Meet Emma. She’s your ideal subscriber—smart, busy, but, let’s face it, completely overwhelmed.

Her inbox? Full of endless promos, boring newsletters, and irrelevant updates she just couldn’t care less about.

Sat at her desk, coffee close at hand, she’s on a mission: delete, delete, delete.

Until she sees your email.

Something about it makes her stop scrolling. It’s clean, bold, and ridiculously easy to skim—like it’s been designed just for her.

The layout pulls her in. The images? Eye-catching without being too much.

And the call-to-action? It’s so clear she doesn’t even have to think.

She clicks. Mission accomplished.

Here’s the thing: perfect email design isn’t just about looking pretty. It’s about grabbing attention, guiding the reader, and making it impossible to ignore.

So, if you want to create emails that stop your audience mid-scroll (and actually get results), keep reading.

We’ve nailed down 10 key elements that the best emails focus on. Not every email hits every mark, but the more of these you hit, the better your results will be.

1. Branding & Colour: The Trust Factor

A consistent brand and colour scheme in your emails is essential because it builds trust, helping recipients instantly recognise you and what you stand for.

To create a positive connection from the start, place your branding at the top of your email.

Keeping your message and colour consistent across platforms helps build trust and makes your audience more receptive to what you’re saying.

But don’t get too hung up on sticking rigidly to your colour scheme. Being too strict can bury important elements such as your calls to action, making them less effective.

2. Imagery: Make or Break Your Emails

You just need to take a look at reallygoodemails.com to see how important the quality of images are. Images—especially the ‘headline’ can make or break your email. A great one grabs attention and boosts credibility, while a poor one does the opposite.

Use high-quality visuals that fit your message and work seamlessly across devices. Tools like Canva can help you level up your imagery, ensuring your email not only looks polished but leaves a lasting impression.

3. Layout & Balance: Keep It Scrollable

Most emails are scrolled, not read in detail—so make sure they flow smoothly and feel balanced. Use white space to keep things clean and organised, making your content easy to navigate. Don’t shy away from it; white space is your friend! And if your email’s on the longer side, dividers can help break things up, keeping readers engaged till the end.

4. Readability: Skimmer vs. Scroller

Not everyone reads an email the same way; some will scour over every word …but others will skim.

You need to cater for both types of readers in your emails, so you need to use bold or italic text to highlight key points, and include lists or bullet points—skim readers love them.

This is especially crucial for content-heavy emails. And whatever you do, avoid large blocks of text. Break it up, keep it clear, and make it easy to read!

5. Length: Less Is More (Usually)

 How many emails do you receive each day? And how often do you read them all the way to the end? Your emails need to stay focused and concise—unless there’s a clear reason to go long and that’s how your audience prefers to engage. Keep it sharp, relevant, and to the point!

6. Calls to Action: Make Them Count

Let’s face it—most emails are about getting people to do something. So make it obvious. Why should they act? What exactly do you want them to do?

Spell it out. A clear, bold Call to Action (CTA) makes all the difference.

Oh, and ditch the hyperlinks—they’re fiddly on mobile. Stick to buttons—they’re cleaner, clearer, and way easier to click.

7. Signing Off: Keep It Human

Emails might run on massive databases, but at heart, they’re personal—one inbox to another. So make sure you nail that personal touch in your signature.

Make it on-brand, use Canva for a clean signature block, add a handwritten-style sign-off for that human feel, and include an image to remind people there’s a real person behind the screen.

8. Footer Essentials: Don’t Skip It

Don’t forget the footer! It’s the most important part of the email, and there are elements within the footer that are required to be there.

Include the essentials: a Mailchimp unsubscribe link (using the correct merge tag, or Mailchimp will add one on anyway), social media logos, any regulatory information, and your physical address (a must for compliance).

Add key links and, if relevant, preference buttons to give your recipients full control.

9. Know Your Platforms: Test, Test, Test

It’s the norm to be designing your emails in Mailchimp in a desktop environment, but do you know how they’ll actually look when received?

Knowing where your audience views your emails—whether on desktop, mobile, Gmail, Apple Mail, Hotmail, or Outlook—is essential as it will determine how they will look.

Use Mailchimp’s audience overview to see the breakdown and focus on testing in the platforms that matter most.

Keep an eye out for platform quirks, like Outlook’s issues with buttons and background images.

Use an email design tool that handles testing for you and ensure your emails look great everywhere!

10. Real Personalisation: Beyond “Hello, [FNAME]”

Ok, so we all understand what personalisation is in email, right?

Nope.

It’s not just about slapping “Hello, [FNAME]” at the top.

True personalisation goes deeper—it’s about knowing where someone is in their journey with you and serving up content that actually matters to them. Sure, it’s not strictly “design,” but it’s a massive piece of the puzzle, and it all starts with the data you’ve got.

Final Thoughts

Designing the perfect email isn’t just about ticking a checklist; it’s about creating an experience that grabs attention, builds trust, and drives action.
When you get it right, your email stands out in even the busiest inbox, guiding readers effortlessly from curiosity to click.

By focusing on branding, imagery, layout, readability, and personalisation—and testing for every device and platform—you’ll craft emails that resonate. Emma might just be one subscriber, but she represents the countless others waiting for that one email that speaks to them.

Make it yours. Make it unforgettable. And most importantly, make it effective.