Skype

Recommendation

1. Make sure your email has one key message as the focus and that it's highlighted with an image or graphic. If it’s necessary to communicate several points, clearly separate them. Keep calls to action to a minimum and make sure they offer a genuinely useful result to the recipient.

2. Set information out in clear sections, so the user can scan and quickly find the details that are useful to them. Give each section a clear heading.

3. Keep the text in the email neat and avoid a ‘scatter effect’ by minimising the number of font sizes and links, and positioning them uniformly.

4. Don’t repeat yourself. Make the most of  available space by ensuring each point you make has a purpose and explanatory text is short but engaging. Landing pages are where the reader can find more information if they want it, the email's job is to get them there.

5. Effective headings are a key element of any successful email. They should offer a useful guide to readers so they can quickly see what's of interest to them. Cryptic, clever or misleading headlines are off-putting and frustrating, so choose words carefully and make sure they accurately reflect the information below.

6. Avoid being a faceless organisation and 'marketing at' the customer. Even if the email is purely functional, as this one is, find some way to connect with them personally. This could be anything from including some kind of reciprocal contact information nearby or using the name of a company representative when you sign off.

7. Links should give a clear indication of their destination, without forcing you to read the rest of the text. As you scan over the page you should be able to see quickly which links will be useful to you. For example, change ‘here’s how’ to ‘find friends on Skype’.

8. Make sure any promotions are clearly visible, if you want people to buy a headset put the link in a prominent place.

9. Don’t fall into the trap of only thinking about your own objectives. Think carefully about what your readers need as well as focussing on what you want to tell them. Customer Service and Help information may be secondary to you, but they're important to your recipient, so make sure the information is clearly placed.