Example: “Download this editorial calendar template for FREE”.
● Personalize your message by addressing each person by name with the “name” tag. Example: “Juan, give us 1 min to help us improve”.
► Write a catchy headline
Although we’ve already mentioned it above, this is one of the elements that deserves the most attention, because it determines whether or not readers go on to read the rest of the information.
To create magical, direct headlines, here are some tricks:
● For newsletters with a commercial purpose: Add time-limited offers, such as: “Only one day left before the offer ends!”.
● For newsletters that aim to educate and add value: Include success stories or use hook words like “tutorial”, “guide”, “tricks”, “trends” or “news”. For example: “Mega WordPress tutorial to optimize your website”.
► Don’t overuse images and interactive elements
I advise against using too many images in a single email, as they tend to cause display problems and even spam issues. Although placing a featured image at the top can look very attractive, my advice here is to save this element for a call-to-action banner.
As I was saying, the biggest drawback of overusing images in email marketing is that you can be penalized as spam. So focus on striking a balance between text and images, without obsessing over packing too much into your newsletter. Sometimes simple has more impact (and makes for distraction-free reading).
► Build visual harmony
Use a style that’s consistent with your corporate identity; to do this, look at the fonts, colors, photographs… Ask yourself: are they consistent?
If any of them don’t fit, keep researching and testing until all these elements are in harmony.
Segmentation, design and copy matter in a newsletter, but so does having an editorial calendar to keep track of the dates you send your newsletter. So stick to a routine!
If sending a newsletter every two weeks works well for you, keep doing it. But don’t break that routine, because your readers will notice and get annoyed. In fact, when you send newsletters at irregular intervals, they may not be as successful and your design may not shine as much as it should (although that isn’t always the case).
Now that we’ve looked at the most important elements of a newsletter and reviewed the key aspects of creating your newsletters, I’m going to show you an example from scratch with the new Mailrelay editor, using the template I chose.
First of all, I advise you to be clear about the content and the message you want to get across in your newsletter, and then select the right template for your needs.
So, if you want to sell products in your newsletter, you’ll choose a template with a specific design for uploading your products with photos and descriptions. On the other hand, if you want to inform your readers about something and add related posts from your blog, your template will need columns and images.
Once you’ve selected the right template for your newsletter, you’ll see the following option:
In the top-left box, you’ll see the option to upload images to the editor; here you can drag an image to upload it or click to select files and browse your folders to choose the images you want to upload.
I ran this test to show you an example. I uploaded the logo of my blog Diseño Creativo, and right after that this editor appeared on the right:
As you can see, it’s similar to the editors of other tools you may use every day, such as WordPress or Word: text is edited in blocks, and you can make changes to the content, design and settings.
To start writing the headline, click “Content” and start typing the text in the editing box. As with any other editor, you have lots of options: you can use H1, H2…, normal text, bold, underline, include links or change the font.
If you click the “Design” option, you can change its alignment or size more quickly.
With the “Settings” option selected, you can choose the number of columns you need and the layout you like best. For example, I chose two columns, the first wider and the second narrower:
After adding text to the columns, the template I chose suggests uploading an image, which I think is a great way to make reading more enjoyable for users and catch their attention.
One thing I really like is that when you upload the image, the new editor lets you modify it if you don’t like how it looks, or resize it.
It also gives you the option to add the ALT tag, a description of the photo in case it can’t be displayed, and even to choose the option to show the link.
The next part of this template is another text block. If you click on it, you’ll see a blue floating menu with the options you have for editing that block:
- Move
- Edit
- Duplicate
- Delete
In other words, you can move that text higher up if you prefer, duplicate it to add another paragraph, edit it to format it or delete it if you don’t need it.
Take a look at this screenshot to see the features I’m talking about:
The next block, which I consider very important, is the call to action:
1. First, I selected the “Content” option and wrote this attention-grabbing copy: “I want to try it now!”.
2. I selected “Design” to lay out the button.
As you’ll see in the next image, you can choose any color you like and design it to your taste with all these tools: alignment, width, border, border radius and padding.
I advise you to keep testing until you find the button you like best, because, as you know, the call to action is a key element in your newsletter!
Finally, in the footer you should include information about data protection, as well as buttons linking to the social networks where you’re active so your subscribers can follow you.
To edit the social media buttons, first click “Content” to add the corresponding links and then “Design” to lay them out however you like.
· Conclusions about the new Mailrelay editor
The new Mailrelay editor includes a wide variety of basic and themed templates that let you create powerful, creative newsletters. It’s a fantastic option for surprising our subscribers and saving time thanks to its drag & drop functionality.
I hope this getting-started guide to mastering the new editor, together with the tips and tricks I’ve shared for creating eye-catching newsletters with its templates (basic or themed), inspires you to create your own.
That said, keep in mind that for your newsletters to be effective, there are other factors besides design to consider, such as segmentation, persuasive copywriting and sending frequency.
