Links allow the recipients of your emails to save time while reading and to choose which offer or detail they want to learn more about.
Why you absolutely need email links
The benefit of links is that recipients are not distracted by irrelevant information. There is no point in a call-to-action (CTA) if the potential customer does not immediately see where on the page it is possible to click. Therefore, in online marketing it is an absolute must to provide optimal links.
You should pay attention to the following tips for setting up links in emails:
1. Link eye catcher - Call-to-Action (CTA), Newsletter-Tools und more!
The first step is to consider the following for your email marketing:: all eye-catchers, attention-grabbing segments, emotive terms, buttons, tools and also the Call-to-Action (CTA) should be linked. For instance, pictures are often clicked on impulsively because they receive the most attention. You should always link images, this applies especially to the products that are displayed. If the image is not clickable, it may result in the user being frustrated or confused. In addition, all elements in the email should be responsive, as over half of all emails today are opened on the smartphone or tablet.
2. Make links in emails recognizable to click
It should always be perfectly clear and obvious which elements are clickable. Lightly shaded buttons are ideal, for example: The three-dimensional effect of a shadow draws attention and increases the chance the link will be seen and clicked. Underlined links work best. The user knows exactly what they are and can immediately identify them. In email marketing, avoid links that are not obvious.
3. Structuring links
The most relevant links should be at the top of the email. These can be, for example, links to product pages or for advertising purposes. By placing these links further up, their click-through rate (CTR) will be much greater than those within the newsletter or email.
4. Using permanent links in emails
Permanent links, i.e. those that are always provided in your email, e.g. links to social networks, to unsubscribe or to other newsletter tools, should always be found in the same place. So the reader of your email does not have to waste time searching for them.
5. A clear call for action
Did you know that the word "...more" is proven not to be understood by all users? This is a real concern. Beyond that, it hardly arouses curiosity for further information. More effective is a clear statement like "click here for more information“, or you can attach key phrases to your links, which forward the reader directly. Linking operates as follows:
On the smartphone/tablet:
- First copy the necessary link to the clipboard. To do so, mark it by holding your finger on it for a short moment and then copy it.
- Now switch to the email app and compose your text.
- Make sure your email app is set to "formatted text“.
- Select the text that will later contain the link.
- In the available formatting options you will now find an icon for linking, which often looks like a chain. Tap on it.
- A dialog for entering the link address should now open - just paste the link from the clipboard.
If all worked, the word or phrase is linked. If the recipient now taps on the link in the email, the linked address will open in the browser.
On the computer:
- Copy the marked link from the address line of your browser accordingly with "CTRL + C" or by clicking the right mouse button to select the "Copy" function in the menu.
- Then switch to your email program and type in the desired text. Now you can format the selected text passage in the mail as a hyperlink.
This works much the same with other email clients and different software. In the Outlook Editor, for example, there is also a chain link in the toolbar, on which you have to click if you want to insert a link into a text. Before sending the email, make sure that you have inserted all the links and that they work properly.
Run A/B tests to control the links in emails
To determine whether your links are clicked, you should perform A/B tests. This involves sending differently structured emails to two small groups of test persons. After evaluating, send the version that has generated the most conversions to the remaining email addresses.
To ensure the success of your marketing, customer journey and your company, you should customize your links in the email editor.
