6 non-negotiable parts of an email message you need to include

6 non-negotiable parts of an email message you need to include

There are certain marketing channels that are optional for modern businesses. For example, if your target audience skews younger, you might invest time and resources into creating TikTok videos. But if your audience is mainly retirees, forget TikTok. You might instead want to focus on phone calls and direct mail pieces.

Every business is different, and every audience has unique characteristics and preferences. So you’ll need to get creative when it comes to deciding which channels your team gives the most love to.

But some marketing channels are non-negotiable. For example, a social media presence has become an essential part of business. Likewise, you absolutely must use email marketing. Why? Because it’s head and shoulders above most other channels. Consider this:

• More than 360 billion emails are sent each day around the world

• Consumers report that emails are their favorite way to interact with businesses

• Emails offer an incredible ROI of $36 for every dollar spent

For these reasons and more, email marketing is likely used by every business in your industry. The advantages are simply too powerful to ignore.

Just as the use of emails should be considered necessary, there are different parts of an email message that should be included non-negotiable. Some of them might not seem like a big deal when viewed on the individual level, but if they’re missing, your messages won’t be delivered as effectively and efficiently.

What are the parts of an email?

Whether you’re sending a welcome email to new subscribers or an order confirmation to a long-time customer, your emails should all contain these six essentials. Let’s break them down to learn more about what they are and why they’re important.

1. Strong subject line

It’s not technically one of the parts of an email template, but the subject line is undeniably crucial because the entire success of your email hangs in the balance. A compelling subject line catches the attention of the recipient. It gives context for what’s to come and entices them to open the email. Be careful to avoid exaggerations or irrelevant wording, because the reader will only feel frustrated if they open the message and it doesn’t pay off the subject line.

There are AI tools available that can generate subject line options based on your email’s audience and topic. With several ideas instantly provided, you can then easily refine them to ensure the style and voice match your branding.

2. Helpful preheader

Thankfully, the subject line doesn’t shoulder the entire burden of enticing a reader to open a message. The preheader accompanies it, providing a snippet of text that expounds on the theme of the subject line. With most email providers, this text appears either below or to the right of the subject line.

Let’s say your subject line is “Congratulations! You’ve qualified for a special 25% discount.” The preheader could then explain further: “Discount applied to all items in your cart. Claim it today!”

If you don’t write a customized preheader, it will be automatically generated by the email provider. You don’t want that to happen. This real estate is too precious to turn over to a third party, so be sure to sprinkle in your own crucial details, pithy humor, or brand elements. Think of the preheader as your final opportunity to convince the recipient that this message not only should be read… it needs to be read right now.

3. Your sender information

Of the hundreds of billions of emails zipping around the world each day, a substantial portion are sent by criminals. Some are easier to spot, like the legendary Nigerian prince scam, where a large sum of money is allegedly tied up in some foreign country and you’ll earn a fortune if you help retrieve it. Others are more difficult to detect due to the sophistication of modern phishing techniques.

All this is to say that people are understandably wary about emails. You can build trust with your audience and reduce deletions by including clear sender information. This will be what shows up in people’s inboxes when they receive your email. It might be the name of your business, or you could choose to use your actual name if you have prior experience with the recipients.

What’s important is that you’re consistent. As people become more familiar with your brand’s look, voice, and sender information, they’ll quickly notice your messages amidst the piles of spam and scam in their inboxes.

A typo in your sender information can cause lots of issues, so it’s important to understand what are the different parts of an email address and to triple-check the address you’ve entered. Typos are more common than you might think. Email providers often detect such errors and label the message as spam. And even if it were to reach the recipient, they might assume it’s fraudulent.

4. Body text

Now let’s talk about what’s inside your email. Most business emails include a headline and a salutation, but there might be instances where those elements aren’t needed so we won’t refer to them as non-negotiable in this guide.

What is essential, however, is the email body. Craft this text to justify the email’s existence and make the recipient glad they read it. In transactional emails, you might get right to the point. For example, an email could simply say:

Congratulations! Your order has shipped and will arrive on December 21. Follow the progress using this tracking number:

132992863955

We hope you love your new purchase! In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact our customer service team at 800-982-4854.

Other types of emails will provide more opportunities for branding and personality. Check out this vibrant welcome email for Dash Water.

As you can see, Dash Water uses lots of bright brand colors and fun elements like hand-drawn arrows and a playful brand voice. And the generous discount code certainly helps this email feel special.

5. Clear call to Action

Every good email should drive the recipient to take action. In Dash Water’s welcome email above, the primary CTA was to make a purchase of their product. There’s no missing those large “Grab a Dash” buttons. Other CTAs are found in the header, providing multiple routes for the recipient to take.

Your emails should never leave people wondering what to do next. Choose a CTA that is relevant to the content, easy to understand, and hard to resist. This approach obviously serves your own purposes, and also shows readers that you care about their time enough and want to make things streamlined for them.

6. Comprehensive email footer

One of the parts of an email template that sometimes gets overlooked is the footer. It might not be as prominent as a subject line or as flashy as a CTA button, but footers contain essential information and help establish trust between you and your recipients.

Your email footer should contain information such as:

• Contact details

• Business street address

• Legal information

• Social proof

• Social media links

• Website link

• FAQs

• Company logo

Make sure that your footer also includes an easy-to-spot unsubscribe link. Not only do these links provide a good user experience and build trust, but they are required by law. Leave them out of your emails and you could find yourself facing fines.

An expert email partner can take your campaigns to the next level

In this guide we’ve covered the bare essentials for an effective marketing email. There are many different parts of an email message that should also be considered, including personalization, brand photography, videos, and client testimonials.

Running strong email campaigns might seem daunting, but the right partner can actually streamline the entire process. For example, with Twilio SendGrid you get user-friendly templates that ensure all these essentials make it into your emails. Just drag-and-drop the various elements in the optimal arrangement to create compelling messages.

Once the emails are ready, it’s easy to automate your campaigns. So rather than manually dealing with dozens of details, let technology run the show and you’ll be freed up to focus on more pressing issues.

Ready to try Twilio SendGrid for yourself? Try a free trial today to see if it’s the right match for your email campaigns.