Jun 30 2020

What to Include in Your Email Disclaimer: Email Marketing Best Practice

By Mail Designer 365 Newsletter Academy, Mail Designer 365 Newsletter Academy

Even the most seasoned email marketers shudder when they hear the words "email disclaimer." However in reality, writing an effective email disclaimer is actually far more straightforward than it seems.

In this guide, we're quickly taking you through all the basics of best practice for email disclaimers to make things easier than ever when it comes to sending your next marketing email.

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What is an email disclaimer?

An email disclaimer is a small section of text typically located within your email footer, separate to the main body of your message. It is one of the most important parts of any email you send, as it protects your business from any potential legal issues and contains key information for your customers.

The laws on what information businesses need to provide recipients with differ from country to country. For this reason, it's imperative that you know exactly what you need to include in your email disclaimer, as your business can receive a hefty fine if certain rules are not adhered to.

Email disclaimer laws by country

Below, you can find a brief summary of the email disclaimer laws for your country or region.

Email Disclaimer Law in the United States

CAN SPAM Act of 2003 requires all businesses sending marketing emails to provide certain information in their email disclaimer. This includes, a physical address for the sender and a clear and functioning unsubscribe option.

You can find more detailed information on this here.

Here is an example by Bed, Bath & Beyond:

Email Disclaimer Law in the European Union

The EU Directive states that all business communication emails must contain a standard disclaimer with the following information:

Company registration number
Place of registration
Registered office address

However, individual countries have slightly different requirements, so it's important to check based on the country your business is based in.

For example, in Germany businesses are required to include:

Company name
Office location
Court register
Registration number
Name of the managing director and the board of directors

You can find more detailed information about individual EU countries here.

Email Disclaimer Law in the United Kingdom

Along with a clear unsubscribe link, Trading Standards requires registered companies in the UK need to include the following information in all of their business emails:

Registered company name
Company registration number and place of registration
Registered company address

You can find more detailed information on this here.

Example by Jack Wills:

Email disclaimer example by Jack Wills

Email Disclaimer Law in Canada

According to CASL (Canada's Anti Spam Law), all businesses need to provide clear contact information for the sender, as well as an opt out link in their electronic marketing messages (including email, SMS, and social media messages.)

Possible fines for non-compliance can reach up to $10 million.

You can find more detailed information on this here.

What else to include in an email disclaimer

As a force of habit, many people receiving your emails will automatically look to the footer area to find important information about your business.

In addition to the mandatory information listed above, there are several other things your business may want to include in your email disclaimer to help protect you from legal issues and also ensure your customers can find the information they are looking for.

Unsubscribe link

As mentioned above, the unsubscribe link is a legal requirement for all marketing emails, with most transactional emails being an exception. Although this does not have to appear in your email footer (some designers opt to place it at the top of the design) the vast majority of customers will expect to find it here.

Your unsubscribe link must be clearly visible and must provide the recipient with a straightforward way to opt out of receiving your emails.

This example by Bunches is great, as it clearly explains to the recipient why they have received the email and where to click to opt out:

Terms and conditions

Adding a brief terms and conditions section to your email disclaimer is a good way to clear up any possible confusion surrounding your promotional offer. In this section, you could cover things like offer expiry date, offer validity (e.g. in store or online, on all products or selected, etc.) and eligibility (e.g. new customers only.)

If you wish, you can also use this opportunity to link out to a separate, more detailed terms & conditions landing page.

In this promotional email, ASOS clearly outline the terms and conditions of their sale to customers:

Privacy Policy

Since GDPR came into force, there has been an emphasised importance on data protection and privacy. Many businesses now use their email disclaimer as a place to also refer to their company's privacy policy. This is a good way for recipients with questions to locate the information they need.

This email by Bupa Dental Care is a great example of how to use your email disclaimer to make readers aware of your privacy policy.

Email Disclaimer for a UK business

Contact information

In addition to the mandatory information required (i.e. company address), it's also best practice to give your customers an easy way to get in touch with you.

Many marketing emails come from no-reply addresses, so including a support email address or a link out to a contact form in your disclaimer allows customers to contact you if they have questions.

Tip: Use a mailto link so your customers can contact you in just one click. In Mail Designer 365 you can even configure the email subject line and message to make things easier:

Email mailto link options in Mail Designer 365

Provide readers with a direct way to contact you.

Creating an email disclaimer in Mail Designer 365

One key thing to remember about your email disclaimer is that the core content is often the same. Once you've put together an informative disclaimer that meets all the legal requirements, you should be able to keep reusing it in future emails.

Mail Designer 365 allows you to create custom layout combinations and save them for future use. This is perfect for your email footer area:

Build up your disclaimer using text blocks, spacers and images
Insert all the relevant text, links and contact information
Select your group and drag into the sidebar under "Layout Blocks" > "Ready-Made" > "My Saved Blocks" where you can instantly access them in your next design and tweak as needed

Ready made layout blocks for email disclaimers in Mail Designer 365

Drag and drop layout combinations to save them in your ready-made layout blocks collection and use for future emails.

We hope this information has been useful and that you'll bear these tips in mind when working on your email disclaimers.

As well as the practical, ready-made layout blocks feature, Mail Designer 365 also offers a wide range of email templates, text styles, and mobile optimisation tools to make sure your email disclaimers are clear and effective. Not got a Mail Designer 365 plan yet? Sign up today for your free, no-strings-attached trial.

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Jun 17 2020

Email Marketing Guide to Creating Effective Transactional Emails

By Uncategorized

Although they may appear dull and insignificant to some of us, transactional emails are probably the most important type of email you will send out to your customers. They're also your most likely source of clicks - especially seeing as 64% of consumers find them the most valuable type of email in their inbox.

If you perfect your transactional emails, you are making the most of the opportunity to show your customers who you are as a business by taking advantage of high open rates.

What counts as a transactional email?

A transactional email is a confirmation of an exchange made between you and your customer. These emails usually contain information which a customer is likely to want to find and use again. Most often, they take the form of a sales receipt, but other types of emails can also fall into the transactional category. Here are some popular examples:

Account creation (welcome emails)
Shipping/Delivery information
Booking/reservation confirmation
Event sign up
Newsletter registration
Notifications (new followers, comments, etc.)
Password change confirmation

Here are our top tips on how to create transactional emails that shine...

Give the email a clear subject line

Your subject line is the chance for you to explain the gist of your email in just a few words and make readers aware that it's relevant to them. With transactional emails, it's more important than ever to make this subject line concise and to the point so your readers don't scroll past it in their crowded inboxes.

For example, "Your order has been dispatched!" is a great way of clearly communicating a shipping confirmation. It's clear and concise: your customer knows exactly what the email is about and will be much more likely to open it and view the information.

Think about personalization

In order to make the recipient feel valued, you should consider incorporating personalisation placeholders into your transactional emails. One really easy way of doing this is by including the customer's name somewhere in the message. We love this email from Everlane as an example of personalization. The customer's name takes centre stage!

Use first name placeholders to add an element of personalisation to your emails.

Adding placeholders in Mail Designer 365

Mail Designer 365 gives you the option to add common placeholders for popular email services to your emails. To add personalisation to your design, click inside the text block where you would like to insert the placeholder, then go to "Insert" in the app menu, where you will find options for Mailchimp and Campaign Monitor.

Mail Designer 365 also supports the use of custom placeholder variables for other email services. If you would like to use these in your design, please be sure to check with your email service provider first. Learn more.

Add placeholders to your transactional email templates in Mail Designer 365

Add placeholders to your email templates to make the message more personalised.

Don't be afraid to upsell

In order to maximise on potential sales, it's important to try and upsell as much as you can to customers. Advertise new products, offers, and featured deals in your transactional mails, and you will benefit from maximum exposure. As illustrated in the example below from Shoedazzle, it can even be effective to advertise to customers who have just placed an order.

Don't be afraid to up-sell to customers by advertising new arrivals in your order confirmation emails.

Tip: Most transactional emails don't require an unsubscribe link, as they are providing the customer with important information (e.g. account registration, sales confirmation, etc.) However, if you are adding in extra offers, you will need an unsubscribe link, as the email will meet the criteria of a marketing email.

Let the design speak for your brand

Your business most likely sends out dozens of transactional emails every day - making them the face of your brand (think the digital version of customer service staff.) For this reason, your transactional email designs should be vibrant, eye-catching, and interesting. Experiment with colors, fonts, design elements, and more to create the perfect transactional template for your business.

This email design from Steven Alan is an inspiring example of how you can make even a simple welcome email standout and represent your brand.

Make sure your transactional emails are eye-catching and represent your brand well.

Include CTAs to increase engagement

To take advantage of the high open rates of transactional emails, you can also add a CTA (call-to-action) to the email body. One effective CTA is the social media sign-up. Inspire your customers to follow you on social media by including a CTA and a link to your Twitter/Facebook/Instagram at the end of the email message.

This example from Crate & Barrel is a proactive way of using a thank you email/purchase confirmation to subtly point customers towards your social media sites:

Include links to your social media platforms to let customers know where they can connect with your brand.

Creating transactional email templates in Mail Designer 365

We hope you found these tips for transactional emails useful. Take this opportunity to really benefit from the hidden gem of the email marketing world!

As well as a stylish selection of easy-to-adapt, ready-made transactional email templates to fit all these use cases, Mail Designer 365 also provides you with all the creative tools you need to design effective transactional emails from scratch.

Transactional HTML email templates exclusively available in Mail Designer 365

Mail Designer 365 offers you an array of ready-to-send transactional email templates.

Once your template is ready, explore a variety of export options to use it with the automation tools provided by your chosen ESP. Export directly to Mailchimp, DirectMail or Campaign Monitor, or export your design as HTML to use with all leading ESPs and marketing tools.

Not got a Mail Designer 365 Plan yet? Sign up to Mail Designer 365 today for free and start creating transactional email templates for your automated email strategy.

Until next time,

Your Mail Designer 365 Team

Give Mail Designer 365 a try today for free...

Mail Designer 365 helps you create stylish, professional HTML emails on your Mac. Sign up free today to see what you can achieve.

Originally published: February 2018

Updated: June 2020

Jun 17 2020

NEW: Transactional Design Ideas for Automated Emails

By Mail Designer 365 Blog

We know how important it is that your everyday emails look just as good as your one-off sales emails. That's why we've added three brand new transactional Design Ideas to the app which you can edit and start using right away!

New transactional email templates in Mail Designer 365

Jun 08 2020

How to Write Effective Announcement Emails to Share Important News with Subscribers

By Mail Designer 365 Newsletter Academy

Whether you're informing customers about an upcoming product launch, sharing a statement, or communicating important changes to subscribers, being able to write effective announcement emails is a key skill needed by businesses of all sizes.

What is an announcement email?

In this article, "announcement email" is very much an umbrella term for your core communication with customers (outside of standard sales emails.) An announcement email can take many forms, including but not limited to:

Internal company news
Product news or updates
Public statements
Announcing a show of support OR taking a stand
Crisis communication
Event invitations
Customer information

Also important to consider: Oftentimes, announcement emails are much more text-heavy than a standard marketing-style email, as the sender usually has a lot to say.

Why should I use email for my announcement?

As a business owner, email is the most reliable way to make important announcements to your subscribers. Although social media is booming, complicated algorithms often mean many of your subscribers on platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter don't even see your posts - resulting in important information going unread.

Email is a direct channel between you and your customers with very little background noise to take away from your key message. For this reason, when done correctly, an announcement email has the potential to lock in high open rates and get better conversions.

Here are some useful tips to consider when sending an announcement email, plus some great examples of announcement emails we have collected from around the web and our own personal inbox.

Our recipe for effective announcement emails

Strong email copy

One way of ensuring your announcement email is a success is through great communication. This can be achieved by producing strong and convincing email copy to really make your message clear to readers.

Think carefully about the context of your announcement. This will help you determine the tone you want to use and will help you choose your words more carefully.

For example, if your email announcement is of a serious nature, it is probably more fitting to opt for a formal and professional tone. For an exciting announcement like a product launch or a new store opening, you can afford to have a little fun with your email copy and adopt a more relaxed tone.

Other important aspects that will help elevate your email copy include:

Good spelling and grammar
Varied sentence structure
Clear paragraphs and sub-headings - especially if you are conveying a large amount of information

In this email statement, CreativeMornings use powerful, well-thought-out prose and a clear layout to show their solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

powerful email statement by creative mornings

CreativeMornings show their support for the #BlackLivesMatter movement through powerful prose.

Great design

The way your email looks is - in many ways - just as important as what it says. An eye-catching header graphic or a strong feature image can be all it takes for your reader to pay more attention to your email.

Take this announcement email from Avanti West Coast - Although the rest of the email is quite plain, Avanti do a great job of drawing in readers using a colorful and abstract header design. The simple title "Important information" is enough to let the reader know this is something they should be paying attention to:

A great header design helps this announcement email by Avanti capture readers' attention.

Tip: You can create a similar header effect in Mail Designer 365 by layering shapes and adjusting the opacity:

Another style element which is important to your design's overall effect is your font choice.

While it's tempting to get creative when it comes to fonts, oftentimes, simple is best. Especially when your message is so important, you don't want to run the risk of a poor font choice getting in the way of clear communication.

Choose a clean, easy-to-read font in a sensible weight to apply to your email copy. You should also avoid overusing bold or italic, as this appears confusing to readers. When you're done, remember to configure an email-safe "fallback" font to ensure your email text is displayed properly in all clients:

Building an announcement email in Mail Designer 365

Always include an email safe fallback font to ensure better compatibility with other email clients

Clear call-to-action

Any marketing email needs to be able to demonstrate a clear call-to-action. Whether you want your readers to sign up for an event, pre-order a new product, or simply visit a landing page, you need to point them in the right direction first.

Use a CTA (call-to-action) button which clearly stands out against the rest of your email in order to make it prominent to readers. You should also make sure the text of your button is short and snappy and check that the link leads to a sensible destination.

By choosing a vibrant shade of red for the CTA in this tour announcement email, Live Nation are able to convey a sense of urgency and encourage readers to sign up for event access:

The bold, red CTA button in this tour announcement email by Live Nation jumps out at readers.

Experiment with shapes and font styles in Mail Designer 365 to create dazzling CTA buttons for your own email designs:

Building a call to action button in Mail Designer 365

Mail Designer 365 has all the shapes and text styles you need to create bold and effective call to action buttons.

Engaging subject line

Your email's subject line is the very first thing that recipients will see and is often the determining factor in whether or not your email gets opened. For this reason, you need to ensure your subject line is interesting and intriguing enough to pique your customers' interest.

When you are coming up with a subject line, be sure to include key words such as "new", "announcement", "exciting news", etc., in order to let your readers know what the email is about. By teasing your new product, upcoming event, important news, etc., you are bound to make your readers curious and encourage them to open up your email.

Furthermore, using emojis in your email subject is another great way to ensure it will stand out in their inbox.

Mobile optimization

Because so many people today now check their emails on the go, it's crucial that your announcement email has also been optimized for mobile devices. This is a key part in ensuring that your message is effectively communicated.

Mobile optimization includes aspects such as:

Checking the font is legible on mobile devices
Choosing target links which make sense on mobile devices (i.e. iOS App Store versus Mac App Store links)
Resizing images to look good on mobile devices
Including tailored content for mobile users (e.g. special offers, mobile app download links, etc.)

Mail Designer 365 automatically creates a mobile responsive version of your email design, which you can optimize and edit separately to your main desktop design. Simply navigate to the Smartphone view and detach a layout block to begin creating mobile-only content:

Create mobile responsive emails in Mail Designer 365

Use the Mail Designer 365 smartphone editor to create mobile optimized announcement emails.

Smart segmentation

The final way of ensuring your announcement email is a success is by making sure you send it to the right target audience. Sending one email to your entire list is usually a bad idea and is generally only reserved for exceptional circumstances (i.e. major business announcements.)

When you are setting up your campaign in your email marketing platform, think about who will find this information most relevant. This group should be your first priority, as they are more likely to engage with your email. If you can think of other groups who may also find the email beneficial, you can go back to adjust and optimize your template accordingly.

Looking for tips? Here are some useful segmentation techniques you could try out:

Email List Segmentation Techniques to Learn More About Your Subscribers

More examples of great announcement emails

If you are in need of some inspiration, here are a few more announcement emails which we found particularly effective...

Product Hunt

The striking header graphic in this email by Product Hunt gets their important message heard loud and clear.

Unsplash

This simple newsletter-style announcement email by Unsplash is both informative and interesting for users of the service.

easyJet

easyJet use the header of this announcement email to grab readers' attention before sharing their important update.

Shinola

Shinola use bold design techniques to win customers' attention in this new product announcement email.

allplants

allplants do a great job of using a colorful CTA button together with a clear layout to introduce a new dish to their menu.

YO!Sushi

YO!Sushi also mix contrasting color combinations with a big feature image to get customers excited about the return of their "Green Wednesday" promotion.

Mailchimp

This announcement email by Mailchimp concentrates a lot on great email copy and an effective CTA button.

Discover how Mail Designer 365 can help you build announcement emails

We hope you are feeling inspired and will take these tips on board the next time you ned to make an important announcement for your business.

Mail Designer 365 has all the tools and email template options you need in order to create a fabulous announcement email and share your great news with your subscribers. Sign up today for free to get started!

Get started with the Mail Designer 365 service today for free...

Mail Designer 365 helps you and your team create stylish, professional HTML emails.
Sign up free today to see what you can achieve.

June 2020

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What is an email disclaimer?

Email disclaimer laws by country

Email Disclaimer Law in the United States

Email Disclaimer Law in the European Union

Email Disclaimer Law in the United Kingdom

Email Disclaimer Law in Canada

What else to include in an email disclaimer

Unsubscribe link

Terms and conditions

Privacy Policy

Contact information

Creating an email disclaimer in Mail Designer 365

Get started with Mail Designer 365 today

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NEW: Transactional Design Ideas for Automated Emails

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