Custom Email Stationery

[Michael Blake Powell]

Has anyone created or had someone create custom email stationery for their dealership. I want to create a piece of html stationery that has links to testimonials and why buy from us statements on like a sidebar rather than clutter up the message being sent. My CRM (whom I am quite fond of and will not name) wanted to charge me $1,000 which I feel is highway robbery!

If you have had something similar created, who did you use and would you recommend them?

Thanks!

Blake Powell
Internet Sales Manager
Chevyland
Shreveport, LA

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Alex, I too give campaignmonitor a big thumbs up. They have one of the more flexible, solid email services available.

However, what I believe Blake is looking for is something that his team can use with email correspondence while enforcing a consistent look and feel.

From on my experience I would reconsider this idea. I would suggest a standard signature line for all employees while including links to your supportive social channels or testimonials.

The problem with formatting your personal one to one email communications, once you starting including tables and cells into your emails, it quickly gets messy. Many times the CRM WYSIWYG never renders your HTML or formatting correctly.

You also want to consider the fact that most consumers are reading their emails on their mobile device. Start including heavy formatting, cells, tables into your emails and the results are typically quite messy and difficult to read on a mobile phone.

When it comes to one to one personal email communications, I would recommend keeping it simple.

 

[Daniel J. Mondello]

I know a thing or two about it... all of my vehicle info is pulled in dynamically.

WYSIWYG is for rookies go pro and get yourself up on HTML Tables and Inline CSS

 

[malinda.terreri]

Hi Michael,

You might try googling "Free responsive email templates" and you can pretty quickly locate some inexpensive or free email templates.

A Responsive Email Template will automatically reformat based on the device the email is being used on. Example, a two-column format with your links/testimonials on the left side would display when viewed on a desktop but the links column could be suppressed or moved to the bottom when viewed on a smart phone.

 

[anthonycapital]

Would you be able to create custom html templates yourself and save them in your CRM?

	Header
	Links
	Your Content
	Footer

 

[Jerry Thibeau]

Avoid them, they look too much like junk mail. Simple is cleaner and looks more personal.

 

[Daniel J. Mondello]

What CRM are you using?

 

[Michael Blake Powell]

What CRM are you using?

VinSolutions.

 

[Michael Blake Powell]

Avoid them, they look too much like junk mail. Simple is cleaner and looks more personal.

I go back and forth on that thought. I've been without any stationery for the past 2 years, but I like the thought of putting more engaging links in front of their faces without scrolling down and cluttering up the message.

 

[Jason]

Hi Michael - my experience is, simple is better.

We recently instituted a new email rule called "The 5 Inch Rule".

Simply stated, if your email can't be easily read and consumed within the confines of a 5" inch smartphone screen, then it's not worth sending.

Over half of all emails are now opened on a mobile device, and that number is only going to grow.



Expecting your intended recipient to pinch, scroll and swipe to get your message is probably asking too much.

We instituted this rule ourselves five months ago, and our email response rate has increased dramatically.

If you do go down the road of HTML formatted emails, I would recommend you use a tool like the Litmus Email Tester. This nifty tool will show you what your email will look like in 30+ email clients and devices.

Let us know which way you decide to go!

----edit 3/28/14----

I wanted to append my comments by adding a stat I ran across this morning while doing research for a new blog post that this discussion inspired.

Check it out....



75% of smartphone owners say they are highly likely to delete emails they can't read on their phones...

'nuff said?